Rail (750Wh) Rail 9.8XT first ride review

[Mitch@Trek]

My fix has not fixed it.

riding today over some chunky choppy roots and generally blown out trails and I am sure it’s still making a noise. Not as bad, but still there and enough to be distracting.

I’ve got rubber strips under the metal plate and all the foam that I posted pics of and the Bosch rubber damper.

I do now wish I had bought a Levo. Even though it would have been lower apec

regarding battery mount alignment.

does this look right?

View attachment 95970
View attachment 95971

still not reaching full travel on the suspension either. So I suspect the fork has a few tokens in it and the shock must also.

the rear end feels very crashy over repeated chunky stuff (shock is open and on the most open LSC setting). Maybe changing to a coil shock will help this and along with getting the forks dialed in, may improve the rattle situation.

@Mitch@Trek why release a bike with such a massive issue? The battery weighs 5kg. To have it rattle like it does, for me and I am sure many others, ruins the ride.! The bike cost me over £9k, it’s a bloody expensive mistake. What are Trek going to do to fix the issue?

Hey Dave, have your brought your bike to your LBS yet to address the noise? If not, please do and have them submit a claim so our techs can log this. If the battery is snug, the clunk, like others said, could be the motor which is more or less common with Bosch in general. We can try to diagnose it for you once we have that in the system though!

 

[Desert_Turtle]

Why do you change every few months? Seems crazy to get a great bike then get rid a few months later

What are you talking about?

Anyway, back to the context of this thread, I got another ride in on my Rail and it after a lot of tuning it’s pretty good. Trek is failing it’s customers with their suggested starting suspension settings. Other manufacturers give you very good base settings. WTF Trek? My bike rode like crap and was roughly 20% too stiff. I used setting recommendations from Norco for the fork and Santa Cruz for the shock and the bike felt good. The stock wheels are quite stiff for aluminum which was surprising but the tires are terrible. I bought the Bontrager Carbon wheels and I’m going to swap those on with Assagais & Cushcore for tomorrow’s ride and then I’m going to run it as a mullet on Saturday with a DHR on the back. Finally, the bike feels solid and I didn’t notice any unusual rattling.

 

[Dave_B]

I buy a new bike every few months and this time around I got a 22 Rail 9.8 GX AXS

Why do you change every few months? Seems crazy to get a great bike then get rid a few months later

What are you talking about?

This is what he is talking about. Seems like a valid question he is asking.?

 

[Dave_B]

Hey Dave, have your brought your bike to your LBS yet to address the noise? If not, please do and have them submit a claim so our techs can log this. If the battery is snug, the clunk, like others said, could be the motor which is more or less common with Bosch in general. We can try to diagnose it for you once we have that in the system though!

I will do. One of the reasons I bought the trek is that my local shop is only 7 miles from my house.

I’ve got two days of riding this weekend on trails I know very well. So will be able to give a good detailed report to the shop.

 

[Desert_Turtle]

This is what he is talking about. Seems like a valid question he is asking.?

I don’t buy a single bike and unload it 3 months later….I have several ebikes and I sort of rotate unless I don’t like one in particular. Right now I have 4 of them. I love working on the bikes as much as I like riding them. I’m also very curious about how certain bikes are different so I buy them to try them. Contrary to popular belief you can’t just demo or rent them. The only 2 bikes I’ve ever been able to demo are the Levo and YT. Both times pre-pandemic. I live in an area with only 1 real bike shop that sells e MTBs and they are a trek/yeti/Santa Cruz/giant/niner dealer. After riding my Levo Pro for 15 months and my Levo SL for 7, I decided to buy a couple of new bikes from the local shop. I took delivery of my Rail and my Fuel EXe gets here October 4th.

Again, what do my purchasing habits have to do with the Trek Rail?

How do you really know what the best is if you haven’t tried a variety of bikes? Why is that crazy?

 

[Dave_B]

Your purchasing habits have nothing to do with your Trek Rail, i think we were simply curious why you made the statement.

I was also able to demo a YT Decoy, but opted for the Santa Cruz Bullet, then got a yearning for the Levo Gen 3, so bought the Pro version, was a bloody brilliant bike, my Son had the Levo SL that I also rode, size large, great bike, but a bit short in that size.

I stupidly sold the Levo, and the SL (my Son lost interest in riding).

I now have the Rail, I think its just as good as the Levo, all be it for the engine rattle and the current issues with the battery rattle.

 

[Bummers]

I don’t buy a single bike and unload it 3 months later….I have several ebikes and I sort of rotate unless I don’t like one in particular. Right now I have 4 of them. I love working on the bikes as much as I like riding them. I’m also very curious about how certain bikes are different so I buy them to try them. Contrary to popular belief you can’t just demo or rent them. The only 2 bikes I’ve ever been able to demo are the Levo and YT. Both times pre-pandemic. I live in an area with only 1 real bike shop that sells e MTBs and they are a trek/yeti/Santa Cruz/giant/niner dealer. After riding my Levo Pro for 15 months and my Levo SL for 7, I decided to buy a couple of new bikes from the local shop. I took delivery of my Rail and my Fuel EXe gets here October 4th.

Again, what do my purchasing habits have to do with the Trek Rail?

How do you really know what the best is if you haven’t tried a variety of bikes? Why is that crazy?

No idea why you're so tetchy and defensive, your first post made it sound like you buy a new bike every few months and sell it, I was just curious why you'd sell a bike that you liked to take a chance on another so soon.
But, that's not the case, just a misunderstanding.
Enjoy the trek

 

[JP-NZ]

I hope @Dave_B doesn't mind but Im going to unload my first ride thoughts here.

22 Medium 9.8XT, just finished my first ride (first on an emtb too) wow, what can I say that was absolutely crazy. I just did a 4km long, 420m climb in 12:45 and 90% in Tour+. On my XTC I would take around 30 mins and stop 2-3 times.

My first worry about noise was non existent, no battery noise, no cable rattle and the only motor noise I can hear is the very slight whine whilst climbing. Can't hear a thing going down, granted it was a fire road with a few side missions and jumps but nothing out of the ordinary.

Holy jesus reaching down for my drink bottle was an experience the torque pulling the handlebars as your pedalling takes some getting used to. Gears, Brakes and suspension all fine considering they were car park setup at the store. I didn't even check climb switch or anything just set sag.

Rode 16.5km in 52mins 420m climbing and 15km in Tour+ 3km in EMTB.
, the rest was flat streets on the way there and home.

To say I'm a convert would be an understatement that could be quite literally life changing. Any questions get at me...

 

[irie]

I hope @Dave_B doesn't mind but Im going to unload my first ride thoughts here.

22 Medium 9.8XT, just finished my first ride (first on an emtb too) wow, what can I say that was absolutely crazy. I just did a 4km long, 420m climb in 12:45 and 90% in Tour+. On my XTC I would take around 30 mins and stop 2-3 times.

My first worry about noise was non existent, no battery noise, no cable rattle and the only motor noise I can hear is the very slight whine whilst climbing. Can't hear a thing going down, granted it was a fire road with a few side missions and jumps but nothing out of the ordinary.

Holy jesus reaching down for my drink bottle was an experience the torque pulling the handlebars as your pedalling takes some getting used to. Gears, Brakes and suspension all fine considering they were car park setup at the store. I didn't even check climb switch or anything just set sag.

Rode 16.5km in 52mins 420m climbing and 15km in Tour+ 3km in EMTB.
, the rest was flat streets on the way there and home.

To say I'm a convert would be an understatement that could be quite literally life changing. Any questions get at me...

View attachment 96292

Not having to do this ...

I just did a 4km long, 420m climb in 12:45 and 90% in Tour+. On my XTC I would take around 30 mins and stop 2-3 times

... is indeed life changing!

 

[JP-NZ]

Haha @irie my poor lungs and heart used to suffer so much. Must say I felt quite happy passing all the Amish bikes on the way up. That used to be me

 

[Oupy]

What rear fender is that JP?

 

[Jujujuice]

Your purchasing habits have nothing to do with your Trek Rail, i think we were simply curious why you made the statement.

I was also able to demo a YT Decoy, but opted for the Santa Cruz Bullet, then got a yearning for the Levo Gen 3, so bought the Pro version, was a bloody brilliant bike, my Son had the Levo SL that I also rode, size large, great bike, but a bit short in that size.

I stupidly sold the Levo, and the SL (my Son lost interest in riding).

I now have the Rail, I think its just as good as the Levo, all be it for the engine rattle and the current issues with the battery rattle.

Hi Dave I also just received my rail 9.8xt and this is a video just to help compare the noise? I do not really notice anything riding downhill or uphill.

 

[JP-NZ]

What rear fender is that JP?

Hi @Oupy it’s a sicomtb rear fender from the UK. It wasn’t cheap but it covers the rear linkage and isint obnoxious looking. From my POV of course

 

[JP-NZ]

Oh. Almost forgot. One black mark against Trek my Rail didn’t come with SE5/SE6 tyres and only the trail spec XR4s. I know this is probably due to stock shortages but the XT fuel exe’s in store that arrived before mine all had SE5s.

Not overly fussed as I’ll be ditching them for Maxxis.

Oh and great… 1st charge and just pulled the bike charge port away from the frame when removing the plug

 

[Dave_B]

Hi Dave I also just received my rail 9.8xt and this is a video just to help compare the noise? I do not really notice anything riding downhill or uphill.

yep. Similar to mine. Over the chunky stuff is where it’s at it’s worst.

 

[Dave_B]

Second proper ride today.
Major upgrade to previous ride was adding a new shock.

came from tftuned ready to bolt on the bike, sag was perfect. The only adjustment I made was opening the rebound by one click.

very impressed with the coil, first time riding a bike with a proper coil setup, felt fantastic, grippy, good on the climbs and pretty planted on the downs.
Rear end feels better with the coil, less chattery, much more stable and controlled over the blown out braking bumps.

I’ve fiddled with the fork as well, I’m at 85psi, I’m 90kg, one click of HS compression, about 10 LSC and about 6 from closed on the rebound (Zeb ultimate). It’s still not dialed in. Unlike the lyrik which was very good, the Zeb feels harsher, I’ve removed the token that came with it. Think I need to drop the pressure to 80 which will give me a little more than the 20% sag I’m running. It needs to be a bit plusher than it is at the moment, feels choppy over repeated braking bumps.

battery rattle is much better, but still there, need to try more padding. Sitting on the bike going down rocky fire roads, I can hear it vibrate.

motor rattle can be heard, but not something that will bother me once the battery rattle is sorted.

Rode round Surrey Hills on trails I know really well and I’m really impressed with how the bike rides and handles, it’s easy to jump, good around the tight stuff and stable on the steeps.

I use nothing but eMTB mode, which feels great. Turbo is not as strong as the Levo Gen3.

Finished this ride with 47% battery remaining.
The range is just mega.

 

[Bomble]

Second proper ride today.
Major upgrade to previous ride was adding a new shock. View attachment 96335

came from tftuned ready to bolt on the bike, sag was perfect. The only adjustment I made was opening the rebound by one click.

very impressed with the coil, first time riding a bike with a proper coil setup, felt fantastic, grippy, good on the climbs and pretty planted on the downs.
Rear end feels better with the coil, less chattery, much more stable and controlled over the blown out braking bumps.

I’ve fiddled with the fork as well, I’m at 85psi, I’m 90kg, one click of HS compression, about 10 LSC and about 6 from closed on the rebound (Zeb ultimate). It’s still not dialed in. Unlike the lyrik which was very good, the Zeb feels harsher, I’ve removed the token that came with it. Think I need to drop the pressure to 80 which will give me a little more than the 20% sag I’m running. It needs to be a bit plusher than it is at the moment, feels choppy over repeated braking bumps.

battery rattle is much better, but still there, need to try more padding. Sitting on the bike going down rocky fire roads, I can hear it vibrate.

motor rattle can be heard, but not something that will bother me once the battery rattle is sorted.

Rode round Surrey Hills on trails I know really well and I’m really impressed with how the bike rides and handles, it’s easy to jump, good around the tight stuff and stable on the steeps.

I use nothing but eMTB mode, which feels great. Turbo is not as strong as the Levo Gen3.

Finished this ride with 47% battery remaining.
The range is just mega.

View attachment 96338

I struggled for ages to get my Zeb something like, was either harsh or spongy, cured it by fitting a Luftkappe and running a lot less sag. Made it super plush but still supportive.

 

[BobMtnBkr]

Hey Dave, have your brought your bike to your LBS yet to address the noise? If not, please do and have them submit a claim so our techs can log this. If the battery is snug, the clunk, like others said, could be the motor which is more or less common with Bosch in general. We can try to diagnose it for you once we have that in the system though!

Mitch,

My Trek Rail 9.8XT is currently in my LBS to "address the noise" from the banging battery. Will report their findings to the group.

Bob

 

[BobMtnBkr]

I struggled for ages to get my Zeb something like, was either harsh or spongy, cured it by fitting a Luftkappe and running a lot less sag. Made it super plush but still supportive.

Bomble,

I just installed the Luftkappe also. It was definitely an improvement to my Select +. But still looking for more. I'm coming from moto with suspension from KYB, Showa & WP modified by PCR, Factory Connection, etc. Dave_B's Ohlins looks pretty enticing right now.

Bob
'21 Trek Rail 9.8 XT

 

[Desert_Turtle]

I went to SkyPark (local bike park) today and ran my 22 9.8 GX AXS as a mullet for the first time. Even though the bike is supposedly mullet ready I haven’t heard of anybody doing it yet. Anyway, it was awesome. The bike still feels stable and plows through chunk like an enduro sled but it turns really well now too. The only downside is that the BB is really low. Despite that I didn’t have a single pedal strike.

I was able to click off a 4:41 on SkyPark’s double black run, Comet. That ended up being the 8th fastest all time run on an ebike. Strava is unpredictable but I was # 12 before today so I’m pretty confident that it’s legit. Im very excited about my new cup.The bottom line is that the Rail is top notch as a mullet.

After my first ride on the Rail I was sure that I was going to hate the bike. More than sure. I was positive. However, after after 4 rides I can’t believe how much I like it. 4 rides, 84 miles, Lots of tuning, carbon wheels, maxxis tires, Cushcore, and a 27.5 rear wheel are all it took. I think my biggest takeaway is that Trek’s tuning recommendations are terrible. If I didn’t understand suspension tuning I would have already given up and shit canned the bike. I weigh about 200lbs and they recommended 90psi in the fork and 75psi ended up being perfect. I used about 95% of my travel today. It’s pretty much the same for the shock.

 

[JP-NZ]

So, today I did a ride I imagined as what I wanted to do as my first ever EMTB ride. Yesterday when I used strava the bosch app automatically recorded and triplicated my strava ride.

So today I used just the bosch app and see what happened. Turns it the distance is right but nothing else elevation is wrong and the whole gps map is wrong.

96% charge when I left and did around 1200m of climbing and 58km (36 miles) it took around 3 hours with a few stops. Really really happy, I can hear the motor rattle now but nothing at all from the battery. Finished walking in the door with 5% battery.

im going to start a new topic in how to setup recording between Kiox 300, Apple Watch and strava.

 

[Bummers]

So, today I did a ride I imagined as what I wanted to do as my first ever EMTB ride. Yesterday when I used strava the bosch app automatically recorded and triplicated my strava ride.

So today I used just the bosch app and see what happened. Turns it the distance is right but nothing else elevation is wrong and the whole gps map is wrong.

96% charge when I left and did around 1200m of climbing and 58km (36 miles) it took around 3 hours with a few stops. Really really happy, I can hear the motor rattle now but nothing at all from the battery. Finished walking in the door with 5% battery.

im going to start a new topic in how to setup recording between Kiox 300, Apple Watch and strava.

View attachment 96345

I have that exact same issue just using the app, it's very annoying!

 

[Desert_Turtle]

I think that I’ve mentioned before that the app is sub par. I use it as little as I can. Hopefully Bosch will improve it over time.

 

[Dave_B]

After another long ride yesterday, am still not convinced the battery movement has been cured.

so, I had a closer look today.
Whatever movement is happening has to be longitudinal. You can clearly see from the imprint on the foam that the battery is squeezed into the frame, so I can’t believe any side to side movement is happening.

so I looked more closely at the top battery mount and the frame gaps between the battery coverplate and the frame.

there is a significant gap here

from what I can tell, the only part of the battery that is in contact with the top battery mount is the folding handle. For my bike, I think this gap is not entirely closed when the battery is fitted.

to test, I stuck some rubber p strip to the handle to see if the battery would still fit. It does, indicating there is still a gap that needs filling.

After several trials, I ended up sticking some p strip onto the top mount.

trial test

End result

The battery does go in, but with a bit more resistance and when removed, the p strip is squashed so a good sign of a tighter fitment.

for good measure I also added a strip under the battery handle.

I also then looked at the foam pad from Bosch. It actually fits inside the trim on the lower part of the battery, so you are not really getting padding from the full depth of foam.

so to add more padding/anti rattle, I’ve added some more P strip to the lower battery plate each side of the Bosch pad. (Forgot to take a pic)

I’ve also used p strip to fill the lower gap.

I’m reasonably confident that I have filled all areas where there could be noisy plastic to plastic rattling. I will find out on my next ride.

 

[Dave_B]

I’ve also got rubber p strip down each side of the battery plate.

 

[Dave_B]

Overall, it’s a very shit design from Trek.

 

[JP-NZ]

Dave I honestly think your LBS hasn’t installed the RIB plate correctly. The vertical movement we be from that.

Bottom of my battery gap looks the same as the first pic you posted.

 

[Desert_Turtle]

Personally, I’m not having any noise issues because of the battery rattling around but I’m waiting for it to start.

I just did ride #5 on the Rail which was my first ride in natural terrain with the bike setup as a mullet. Honestly, although I technically had 3 pedal strikes I wouldn’t really call them pedal strikes. While sprinting my heel brushed the ground once or twice and once my pedal hit the dirt but it was so mild that I didn’t really feel the strike as much as I felt the sand kick up. So, all in all, the low bottom bracket is a non issue. I ride the same 18 mile loop several times a week and it’s hard to bang out PRs every time I go out but over 18 miles and 3000ft of climbing my average mph was up by .1 mph which is noticeable over the span of 80+ rides.

on a separate note, my 1.8 to 1.5 bearing race arrived and I can now put my 170mm Fox factory 38 on. The only problem is that I don’t feel like I need to swap the 38 on. The bike really rides great. Nobody is more surprised than me. I think the only thing I need to do is upgrade the brakes.

 

[Dave_B]

Dave I honestly think your LBS hasn’t installed the RIB plate correctly. The vertical movement we be from that.

Bottom of my battery gap looks the same as the first pic you posted.

I may take it to them tomorrow to talk them through the issue.
are the plates not factory fitted?

 

[JP-NZ]

I may take it to them tomorrow to talk them through the issue.
are the plates not factory fitted?

They are but I believe the LBS can alter them instore. I know a few reviewers have mentioned about it negatively affecting their riding but I don't understand how some can be fine and others are rattling badly.

Rob has not mentioned battery rattle from what I can see and loamwolf didn't mention it in their review either.