Category Archives: Electric Bikes

Last week I wrote about Trek’s Ride+ Bikes and looked in detail about their Bionx motor and controller system. Trek has also recently announced their electric-assist cargo bike, the Transport+.

The Transport+ is what’s called a ‘longtail’ cargo bike, namely because the rear of the frame has been extended to allow extra space for side-mounted loading platforms and tough nylon bags to contain whatever cargo you can fit on the bike.

This design is very similar to XtraCycle, who has been making longtail conversion kits for some years now and recently teamed up with bike manufacturer Surly to create the Big Dummy cargo bike. The Big Dummy is similar in design to the Transport+ (minus the electric assist, of course) and you can get an idea of what’s possible with this type of design by looking at the wealth of pictures of loaded cargo bikes taken by pround owners.

from commutebybike

from Surly’s blog

The sky is the limit with this cargo bike design- they have  a big carrying capacity, and their design handles just like a regular bike, only longer. Because the bike is so long, the weight is closer to the bike’s center of gravity, which translates into hassle-free handling. The added bonus of the electric assist system means that you can get to your destination quickly and easily while loaded down. Suddenly those short car trips to the grocery store or Home Depot don’t seem to make sense!

The Transport plus also comes with an integrated front and rear lighting system, front disc and rear v-brake for reliable, strong stopping power, and a nifty front porteur-style platform rack.

The bike is slated to arrive at dealers in the fall, and price should fall within range of Trek’s current Ride+ offerings. We are really looking forward to this bike at PHEW and will be sure to let you know when we have one in the store available to demo.

Back in March, we announced that we would carry Trek’s Ride+ line of electric-assist bikes. In the last few months, the Ride+ bikes have proven themselves a consistent favorite among our customers and staff, with good reason. Trek bases their line on established standard bikes like the Valencia, FX and 7200 models, then adds a Bionx-built rear-wheel motor, controller, and battery. This electric system has many distinguishing features, the most apparent being the user interface.

The system uses a handlebar-mounted LCD console that displays assist level, battery reserves, power meter, speed, and odometer. The rider can adjust the level of assistance on the fly by pressing the plus or minus button. This proves to be a handy feature since there are four levels of assistance, from a slight push to a powerful thrust that whisks you up hills or up to speed from a stop. Power is delivered smoothly and silently, with the motor’s torque sensor detecting the rider’s power output and multiplying it with electric assist. If you pedal softly, the motor will sense this and add just a bit of power. If you sprint and push hard, the motor responds and adds a healthy dose of power. The key word here is smooth- this system is really second to none in perfectly-modulated power delivery.

The Ride+ system also sports a very cool power-generating mode. The rider can select one of four modes that generates power through resistance, allowing you to put some power back into the battery and extend your range! This comes in handy on long or steep downhills where the rider can select a generating mode, whose resistance allows the rider to maintain or even decrease speed while the motor generates power.

In addition to the rider-selected power-generating mode, these systems also offer regenerative braking, which automatically activates the motor generator when the rider uses the brakes. The added resistance of the generator helps bring the bike to a stop faster, as well as adding around ten percent to the range of each battery charge. When the brake lever is released, the motor seamlessly switches back to pedal-assist mode.

If this all sounds complicated, I assure you it is not. The user interface is simple, clear, and intuitive, and requires nothing of the rider aside from switching it on and selecting assist level.

Aside from all of these great features, the system also uses a Lithium-Ion battery pack, with light weight and long battery life being the most important hallmarks of this cutting-edge battery technology. The battery mounts atop a special rear cargo rack and features a large, bright integrated tail light that, along with a powerful headlight, can be switched on from the console on the handlebar.

The bikes all feature a wide range of gears, between 24 and 27 gears depending on the model. The shifters and derailleurs are all reliable, high-quality pieces made by Shimano. The 7200+ and FX+ both feature strong V-type brakes, while the Valencia+ has disc brakes that provide reliable all-weather performance.

We currently have demos of all three models at the shop ready to ride, so satisfy your curiosity with a free guided test ride that will show you what these bikes can do. We guarantee these bikes will put a smile on your face.