For Over $12,000, This New Trek E-MTB Destroys Everything in Its Path

If you ever hear someone come at you with this story, you can calm them down by assuring them it’s not some aliens dropping monoliths around town, but rather the new e-MTB from Trek, the 2021 Rail 9.9 X01 AXS. Personally, I think the Rail bit probably comes from railgun. I don’t know. But once you get to know this beastly over-achiever, you might agree.

Now, the way I look at a bike, or most things for that matter, is to strip away any sort of branding, or brand history from the product.

So, what makes a mountain bike a mountain bike? The frame. This is where we can start the show. What we find on Rail is a carbon fiber frame. But before you start going off about how carbon fiber isn’t suitable for this sort of biking, take note that Trek has really upped the game on this one.

During all these years of countless trails, mountains, boulders, rocks, trees, and possible furry creatures jumping in your path, the team has been taking notes. What we are offered here is known as OCLV Mountain Carbon frame. How it all works is not known to us. But we do know that this sort of construction leads to a frame that can take an impact sustaining only cosmetic damage. And that’s not all. To add more protection to the underside of the down tube, Trek added carbon armor meant to protect this highly exposed area.

From here we can talk about suspension, because everybody likes a soft touch under the glutes. The main piece here is the RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate RT3 Thru Shaft 3-position damper. Plus, the RockShox ZEB Ultimate with 160mm of travel.

Now, let’s not forget that it is an EV, so to power everything we find the largest battery of the Bosch PowerTube line, the 625. How much range you’ll get with it is hard to say, as riding conditions greatly affect range. Once drained, a fast charge will take about 3.7 hours for a 100 percent fill.

To give you the necessary assistance you ask for, Trek continues the journey with the newest Bosch Performance CX line that crunches out a more pleasing 85Nm of torque.

One of the nice features on any of the Rail bikes is the intelligent e-MTB mode. This choice of programming will make all your pedal-assist changes based on the amount of power you are currently exerting. But if you don’t like it, three other assist modes are offered, However, anything over 20 mph (32 kph) and you’re on your own.

Running this setup, we find SRAM with the Eagle AXS 12-speed cassette; also Derailleur, shifter, and chain, all set for 12-speeds. But don’t worry about any usual cabling, this one’s all wireless baby! As for brakes, SRAM again. This time with 6-bolt CenterLine rotor, 180 and 200 mm.

All that comes with a weight of 49.54 lbs. (22.47 kg) for the size M frame. And the weight limit of 300 lbs. (combined weight of the bike, rider, and cargo), seems more than enough for whatever you may need to bring with you on your ride.

If you do have any doubt about spending the $12,499 for this bike, don’t. One of the beautiful things that happen when you buy a Trek is the lifetime warranty form you’ll fill out. It’s a nice feeling knowing this bike will be around until you’re buried. It might actually end up being your gravedigger if you’re not careful.