In terms of comfort, the bike excels; its riding position, while having a slight forward-lean, is mostly relaxed and upright. It features a well-shaped Bontrager Commuter Comp saddle with a great balance of softness and supportiveness. The bike includes ergonomic rubber grips with plenty of support, and large rubberized pedals with plenty of grab – but no pegs to inflict shin wounds in the event of a slip.
The Allant+ is offered in three frame sizes and two frame styles; the high-step we tested fits riders between 5’-5” and 6’-6”, while the step-thru or “Stagger” model is made for shorter riders between 5’-1” and 6’-1”. At 5’-11”, I fit squarely in the middle of the accommodation range for the Large frame, and it felt perfect for me in terms of saddle height, reach, etc.
As I mentioned previously, the bike felt firmly planted, but still handled incredibly responsively. Its 660mm handlebars provided quick steering, and ultimately felt wider and roomier than they were. The 27.5”x2.4” Bontrager E6 Hard-Case Lite tires helped the bike feel stable and offered cushioning to help counteract the absence of a suspension – which itself plays a role in the bike’s confident handling but makes bumps more pronounced.
A huge element that contributed to the overall ride feel of the Allant+ is its Bosch Performance Line Speed mid-drive motor. In addition to providing a remarkably smooth and consistent feel to its pedal assistance, the system includes highly functional technology to make rides easier and more enjoyable.
Our test bike was outfitted with the manufacturer’s SmartphoneHub that includes a basic black-and-white LCD, but features a spring loaded clamp mount that allows riders to use their smartphone as a display. When paired with the bike through Bosch’s COBI.BIKE app, users have seamless access to up to 10 pre-selected contacts for making calls with Bluetooth headphones/earbuds, streaming songs through Apple Music or Spotify, turn-by-turn navigation with Apple Maps, ride tracking through Strava or Komoot, and health/fitness data through Apple Health or Google Fit.
We found the app to be highly functional in most cases, though as with any technology, there was a slight learning curve to the app and the bike’s multi-functional control panel. Once it was set up, my phone became a true unified dashboard that felt more in line with what I expect in an automobile. I appreciated that the app could be manipulated through my phone or (more reliably) the bike’s button panel, and I also liked that simply removing and/or rotating my phone would return control to the bike’s integrated LCD and stop ride tracking.
The phone mount itself is something I hope Bosch improves in the future; the spring loaded top portion of the clamp felt rather flimsy, and in fact broke at some point during our testing. When diagnosing the issue, we observed that the mechanism seemed to be held together with two tiny screws that did not seem to be stout enough for a moving component. Sturdier construction would be appreciated, but in the meantime, a separate phone mount may be good to keep on hand – the handlebars have enough real estate to make that option practical.
One other thing prospective owners should be aware of is that the bike’s light system is always active when the bike is turned on. Our contact at Trek advised us that this is a setting within the Bosch system that was selected for safety reasons, but it can be changed to provide more direct control to the user. As long as your local bike shop services Bosch systems, their technicians should have the ability to alter the light settings.
Aside from these relatively minor concerns, the overall feel of the Allant+ 8s was of a solidly built, high-quality, responsive, and dialed-in e-bike. We hope to see a few small improvements, but there is simply a huge “WOW!” factor to the bike as-is.
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