Trek Rail 5 (2021) thoughts

[Dallant]

I have what Trek calls a medium large frame and only run about a half inch sag on the rear shock. On my previous bike occasionally it would rub but it's no worse for wear really.

Mine is the 2nd generation performance line cx and the bike is Powerfly 9.7 which the rail replaced I believe.

How are you liking the emtb level setting?

EMTB is a great setting for me, whether on my Allant+7 or the Rail. It’s like an automatic tranny in that it gives increasingly more assist as you increase your effort. EMTB-Lite is very similar but obviously to a lesser degree.
Again, I’m new to this type of biking and haven’t done much yet. Been a busy (and very hot) week since I picked it up. My son-in-law is a mtb’er and is going to (hopefully) show me some of his local-to-him trails this weekend. Heres hoping he doesn’t over-estimate my capabilities!

 

[Lar]

EMTB is a great setting for me, whether on my Allant+7 or the Rail. It’s like an automatic tranny in that it gives increasingly more assist as you increase your effort. EMTB-Lite is very similar but obviously to a lesser degree.
Again, I’m new to this type of biking and haven’t done much yet. Been a busy (and very hot) week since I picked it up. My son-in-law is a mtb’er and is going to (hopefully) show me some of his local-to-him trails this weekend. Heres hoping he doesn’t over-estimate my capabilities!

Mtb'ing is fairly safe in my opinion. You only have to worry about your own mistakes. Awesome looking bike bro...

I still think we might need to make a trade hehe

 

[Dallant]

So after more than a week of no riding because of a nasty virus (lots of coughing), I finally got out yesterday for a ride on the Rail. I love the bike and am learning more every time I ride it. It’s clear this is more EMTB than I’ll ever need but will take me anywhere I want to go.
Still hearing a bit of that light raspy rubbing of what I’m guessing is the rotor touching the pad now and then. What I don’t understand is that its a very inconsistent occurrence. I’m going to talk with my Trek LBS (who has been awesome even though I didn’t buy the Rail from him) about finding the noise and about tightening up the suspension a bit.
Beyond that, the bike is awesome and climbs like a mountain goat. Amazingly, my bum shoulder isn’t an issue on this bike, I assume because of the full suspension.
I bought a side entry bottle cage and small bottle (7”/ 20 oz) because the top-down load approach is just not gonna work. Got a Wild Man handlebar bag that is larger than I need to carry tools/tube/patch kit/phone. Also got a cheap set of fenders which will only get used when really necessary.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Still hearing a bit of that light raspy rubbing of what I’m guessing is the rotor touching the pad now and then.

A friend of mine had the same on his brand new Rail 5. The LBS has replaced the rotor.

 

[Dallant]

A friend of mine had the same on his brand new Rail 5. The LBS has replaced the rotor.

I mentioned this when I first picked it up and they spent 15 minutes trying to adjust it. It was better but then was really loud when I took it for a longer drive later that day. Was your friend’s making noise at the rear wheel?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Congrats @Dallant! Great looking Ride. The Rail 5 was near the top of my list but availability was next to nil so I ended up pulling the trigger on a Trance. Love the camo paint.

 

[Dallant]

Congrats @Dallant! Great looking Ride. The Rail 5 was near the top of my list but availability was next to nil so I ended up pulling the trigger on a Trance. Love the camo paint.

It was just dumb luck that I found this one. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna keep it even though it probably won’t get a ton of use. I really like the mat finish and color even though I’m not generally a camo fan.

 

[Dallant]

So I have a BIG handlebar bag I’ll use on easier trails but have two other bar bags in my quiver for most other Rail 5 rides. For the lightweight basics (cellphone, patches, levers, etc.) I’ve gone with a cheapo Wild Man bar bag. For longer crazier rides, some of you may recognize the Stash bar bag (that I bought for the Allant+7) that, surprisingly, is almost a perfect color match and fits perfectly!

 

[Dallant]

As I’ve mentioned, the Rail 5 came with a noisy front rotor on the Tektro M745 4 piston brake system. The noise was raspy and intermittent with no real consistency. I took it to a Trek dealer a week ago and they adjusted and tightened the rotor, pads, etc. but it was still making significant noise. They finally called Tektro and they admitted they’ve seen this issue and had a different rotor to send out under warranty. The new rotor arrived and is definitely beefier than the original. They put the new rotor on and so far (based on a quick parking lot ride) it is quiet. Plus they adjusted the shocks and checked the wheels without being asked. Then they were glad to check for a Bosch system update…all gratis. They did find an update I didn’t have. Very happy with their service and concern. Also very glad and impressed Tektro was so quick to send out a fix.
Here‘s the difference between the 203-19 original (on the wheel) and 203-53 new (in the wrapper) rotors. Big difference.

 

[Dallant]

BTW, driving to the Trek dealer there was the potential for heavy rain so I decided to put the FAHRER neoprene battery/battery compartment/rain cover on the Rail 5. Also found this sucker is more than stretchy enough to fit over a bottle cage and still hold at 75 plus mph.

 

[ejphotos]

Sweet bike! Kinda hard to tell its an ebike - the downtube isn't much thicker than my acoustic Giant Trance lol. What is the range like?

 

[Dallant]

Honestly, I really haven’t ridden it far enough to tell you yet. I can tell you it’s fast even with the knobby Bontrager XR4 Comps on it and it climbs like a billy goat.

 

[Cramer Long]

BTW, driving to the Trek dealer there was the potential for heavy rain so I decided to put the FAHRER neoprene battery/battery compartment/rain cover on the Rail 5. Also found this sucker is more than stretchy enough to fit over a bottle cage and still hold at 75 plus mph.

I mentioned this when I first picked it up and they spent 15 minutes trying to adjust it. It was better but then was really loud when I took it for a longer drive later that day. Was your friend’s making noise at the rear wheel?

did you find you needed the same or smaller size in an MTB vs say your alliant ?

 

[drodg]

Nice looking bike. I am thinking next year on an EMTB. If I buy another bike this year me and my bikes will be in an apartment!!!!! Lol!

 

[Dallant]

did you find you needed the same or smaller size in an MTB vs say your alliant ?

If you mean the frame they are both mediums. A small probably could have worked for either bike as I’ve ridden my wife’s small Allant+7 Lowstep and it’s good if I adjust seat height a bit. Waiting for a small Rail 5 would have probably have meant waiting til 2022.

 

[Dallant]

Just finished bedding the new rotor in with existing pads and still not a peep! Very happy though I know noise can still happen!

 

[Dallant]

Put 15 miles (on a variety of trails) on the Rail 5 today and finally got it dirty! Front brake is silent and bike was perfect. Just lost traction rounding a tight turn on roots heading uphill as there was still a lot of dew on the rocky trail.

 

[Cramer Long]

Put 15 miles (on a variety of trails) on the Rail 5 today and finally got it dirty! Front brake is silent and bike was perfect. Just lost traction rounding a tight turn on roots heading uphill as there was still a lot of dew on the rocky View attachment 93537View attachment 93539View attachment 93540trail.

Nice . Is there anyway to put some sort of rear rack on it ? From what I can see in your pictures (NO) ?

 

[Dallant]

Nice . Is there anyway to put some sort of rear rack on it ? From what I can see in your pictures (NO) ?

Maybe but I haven’t really investigated that yet. I do have a set of fenders that work.

 

[Dave Rocks]

Be careful. If that kickstand catches something it could be trouble.

20 years ago when I was still mountain biking, I was going down a steep incline and hit a wet tree root.
my front wheel went sideways and me and the bike I was clipped to did a front flip.
I landed on my back with the bike on a fallen tree unconscious.

When I came too, There was a 2" diameter sharp pointed branch between my arm(pit) and my side torso.
A hair from being impaled.

Really nice bike Dallant.

Mountain bikes aren't going to have bolt bosses to add stuff to make it heavy and more stuff to get caught on on the trail.