Switching between the three assist levels is literally at your fingertips thanks to convenient remote buttons positioned next to the brake lever hoods, while the various mode screens on the high-resolution LCD panel on the top tube are accessed directly on that panel. Three levels of e-assist are available, each of which can be customized using the Trek Central smartphone app. An optional range extender battery tucks into a water bottle cage for another 160 Wh, and the system can even run on just the range extender battery alone should you want to fly with your new Domane+ and need to tuck in under typical airline battery size restrictions. The official maximum power output is 300 W (or 50 Nm of torque), and it’s powered by a 360 Wh Li-ion battery in the down tube that Trek claims is good for “up to” 145 km (90 miles) in Eco mode. Trek’s official press materials also make mention of the lower Q-factor as compared to the Fazua unit, but don’t get too excited it’s only down 2 mm in total, and the 163 mm figure is still about 12 mm wider than what you get with Shimano GRX, or 17 mm wider than most dedicated road cranks.īe that as it may, the specs of the TQ HPR-50 motor are impressive. Trek is also touting the HPR-50’s unusually quiet operation, which comes about thanks to a unique interior configuration that does away with the usual array of reduction gears and/or belts, and is claimed to reduce internal friction, too.

The TQ HPR-50 motor is shockingly small, and remarkably quiet. Of course, a closer look reveals clues such as the cooling port on the underside of the cover, but even the battery is fully integrated inside the down tube.

Unlike the previous Bosch and Fazua units, the TQ is hidden completely inside a painted-to-match shroud at the bottom bracket with little on the outside to give anything away. Why the switch, you wonder? Because it seems like quite the advancement in a number of key areas.įirst and foremost, the TQ HPR-50 motor is legitimately tiny, so much so that in profile, you almost wouldn’t guess at all that the Domane+ is an e-bike. Each generation of the Domane+ has used a different brand of motor: Bosch on the first generation one, Fazua on the second iteration, and now TQ on this latest third-generation model. Trek clearly isn’t shy about switching motor suppliers.

The lightning pace of e-bike motor development It sounds like quite the complete package on paper, and it mostly is in reality – with some caveats, of course. There’s a new motor from German company TQ, a brand-new carbon fiber frame with more advanced carbon fiber content and construction, more tire clearance, and in general, a sleeker and lighter total package that looks and feels more like a “regular” road bike. Trek has today announced the third generation of its Domane+ e-assist road bike, and it’s quite the change from the one that came before.

Felt motorized bicycle