It’s been a long time since I’ve had a “new bike day,” but today was finally the day! We’ve been wanting to get back into riding, but now that we’re older (and maybe a little wiser), we decided to explore e-bike options. After a lot of research, I landed on the Trek Allant+ 8S. I ordered it back in September through my local bike shop, and after a few weeks of waiting, it arrived—complete with some fantastic upgrades.

Technically, this is a commuter bike—something I wished existed years ago but didn’t. While I no longer have a commute, I wanted a versatile bike that could handle off-road trails, city and county streets, and paved paths. I also wanted a powerful motor and the option for a spare battery. I’ll admit, I went into this knowing very little about e-bike platforms, which is more blindly than I usually prefer. In the end, this bike might be a stepping stone to a full-suspension mountain bike or a gravel bike, but I had to start somewhere.

For this build, I added a few key upgrades: an extra battery, Stamp pedals, and LT4 mountain bike tires (2.4″ wide). The result is a pretty hefty setup—it weighs in at around 55 pounds, much heavier than I anticipated. Despite that, it’s a smooth pedal-assist ride that I know I’ll enjoy.

This is my first real e-bike, and I think the technology has finally reached a point where high-quality bikes are being designed as a bike first—with pedal assist—rather than feeling like e-vehicles that just happen to have two wheels.

I’ll follow up with more thoughts once I’ve spent some time riding and getting to know the bike better.

Trek Allant+ 8S