Trek's 2022 Verve+ 2 City e-Bike Cruises in With Capable Build and Components

One way they’re doing this is with an electric hybrid bike meant to do more than just cruise around city streets. The vehicle in front of you is known as the 2022 Verve+ 2. It’s an electric hybrid bike that’s meant to do more than just take you to work and back home.

What you’re looking a here is a bicycle made for people that want the experience of riding an e-bike without dishing out tens of thousands of dollars just to do so. With an MSRP of $2,799 (€2,423 at current exchange rates), it would seem like Trek is aiming to get their products into as many hands as possible, which, in my opinion, is the only way to stay alive in this booming business.

This price also tells you something important about the bike, the material chosen for the frame. In this case, Trek is using Alpha Gold aluminum, which may not be the best they have, but just the next step down. Nonetheless, extra attention has been given to tubing and welds to offer a smooth and butted frame with internal cable routing.

As for what these cables are used for, time to find out. Like any e-bike, the electrical components are key in the life and capacity of your bike. For the Verve+ 2, you’ll find that the powers of Bosch have been called upon.

For the motor, a Bosch Active Line powerhouse with a 250-watt rating and 40 Nm (29.5 lb-ft) of torque should be more than enough to get you zipping around city streets with no issues. Overall, this mid-mounted motor will assist your tired legs up to 32 kph (19.9 mph). Anything beyond that is all you.

Then you’ve got the battery, and knowing how Bosch doesn’t like to work with anyone other than themselves, Trek included a PowerPack 400 with 400 watts of juice to feed your ride. How much range you’ll get depends on road conditions, selected ride mode, and even how much food you ate earlier in the day, not to mention cargo, if any.

This brings me to my next point, cargo capacity. It appears that Trek didn’t overlook the needs of folks that use bikes for daily city travel and have included an alloy rear rack and fenders to help keep you and your goods clean. For a tad of safety, a chain guard is also present to help keep your pants or skirt from getting caught up in the chain.

The rest of the drivetrain is completed by none other than Shimano with a 9-speed Alivio setup with shifters and derailleur from the same range. The cassette is an HG200 with 11-36 T, and braking is handled with an MT200 hydraulic disc setup with six bolts and 160 mm (6.3 in) rotors.

Since it’s a city rider, the front fork on the bike is a solid one and is completed from steel. Oh, the rear is most certainly solid as well, but to help minimize vibrations, the wheels are key and are completed with a pair of Bontrager H5 Hard-Case Ultimate on a sitting on a set of Bontrager Connection rims.

For everything else, in-house Bontrager is the chosen team, but if you don’t like features like the handlebar, grips, stem, or seat, just find the parts that fit your needs and swap them out. It shouldn’t cost you too much as these components are rather accessible.

Personally, I feel we’ll be seeing more and more bikes aimed at nothing more than city use. Simple really, most folks have just done bomb downhills and engage in massive drops. But for city riding, the Verve+ 2 is worth considering.