Trek Allant+ 8 for touring

[Old Fart At Play]

Touring is my favourite kind of cycling. For years I rode a steel tourer, with racks front and back to mount 4 panniers. I like the weight distribution front and back, and I have a lot of stuff as I camp. When I started looking for an ebike (the hills had become less appealing), I struggled to find anything suitable. Most ebikes seemed to have suspension forks, which aren't great for loaded panniers. Some bikes with rigid forks were carbon, again no good. In the end I could only find two bikes suitable for touring, with rigid alloy forks. These were the Koga eworld traveller and the Allant+ 8. The Koga looked too much like my old bike - I wanted a change of style too after so many years. The Trek clinched it because my LBS is a Trek dealer.

I'm posting these pics for anyone in a similar quandary. I have now added the Tubus Tara lowrider to the Trek. This is the same rack that I used for many years on my old bike, so I knew it was bomb proof and my Ortlieb panniers would fit.

Very happy with the result!

 

[Andy-Mat]

Touring is my favourite kind of cycling. For years I rode a steel tourer, with racks front and back to mount 4 panniers. I like the weight distribution front and back, and I have a lot of stuff as I camp. When I started looking for an ebike (the hills had become less appealing), I struggled to find anything suitable. Most ebikes seemed to have suspension forks, which aren't great for loaded panniers. Some bikes with rigid forks were carbon, again no good. In the end I could only find two bikes suitable for touring, with rigid alloy forks. These were the Koga eworld traveller and the Allant+ 8. The Koga looked too much like my old bike - I wanted a change of style too after so many years. The Trek clinched it because my LBS is a Trek dealer.

I'm posting these pics for anyone in a similar quandary. I have now added the Tubus Tara lowrider to the Trek. This is the same rack that I used for many years on my old bike, so I knew it was bomb proof and my Ortlieb panniers would fit.

Very happy with the result!

I wish you happiness, but what about all that extra weight of the camping gear, on an e-bike, thereby stressing out the chain even more than usual, a mid motor bike where all the power, both motor and muscles, goes through that single "path" to the rear wheel?
Do take a spare chain, links and tools as well, for safety reasons....even more weight sadly.....
We see regular problems with some mid motor bikes reported here on Pedelec, for instance, one recently had the chain snap at 700 miles.....without all the camping gear as far as I remember....for some reason.
I am sure that the "mid Motor Gang" here will close ranks and say that its not a problem (usually in a very nasty and childish manner!), but I sincerely hope that they are fully correct for you....time and miles will tell.
Best wishes
Andy

 

[Bikes4two]

Touring is my favourite kind of cycling.

Me too - do you have any trips planned? If so, feedback on how it all goes with the ebike side of things would be good.

As for the 'chain snapping' thing and 'camping kit load' etc raised by Andy - I've absolutely no experience of touring on an ebike but have done a lot of fully loaded touring on solo and tandem bikes.

So firstly with regard to the Trek Allant+8
- the frame is aluminium and personally I'd have thought it fine for loaded touring - why wouldn't it be? Trek have included pannier mounting lugs on the front fork in anticipation of a load being added there after all.
- the drive train (and chain) - yes there was a post about a chain snapping at 700 miles but that is surely a one-off (or minimal) occurence. On our tandem the rear chain, a standard KMC 9 speed one, takes all the strain of two peddlers, the weight of the tandem plus full camping kit (probably 180Kg+) without any chain snaps over thousands of touring miles.

The only unknown here is the mid motor's ability to take the load you'll be applying and given the way Bosch motors get a real pounding in eMTB use, my gut feeling is that it'll deal with the camping kit and touring without issue.

I look forward to hearing about your touring tales.

 

[Samcycles]

Enjoy using it that's a great looking bike. Love the colour.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Me too - do you have any trips planned? If so, feedback on how it all goes with the ebike side of things would be good.

The only unknown here is the mid motor's ability to take the load you'll be applying and given the way Bosch motors get a real pounding in eMTB use, my gut feeling is that it'll deal with the camping kit and touring without issue.

I look forward to hearing about your touring tales.

Hiya..
Tours for this year have been cancelled due to covid, hopefully next year. Have just had a week in the Cheviots doing day trips and the bike is superb. Nothing steeper than 15% and only 10kg of luggage, but I could get up those in eco.

I have no qualms about the Bosch CX gen 4 being able to handle hills fully loaded - as you say it is a motor on a lot of proper eMTB bikes so a 20% hill is nothing really.

Before I bought the bike I asked Trek about racks for it, and they recommended a Bontrager one (of course). So they are anticipating people hauling 25 or 30kgs.

I'm a bit baffled about all this talk of weight/mid drive/expect your chain to snap. The bike (with battery) is only about 13kg heavier than my old bike, and I will have the same amount of luggage as before. I could easily weigh more than 13kg more than I do now. I always carry spare links and chain tool anyway.

I am really looking forward to proper touring again though. Not least because this bike has 3 huge advantages over my old tourer (apart from the electroinic assistance!):
1) The riding position is much more upright, which gives me a much better view of the country I'm riding through. I'm really surprised at what a difference this makes, after 50 years of riding on drops.
2) Hydraulic disc brakes - wow! The cantilevers on my old bike now feel positively dangerous in comparison
3) Another big surprise - I love the feel of the wide tyres. The bike feel so much more sure footed than my old tourer, and it soaks up lumps and bumps which would have been a real pain in the past

But really the main thing is that I actively look forward to hitting the hills again, like I did when I was younger. Lovely!

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Enjoy using it that's a great looking bike. Love the colour.

Thanks, I am! Yes I love the colour too. Funny but it does make a difference to me!

 

[Old Fart At Play]

I wish you happiness, but what about all that extra weight of the camping gear, on an e-bike, thereby stressing out the chain even more than usual, a mid motor bike where all the power, both motor and muscles, goes through that single "path" to the rear wheel?
Do take a spare chain, links and tools as well, for safety reasons....even more weight sadly.....
We see regular problems with some mid motor bikes reported here on Pedelec, for instance, one recently had the chain snap at 700 miles.....without all the camping gear as far as I remember....for some reason.
I am sure that the "mid Motor Gang" here will close ranks and say that its not a problem (usually in a very nasty and childish manner!), but I sincerely hope that they are fully correct for you....time and miles will tell.
Best wishes
Andy

Thank you. Yes time will tell, I don't see it as a significant risk but we'll see. I always carry spare links and tool anyway

 

[Bus biker55]

Thank you. Yes time will tell, I don't see it as a significant risk but we'll see. I always carry spare links and tool anyway

I would be inclined to think your bike will serve you very well. Regarding mid drive motors and chain wear, I would not worry about it to much. I have a tern gsd which is regularly loaded with huge loads, and has never missed a beat. I hope you enjoy your bike as much as I enjoy mine