Trek Charter+ Review

Our Charter+ Experience

We picked up our Charter+ from a local Trek dealer. While you can purchase this bike online, Trek ships it to a dealer for professional assembly instead of directly to you. Our bike was ready to roll when we showed up, and one of the store's staff members walked us through its features.

This is a full-power ebike, and it's fairly heavy. Loading and unloading it from the high rack on our SUV wasn't exactly easy without a loading ramp. Since the shop was located just minutes from a popular bike path, we wasted no time getting the bike out on its maiden voyage. The bike's design is incredibly user-friendly, reminiscent of many bikes in metropolitan bike-share programs. The step-through is low, handlebars and controls are upright and easy to reach. Unlike those public bike-share bikes, the Charter+ has a smooth, high-end feel with an almost silent assist and a cloud-like ride over bumps.

As a Class 3 mid-drive bike, the Charter+ has no throttle, but we never missed the feature while riding. There are times when you come to a stop on a hill, or end up with the pedals at an awkward angle where a throttle can be useful, but the Charter's motor responds to your input so readily that it was never difficult to get started.

This bike inspired some lengthy discussion in our office, and the merits of a mid-drive came into question. While they have largely been hailed as superior and the “better” way to propel an e-bike, that isn't the case for every rider. While the power delivery is indeed smooth and effortless, having the motor centered between the cranks means more wear on your drivetrain, and at least for this bike, no throttle.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Ride

The Charter+ rides like a luxury car. It's quiet, smooth, and predictable, with controls right where you expect them to be. Trek did something interesting with the frame design, keeping the chainstays elevated above the drivetrain. This means you'll never hear the chain slapping on the frame, and you don't have to worry about catching a pant leg in the gears. We tested the Charter+ 4S, which uses a 540Wh battery and an external drivetrain and is available in step-over or step-through frames; the Charter+ 5S uses a larger battery and an internal geared hub with auto-shift and comes in step-through only.

Trek built this frame from “Premium Alpha Gold Aluminum”, which allows them some advanced butting and hydroforming. If that sounds Greek to you, it means they can create unique shapes with less material, making the bike lighter and improving the ride feel. In all honesty, this is kind of lost on us as the frame gets strapped with 10 pounds of motor and battery.

What has a much greater impact on ride quality is the 27.5" wheels and 2.4" tires. The slightly larger wheels and higher volume tires give the bike its characteristic smooth ride. The tires have a puncture-protection belt, a reflective strip on the sidewalls, and an inverted tread pattern that makes them ideal for pavement riding in wet or dry conditions.

The Charter uses size-specific geometry, meaning the angles are adjusted for each of the bike's three sizes to give riders of different sizes a very similar feel. I'll spare you the specifics of the bike's geometry and just say it's perfectly suited for pleasure riding, with a neutral feel and steering that won't surprise you. One thing to be aware of is that the minimum saddle height exceeds the top of the seat tube due to the bike's suspension seatpost. Our size Large test bike has a minimal saddle height of 37" from the ground.

An ergonomic Bontrager Boulevard saddle sits atop a suspension seatpost, giving the bike a little extra comfort.   Credit: Joshua Hutchens

The Boulevard saddle is wide and supportive with an ergonomic channel down the center.   Credit: Joshua Hutchens

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Your body weight is suspended by the suspension seatpost and the bike's suspension fork. There is enough squish between you and the ground that bad roads, manhole covers, and roots are effectively muted out. The bike's upright positioning made it feel like the seatpost was doing more work than the suspension fork, but together they provided a really luxurious ride.

The handlebars have a significant amount of rise, extending about 100mm above the adjustable stem. The stem's adjustability lets you trade some of the bike's length for even more front-end height. This is a big win for riders who want an upright riding position with less pressure on their hands. Our test bike's handlebars measured 690mm across, while the small and medium-sized bikes use narrower 660mm handlebars, another way Trek makes this bike's fit appropriate for riders of different sizes. If you're 5 feet tall and have shoulders like a linebacker, you might need to make some adjustments.

Looking out over the handlebars, the front end only has mild clues that this is an e-bike. Trek pushes all the cables and wiring through the headtube, which gives the bike a cleaner appearance, but will anger your mechanic. The bike doesn't have the big phone-cord tangle of wiring that characterizes some ebikes' appearances. In fact, the only thing different about the cockpit is the small Bosch controller that sits next to your left thumb. Our testers were particularly fond of the lock-on handlebar grips with a wide palm support.

A clean and ergonomic feel to the front end.   Credit: Joshua Hutchens

These grips were a delight to our hands, and a locking collar keeps them from twisting, even in the wet.   Credit: Joshua Hutchens

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Once you're moving on the Charter+, many of the design features we've discussed so far just fade away, and you don't think about them. This is the beauty of good design: you just notice the things you don't like. It's the irony of engineering: the more effort a designer puts into making something work perfectly, the less credit they get because the user completely forgets the product is even there. You only start thinking about the saddle when your butt hurts. The overall ride feel is smooth and effortless, with the suspension soaking up the bumps and the motor producing enough power to keep you from struggling.

The electric part of the bike is fairly subtle; through the controller, you can select one of four ride modes with ascending levels of support. The settings are ECO, TOUR+, AUTO, and TURBO. In the AUTO mode, the bike does the work for you and selects the right amount of power to keep you cruising. ECO mode feels like a mild tailwind, and at times it seems not to be assisting at all; it just makes the bike feel lightweight. TOUR+ mode makes you feel like your route is always slightly downhill, acceleration is effortless, and you quickly reach cruising speed. In TURBO mode, the motor's full power kicks in, and the bike feels caffeinated; it's like riding a tandem with an invisible rider. The bike feels zippy and sporty, and you find yourself riding faster than most other cyclists.

The bike has fairly simple controls, and aside from the motor controls, there really isn't much of a learning curve. Hydraulic brakes provide ample stopping force with minimal squeezing force, like a car with power brakes. A Shimano Cues 9-speed drivetrain uses a trigger shifter on the right, and the bike has enough gears that you can continue pedaling all the way up to the Class 3 speed limit of 28 mph. You can ride the bike faster, but the motor stops assisting at that speed. The gearing is also well-suited for hill-climbing, but the 69-pound mass of the bike makes climbing without the motor on something we'd rather avoid.

We rode the bike in wet and dry, day and night. The coated fenders do an excellent job of keeping the splatter down, and we appreciated how quiet they were. The LED headlight provided plenty of light for our post-dusk journies, and slits in the side give the bike visibility from multiple angles. The fender-mounted tail light is quite small, but bright enough to be seen from several hundred yards. Since they are hardwired to the bike's battery, you'll never have to worry about whether they're charged or whether someone will remove them while the bike is parked. An alloy rack on the rear lets you easily carry pannier bags or strap a lock to the top. The rack uses a standard called MIK, which lets you add accessories that snap on and off quickly without tools.

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Our Large-size bike is recommended for riders 5'7" to 6'1", and our testers were 5'8" and 5'10". The smaller tester found that the saddle didn't extend low enough for her liking due to the longer suspension post, but the larger tester fit squarely on the bike. Trek makes a Medium for riders between 5'1" and 5'8" and a Small for riders down to 4'10".

Real-World Range Test Results

Our range testing protocol for most e-bikes involves using the throttle on our test course and no rider assistance. Of course, the Charter+ lacks a throttle, so to test its range, we had our 180-lb rider saddle up to the bike, equipped with a pair of Garmin power-meter pedals that monitor how hard our tester is pedaling. We had our test rider pedal consistently at as close to 100 watts as he could maintain. We use this power input because it is hard enough to trigger the bike's torque sensor, but soft enough that the rider is barely contributing to the range. What we seek through this test is a worst-case scenario for the bike's range; we ride hilly terrain and use the motor's most powerful setting.

Trek claims that this bike has a range of about 45 miles, as the Charter+ 4S uses a 540Wh battery. If you like this bike and want more range, the Charter+ 5S uses an 800Wh battery and has a projected range of 65 miles. When the screen finally flashed with a low-power message, the bike had taken us 29.1 miles and climbed 1,557 feet of elevation. Could we have hit Trek's projected 45-mile range? Absolutely; had we picked a route with fewer hills and used one of the bike's lower power settings, there is no doubt we could have ridden 45 miles on a single charge.

Power

The Bosch Performance Line Sport motor provides 85 Nm of torque and 750 watts of power. That's a full horsepower of assistance and enough that you don't need to worry about hills or breaking a sweat if you don't want to. While the bike comes with 4 power settings, they are fully adjustable and customizable to your liking. To adjust the motor dynamics, you need to use the Bosch smartphone app, which offers a wide array of ways to customize the feel and characteristics of the bike's assist.

If you use the Bosch Flow smartphone app, you can customize the amount of assistance you get in each ride mode. Additionally, you can adjust the motor dynamics (how quickly the motor responds to your input), as well as the maximum speed and torque for each setting. This allows you to create drive modes that suit your routes and preferences. While throttles give us a consistent way to test climbing speeds, the Charter+ relies entirely on your legs. Since human power isn't quite as “repeatable” as a thumb throttle, we don't rank this bike's hill-climbing speed.

Ease of Use

Navigating the bike's controls isn't something that most people would need to read the manual for. The Bosch remote has a power button on the front that turns the bike on, but the bike operates just fine without turning the motor on. On top of the remote are buttons to activate the turn signals, and on the bottom is a toggle that lets you control the assist settings. There is one more small button in the center that lets you change the information displayed.

If you want to dig a bit deeper, you can use the Bosch Flow app on your smartphone to customize the settings we mentioned above, or use the bike's anti-theft feature. Through the app, you can register your bike and track its whereabouts. Should your bike go missing, you can report it through the app. The bike cannot be paired with another phone, and it will alert a bike shop if it is taken in for service. You'll still want to lock your bike responsibly, but these digital deterrents mean a thief is less likely to target the Charter+.

The display shows you relevant information in full color. In the photo above, you can see the bike's projected range for each assist setting. The display integrates everything you might expect from a bicycle computer, including a speedometer, odometer, trip meter, and a screen that shows your current riding time.

We were a little concerned when we saw the location of the charge port and wondered if it would attract debris or water, but the port door is spring-loaded, and the port carries an IPX5 rating, which means it can resist water being sprayed from all directions. The bike's entire electrical system is UL 2849 certified.

You can charge the battery on or off the bike with the included 2-amp charger; a full charge takes 7.5 hours. Being able to charge the battery away from the bike is really convenient; it means you don't need to park near an outlet and can charge at the office or another location. The other upside of the removable battery is that it reduces the bike's weight, which is handy for mounting it on a bike rack or storing it in a hanging position.

Assembly

Because Trek has such a wide network of dealers, you get the peace of mind that a pro has handled the assembly—all you have to do is show up and ride! While it might bump the price up slightly compared to buying online, being able to see the bike in person and take it for a test ride is a huge perk. Our experience was super smooth. We picked it up, got the manual, and the staff gave us a quick five-minute rundown on the basics. It was refreshingly easy.

Servicability / Dealer Network

If you like having experts in your corner, Trek's dealer network is honestly in a league of its own. Their warranties are famous for standing the test of time, and their service is top-notch, giving you peace of mind. While you pay a little extra for the bike and its upkeep compared to a direct-to-consumer brand, the level of professionalism and the “not my problem” convenience you get in return are a total win. It's great knowing that if you have a question or need a tune-up, there's a friendly shop that stands behind the product.

Should You Buy the Trek Charter+ 4S?

We found the Charter+ 4S to be a delightful bike. It provides a plush ride that feels like riding in a luxury vehicle, and much of the bike seems to disappear beneath you with no pain points or rattles to remind you that you're riding a bike. While the bike is fast, powerful, and more than adept at commuting or running around town, the tires are better suited for pavement riding than venturing too far off the trail. The bike is also fairly expensive when you compare it to mail-order brands. That comparison isn't apples-to-apples, as buying a Trek through a bike shop gives you access to a test ride, professional assembly, fitting advice, and a direct line to Trek in the event of a warranty claim. Trek bikes have a lifetime warranty on their frames, while most online brands offer 1 or 2 years of coverage. If you're seeking out the best deal, this probably isn't it, but if the support of a bike shop and a delightful ride quality on your short list, check out the Charter+.

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