My Trek Rail Long Termer

[Peaky Rider]

OMG I just bought one last Friday. What do I do now?

 

[shredlymcshredface]

OMG I just bought one last Friday. What do I do now?

I think the best plan is to ride it. A lot.

 

[Peaky Rider]

I think the best plan is to ride it. A lot.

Don't worry, I will. There are a couple of posts on this thread that I am somewhat suspicious of.

 

[jgusta]

I really respect Rob and enjoy the content that he puts out.

However personally I don't think 1000km is enough to call something a long term review or find out the many issues that appear over time.
When I demoed a Rail before buying one I put 300km on the bike in the 3 days I had it.

I've done 3800km on my Rail and it's garbage. I would not recommend it to anyone.

The pros:
- Good value
- The bike is fantastic to ride, feels really good. It makes an excellent first impression.
- I have no complaints about the battery/motor.
- 2nd owner warranty
- good resale value as the brand is very popular

Cons
- Can feel a little nose heavy compared to a 500wh ebike. I only really noticed at first when riding bigger jumps/drops and quickly became accustomed to it.
- The paint is extremely fragile. The paintwork is very easily damaged. Frameskin or similar is an absolute must.
- The design of the battery mount is fundamentally flawed from an engineering perspective. Trek have a new part that is available to order on request to address this issue, but owners usually only find out after their battery takes a tumble down the hill.
- Warranty and after sales support is awful. Trek don't have enough parts available for their ebikes, so whatever you break/damage, etc.. will take months to replace. Unless you have bike industry connections, or have spent 30k+ with your shop over the years they simply will not take care of you. Rear hubs, lower shock mount bolts, speed sensors and more have all failed for some owners and getting replacements is a months long process. Even getting them to agree on warranty issues is tough.
- The 'knock block' feature has cracked frames around the headset/top tube on carbon frames.
- Rear hubs frequently fail


If you get a Rail, sell it when the warranty expires.


As far as the battery and battery mounts go, this design is simply not suitable for aggressive emtb use. It has no place on a mountain bike. It only exists because it's a generic 'off the shelf' system that works perfectly in many of the city / commuter ebikes. For carbon frames the fact that each end is held in with only two small bolts causes numerous issues when used for mountain biking. The system also does nothing to stop water/mud/dirt/etc.. getting into the frame to affect both the battery and run down to the motor.

yep, battery/connectivity issues a nusance for sure. Likely why Trek re-did everything for 2022 as far as battery integration with mounting brackets and electronics.

I love my Rail otherwise as it rides pretty dang good on most everything. Getting a coil soon, so looking forward to that. If could only keep that rattle at bay in the rough (hoping coil minimizes this some), then would be pretty happy with especially after all the part changes from stock

 

[R120]

I have never owned any mountain bike that when put under serious long term abuse didn’t start developing issues.

Unfortunately it’s part of the game if you ride a lot and ride hard.

On my normal bikes before I got into EMTB and being ridden year round in the UK i would bank on having to change full bearings, BB, and Headset annually, usually full drivetrain except for the mech, new discs and pads, plus full suspension service twice a year.

That’s before you factor in the shit you break.

I actually thinks it’s a miracle any motor survives a British winter.

 

[folmonty]

I actually thinks it’s a miracle any motor survives a British winter.

That's an understatement! Water and mud have to be the worst enemy for any of these bikes. Then if using high pressure to clean them off only adds to the meltdown. However, that English countryside does look like amazing riding. Especially when conditions are ripe!

Sure enjoying my Rail 7 It's plenty of bike for me as a pure recreational rider.

 

[dixie600mhz]

Hey dixie600mhz,

Is that an external battery in your bottle cage? If so what are the details? Where can I find one?

Unfortunately not. It's a bluetooth speaker I crank so people can hear me coming and I don't accidently kill someone.

 

[Big07]

Criticising Rob for a 1000km test when you did 300km and still bought only to decide it’s garbage is hilarious. I wonder how many other reviews have hit 1000km? Not many I’d wager.

I'm not criticising Rob for a 1000km test. After 1000km on my bike I still loved it. It's taken me another 3000km to call it garbage.

I also didn't ride 300km and then call it a long term review. I'm simply stating that there are issues with the bike that may only appear after a few thousand k's. Especially if you don't replace most of the stock components.
I'm happy to hear that there are many happy owners who haven't had any issues with the bikes. A few people having a bad experience doesn't mean everyone will have a bad experience.

I did 300km and loved the bike (that's why I bought it, duh). But there are issues that have come up after a few thousand k's. Trek, along with their dealers just seem to do a great job of astoturfing on forums, facebook groups, etc..

 

[Zimmerframe]

Likely why Trek re-did everything for 2022 as far as battery integration with mounting brackets and electronics.

The latest version of the gen4 uses all new connectors and battery mounts. The communication protocol is entirely new so everything had to change and the lock mechanisms are now incorporated into the batteries.

Therefore Trek or anyone else using the latest Bosch system will be using different connectors and brackets as it's all different.