So, it's almost the end of November and I've had a fair while to ride this bike and get used to it.
TL/DR, this bike is excellent, really impressive and just great fun to ride.
There are some areas where it excels, and others where it could do with refinement but overall I'm very pleased.
I've taken it to the You Yangs, Redhill, Silvan and Lysterfield and not regretted taking it once.
The climbing is very good. Of course coming from a regular pedal bike this is going to be the case. What I find with it is that there are times when I'm pedalling up a slight incline and have it on eco or no assistance. I'd expect it to be more inefficient but it isn't.
It's not like a full power ebike and one does need to give it some effort to get up the steepest of climbs.
If you want a rocket to get up the hill without effort, look elsewhere.
The climbing position is comfortable, and with the rebound compression dialled appropriately it's stable and composed.
Descending.
This bike is so composed and controlled. I thought 150mm / 140mm would get loose and challenging pretty quickly but it tracks the ground really well and also takes big hits and the odd case with lots in reserve.
The weight helps keep it planted without causing it to be a bus / hound to control or steer. It jumps really well too. I found myself hitting bigger jumps and it being so very composed and controlled again.
The sound, or the actual lack of sound really is remarkable. I've ridden next to other riders who didn't know what it was and they had no clue it has a motor.
I arose next to someone who has exactly the same bike and I couldn't hear it either. It's actually quite eirie.
There are a couple of things I'd like to see changed / revised, some are personal preference and others I'd anticipate coming in future versions.
The controller. It's excellent, tactile discreet, unlikely to get damaged in a stack. But why it's not Bluetooth connected I don't know.
The lower shock mount should be like the Fuel Ex with different mounting points to adjust the leverage ratio.
The chainstay is same size throughout and it'd be better balanced with a proportionate size for XL.
Given the way one gets tempted to ride this bike, it really should have a full ISCG05 bashguard, or at least the mounting points. There are only two of them so you can't fit a bashguard. I ruined the chainring and chain then had to wait about 3 weeks for a replacement.
The E-thirteen carbon cranks that come with the bike are very wide at the BB area. If you've reasonably sized hooves like me you'll find the surface getting rubbed by them, ruining the finish.
My only annoying issue is a driveline creak which simply won't go away. Trek have looked at it a few times and agree it shouldn't be present. They're about to replace some parts to resolve it, finally. I have heard it might be the carbon cranks which I will then swap for alloy ones if needed.
Overall it's a keeper. If you're E bike curious it's definitely an interesting proposition as it gives enough of the benefits without too many of the drawbacks.