Trek Powerfly LT 9 MY19 - First Ride

The Removable Integrated Battery (RIB) is Trek's solution to full integration of the battery into the downtube. By doing extensive user studies, Trek found that the driveside of the frame was the best location for easiest access to the power pack. That way it's not necessary to awkwardly reach underneath the down tube - the battery pack is well protected from mud and it is easily accessible when the bike is leaning against a wall or lying on the ground.





Trek is still fully relying on Bosch motors throughout the lineup, trusting in their global service & support network as well as reliability. Every single Powerfly model is equipped with Bosch's Performance CX motor with 250 W and a max torque of 75 Nm, a 500 Wh PowerTube battery pack and Purion display.




To improve the overall ride quality of their bikes, Trek has been looking at some of their e-bike specific components.

In terms of development, what's the one question you'd like to be asked?

I guess what we focused on mostly. We did spend a lot of effort on finding out how somebody actually used the battery, if it was important to them to have access to the battery and to be able to take it somewhere easily. That was a lot of work, otherwise we could have just gone the normal route. Stick it underneath, have a bolt and be done with it. It would have been a lot simpler and easier to get to the finished product. Everyone is working on integration. Integration is kind of the price of entry into the e-bike market now. It has to look more like a traditional bike. But I think at that same time there's not been as much effort looking into why integration is important and how and why does the rider use the battery. I think that is something that we did and that is kind of special about it.

Is this also a reason why this model has been introduced only a year after the last iteration of the Powerfly?

Actually, the first generation that we did with the drop-in battery was our first step towards making it convenient. Actually, this has been going on since we started in 2014 with the external battery version that ran for two years. Back then we didn't have the small integrated battery from Bosch available to us, so we took the bigger battery and dropped it into the down tube. Still, the same idea was that it had a built-in handle and a cover. So the concept is still the same. We knew that the riders liked the idea of taking the battery out of the bike for charging. When we actually got a battery that could be integrated, we then looked at the position of where on the bike it made the most sense. Being on top was still okay, but then what about the water bottle. On the bottom is common, but that's also where a lot of dirt comes into play. So we ended up on the driveside.

Did the weight distribution change with the system?

The weight distribution for the battery is pretty similar to what we did before when we were dropping the battery in. The difference is how all the electronics fit inside the downtube. There are pieces that have to go below and above for it to work. The old battery was shorter and now it's spread out a bit further to where the handle used to be, but that distribution is pretty small.

There's a slight difference in geometry with a 5 mm lower bottom bracket height on the carbon model, compared to the aluminum. What's the reason?

We were able to rotate the motor a bit, as we had more room to move the motor around and put it up higher into the frame. There are no forgings with carbon as we were able to make in-frame carbon pieces that fit much closer. By rotating it, we were able to make it even more aesthetically pleasing and give it more of a one-tube downtube look. But no matter what you do when you rotate a Bosch CX motor, you have that bump on the bottom. That's why it's flat on the aluminum models, to get the maximum bottom bracket height. To make sure you have enough pedal clearance to the ground we put 165 mm cranks on the carbon bikes and there are 170s on the aluminum.

What's the amount of sag that you're recommending for the LT?

Since we're seeing that e-bikes generally generate a different type of riding we're seeing that suspension needs to be setup differently. The pedaling efficiency isn't as big a deal anymore. The sweet spot is sagging more into the travel. Initially, we recommended 30 to 35 % but now we recommend 30 to 40 % sag, with the range also based on the rider. An inexperienced rider can go with more sag and if you're an experienced rider, you're better off in the 30 to 35 % range.

How much can I tune the Re:aktiv shock? Can I use volume spacers?

You bet. We do start with a token in there and you can run up to three. The valve of Re:aktiv is totally independent of the air spring tuning. Instead of being a flat shim it's actually curved. So it's preloaded and it opens and closes for your platform much more instantly than a traditional flat shim. That's a real basic explanation. But it feels much more active, and that's independent of the air spring.










Exploring the trails around enduro pro René Wildhaber's hometrails in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, it quickly became apparent that the Powerfly LT likes it soft in terms of sag. Depending on your riding style, the sweet spot should be somewhere between 30 and in some cases even up to 40 percent. That way, the rear end can track the ground effectively and deliver plush suspension performance. 150 mm of rear wheel travel and 160 in the front seem to strike a nice balance for all kinds of riding applications, but if you had to stuff it into a segment, I guess the trail segment would be it. Never does the thought occur to flip the lever of the rear shock's platform into any other position than fully open – on the ups or the downs. While you'd be able to see a slight bob of the shock from the motor-supported turns of the pedals during the climbs, you simply don't notice any of it while the bike is in motion, swallowing up obstacles under its wheels.

Thanks to all the software updates from Bosch over the past few months, the system's overall performance now feels quite balanced. There's plenty of power to draw from, but in settings other than Turbo the power is engages (and disengages) in a controlled way. The EMTB setting (there's Eco, Tour, EMTB and Turbo to choose from) seems to strike a nice compromise of active assist and not sucking on the battery like a starved leech. Running in Turbo either supports your ride to a point where you don't feel like having to put in hardly any energy at all, or boosts you up silly steep climbs that would never be possible on a regular bike.

Being a big proponent of steep seat angles for highest pedaling efficiency, in case of the Powerfly LT, with its motor support it doesn't seem to matter that the stats list it at only 73 degrees (or 73.5, depending on the Mino Link geometry adjust setting).



With the weight of the bike heavily pushing into the corners on the downhill, like all e-bikes do, a quick turn of the compression dial on the smoothly working Fox 36 Float suspension fork with Grip damping system can actually make a world of difference in terms of handling. By just closing the dial about a third of the way, a hell of a lot more mid-stroke support is added, keeping the front end high, even when grabbing a handful of front brake – Shimano's XT stoppers with four-piston calipers are a great fit for the bike with plenty of power and even modulation, by the way. One of the nice things about the Grip system is the fact that by adding more compression damping, the fork still operates smoothly throughout the travel, matching the rear end's performance nicely.

Overall, the Trek Powerfly LT 9's suspension with Re:aktiv shock delivers confidence to let the bike fly down the hill. Together with the extra weight, the wheels stay firmly planted, gobbling up smaller and bigger hits alike. As it mostly happens with e-bikes, it's only when the wheels leave the ground on a jump or drop where the slight imbalance in direction of the front end from the extra weight of the battery pack and motor asks for some response from the rider. But it's nothing that the rider doesn't get used to, and adapts to, very quickly.

The Powerfly LT 9 is happy with being thrown into corners and willingly follows a rider's weight distribution, although getting it around tight corners takes a bit of an extra effort with its long wheelbase and chainstays (although with a bit of an effort, even picking the back wheel up in tight switchbacks is possible). I'll take that every day of the week though, in order to enjoy the bike's formidable stability on fast and rougher descents.


Obviously, the harder you push the bike, the more you'll ask from the suspension. There is one volume spacer installed in the Fox Re:aktiv rear shock, rolling out of the factory, with the option to install two more spacers to make it more progressive, mainly at the end of the stroke. If I spent more time riding the bike in gnarlier terrain, I have the feeling that I'd add one or two of those extra spacers to the shock.

While I only spent a few minutes on the parking lot with one of the OCLV carbon models, the difference in weight was definitely noticeable and awarded with a snappier handling. Weighing the bikes myself, the scale showed 24.15 kg for the LT 9 and 22.25 kg for the LT 9.9 without pedals. While the LT 9 aluminum and LT 9.7 carbon model with lower spec carry the same price tag of €5.699, the top-of-the-line LT 9.9 is listed at €7.999.

Surprisingly enough, I haven't seen anyone with punctures on the media rides I've been on. So either everyone was running higher tire pressures on the 2.8" Plus tires to begin with, in order to avoid any flats, or the reinforced casings from Bontrager's XR4 tires really do make a difference. I started on the safe side, but kept lowering the pressure over the duration of the two days without running into trouble. Having said that, while there were some rock and root sections strewn in on the rides, it was nothing compared to an area like Finale Ligure, where the tires would really be put to the test. And while the traction and cornering grip seemed solid on the mostly tacky soil that we spent time on, I wonder how their compound (that felt rather stiff to the touch) is going to hold up in wet conditions. So the final verdict is still out.


Removing the battery really doesn't require an engineering degree. A gentle turn of the key and the battery pops out a few centimeters. Pull it out a bit further and the handle on top of the battery appears, so it's simple enough to grab, carry to the most convenient power outlet and charge it at the plug on the bottom of the battery. Since you can also charge the battery while it's still attached to the bike – an inlet is mounted just above the engine – you get the best of both worlds. As advertised, the sideways removal keeps most of the dirt on the downtube and simplifies the access.

Thanks to the updated look, especially on the two carbon models, the Powerfly now does look like a Session (haha), and that's a really good thing. Plus, it holds a water bottle, for those who just can't live without one.

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