nomadmax 

I've come to the conclusion that an E Road bike would be a good tool for recovery days. I did my research based on needs/wants and narrowed it down to one bike, the Trek Doman+ HP. There's a semi local dealer but they don't have one or even anticipate getting one before Christmas 2022. Apart from calling every Trek dealer within 400 miles or so, is there a way to centrally search for the bike/size I need?

2old

Your dealer should be able to search the pipeline AFAIK. You're better off than I was. The Trek I wanted wasn't going to be shipped to my local Trek dealer until mid-2023 and they have 10 or so locations in socal.

veganbikes

You might look at the Specialized Creo. I love Bosch, I have a Bosch equipped bike and really do think it is the bee's knees and the cat's pajamas and meow. However I think for a lightweight road bike it is not the way to go, it is a large heavier motor and a big battery which for a commuter or touring or cargo bike or something like that makes sense but for lightweight road I don't think it suits. It makes the bike really bulky and not sleek and sexy like a road bike.

Specialized got it they knew they had to use and help design a motor that was small and light but well integrated and a battery that is also light but has decent enough range. Certainly I would go Trek over a lot of other offerings in E-Road that just use hub drives but I would give the Creo a try. The Trek isn't poorly spec'd or anything (though for the price I would love to see Di2) and that Purple color is awesome but I just don't think they used the right system for E-road. Fazua would have made sense or trying to get in on the Mahle train as Spesh did but Bosch in this instance would not have been my choice (and again I love Bosch, a lot)

That all being said you will probably have tough times finding either. Though most dealers working with big brands can find those bikes at other shops and exchange them or at least tell you where it might be so you should be able to find one or the other.

nomadmax 

All good info above, thank you very much!

Why the Creo lost out to the Trek:

I have a fleet of lightweight steel road bikes (light weight so to speak). Honestly I'm buying the bike for the work that I can't do day after day anymore. A few times a week I go on world championship group rides. At age 62, there are times when I have to lay it all out there to be competitive. The E bike would be for a nice day after ride where I don't spike my HR and recover. I said all that to say this, I don't care if it weighs 50 pounds (well, maybe not 50), I want as much motor, battery and range as I can get. My research says that's the Trek but I'm just learning so I don't know that to be an absolute fact.

Detachable battery. This one is non-negotiable. The battery will be charged in a steel fire cabinet that would 100% contain a battery explosion and/or fire.

Wheel spacing has to be 100mm Front, 142mm Rear. I have in stock wheel sets for my gravel bike and the Spec 110mm Front 148mm Rear doesn't allow for that. It might with some kind of spacer change but I want to be able to swap wheels as easily as possible.

The future shock stem is something I don't want and something else that will eventually need attention. I ride 23mm tires, wider tires are enough suspension.

I think they're both good products but the Trek is more in line with what I want to accomplish.

veganbikes

I wouldn't worry about battery charging. We have charged many many 1000s of batteries at the shop and not had any fires, the only time we came close was when we opened up a battery and started screwing with it but that was dumb and we didn't do it again and I chastised the person who did it because they knew better. It just smoked for a sec, he blew on it and was done. I charge my Bosch batteries in the bike and no issues and no worries. All of my customers have done the same and none of them have had any fire issues or at least come to me or the shop about fire issues and we are talking a lot of e-bikes from 2015-2022 (but I am sure before that but I started in late 2014)

The wheel swapability makes sense but in the end I wouldn't worry so much about that, if you get the Roval wheels on it they are quite nice and no issues or White Industries will get you a set of road boost spaced hubs and you can have them laced up to any rim you wish and you will have a great set of wheels.

The FutureShock is nice! Yes, wide tires help with suspension but the FutureShock does cut the edge off rougher roads and at least near me that is a very handy thing but maybe you are lucky enough to have smooth roads in which case loads of envy and I should come through and ride there I love a smooth road. However you can run it sans FutureShock, they make a top cover for it and then you just run normal spacers.

The range is certainly better on a 625 battery so if Trek is using that you are golden otherwise Specialized has the range extender batteries and you can take as many as you so desire and swap them in. Bosch doesn't have range extenders and while they do a dual battery set up which works great it adds a ton of weight and only really makes sense if you buy a bike already set up for it. It can get expensive to do it aftermarket and won't look clean and sexy and is going to be tough to do on Carbon unless they are ready for it from the factory. If you want range get a R-M Supercharger with dual 625 batteries like I did and you will be all set...LOL

That all being said you will probably enjoy the Trek as well it is a Bosch Speed motor and Powertube battery and a very reliable system it is just weight on the system is heavy and for a road bike I can't abide by that. I am not a weight weenie by any stance but a 50lb road bike is too much. The Creo is close in weight to my Co-Motion Cascadia with rear rack and Dynamo (and sometimes less) and that is really sensible considering that bike has a motor and battery plus all the wiring. Most of my road bikes hover in the 17-25lb range.

fooferdoggie 

well bosch gives you about the most range. but you don't need to charge it in a box its ul certified and the battery and charger are smart. You cant get a box that would contain that big of a fire if the battery blew up. but never heard of a bosch battery doing that.

Calsun

No there is not. Dealer websites are not an accurate reflection of what is available either. A bike that is assembled and ready to take wiil be shown in their inventory but not a bike still in its shipping box at there storage area. I found two Turbo Creo SL bikes in the sizes I wanted and I had to phone 7 bike shops to locate them.

With one bike shop where I bought a Specialized FS mountain bike the dealer's phone number was incorrect on the Specialized dealers listing and the owner said they lost business as a result. The shop also sells Giant bikes but they are not listed on the Giant website as a dealer.

But that is actually a good thing as it makes it more likely you will find a bike that others are too lazy to check around for and make the calls.

veganbikes

Not true, unless a bike has just arrived straight off the truck it is always in inventory otherwise we don't know what we have. Correct though that some websites are not accurate ours certainly has some issues but dealer to dealer stuff is different and follows a different form than just checking a stores website and having to call.

fooferdoggie 

I cracked the rim on my bosch powered bike so I had a new set of wheels built with dt Swiss rims and hubs I bike as skewers so I can pop the end caps off and change it to through axles on the next bike.

nomadmax 

Thanks all.

I'll get a list of dealers in the area I'm willing to drive to and start calling around.

2old

I agree with VB about batteries since I've never heard of one from a major OEM (Specialized, Trek .....) catching on fire (I'm not saying it's never happened, just that I've never heard of one). Accordingly, the OEM battery is charged and kept inside my house, the rest "safely" outside.

veganbikes

It has to be pretty darn rare. Next time I talk with our Bosch Level 2 guy I will ask him but yeah these things are well put together. These aren't those specific Samsung Phones or some janky battery that some guy wired in his basement while doing mescaline, Bosch makes some of the highest quality stuff out there in terms of bikes and power tools and appliances (as well as all the other stuff they make I didn't mention). It would hurt their reputation pretty bad and would get out quick if they were having a lot of battery fires especially in bikes with a Bosch Charger, with some aftermarket stuff and out of the bike in extreme weather maybe in a sun room or something but that is some extreme stuff that would be silly to do.

Also you would need some sort of way to feed the charger into the fireproof safe, no?

Kabuki12

If I had an extra 7k laying around and wanted (kind of do) a drop bar ebike the Specialized Creo Turbo would be mine! I ride with a guy who has one and that thing is awesome. It isn’t that much heavier than my vintage steel racers and it can be ridden easily without assist if you want.

mcmoose

I have a Bianchi Aria e-bike with the Ultegra groupset. It is a lovely ride. But the batteries stay with the bike (they're located in the down tube, which helps balance out the read-drive motor). It wasn't cheap (although I was able to get a good employee's discount) -- but it's competitive with other e-road bikes. And it weighs 27 pounds (it's basically the Aria + battery and motor... and 28cm tires instead of 25... and probably higher spoke count).
Shops seem to have them, though sizes are limited. Good hunting!

gpburdell

I imagine you've already been calling around since this post, just chiming in to mention the Trek website shows availability as well -- I see 56 & 58 as in stock at Trek of Asheville NC and Liberty Bicycles also in Asheville. Might be more of a road trip than you wish to do though.