Rail (750Wh) 2022 Bosch Smart 750 Trek Rail Thread

[brizi2003]

Nice workshop - but why all the spanners? They haven't been needed on a bike for two decades!

 

[JP-NZ]

After the latest Kiox navigation update I think my range and battery has improved. Next time I charge it fully I'll grab a screenshot of the estimated range.

 

[Dave_B]

I got this at the weekend. Mostly flat, mostly in Eco.

 

[JP-NZ]

Does anyone know what this is on my Rail (non drive side) ?

 

[Paul Mac]

Does anyone know what this is on my Rail (non drive side) ?

View attachment 101967

All Rails are like this, it's part of the motor mount, don't know if it's a generic part that may also fit a different make of bike.
But it's totally normal.

 

[JP-NZ]

All Rails are like this, it's part of the motor mount, don't know if it's a generic part that may also fit a different make of bike.
But it's totally normal.

Thanks Paul, good to know!

 

[JP-NZ]

So over the last month to 6 weeks I've had a creak develop in the right hand side crank whilst pedaling. Took it into the dealer and they gave it back with the sound still there but slightly less noise.

Anyway move on a few more weeks and a few more rides and I'm contemplating taking it somewhere else to diagnose. After doing some reading on here about creaks coming from different areas than you think, I decided to try fix it myself.

Removed the seatpost (what a crap cable system the line pro dropper has!) lost the cable, had to remove the dropper lever and push the slack back into the seat tube to reattach the cable to the dropper. Greased the inner collar and carbon seat tube.

Went for a ride last night and it was 99% silent. Very happy in such a simple fix

 

[JP-NZ]

After the latest Kiox navigation update I think my range and battery has improved. Next time I charge it fully I'll grab a screenshot of the estimated range.

Right, here’s the fully charged range estimate. (Based on all flat riding I’m assuming) must be close to 10 charge cycles now and within that 558km about 8,000m of climbing.

 

[JP-NZ]

So over the last month to 6 weeks I've had a creak develop in the right hand side crank whilst pedaling. Took it into the dealer and they gave it back with the sound still there but slightly less noise.

Anyway move on a few more weeks and a few more rides and I'm contemplating taking it somewhere else to diagnose. After doing some reading on here about creaks coming from different areas than you think, I decided to try fix it myself.

Removed the seatpost (what a crap cable system the line pro dropper has!) lost the cable, had to remove the dropper lever and push the slack back into the seat tube to reattach the cable to the dropper. Greased the inner collar and carbon seat tube.

Well… the creak came back worse than ever. So back to the dealer for the 2nd time and got to deal direct with the mechanic this time.

He said commonest creak on the rail is rear axle and bearings. Now someone posted that exact area on another thread so well done to them. Mechanic removed the rear inner and outer bearings on both sides, re seated them squarely and greased them.

PERFECT! Creak is gone and dead quiet whilst pedalling. Very very happy in a simple fix that I don’t have to pay for.

 

[Jeremybub]

@Rob Rides EMTB
Still have the trek rail? Any update on the performance with the 170 fork and over stroked shock 165mm? I just picked up a new 9.8 GX on a fire sale for $6500 OTD in the US and am looking for ideas.

View attachment 103181

 

[JP-NZ]

Over the weekend did my longest ride on the rail so far. 60km with 1395m of elevation over 3 hours riding. (37.5 miles / 4576 feet). Mostly Tour+ and Eco probably 4-5% in EMTB (No turbo).

Came home with 17% battery spare. Range was showing another 15km in Tour+. Super happy with the ride.

 

[JP-NZ]

Right, here’s the fully charged range estimate. (Based on all flat riding I’m assuming) must be close to 10 charge cycles now and within that 558km about 8,000m of climbing.

View attachment 102871

After a FAR more demanding ride with 1400m of climbing over the weekend, I believe the truer numbers for range at 100% charge are:

Turbo = 54km
EMTB = 65km
Tour+ = 102km
Eco = 112km

 

[jacob80]

I've fallen victim to the infamous cracked motor guard. Anyone else? Trying to find the part number. I ordered the bash plate that Protect EMTB sells so this doesn't happen again.

 

[JP-NZ]

In 450 miles Ive only tapped mine once on a rock drop I should have jumped rather than tried roll over. Its got a very small scratch on it now.

Was yours from a rock strike?

 

[jacob80]

In 450 miles Ive only tapped mine once on a rock drop I should have jumped rather than tried roll over. Its got a very small scratch on it now.

Was yours from a rock strike?

I don't recall the exact moment this would have happened but I"m sure it was from a rock strike yes. I consider rock strikes part of normal riding - nothing extreme, mind you, but I should be able to strike a rock and not have my bottom motor guard crack like this. Others have experienced a similar issue and it is certainly a design flaw. Trek really needs to beef these up. I believe they're a cast aluminum. It's really a weak design when you pull it off and look at it - long distance between front and rear bolt secure locations with no reinforcement in the center of any sort. No wonder they crack.

 

[Mikerb]

Wrong material! It either has to be robust enough to withstand a hit or better still made of a material ( e.g Poly prop) that will flex and absorb the shock. An open design, single skin ally only supported at each end is bound to crack into 2 pieces. If you can find a replacement made from a material like Polyprop it would be far more robust.

 

[JP-NZ]

Finally ran my bike down to 0% battery on the weekend. Went for a ride with a mate on his new ebike and I didn't bother to charge my battery. Left home with 66% and rode 48.3km (30 miles) with 1,084m (3,556ft) of climbing.

Got the usual warnings at 30%, 20% and 10% then when it finally reached 0% I got a message on the Kiox Ive never seen before "front light conserve mode" or something along those lines. It stayed up for a while as the LED remote flashed the last red bar then it went away. I rode for another (15 mins) 4km on the road home with it at 0%.

Its actually not too bad to ride on the road with the motor off, nice to know if I ever ran out of battery you can always pedal home. I'm interested if you actually power the whole system off vs ride with the system on but the assistance off which one is easier to pedal or they maybe the same?

 

[Johan Dagertun]

Hi everyone!
New member here.

Have just placed an order for a Rail 9.9. Having had a 9.7 2021 in size L it felt natural going for a 9.9 also in L.

However, given the larger reach and thus slightly larger bike I’m starting to have second thoughts and have been thinking about M…

My measurements are 180 cm and 84 cm inseam.

Any experience with the new 9.8/9.9 geometry and whether to size down to M or not? I’m doing mostly technical trails or fast charging flatter trails.

 

[Paul Mac]

Hi everyone!
New member here.

Have just placed an order for a Rail 9.9. Having had a 9.7 2021 in size L it felt natural going for a 9.9 also in L.

However, given the larger reach and thus slightly larger bike I’m starting to have second thoughts and have been thinking about M…

My measurements are 180 cm and 84 cm inseam.

Any experience with the new 9.8/9.9 geometry and whether to size down to M or not? I’m doing mostly technical trails or fast charging flatter trails.

I'm 174cm with 82cm inseam.
I've got a 2022 9.8 in medium and it fits me great, I always thought the 2020 9.8 I had in medium was a bit snug for me.
At 180cm I think the large is the right size for you

 

[Yoak]

Yeah, I'm 175. Rode the previous Rail 9.8 in M, got the new one in M also. I feel comfortable on both, I think L is right for you, unless your trails are really technical and twisty

 

[Johan Dagertun]

Perfect, then I´ll stick with the L. I also think it will be best for me and the type of riding I do.

Thanks for the quick replies. Really looking forward to delivery day...hopefully mid March according to Trek.

 

[JP-NZ]

I’m 178cm and on a medium. I could have easily gone for a large too but preferred the reach numbers 460mm on the medium. You’ll be fine on a large.

 

[fasterjason]

Hi everyone!
New member here.

Have just placed an order for a Rail 9.9. Having had a 9.7 2021 in size L it felt natural going for a 9.9 also in L.

Are you getting the Gen 3 or Gen4 9.9? XTR or SRAM?

 

[Johan Dagertun]

Are you getting the Gen 3 or Gen4 9.9? XTR or SRAM?

Gen 4 XX1

 

[Mikerb]

The Bosch CX Performance motor is Gen4...........and has been for quite a while. I think Bosch refer to the Smart System as their Gen 3 system..............., Gen 2 was the previous Bosch system using the Purion/original Kiox as controller.........there is no Gen4 system!!
But Trek seem to have Generation names for their bikes of different years!! Confused??!!

 

[fasterjason]

Gen 4 XX1

Well that is top of the hill Rail. Are you getting that in lava size large?

 

[fasterjason]

The Bosch CX Performance motor is Gen4...........and has been for quite a while. I think Bosch refer to the Smart System as their Gen 3 system..............., Gen 2 was the previous Bosch system using the Purion/original Kiox as controller.........there is no Gen4 system!!
But Trek seem to have Generation names for their bikes of different years!! Confused??!!

I was confused by the Trek naming convention when I first saw it. There is actually a 2023 Rail 9.8 XT Gen 3 and a 2023 Rail 9.8 XT Gen 4. The Gen 3 being a carry over from 2022. Both use smart system, Gen 3 has Kiox, Gen 4 has System Controller mounted in the top tube.

 

[Johan Dagertun]

Well that is top of the hill Rail. Are you getting that in lava size large?

Yes, ETA mid march. Would have gone for the Baja Yellow but there were no available allocation within a reasonable timeframe.

 

[blob]

The Bosch CX Performance motor is Gen4...........and has been for quite a while. I think Bosch refer to the Smart System as their Gen 3 system..............., Gen 2 was the previous Bosch system using the Purion/original Kiox as controller.........there is no Gen4 system!!
But Trek seem to have Generation names for their bikes of different years!! Confused??!!

Yeah, that was also very confusing to me as well until I realized that these are purely Trek's generations and have nothing to do with Bosch's generations. If you check some of the Trek's non-ebikes you'll also see they have the same "Gen X" naming scheme.

But to make things even more complicated, not every Rail of the same generation will have the same Bosch components. I think it's something like this:
- Rail Gen 2 - Bosch non-smart with Purion display on cheaper models and Kiox display on more expensive models
- Rail Gen 3 - Bosch smart system v1 without Kiox display on cheaper models and with Kiox on more expensive models
- Rail Gen 4 - Bosch smart system v1 on cheaper models and smart system v2 on more expensive models - all of them without Kiox?

All of these have the same Performance CX Gen 4 motor.

 

[fasterjason]

Yeah, that was also very confusing to me as well until I realized that these are purely Trek's generations and have nothing to do with Bosch's generations. If you check some of the Trek's non-ebikes you'll also see they have the same "Gen X" naming scheme.

But to make things even more complicated, not every Rail of the same generation will have the same Bosch components. I think it's something like this:
- Rail Gen 2 - Bosch non-smart with Purion display on cheaper models and Kiox display on more expensive models
- Rail Gen 3 - Bosch smart system v1 without Kiox display on cheaper models and with Kiox on more expensive models
- Rail Gen 4 - Bosch smart system v1 on cheaper models and smart system v2 on more expensive models - all of them without Kiox?

All of these have the same Performance CX Gen 4 motor.

MY2023 Gen4 are only the carbon frames and aluminum frames are Gen3, both without Kiox. Gen3 Al frames have LED remote, Gen 4 carbon have System Controller in the top tube. My guess is the move to the System Controller on the Gen 4 bikes was to give a cleaner look and reduce the manufacturer's cost without lowering the retail. Same goes for the Line 30 aluminum rims that use to be welded, but now are lower profile and sleeved so they are simultaneously weaker and heavier.