Trek Powerfully FS7 2018

rextheute

Likes Bikes and Dirt
So , I bought an E-bike in October , two months on , here are some thoughts - not really a review .

I've covered 670km and 10,600 metres of climbing according to strava ....

Righto , after doing a pile of research and riding a couple of e-bikes i went down the Trek path ( brand name components factory backing etc )
Yes , some of the componentry is not top shelf , but as a package it works .

My concerns were the front fork - its fitted with a Recon Rock Shox - which even the bike shop said " will be flexy and may not keep up with the weight of bike and rider "
Cant really fault it - the small bump compliance is a bit chattery but it works , is stiff enough for my riding style . Not really a 'drops rider' but certainly like to give it heaps downhill through technical stuff .
Thus , i will stick with it for now - have dreams of a E-specific Fox 34 ...

Brakes , are Shimano Deore twin piston - the newer bikes ( 2019 ) are coming out with the 4 piston heat sink style . Had thoughts of changing them out ... But again cannot fault the operation - I'm a fat bastard at approx 100kg , i ride as hard and fast as possible ,and they work .... there have been some offs !
Just replaced the pads today , they were pretty much worn out - minimal material left .

The rest of the components are branded Bontrager or Sun Ringle ( rims ) All work well - i have made contact with the ground a couple of times - more damage to me then the bike !

Apart from that it has been great - climbs well , once you are used to the longer wheelbase it can be punted quickly through the scrub . A couple of reviews raise this point consistently but when the specs are checked against other frames / manufacturers they are all around the same length - there are variances but not so much that an amateur like me will notice 3-5 mm !

The drive system is a Bosch CX , fairly economical and has the EMTB setting - which can assist up to 300% ,depending on cadence and wheelspeed - the turbo mode is fun for a test ride and climbing big fuck off hills , but on technical stuff its too much .
Battery lasts around 40 is kms with a bit of climbing , the higher the cadence the greater the distance I've found ,
I did 26kms on the weekend at Smiths Gully / Rob Roy in Melbourne that was a total of 680m of climbing came home with 10 kms range left .

The advantage is it is essentially a Trek Full Stache - in E version , so it can be pedalled - but its heavy !

Would i buy another one ?

Yes , but in approx 18 months - the technology is just getting better the intergration of the drive and battery systems on all E-Mtbs for 2019 is fantastic .
The euro stuff will made inroads over the course of the next little while .

I would certainly consider a new Trek Powerfuly LT 7 , the Giant is a contender - as is the Merida and the Jamis maybe a Specialised - But Pricey $$$- Specialised are approx 6-8 months in front of the other manufacturers , but they will catch up fast .

The bottom line is they are soon much FUN , and riding your bike should be FUN .
For me the ups are nearly as much fun as the coming back down and riding with a mate is a Hoot as you push harder and harder .
Give one a go , you may like it .
 

Attachments

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
I just dropped a shitload of $$$ on the Giant Trance e+1 Pro.
I looked at Trek, but for the price of what I got the Trance for,ended up with much better spec.
there was an ex demo FS5 atDrift that I was looking at, but they had stripped out a few parts to get the price down, so now it will probably just sit there for a while.
I was going to go down the Merida road, but local M dealer was not budging on price and lost out..after riding the Giant, I believe it rides better than the E160 anyhow..Merida can EAD!
also being a svelte lad much like the OP, runtime will be always be lower than claimed compared to the lightweight test pilots, but still more than enough to get out and have a good day on the trails.
I did 2 laps of my fav circuit at Glenrock in under 1 1/2 hours with 400m elevation gain, and still had 45% left on the battery
another win for the Giant is their inhouse app that connects to the bike to allow for tuning and live data recording to allow for fitness tracking and progress.
Anyhow, great write up
once I get a few miles on the E Trance, I will do something similar
 

Targus19

Cannon Fodder
This I like, where I live out in the boonies with lots of hills an E Bike ticks a lot of boxes. I have a Trek 29er hard tail but at my age and various injuries I want to make riding fun again.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
This I like, where I live out in the boonies with lots of hills an E Bike ticks a lot of boxes. I have a Trek 29er hard tail but at my age and various injuries I want to make riding fun again.
this is the exact market that I believe ebikes are targeting
I have only had my Ebike for less than 2 weeks, but it has awakened my love for riding again, for a while there I enjoyed working on them more than riding simply due to lack of fitness and persistent injuries.
I have already offloaded 1 pedally bike, with a plan to offload at least 1 more complete build and use the best parts left to build up one "do most things" bike, mainly for riding with the family..
went out today and did a 10km lap, met up with the family for a milkshake , and headed back out for another 11.5km trail rumble
I would have never have done than on my non E bikes..
EMTB Im Lovin It!.
 

rockmoose

his flabber is totally gastered
^^^^^^ Definitely agree with this. I've seen a couple of old boys out on them, and they feel ashamed/apologetic that they use one. But they are fit and strong, just aging. The e allows them to keep on keeping on, doing what they love. Total froth.

Sadly, 95% of the e bike users are young, lazy, entitled arsehats that should be sent to reform school.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

rextheute

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Yep , they do make you ride more - coz you can !

I know there are over 50’s who are in good shape - but I’m not one , my hips are shot , my back aches ,I’ve crashed enough cars and motorbikes for it to hurt , I’m time poor , I’m probably fat ......

But my e- bike makes me happy and ride enough to enjoy it - I rode to the hardware store yesterday in town , one olde fella wanted to talk about my “young mans toy “ - made me feel young again !!!!

Now the weather is warming up again , I’ll start riding , it’s still cold and muddy .
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
^^^^^^

Sadly, 95% of the e bike users are young, lazy, entitled arsehats that should be sent to reform school.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I'll confess to also having bought an ebike, (Norco Sight VLT) it's been awesome, still keeping the trail bike but it does let you do some incredible stuff that I couldn't do on my regular bike even when I was young and slightly more fit than I am now.

I don't see huge numbers of ebikes in Perth but I'm pretty sure I've never seen anyone under 30 on one and basically everyone I have seen is just a regular MTB rider that has got a new toy that lets them ride more. I've only been on 3-4 rides locally on the eMTB (and haven't seen another one while on those 3-4 rides, so pretty much all my experience is when riding my trail bike.

I do know that the two mates I've taken riding have had a spin and said I 've gotta get one of these! We are all the wrong side of 40 I must confess.
 

downunderdallas

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Oh I will say that the bike shop lads will ride the ebike on practice days for the enduro events, then I have seen some of the younger guys on one so they can smash out some laps and get some practice in.
 
Top