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Key point: On the monorail, the Rail 9.9 AXS is an excellent electric bike. But unstable electronic accessories and locked Bosch smart systems tainted its greatness.
In 2022, the high-end Trek track models-9.8 and 9.9-received a new frame with a geometry inspired by Slash and Bosch’s latest electric bike system (see below for more information). In addition to the geometry, the new frame also has a larger diameter seat tube for a 34.9 mm dropper, a larger tire clearance (now fits 2.6 inch rear tires), and a new knock block with an increased (72 degree) turning radius .
Rail 9.8 and 9.9 use Bosch’s new e-bike ecosystem, which the company calls “smart systems.” An important note: Bosch’s 2022 Performance Line CX motor for intelligent systems provides the same performance as the previous Performance Line CX. However, although the motor performance has not changed, almost all other aspects have changed.
One of the most significant changes is the new, larger 750Wh battery (for most sizes-see below for more details), which is a significant improvement over Bosch’s previous 625Wh battery. This makes the Smart System Trek Rail one of the largest batteries: larger than the 700Wh battery of Specialized Levo and the 726Wh battery of the new Pivot Shuttle. (Norco still wins the battery game with the optional 900Wh battery of its latest VLT model.) There is also a new 4A charger, which is only compatible with the new battery-Bosch’s old charger does not work with the new battery, even if the plug looks It looks like the same.
The range is very condition-specific, but I used a combination of eMTB (mostly) and Turbo (occasionally) modes for a 31-mile ride, climbed more than 2400 feet, and completed the remaining large battery (I forgot to write it down) ), but I remember being impressed: about 40% of the memory stick is left in my brain).
Unfortunately, the 750Wh battery is not suitable for the small Rail frame, so a 625Wh battery must be used.
Other new smart systems include the new Kiox 300 color display and a new handlebar remote control. The latter is large and looks a bit too much (six buttons, lots of lights), and it looks like it just wants to crash in a crash. Specialized and Shimano’s low-profile remote controls seem to be more suitable for mountain biking.
On the rail, the Kiox display is located on the top tube behind the valve stem. This endurance placement allows it to be better protected in collisions, but it is also more ugly when riding. It is a bright and clear display, although it is not customizable and has some other flaws, which I will talk about later.
A new smartphone app called Flow connects the entire system. It connects to the smart system bike and records the activation-GPS trajectory, altitude, speed, distance, power and cadence-then riders can download it as a GPX file and upload it manually to their favorite cycling recording site. Currently, you cannot pair your heart rate monitor with Kiox (or the Flow app), the only service integration built into the Flow app is Apple Health, and there is no portal for accessing information.
Representatives of Trek and Bosch hinted that heart rate connections with Kiox, Strava integration and portals will be provided in future updates. The app also allows riders to push air updates to the bike, adjust some assist modes, and provide information about remaining mileage and other riding metrics. However, activity tracking is not perfect. Once, I used the Flow app paired with the bike to start riding, but when I finished the ride, I found that it did not record altitude or GPS trajectories.
One annoying thing about smart systems is that it only talks to Bosch computers. You cannot connect a Garmin or Wahoo computer to a Bosch electric bicycle (Shimano and Specialized electric bicycle systems connect to a third-party GPS computer). Therefore, if you ride with a heart rate like me and use Strava, you must use Kiox (if you don’t have a Bosch display, the bike will not work) and Garmin or Wahoo.
Bosch has a locked ecosystem in which bicycles with the system can only be used with displays and apps. In my opinion, this is stupid and very frustrating from the user’s point of view. Specialized and Shimano’s systems can be used with third-party products and services, why not Bosch’s? This also makes me worry about some kind of subscription lurking on Bosch’s roadmap, which forces you to pay for access to features or updates. As you will see below, Bosch motors are excellent, Rail is a very good bike, but the locked ecosystem, lack of features compared to competitors, off-road vehicle activity tracking, and bulky handlebar remotes are all very good. Annoying.
The top Rail 9.9 model is equipped with Quarq TyreWiz and RockShox AirWiz sensors. These pressure sensors (in the perfect world) provide a quick visual check to let you know whether the tire and suspension pressures are within the proper range. For example, slow flashing red means the pressure is too low; fast flashing red means it is too high; flashing green means it is within the correct range.
Please note that AirWiz is different from SRAM’s ShockWiz: the latter is much more advanced and collects much more information. AirWiz just tells you if your pressure is within the proper range.
You still set up the suspension the old-fashioned way: put enough air in the fork and absorb the shock to achieve droop. Then, after you know your suspension pressure, you can use SRAM’s AXS application to set the AirWizards target pressure: when they deviate from your chosen target pressure by plus or minus 5 PSI, you will see a red light. The app will suggest suspension pressures, but I found that they are very different for both the front fork and the rear shock.
The situation with TyreWiz is roughly the same, but you can choose a positive/negative PSI range from 1 to 20 (?) PSI. I don’t like that you can only set the PSI to an integer, and I prefer my tires to be 23.5 on the front wheels and 26.5 on the rear wheels (the pressure comes from a lot of time and experimentation). I also hope you can set a smaller positive and negative range: 22.5 PSI and 24.5 PSI are very different from 23.5 for me.
Assuming they work as expected-one of my TyreWizards reads negative 23.5psi, the tire has no pressure, and the tire pressure is 23.5psi-theoretically, it is nice to have a quick way to check if your pressure is correct. But the wizard does not seem to wake up consistently, and the app pairing is also very unstable. For example, to view the pressure change in the electric shock, I need to open the app, connect to the AirWizard, read the pressure, adjust the pressure in the electric shock, close the app, open the app, reconnect the AirWizard, read the pressure… repeat until I reach the right pressure.
Then there are the disadvantages: with all these batteries, the size of the shock absorber has increased (which will affect the gap), and if you want to inject tubeless sealant, you should remove TyreWyz and install a small plastic gasket through the valve.
We’re talking about bikes between $12,500 and $13,500 here: any added gizmo should be flawless. The Wizards are far from that. Frankly speaking, I think Trek should save the rider a lot of money and trouble, and only need to equip the bicycle with a digital barometer and digital shock pump.
There are also three lower-priced Rail models — two types of aluminum and one type of carbon — equipped with Bosch motors, but without smart systems. These models also use the framework of the previous generation Rail instead of other updated new frameworks with new geometries and more expensive models.
The geometry of Rail 9.8 and 9.9 models was inspired by Slash. Compared with the previous Rail, each size of the teach has increased by an average of 19 mm, and the seat angle has increased by two degrees.
Trek’s Mino Link in the rocker link provides low and high geometric positions, angle changes +/- 0.4 degrees (64.6° or 64.2° HTA and 77.1° or 76.7° STA) and 6 mm BB height changes. Trek installs the bike in a low position and recommends a high position for the mullet (27.5 inch rear wheel). There are four frame sizes (small to oversized), but small frame sizes are currently not available.
I like to ride Trek Rail 9.9. Its handling is great, the suspension is excellent (again, the extra weight of the electric bike makes the suspension, especially the front fork, feel extra smooth and soft), and the Bosch motor is excellent—especially in the e-MTB mode .
However, Wizards, applications, Kiox computers, and all the elves in the locked ecosystem that cannot be connected to the popular ride recording platform (Strava) or connected to the popular GPS computer (Garmin or Wahoo) are just ridiculous of.
Let me give you a few more examples of troubles I have encountered. There are four riding modes, but Bosch only allows users to customize two of them: Shimano and Specialized allow users to customize all riding modes. The battery-even after 24 hours of use on the charger-will not charge more than 97%. And the data screen on Kiox cannot be customized: even low-cost bicycle computers have this function.
Electronic products, applications and connectivity are increasingly becoming part of the cycling experience, especially the e-bike experience, especially the high-end e-bike experience. But while the goal of all these features is to provide a better user experience, when these features have problems or don’t work at all, the opposite is true. On an unpowered bicycle, if you don’t like the brakes, you can replace them, or remove the Fox fork and install RockShox (if the fork is better). But on an electric bike, you cannot change the drive system and its display, or use Shimano’s electric bike app to adjust your Bosch electric bike motor. With Rail, you can integrate with the rest of the Bosch Intelligent System and its ecosystem throughout the life cycle of the bicycle.
Ideally, the bike should be flawless and easy to use; however, some of Rail’s most dazzling features are just the opposite. Many times, when I tried to make it do something easy to do with another electric bike, I felt like hitting a brick wall-if it could-or making some gadgets work as advertised. However, applications, software, and firmware will never be completed. Bosch and SRAM can roll out updates, and many of the frustrations I encountered on Rail may disappear in an instant. I hope the blink of an eye will come soon.
But when I took the Rail down the trail, I almost-almost-forgot about the kid and the troubles, because it was great on the trail. Although I have many complaints about the Bosch system, one of the best parts of Rail is the motor.
The maximum quoted torque is 85Nm, which is the same as Shimano EP8, but the Bosch motor feels stronger. It feels close, maybe even more powerful than Specialized’s 95Nm “full power” motor. It can release power very well, especially in eMTB mode, which allows me to pass through the challenging low-speed technical part without shaking, but when I step on the pedal, it provides full power to start, accelerate and get rid of steering. As far as motor tuning is concerned, I put Bosch and professional motors at the top of my list. However, I still think Specialized has an overall advantage because Bosch has a sharp whine, some indecent dull sounds, and a little vibration that the super smooth and quiet Specialized motor does not have.
That great motor is connected to a well-made chassis. Of the three long-distance electric bicycles I have used this year (Levo, Yeti SB160 and Rail), Rail is the easiest to toss for me. This is a sturdy bike with no harmful bends, but still feels soft and lively-which is surprising for an electric bike.
There are also excellent suspensions here. Or once I discovered that the strange harshness and noise I felt/heard in a larger blow came from the impact of the water tank smashing into my water bottle. I raised the bottle cage high enough, the vibration cleared the bottle, the rear end became smoother, and the bike became quieter. There is good support on climbing and higher G angles, almost no harshness on bumps on the square edges, and impressive sensitivity on smaller bumps.
Once I toggled the low-speed and high-speed compression clickers (both ended up in the middle of their range), I got the same performance from the front e-bike tuning Zeb-I think RockShox’s e-bike fork is adjusted slightly higher Point better than Fox’s. Even so, I will still place a DSD Runt in this fork to get more mid-range support and finer process adjustments.
The updated geometry of Trek is longer than the previous Rail, but even so, it is not a crazy long bike. In general, I think they have reached a good balance: it is stable in speed, calm downhill, but still dexterous and easy to control at lower speeds. Although the geometry comes from Slash for endurance racing, this bike is like an all-round bike to me: you won’t mistake it for a poppy bike, or an endurance sled.
The seat angle is quite steep at 76.1°. Considering the steep climb, you can power up this bike, which may be correct. Even so, I pushed the seat back onto the track because I felt too far forward on low-angle climbing and flat slopes.
Since this is a Trek, this Rail provides the entire kit for Bontrager brand components. Most of the work is fine, although the Line Pro dropper is slow and the remote control is meh at best. Similarly, a bicycle worth $13,500-let’s buy a bicycle yoke for this, instead of some mediocre private label. The SE6/SE5 tire combination works well under my conditions, although I do wish to use sticker compounds sometimes. The shell is better than I expected-so far not flat-although I think we are on all 50 lbs, 150 mm or more electric bikes that should use Cush Core pads (or similar) for extra flat protection and tire protection To the point of support. I will also reiterate my statement in the 160E review regarding SRAM’s Code brakes, which have 220 mm (front) and 200 mm (rear) rotors: they are sufficient for braking, but only barely. I think we have ended the era when the reused components designed for unpowered bicycles are sufficient for modern electric bicycles.
If it’s still not clear, I have a love-hate relationship with Rail 9.9 AXS. All the electronic genies and the locked Bosch system-uh. It is difficult to recommend Bosch when Specialized and Shimano electric bike systems provide excellent performance without causing headaches. Hope that Bosch and SRAM can solve the update problem. If Bosch continues to use their closed system, they must add all the features provided by competitors that their platform lacks. Because under this guise, I cannot recommend the railway without reservation.
But once I use it on the track, I like Rail. It is one of my favorite electric mountain bikes and the best electric all-round bike I have ridden so far.
Post time: Nov-15-2021
