Trek unveils two kid-carrying electric cargo bikes, and they sure look familiar

Wisconsin-based bicycle maker Trek has just launched its latest two electric bikes, which are both designed as kid and cargo movers. The new Trek Fetch Plus 2 and Trek Fetch Plus 4 mark Trek’s deepest dive into the cargo e-bike segment yet.

Family-friendly cargo e-bikes

The two e-bikes carry distinct designs, with the Trek Fetch Plus 2 rolling out as a longtail cargo bike and the Trek Fetch Plus 4 taking on less common front loader cargo bike layout.

Long tail cargo bikes have a stretched wheel base with extra space between the rider and rear wheel. Front loader cargo bikes, sometimes referred to by their Dutch name bakfiets, have a long platform or box in a stretched space between the rider and front wheel.

Both categories are becoming increasingly common and we’ve seen dozens of examples from various companies in the past couple years.

But this time it’s Trek that is hankering for a slice of the cargo e-bike pie as the company puts it’s own spin on the two popular e-bike categories.

Trek Fetch Plus 2

The Trek Fetch Plus 2 will use Bosch’s BES3 smart system with the company’s cargo-specific mid-drive motor lineup. Those motors are rated for a continuous 250W of power, though their 80 Nm torque rating betrays the true higher power of the drive system.

The motors are usually limited to 20 mph (32 km/h) in the US, and the throttle-less design keeps them squarely in the Class 1 e-bike designation.

The Fetch Plus 2 includes Bosch’s 500Wh battery that mounts in the downtube and is removable for charging. That battery is a bit below average capacity for e-bikes in the US, but should still offer plenty of range thanks to the efficient pedal-assist setup of the Bosch drive system. An optional range extender battery will be available for those that want to carry more than 500Wh of battery with them.

The bike is rated for a combined operator-and-passenger payload capacity of 200 kg (440 lb). That puts it in competition with other heavy-hauling electric cargo bikes like the Tern GSD, though it carries a higher entry price.

The Fetch Plus 2 will go on sale in April of this year with an MSRP of US $5,999.

Trek Fetch Plus 4

If you thought the Fetch Plus 2 was pricey, wait until you check out the $8,999 Fetch Plus 4.

The bike uses a similar drivetrain but swaps in a 750 Wh battery. That higher capacity battery is better suited to the heavier Fetch Plus 4, especially considering the obvious kid-carrying front bucket will likely be occupied much of the time.

That’s a big part of the draw, as Trek’s designer Eric Bybee explained:

Kids were the center point of when we first started designing these. We realized that when a family is going out to buy one of these bikes, the kids have to be the focus.

The Fetch Plus 4 includes a high-end transmission using a Gates Carbon Drive belt-drive system paired with an automatic shifting Enviolo hub in the rear wheel. That’s a fairly significant upgrade over the Fetch Plus 2’s 10-speed Shimano Deore transmission, though even that chain drive setup is nicer than we see on many other cargo e-bikes. Both models carry four-piston hydraulic disc brakes – another nod towards their heavy weight ratings.

While the Fetch Plus 2 looks similar to several other longtail cargo e-bikes we’ve tested before, the Fetch Plus 4 draws from a more European vibe seen in higher end cargo e-bikes like those from Urban Arrow, Riese and Müller, and others.