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- Motor, Assist & Gears0 pts
It handles the big hills we have okay though I wouldn't mind more power.
Released Feb 2023
The Trek Fetch+ 4 is a front-loader electric cargo bike with a spacious box, Bosch motor, and 750Wh battery, designed to carry up to four children and heavy cargo in urban settings.
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Total +22 pts
It handles the big hills we have okay though I wouldn't mind more power.
I appreciate the larger bucket compared to an Urban Arrow because I can put my kids in it for longer.
Breaking is easy and predictable. I can come to a quick stop with a full load at high speed.
Trek Fetch+ 4 300-mile review, as requested by /u/msjgriffiths I have ridden my Trek Fetch+ 4 for 335 miles in the 10 weeks I've owned it. It has completely replaced our family's car. Most of my rides are 1-5 miles to stores, parks, and restaurants. I also use it for longer rides from our home in Arlington, Virginia to Washington, DC or Maryland. I've taken it around the Arlington loop a few times. Most of my rides are on city streets or our county's network of grade-separated trails. The Fetch+ 4 is a beast of a bike, with room for five children, but is fun to ride and great for families with young children. The biggest surprise I've had is how well the bike handles. It's steady as a rock at speed and through turns. It feels secure when leaning through corners, and the handling is always predictable and smooth. At low speed, the front wheel can be turned 90 degrees from dead center, allowing for a shockingly tight turning radius for such a gigantic bike. You can't tell you're riding a heavy bike, because it takes minimal effort to steer. You're mostly shifting your bodyweight to turn, and minimal input is needed from your hands except when you're going very slow. On flats the bike is very fast, frequently leaving my riding partners in the dust. I find that I can exceed the 20 MPH assist limit with just leg power if I want to get a workout. The Fetch+ 4 is less nimble on climbs. I typically max out at 10 MPH on the steepest hills, but I have never had any difficulty summiting anything in the Arlington, VA or Washington, DC area. The big weight is more noticeable at very low speeds, but it is still quite easy to handle with minimal effort because of how stable it is. The weight disadvantage is at its worst when pushing the bike around on foot. From a dead stop, the bike starts gradually but confidently. The low center of gravity makes it easy to keep the bike centered when coming off the line. Shifting is also possible when the bike isn't moving thanks to the Enviolo hub. Unlike typical geared bikes, the Enviolo hub has a continuum of gear selections made by a grip shift. The bucket itself is enormous. Wider, taller, and longer than its two-wheeled competitors. The bucket is made of hard plastic and comes equipped with two reclining child seats featuring five point harnesses and head rests. There's also an option to add a two-seat bench in the front of the box, which is equipped with two three-point harnesses. My toddlers prefer the bench, but the recliners are better for naps on longer rides. We also purchased a carseat adapter for our newborn, which we will install in the coming months, taking the place of the bench seat. There's also room for a fifth seat if you want to mount a Yepp-style seat on the rear rack. Fitting all three children into the bucket, from infancy until they're old enough to ride on their own, was my primary goal for purchasing this bike, and it made me rule out most other options. The large bucket in the Trek allows seats to be mounted higher above the floor so children can sit with bent knees. This means they won't grow out of the bike as quickly as they would if they were sitting close to the floor. Without the kids, this bike is a monster grocery hauler. With the pannier bags I've added to the rear rack I can fit a full Costco run in the bike. With 3-4 kids in the bucket I'm limited to what I can fit in panniers, but that's enough for a gallon of milk plus veggies, meat, and other food. My pannier bags fit easily onto the built in rack with no modifications. The canopy works pretty well once installed, but it's a bit of a pain to put on and it takes up space when collapsed. It doesn't compare well to the canopy on a Wike Salamander, for example. The Trek comes equipped with powerful disc brakes and oversized rotors. Breaking is easy and predictable. I can come to a quick stop with a full load at high speed. Battery life is heavily dependent on how you ride, how frequently you stop...
It's steady as a rock at speed and through turns. It feels secure when leaning through corners, and the handling is always predictable and smooth.
My kids are very wiggly so I had to be careful doing tight, sharp turns.
The middle zips off and a magnet holds it up while a netting stays in place. It lets in plenty of air
it handles really well when you're moving.
Fetch4 Test Ride Experience At Trek Wicker Park
Releasing the kickstand was surprisingly easy; putting it down takes more effort but got pretty easy after doing it several times.
Trek Fetch 4 Feedback And Front Loader Cargo Bike
I ride my Fetch in pretty rough conditions and it's holding up extremely well 6 months in.
I would take these problems up with Trek directly, rather than the shop, if you can.
First Ebike Acting Funky Bosch Cargo Line Is This
sometimes it'll do this shuddering on and off thing.
Overall: Pro: Easy to pedal
That made it so much easier to get on and off the bike.
I wasn't a huge fan, as it was hard to get a sense of how far I should turn it to change gears.
Overall: Con: Cargo area design is a bit bland
Check the weight limit with three kids — surprisingly it can't take much cargo.
having the back to lean against is pretty nice.
The rainfly design is really clever.
the individual seats for the kids and the pneumatic seat post are my favorite features and I absolutely love it.
Fetch4 Test Ride Experience At Trek Wicker Park
Makes it so easy for my wife who is much shorter than me to share the bike without needing to get an allen key out every time to change seat height
It's been bulletproof for about 18 months now
the large capacity and super smooth ride are big pluses for me.
is generally a very smooth and stable ride.
a kickstand that can lose its rubber feet if you aren't careful.
Trek has serviced everything for free when I dealt with those little issues.
It has taken me a few rides to figure out how to shift smoothly
Looking For Advice On A Trek Fetch 4 Worth Buying
once I got going it actually felt completely fine—handling it was simpler than I'd anticipated.
The one thing I didn't love was the kickstand. It wasn't as smooth as I'd hoped
if a major component needs replacing down the line, sourcing parts could be a real hassle.
the kickstand rubber bits tearing the metal attachments out of their welds in the kickstand itself. This happened twice
Another problem we had is the Bosch controller overheating when left in direct sunlight on even a warm day.
our Trek dealer replaced the whole assembly for free each time.
Trek Fetch 4 Front Wheel Shake
Since then I've gone 2.5 years without any further trouble.
Two Days In With My Trek Fetch 4 And Almost
something happened inside the hub and it started making a clickety-clack noise when I pedaled
I do have local Trek support, but this is the only Fetch in town and they have no experience with it.
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