August 17, 2022 - Trek’s new Dual Sport+ 2 urban e-bike highlights how owning an electric bike can be fun and efficient without needing to refinance your home to be able to afford one. And as the name Dual Sport suggests, this bike is ready to take on your pavement / gravel path or adventure of choice.
Capitalizing on the benefits of a rear wheel hub drive, the Trek Dual Sport+ 2 is not only able to maintain a consumer-friendly price point, but the sub-40 lb weight, makes it one of the lightest on the market in its class.
The Hyena G2 rear hub motor delivers 250 watts of power along with 40 Nm of torque, which is enough to get you quickly off the line, and up and over most of the climbs you will encounter on your ride.
The battery is discreetly concealed in the downtube, and when combined with the motor being tucked neatly in the rear hub, it will fool even some of the more astute riders into believing it’s not an e-bike. A battery extender let’s you double up and go exploring even farther. The bar-mounted controller display offers easy management of the 3-pedal assist modes along with battery levels.
The frame is constructed with Trek’s Alpha Gold aluminum with internally routed cables giving this e-bike a sharp, clean appearance. The frame also comes with all the necessary mounts to add a rack and fender of choice. Complete with lights, kick stand and bell the Dual Sport+ is available in four sizes in the traditional frame, and three sizes in the step-thru Stagger model. Colour choices include Hex Blue or Galactic Grey.
The attractive Dual Sport+ 2 is spec’d with quality, mid-range components including Shimano’s Altus 9-speed drive train with an 11 to 36 rear cassette. When combined with the single 42-tooth front ring, this e-bike has enough gear range for you to dial in your cadence and maximize the pedal assist on a variety of terrain, especially on the road.
The Promax hydraulic discs brakes (or Shimano depending on availability) proved more than capable stopping power, while the Bontrager GR0 Expert 27.5 x 2.0 tires rolled smoothly on the road offering just enough tread to hook up on gravel trails.
On the road, the Dual Sport+ 2 did not disappoint and got quickly up to speed for my daily commute offering an easy, quiet cruise using the two highest assist levels. The bonus was that I could take a slightly longer route on gravel paths vs my usual busier commute on paved roads, with minimal time penalty.
Plus wearing casual clothes and running shoes was a nice touch over being lycra clad with clip-in pedals. The stiff, rigid frame cornered well at speed and at my destination, I was pleased at how easy it was to pack the bike up the two flights of stairs.
Off road the Dual Sport+ 2’s stiff frame felt a bit rough, but the trade-off was that it could climb all but the steepest of gravel hills.
At about 48 km into my ride, the green light on the display started flashing meaning my pedal assist time would soon expire, which matched the quoted 55 km battery range on a full charge.
The nice thing is that the Dual Sport+ 2 can be easily pedaled without assist, so I spun the last 2 km of my ride using 100% human power.
Overall Trek has delivered a good value package. It’s great to see that quality and affordability are now part of the e-bike equation by recognized brands.
The Trek Dual Sport+ is an e-bike designed for many years of reliable riding while saving you some money to spend on your rest stop/coffee breaks.
The SRP is $3,049.99 and for more information click here.
