It’s time to buy an e-bike
Tired of running errands by car? Craving the wind in your hair but intimidated by steep hills? Want to speed up your ride and go farther? No worries – electric bikes are here to save the day.
1. Bike frame
Just like a traditional bike, e-bikes all start out with a base bike frame with similar features and functions as their non-powered partners. E-bike frames are typically designed slightly differently from non-electric frames to optimize battery and motor placement.
2. Motor
The motor of your electric bike is what houses the moving parts that give you a boost of assistance when you pedal. Just like a car engine, some e-bike motors can be more powerful, lighter weight, or more efficient than others. While many brands offer e-bike motors, there are just two popular styles of motors on most e-bikes – mid-drive or hub-drive.
3. Battery
Every e-bike motor is powered by a battery. However, batteries vary greatly in size, shape, location, and wattage. How many watt-hours a battery holds directly impacts how fast and how far you can ride assisted.
4. Controller
The controller is your interface with the e-bike system. It features buttons that allow you to power on and off your system, change your assistance mode, or toggle through the screen of your e-bike display. Depending on the e-bike system, you may have more control features, like a battery indicator, light control, extra metrics like ride data, or an integrated display.
5. Display
Your display is like the dashboard of your e-bike. It’s standard for the display to show your battery life and currently selected mode, but many offer additional features, like speedometer, ride metrics, activity tracking, and route mapping. Your display may be integrated with your controller, be its own separate unit, or you may even use your smartphone as a display.
Bosch Flow app
The eBike Flow app is fully integrated into your bike’s smart system so you can record your route, customize your ride mode, and update your e-bike over the air.
Trek Central app
Completely adjust your tune settings to enjoy even longer range, map out your perfect ride, track your ride stats, and so much more on the Trek Central app.
Let’s talk tech and terms
Talking about electric bikes can feel like a foreign language. We’ll break down some basic terminology that you’ll often hear associated with e-bikes, so you can power up your confidence both on and off the bike.
1. Torque
Torque is the turning force that causes rotation in an electric bike motor and propels you forward. Bikes with more torque provide bigger bursts of immediate power while bikes with less torque provide less of an immediate burst of power. The maximum amount of torque an e-bike motor is capable of generating is measured in Newton meters (Nm).
It may be tempting to think that more is better, but torque can be nuanced. High-torque e-bikes are great for getting up steep hills and accelerating quickly but may not feel as natural and smooth as lower torque e-bikes. It’s best to think about how you want to use your e-bike and how smooth or powerful you’d like it to feel before choosing a bike with the biggest motor and most torque. Though there is no set definition, in general, bikes with under 50Nm can be considered low-torque and bikes with over 65Nm can be considered high-torque.
2. Power
Power is what gets your e-bike motor moving and keeps it in motion. In scientific terms, it’s the electromotive force that propels your e-bike forward. Electrical power is measured in watts (or W for short), which is a single unit of electrical energy. Electric bike motors are legally limited to a maximum of 250W to remain classified as bicycles.
3. Battery capacity
Battery capacity, or how much power a battery can hold, is calculated by doing a bit of math with a few different measurement units. When we multiply amp-hours (a measurement of electrical capacity) with volts (the force pushing amps through the system) we get watt-hours (Wh for short). Watt-hours indicate a battery’s maximum capacity, which correlates with how long it can operate before it runs out of power.
The larger the battery capacity an e-bike uses, the farther and longer you can ride, but high-capacity e-bike batteries are also larger and heavier than lower-capacity batteries.
4. Charge Cycles
Just like any other kind of battery, e-bike batteries have a limited number of times they can be fully charged and drained before they need to be replaced. The lifetime of e-bike batteries is expressed in charge cycles – the emptying and recharging of the battery. Most e-bike batteries are rated for 800-1000 charge cycles, which translates to over 10,000 miles of supported riding.
To prolong the life of your battery, keep it stored in a cool, dry place when not in use, and stay on top of regular services. When your battery has reached the end of its life, we’ll be here to help you recycle it.
5. Range
Range is how far your e-bike system can provide assistance before it runs out of battery. Many factors contribute to the total supported range of an e-bike, like riding surface, terrain, wind, cycling behavior, rider weight, and even tire pressure. Some e-bike systems equipped with smart technology can offer estimated range data on-the-fly to help you stay aware of how much assisted riding you have before you need to charge up, and many can also be paired with an auxiliary range extender battery to help you go even farther.
E-bike FAQs
Q: What's the average lifespan of an e-bike?
A: It depends on the electric bike, how often you service it, and how much you use it. Service is key to e-bike longevity. With software updates, regular maintenance, and support, your e-bike can stay on the road for a long time. Trek and Electra have a robust network of dealers who can service and support your electric bike. When you're buying an e-bike, always consider where you will service it to get the most lifespan out of it.
Q: What’s the difference between a Trek e-bike and other brands?
A: Trek and Electra only make high quality electric bikes that are designed to deliver on performance, are built with quality e-systems like Bosch, TQ, and Hyena, and are compliant to UL 2849 standards for safe charging and storage. Plus, our e-bike motors and batteries are warrantied for two years, and our Trek bike frames are warrantied for life. Better yet, you have 30 days to fall in love with your e-bike. If you decide it’s not for you, we’ll take it back.
Q: Are electric bikes worth buying?
A:Yes! E-bikes allow you to ride farther and explore more. Whether you are looking to ride to work, keep up on the group ride, climb those steep hills, or just have fun — e-bikes are the answer. Don't just take our word for it, check out our e-bike reviews to see why our customers love riding their electric bikes every day.
Q: Is it hard to pedal an e-bike?
A:Not at all! E-bikes pedal just like a traditional bike and when you have your e-system on, they are even easier to pedal with an electric boost.
Q: Do you need insurance on an electric bike?
A:Right now, e-bikes are classified with regular bicycles and do not require insurance. That said, always check your local state and city laws or reach out to your local Trek or Electra retailer for more information.