The 2019 Trek Powerfly is a mid-travel all-mountain E-Bike laced with the brand’s well refined technology and trail heritage.

A Bosch motor assists your pedaling efforts up to speeds of 25kph but what of the bike’s handling characteristics, versatility and range? 

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THE TECH

First impressions count for so much and the black on black stealthy Powerfly is a looker. The sloping top tube, straight downtube, tapered head tube, rocker arm and suspension layout are all distinctly Trek. The downtube which houses the fully integrated and removable Bosch battery is a large square structure which connects to the Bosch Performance Line CX motor. Using 27.5+ mid-fat tyres, other features include the Trek ABP split pivot rear suspension design, a Mino link to switch up the geometry, the Trek Knock Block steering reducer system and internal cable routing. The bike is clean and classy looking.

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GEOMETRY

The Mino link gives you the choice of either a 66,9 or 67,4 degree head angle and those options impact your BB height and reach by 0,6mm each. This tiny bit of adjustability is not insignificant and does allow you to tweak the handling characteristics to suit the trails you ride on. We rode the bike in both settings and settled on the steeper option. If you are an eBike aficionado you will know they do have longer chainstays to accommodate the motor and the Powerfly is no different measuring in at an eBike normal of 474mm. The Powerfly is available in four sizes.

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BUILD KIT

A Bosch PowerTube 500Wh battery powers the Bosch Performance CX motor which has a capable maximum torque number of 75Nm. The mid-mount motor placement on the Powerfly places the additional weight of the motor into the best possible position to minimize any adverse impact on the bikes handling. The Bosch Purion bar-mounted display unit has a simple scroll through operation to select from the four modes of eco, tour, EBike and turbo. 

The digital display also indicates your remaining battery life, power output, speed and is neatly located on the left-hand side of the handlebar.  It’s pretty easy to reach yet we find center mounted displays easier to read when on the move. The battery charging port is located on the downtube just above the motor, the interface is good and the battery charges from flat to full in a little over 3 hours.

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THE RIDE

The Bosch motor delivers immediate support under pedaling and the assist is best described as being both predictable and substantial. From the first pedal stroke it’s certainly a torquey ride, yet not unsettlingly so. 

The Trek Powerfly absolutely loves climbing and really surprised on steep, technical climbs where traction would usually be an issue. The mid-fat tyre size certainly does bite in and hold grip when the going gets sketchy. The climbing prowess across just about any gradient or surface is remarkable and is no doubt aided by the lower front end and long chainstays which combine to keep the front wheel on the ground – even on the steepest of climbs.

During gear shifting and only for a split second, there is a slight drop in the level of assist which cleverly ensures both a quieter gear shift and some degree of drivetrain preservation. At the 25kph mark the decoupling of the assist by the motor is instantaneous and could be a little smoother.

The rear suspension system is just pure gold and the ride dynamic of the Powerfly is efficient, planted and with a good level of progression. Whilst capable on technical downhill tracks this is not what it was ultimately designed for and if your fancy in an eBike is for repeated downhill runs then we would recommend looking into Trek’s Powerfly LT version which has all the goods for a gravity biased rider’s needs. This model of the Powerfly is designed to perform well across a variety of trail conditions – and does so exceptionally.

The performance of the Shimano Deore brakes is adequate but they do lack the all-out stopping power needed. The steering on this Powerfly is instant and requires very little effort or coaxing to line up and nail turns. The Bontrager XR4 tyres offer good braking traction and acceleration bite but there is some dampening of trail feedback.

As part of our test process we put two complete novice riders onto the Powerfly for a ride and they totally loved the feel of the bike from the first minute. More experienced riders can easily take the bike into highly technical trails, jump lines, tricky corners, sketchy climbs and the bike delivers the goods impressively. At 130mm front and rear, the Powerfly is a mid-travel eBike that performs well in all conditions and is relatively agile, nimble and capable at speed.

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RANGE TEST

I used the undulating loose and rocky terrain of the Cape Epic prologue route on Table Mountain to perform a range test. With Turbo mode selected (the highest assist level) for the full duration of the ride I covered 34km, almost 1400m of elevation gain in a total ride time of 1h31mins from a full battery charge. Those are not bad range numbers and it’s clear the all Bosch system uses it’s power efficiently. The range per charge would naturally increase when the bike is being used in the weaker assist modes, on flatter smoother terrain and with lighter riders putting in more of their own watts. It was a complete soft-pedal ride, barely working up a sweat.

If you regularly ride excessively rocky trails, or trails with sharp square edges then consider running some kind of a tyre insert in the rear to prevent cutting. The head tube is quite short so in order to get the bars into a better position we would switch to a 30mm rise bar and probably a little wider too, like around a 770mm or 780mm width.

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SUMMARY

A good climber and nimble handler, the Trek Powerfly is suited to the adventurous spirits looking to get out of town quickly, destress and explore.

| IMAGES: Gary Perkin |

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