Trek Fuel EX-e vs. Transition Relay - emtb comparison between TQ motor and Fazua Ride 60 power

[@tomordr]

Nice video. Thank you! One correction though, the Trek is 150/140 travel, not 140/130. I demo’ed the fuel exe 9.7 yesterday, rode 2 hours on typical Midwest trails here in KY with punchy climbs and lots of tight flow on small elevation change and did use 21% battery. I absolutely loved that bike, how it rode, how it handled. It bailed me out several times when my poor line choice and winter rustiness would have stopped me cold on my standard mtb. Now I just need to justify the cost!

[@RichardWagenknecht]

Cost justification. You only live once. Go for it.

[@AngeloMarasco]

Did you find a demo or was it a friend’s bike?

[@tomordr]

@@AngeloMarasco it was a demo from a Trek store in N. KY . While I always try to support the LBS, the advantage of a Factory owned store is more possibility of demo bikes. It’s the only way to truly know a bike. Parking lot rides tell very little

[@garrett7366]

Just got my 9.5 fuel exe. Swapped the fork out with a fox 36 at 160mm and rear shock with a cane creek kitsuma coil the bike is amazing. Still blown away with it, this is my first emtb. I'm also surprised how easy it peddles with no assistance "motor off" its nice being able to ride and not worry about the battery, you will still get down the trail and have fun.

[@victorgeenen8550]

I rebuild de 9.5 with a Lyrik 160 ultimate and Ultimate Super de Lux RC2 150 , carbon rim with Dt350 hub . Alu Bontrager 27mm riser bar 19kg . Big Funn

[@peterwilliamson4296]

Yes Garrett I agree. Its so nice to own an e bike that can be pedalled enjoyably while saving the battery. I have a Trek duell sport e which is lovely to ride normally as well.

[@BikeIntelligencer]

Thanks Francis, great video. I love both these bikes but have a hard time justifying the penalties for lighter weight. My 49-lb Levo is 6 and 9 lbs heavier (and a chunk of that is rubber) than these bikes but delivers so much more power and range. And since I’m not doing big jumps or stunts, the handling of the lighter bikes while noticeable isn’t a deal maker to me anyway. In my tests the exe drains too fast for comfort (which may be why it’s so hard to get extenders). Add the weight of extenders and my snarky reply is, I’ve got a built-in extender! That said if a mid-weight emtb comes out with the specs of a full fat, I’m there in a blue minute😅

[@briandriscoll1480]

It really depends on your weight, as the rider is by far the heaviest part of the whole package. Lightweight me (122 lbs) finds my 60nm Orbea Rise delivers all the power I need without the additional weight under my seat. But a 200 lb rider might easily justify a heavier, full-power package.

[@NateMTB64]

I have a transition relay and weigh 185lbs on a sz large I can get 3200ft of climbing and about 20miles do I work a little harder then your levo yes but it comes down to power to weight ratio

[@BikeIntelligencer]

@@NateMTB64 yes the Relay is an attractive option. My brother lets me ride his, it’s the real deal…what’s funny is he likes to ride my Levo because he’s not as strong a rider, so when we switch he goes turbo and we ride together nicely. This is the nice thing about eebing, the equalizer effect.

[@TeamCykelhold]

Small error at 1:45. Trek is not 130/140 it's 150 front 140 rear but you can put a 160 fork on it.

[@EMTBReview]

Ugggh, that is a big one. I'll edit somehow.

[@gfowkes]

Excited for this one!

[@IADMTB]

Good video. Curious why you haven’t done a review on the Gen 3 Turbo Levo? I believe you own one correct?

[@EMTBReview]

Ahh, I've done a bunch for my original site mtbr.com. I'll do an updated one here.

[@14TacomaDR]

I noticed on Strava with my ebike I don't see any of my segments . Why ? I made these and I should be able to use them.

[@premix5six]

What brand are the gold flat pedals on the Trek?

[@CaviDS]

I would love to see you compare the Rise and the Trek

[@EMTBReview]

Yeah, that is coming. The rise is fast at around 5:57 for that climb. Rise geometry is a bit dated. Feels a hair short and steep. I'm very bummed they didn't update that for 2023.

[@bhodges865]

I've ridden my friend's Rise and I just got the exe...the exe by far feels like it delivers power better and is quieter.

[@davidgrothen3943]

@@bhodges865the rise must not be in the powerful profile

[@megane230f1]

did you see thee embn channel when they put a pivot shuttle a trek EXe and a levo sl against each other and the levo sl had a quicker climb time

[@EMTBReview]

No. Link please! On the Fazua Pivot Shuttle, one has to get in the app and max all the power levels to get the most power out of the motor. By default, it's not at the highest level.

[@darkson246]

Great video! But can you redo the tests with some controls? Use the same wheels, same tires on both. I am willing to bet the trek will be even slower with some similar rubber to the relay.

[@EMTBReview]

Will do that next time

[@byronswogger]

The biggest question is, would you choose the transition over the gen 3 Levo Pro?

[@EMTBReview]

No. This is a version 1 that has great potential but needs a few things dialed in like charging port, battery extender and rattles

[@byronswogger]

@@EMTBReview thanks, good to know, because I was considering selling my levo Pro for the transition.

[@Pudskies]

My neighbour just showed me his Relay, one thing he pointed out was how much flex at the bottom bracket there is from side to side. Do you notice this with your demo bike, and if so is it noticeable on the trails to any degree?

[@EMTBReview]

I did not notice anything about the bb flex during riding. Was he stepping on the pedal from the side with the Bike leaning towards the ground? That flex usually means nothing imho

[@msjj000]

For a 92kg rider plus gear/clothes/water/blah blah would you go the Fazua?

[@EMTBReview]

No way. Your speed and range will be limited. I just got word that the Fazua Ride 60 range extender is significantly delayed until 2024. That is essential for options for the heavier rider.

[@msjj000]

@@EMTBReview thanks! Appreciated!

[@rducut]

Great video man. I see you are using solar panels to charge your bikes. Can you do a video about your setup and different outdoor charging options?

[@EMTBReview]

Definitely will!! I've tried all sorts of configurations now.

[@rezenclowd3]

@@EMTBReview Personally I just installed an inverter and my other vehicle an inverter and backup 12v battery.

[@Roddaculous]

I think you meant to say 300 and 450 Watts of power. The torque is 50NM and 60NM. Also the Trek suspension is 150mm for the front fork and 140mm in the rear.

[@EMTBReview]

Exactly. Hurts my ears every time i listened to myself. :)

[@BikeIntelligencer]

Happens to all of us, do a balloon edit?

[@BlacqueJacqueShellacque_]

The Trek in this video sounds A LOT louder than mine. Although I have noticed after I hit 100 miles on mine that the motor noise did seem to get a little bit louder (still barely detectable though).

[@EMTBReview]

Yeah, it is sounding a little bit louder over time. But bear in mind this is full output of this motor during that whole clip.

[@paulatwork517]

Yes. I have this trek. Completely silent on the trail. Your mike picks up sound differently to the human ear. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZuzZmd-oZqXY6M @ 13:30 is a good indication of real life sound at the highest cadence level. Both bikes seem to not have the annoying rattle problem of the Shimano motor. Both look like great options.

[@paulm5025]

Thanks for the video. Are you still going to do the test you mentioned about a few weeks back regarding the "drag" to overcome when the motor is off?

[@EMTBReview]

Yes, I just need to find the proper course. And settle on a spec tire for comparison.

[@kayakutah]

It sure would be nice to get a comparison between these two in the $8000-$9000 range. I'm sure there are dozens of people who can afford these at $12,500-$14,000!

[@EMTBReview]

So the brown Trek Fuel EX-e in the video is a $7800 model. It rode absolutely fine as you can see. On ebikes, jut like mtbs, the last 40% of the money spent is done to save weight and a few shiny features. These have almost no effect on ebikes since 2 lbs save doesn't do anything for the climbing/handling performance. So $6-8k is indeed the sweet spot for ebikes as the often share the same motor/battery as the top-end models. Even aluminum models perform just as well as carbon ones. The key is to have excellent suspension and brakes. These bikes are very demanding when it comes to components. I do find that the lower end drivetrain bits, like SRAM GX and Shimano SLX last longer and are more solid than XX1 and XTR.

[@kayakutah]

@@EMTBReview Then tell us the weights on these cheaper bikes. I know the manufacturers don't seem to want that, but there's no reason not to tell us. Shoutout to Trek for listing weights!

[@nugget1016-s4b]

12K !! no wonder some guys blow me away out there on the trails on these bikes

[@davefellows]

Transition Relay PNW with 170mm travel please! :)

[@EMTBReview]

It's versatility is definitely good. I do wonder how good it is though at 170mm travel as it's not its native form.

[@intertube1000]

I ride mainly in trail mode only. I have a motobecane 2020 model ebike with shimano E7000, which has 60NM. my friend has an orbea rise with shimano EP8 RS also 60 NM. but I can tell you the E7000 is so much more powerful than orbea rise motor, I tried his bike few times. Yes I set the E7000 trail mode in high setting. I can hang with Levo, trek rail, full power motor. Now I ride Levo (I still have the motobecane as spare), and the default trail mode on levo is weaker than my E7000 trail on high setting. I was so surprised. So I set my levo trail mode to 85% peak power and 60% acceleration response, now feel slightly more powerful than E7000 trail mode. I am wondering if this Transition Fazua 60 NM motor as powerful or the same as my E7000. I wish orbea rise motor as powerful as my E7000, I would like to get it instead of Levo. So basically 60NM on E7000 is not the same as 60NM on orbea rise...🤨

[@EMTBReview]

The Shimano EP8 RS on the Orbea Rise is much more powerful than the Fazua Rise 60 or the Trek TQ. In our testing the Orbea Rise (in full turbo mode) did the climb in 5:57 minutes. The Fazua Ride 60 did it in 6:54

[@jack91522]

Now we need a Relay versus Levo SL

[@EMTBReview]

Yes. Or a threesome!

[@wackawacka12345]

You said you will do a range test @ the beginning but you forgot to mention this very important topic. Probably not both bikes can climb 1000hm in strongest mode when being a 90kg rider

[@EMTBReview]

Yes, I'm only 72kg and I'll be doing the tests. I will however experiment adding 5 or 10kg to my rider weight and see how that affects range.

[@supahflict]

Very cool

[@NateMTB64]

The relay is more powerful period and also more capable then that trek in all ways the relay is a true enduro ebile while the trek is almost xc/trail bike

[@EMTBReview]

Very very good observations. Thank you for the share.

[@ZillaYT]

Trek EXe is 150/140 f/r. Trek’s ergonomics wins it for me.

[@TwoWheelWarrior]

I'd ride those.

[@romma11]

Uff 9% vs 15% , and tq50 claims 90% efficiency which must be a BS

[@EMTBReview]

Yeah, they are full of it. Most who are objective about TQ have observed their efficiency per wh of battery is among the worst. Probably a lot of drag.

[@yofoo138]

The trek is 150/140

[@EMTBReview]

Correct!!