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2022 Navigator Go! E-Bike Is Trek’s Answer to a Growing Urban Mobility Demand

Aside from mountain-destroying machines, Trek, one of the world's appreciated bicycle manufacturers, also makes bikes for the ordinary city and urban rider.
2022 Navigator Go! 5i 11 photos
Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation
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One of these bikes is the 2022 Navigator Go! 5i, an e-bike with a frame design and components meant to do a bit more than just catch a few looks.

Since I mentioned frame design, time to go ahead and take a look to see what Trek did with this one. According to the manufacturer's website, Navigator is the sort of e-bike made to help you explore and travel as far as possible.

To make sure you have a safe and comfortable ride, Trek employs their Flat Foot Technology in designing the frame. If you're never heard of this tech, it's a frame geometry tuned to offer riders an upright and relaxed ride that allows you to set your feet down on the ground with ease and at any time, making things a tad safer.

Like other Go! e-bikes, it would seem that Navigator is completed using the same 6061-T6 aluminum with a hydroformed top tube and high-tensile steel uni-crown fork. That's right, there's no suspension on the frameset.

2022 Navigator Go\! 5i With Rider
Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation
To help soften your ride, Navigator is equipped with a dual spring retro leatherette saddle that should be right up any city rider's alley. Other components to offer vibration attenuation properties are the tires. A set of 26 in Vee Rubber Speedster with 2.8 in (7.11 cm) cross-section tubes should do just fine for reducing vibrations. If you have something better in mind, switch them out, as tires are a rather inexpensive component to change.

Now, any e-bike also features a motor and battery system, so it's time to have a look at those features. On the Navigator, Trek is throwing on a Bosch Performance Line motor running under 250 watts. With it, you'll be able to attain a 20 mph (32 kph) top speed, but this is a software-limited top speed, so you just might be able to fiddle with that limit.

Powering this motor will be a Bosch PowerPack 400. This pack brings 400 watts of energy but once drained, you can easily switch it out with a fresh pack if you own one. Let's say you're the sort of rider that delivers packages and goods on an e-bike, then a second pack should really help. Then again, I don't think you want to be delivering food with a bike like the Navigator.

How much range you'll be able to achieve per charge is a tad difficult to say, as road conditions and even rider weight will affect that. To help you keep track of and control range, battery levels, and speed, a Purion controller is also thrown into the mix of components.

2022 Navigator Go\! 5i
Photo: Trek Bicycle Corporation
As for the drivetrain for this bike, a Shimano Nexus Inter-5E rear hub brings 5 speeds, all housed internally. To control this hub, a 5-speed twist shifter is mounted to the handlebar with an optical display. Route all cables internally, and you have the Navigator. To slow and safely stop you, a pair of Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 180 mm (7.1 in) rotors should do the trick.

Since it is a bike that's not meant to leave the asphalt, Trek also equipped mounts to the frame and fork, which yield a pair of fenders to keep your ride clean. If you want to throw on a pannier rack, you should be able to without worrying if the motor can take the cargo. Overall, you're looking at a machine with a 60 lb (27.2 kg) weight and features a 300 lb (136 kg) limit with bike, rider, and cargo.

As for how much cash the Navigator Go! 5i will run you, Trek is showing an MSRP of 3,050 USD (2,665 EUR at current exchange rates), the exact same price as another Go! e-bike, the Ghostrider. It seems Trek is looking to offer city-goers a bike for every occasion.
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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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