Triumph announced a new model last week and, much to the surprise of many, it didn’t boast an engine, a fuel tank or the classic styling that the British marque is now famed for. The Trekker GT is the company's first attempt at an electrically-assisted bicycle and it’s rather, erm, vanilla.
Sporting the sort of hybrid bicycle looks that have long been flaunted by the likes of Specialized, Giant and more affordable units from Pinnacle and even Halford's own Boardman brand, it does little to set itself aside from the myriad rivals that now operate in this sphere.
Triumph’s 6061 hydro-formed aluminium frame is nothing new to market either, while its integral battery pack (that’s bulkily stashed in the downtube) is a long way off the sleek street bikes offered by the likes of Ampler and Specialized’s new Turbo Vado range.
Bumps are smoothed over with help from RockShox’s Paragon forks, rather than something developed by Triumph's team of engineers, and Schwalbe provides the tyres and tubes. Of course, economies of scale make it difficult to develop these bespoke components and electric powertrains for this kind of thing but Triumph’s decision to plump for a blatantly off-the-shelf Shimano Steps 250W motor is a tad disappointing.
According to the marque, the e-bike offers around 93-miles on a single charge, while Shimano’s bold digital read-out helps users keep on top of charge levels. Unfortunately, this remains Shimano branded (in the prototype, anyway), with there's little effort from Triumph to craft a cockpit that echoes or lives up to the craftsmanship found on its motorcycles. In fact, nothing really screams Triumph in any way.
However, the images shown here are of the prototype model, which the marque claims will be cleaned up before going into full production. Internal cabling and cleaner logos on the bars are a couple of issues Triumph is addressing.
But it still doesn't clear up the burning question: what makes the E-Trekker a Triumph product? It's a tricky one, but it’s chiefly the Matt Silver Ice and Matt Jet Black paintjob, which can be found on its motorcycle range, the subtle Triumph badging and a set of branded grips.
The bike will retail at £2,950 when it goes on sale later this year, making it more expensive than the aforementioned Specialized product and putting it in the same bracket as more stylish and technically advanced electric city bikes. Is this a marketing exercise too far or a canny move from Triumph? Only time will tell.
Keyword: Triumph releases its first e-bike and it’s… a bit disappointing