Trek Fetch+ 2 review

The Fetch+ 2 is Trek’s entrant into the growing compact cargo bike world. It’s a slickly designed bike with a plethora of features and an easy-riding nature.

Trek uses Bosch’s Cargo Line motor. The Cargo Line is based on the German motor maker’s powerful mountain bike motor, but here the 86Nm of torque is applied lower down in the speed range to help shift 200kg of loaded weight.

The clever low-slung design not only balances the load low-down, but it also means the Fetch+ 2 can fit riders of varying sizes.

With a wide range of accessories, the Fetch+ 2 can easily be made into the ideal cargo machine for your needs, but be prepared to spend plenty of extra cash on top of the base price of £5,160 / $5,590.

Trek Fetch+ 2 frame details

The frame design is all about making things easy for the rider.

The design is based around smaller 20-inch wheels, making for a long and very low-slung aluminium frame. This results in a bike that’s easy to mount and dismount.

Trek has also attempted to make riding longer distances easier thanks to a spring-loaded steering damper housed in the head tube.

The easy-to-use and exceptionally stable stand, adjustable stem and quick-adjust seatpost also work to gear the Fetch+ 2 towards flexible usability.

The slick frame design includes a small open triangle behind the head tube and an open brace above the bottom bracket.

Both of these neat design touches give convenient locations to fit a serious bike lock.

The quality of the frameset is plain to see, with even welds and great attention to detail throughout.

The paint also seems especially high-quality.

The hidden down-tube mounted battery is removable, but there’s also a charge port mounted at the foot of the seat tube to charge it when fitted.

The integrated rear rack has a large flat platform, which can be fitted with a padded cover and a guard rail for transporting larger children, or it's large enough to take two smaller child seats (it’s designed around a pair of Thule Yepp Nexxt seats).

Trek also offers foot boards, oversized pannier bags, and (as specified on this test bike) a front rack and box carriers on the front.

As with any electric cargo bike, the footprint is large, with a 1,365mm wheelbase. The full bike extends to 1,450mm and, with the box panniers in place, it’s 640mm wide – this means you need ample space to store it.

Trek Fetch+ 2 build

The Trek Fetch+ 2 comes with the basics: integrated front and rear lights (a 60-lux headlamp and a 180-lumen rack-mounting rear light), a full chainguard and good-quality flat-platform pedals with grip tape inserts.

That said, it’s not as well-equipped as some rivals – even the mudguards are an optional extra. In the UK especially, I’d argue they're an essential.

The extras list includes the family pack kit (£259.99 / $319.99) including rear seat pad, guard rails and wheel shields; front pannier rack (£54.99 / $79.99); rear pannier kit (£179.99 / $179.99); front pannier rack and kit (£169.99 / $179.99); mudguard set (£54.99 / $59.99); side load bottle cages (£13.99) and saddle bag (£54.99). The rear rack is also designed to work with two of Thule’s YEPP Max child seats.

Shimano supplies a 10-speed Deore drivetrain, with a spread of gears well suited to the Fetch+ 2’s sedate ride characteristics.

Braking is taken care of by quad-piston Tektro hydraulic calipers, combined with huge 180mm-diameter rotors.

The front end combines a stem, which can be angle adjusted from -30 to +70 degrees, which is clamped to a 70cm-wide high-rise handlebar with comfortable ergonomically shaped lock-on grips.

At the rear, a telescopic quick-release seatpost is topped with a large, plushly padded Bontrager Boulevard saddle. It’s well-shaped and supportive for the upright riding position.

It enabled me, at 6ft 2in / 188cm tall, to get a good comfortable position and offered enough adjustment for my considerably smaller partner (5ft / 152cm tall) to adjust the bar height and reach to suit her.

The powertrain is based around Bosch’s Cargo Line electric bike motor with 85Nm of torque, connected to a 500Wh internally housed Bosch PowerTube battery.

The motor is controlled by a combination of the bar-mounted LED remote, which puts motor and light controls within easy reach of your left thumb.

The Trek also uses the rather clever BSP3200 smartphone grip. With this, you can mount your iPhone or Android phone and, in combination with the excellent Bosch Flow app, it effectively turns your smartphone screen into a display.

This enables you to take full advantage of the app’s many features: route guidance, motor management, energy management and a full suite of metrics (speed, distance, cadence, power, etc.).

Handily, the phone mount also serves as a wireless charging pad, so your phone gets topped up by the ebike battery as you ride.

Trek Fetch+ 2 ride impressions

The ride of the Trek Fetch+ 2 is excellent – it's easy, comfortable and the upright position gives a commanding view of the road ahead.

While the Fetch+ 2 isn’t what I’d call a traditional choice as a commuter bike, I thoroughly enjoyed using it on my 25-mile / 40km each-way commute to the office, especially when I could deviate from my usual route home and get our weekly shop in.

As part of my testing, I used the Fetch+ 2 on a trip to my local recycling centre, with the box panniers loaded up with garden waste (including hefty hardcore, old decking sawn into sections to fit in the bike and lots of general green waste).

It approached the bike's 80kg capacity, but the Fetch+ 2 handled the excess weight brilliantly.

The low centre of gravity helps stability here, and the damped steering enabled the bike to manoeuvre easily and confidently (not over-sensitively).

I’ve also used the Fetch+ 2 on weekly shopping excursions, and to carry kit and components to a photoshoot, becoming a true car replacement for those short trips and day-to-day chores.

On a couple of occasions – thanks, I think, to riding a little too enthusiastically, rather than a notable design flaw – I lightly grounded the rear box carriers mid-corner.

The Bosch motor delivers masses of punch, providing you use the right mode.

The Cargo Line system offers Eco, Tour+, Cargo and Turbo modes. In Eco, the assistance is subtle, which is fine for the bare unloaded bike – but as soon as I loaded it up with any weight, I needed the extra power of the Tour+ mode.

The Cargo mode pulls heaps of torque from the motor, making climbs easy, even with plenty of luggage on board. I found Turbo was only really required for hill starts (or having a bit of fun) when the ebike was unloaded.

The range of the Fetch+ 2 is good for such a heavy bike, bearing in mind the small wheels and powerful motor, with ‘only’ a 500Wh battery to power it.

I achieved 30.2 miles / 48.6km with 1,058ft / 322.5m of elevation, and 32.1 miles / 51.7km with 1,453ft / 443m of elevation on my range-burning test rides.

That said, those with larger batteries will, of course, be able to last longer.

Trek Fetch+ 2 bottom line

The Trek Fetch+ 2 is an interesting and fun small-wheeled cargo ebike.

It shares the same motor as both the Cube Longtail Sport Hybrid 725 and Cannondale Cargowagen Neo 1, but comes with only a 500Wh battery, inevitably impacting the achievable range.

If you frequently carry heavy loads, for example a couple of children, with seats and extra luggage too, the range will be further reduced.

It’s also a little low on included extras, which is a shame.

Overall, though, the Trek Fetch+ 2 is easy to live with, providing you have the space to store it. It’s versatile, easy to ride and a good deal of fun.