TREK E-CALIBER 9.9 XTR

It’s got the looks, spec and price to turn heads and could be a glimpse into the e-bike future

- James Bracey

£10,750/29in / trekbikes.com

NEED TO KNOW

• Fazua Evation 1 motor-assisted version of Trek’s World Cup XC racer

• Trek’s unique IsoStrut Fox Factory rear suspension delivers just 60mm of travel

• Featherweight build spec rivals many non-motorized trail bikes in weight

• Ships with dummy battery/ motor box to drop weight and run/race 100 per cent human-powered

In the established pecking order of motor-assisted mountain bikes, it is generally recognised that more is better than less. More torque, more travel and more battery capacity are often the most touted features. It’s no coincidence that most of the best-selling e-bikes are usually based on a brand’s longer travel trail and enduro platforms.

The Trek E-Caliber however, has none of these box-ticking features and instead takes its inspiration from a very unlikely source – World Cup XC racing. You heard that right, the E-Caliber is (on paper at least) a bike that technically should be the absolute anathema to the very riders Trek seems to be aiming it at.

In other words, riders with the legs and lungs to put out more watts than a motor. Long-travel, slack-angled e-bikes are easy to understand, but the E-Caliber is a different beast altogether.