Does anyone have a Trek Rail 5? I fancy an ebike to do some technical trails/snowdon/lots of elevation type riding – possibly after a hard day on my normal mountainbike. So normal bike on a Saturday, ebike on a Sunday and midweek as well.

I don’t really want to spend too much. There are some good deals on the Rail 5 625Kw/h at the minute.

The Rail 7, in a sale as well is £1,000 more and a Rail 9 is another £500 dearer than the Rail 7.

Any thoughts? Is the Rail 7 worth the extra?

I bought a Rail 5 second hand last summer. Really like it, might upgrade the fork to something a bit more beefy, biketart have Domains for £315 at the moment. Not had any issues with the 35 TBH, though Snowden might overwhelm it.

It’s a pretty basic spec but I’m the limit most of the time.
I’ve ridden it locally- woods etc (Danbury) Flyup 417, Twisted oaks and Surrey Hills, its been fine for all that
Just got one for the wife, delivery in a week or so, have a look on Monster Mtb, just paid £3600 for hers brand new with the 625wh battery, bloody bargain.

Is the Rail 7 worth the extra?

Doing a quick comparison on the Trek website I’d say no. The 7 has a Domain (which is a 38) but I don’t think it can be upgraded to Zeb and the 5 has a RS Gold which also can’t be upgraded. I’d buy the 5 and upgrade the forks with the money saved over the 7.

If buying new the spec of the bits for the lower models is a bit crap, but the important bit is it’s got the bigger, better battery.

I’d buy the lower model & ditch the fork/shock & swap them out for something decent. Keep them in a box & when you sell it, chuck them back on.

Might be worth considering a second hand bike? There are some bargains out there. I got a 6 month old Rail 9 for considerably less than the discounted 5 is (with a few nice upgrade bits).

Can’t comment on the 5, but had a 7 for a couple of years abuse in the Highlands with no issues. Replaced last month with a mint ex-demo 9.8 with 130 miles on it from Bailfe bikes for £4.5k and 0% finance. It’s definitely a big step above the 7. Maybe worth hunting out ex-demo deal at this time of year?

Thanks for the responses.

So we don’t think the fork on the Rail 5 is good enough for Snowdon? I’m just after something that will do rather than the best fork?

Where is a good place to look secondhand – ebay second hand prices are sky high and I don’t have facebook!

Doesn’t this have a gen 2 motor which is really a few generations old and a bit ropey waterproof wise , compared to the improved gen 4 ?

Got mine as an ex hire from Beics Brenin, can’t be far from you? I’m a bit of a suspension ludite, if it goes up and down I’m happy. I’ve got performance elite both ends on the normal bike so I’ve got a comparison, and the fancy stuff is a bit wasted on me.
I use mine the way you intend, normal bike Saturday, easy on the eeb/hung over Sunday or big days exploring. The 35 is fine for that, I think.

Doesn’t this have a gen 2 motor which is really a few generations old and a bit ropey waterproof wise , compared to the improved gen 4 ?

no, it has the gen 4 motor

I’ve got the Rail 7 and the wife has a Rail 5 . I would say that the beefier fork , better wheels , upgraded transmission , better brakes and tubeless ready tyres are well worth the extra spend . You even get a faster charger which may not sound like much but it really makes life easier . It’s a big purchase you don’t want to get it wrong .

Sounds like the upgrades on the 7 might be worth the extra, but if you wanna do it cheaper then get the 5 and a secondhand fork to upgrade.

And it just so happens I have a Zeb Ultimate you could have for £400 😉

Just been looking at the Rail 5 for similar kind of use.
It seems they’re being pretty heavily discounted at the moment with about 20% off in a few places.
I reckon the Rail 5 with a fork upgrade using the cheap fork in the Bird Cycleworks eBay shop would be a pretty good bike for the price.

the rail 5 looks like a good bet to use as a platform to upgrade form. i’d deff look to upgrade the forks straight away – i had a rail 9 for a couple of years and switched from the lyrik that came with it to a fix 38 after about a year, the beefier fork definitely made a difference. i’d also e looking to upgrade the brakes out of the box, but that more personally preference being a big heavy rider on a big heavy bike. the rest of it upgrade as things wear out or break