Riding the new Trek Powerfly 9 FS Plus last year was one of our riding highlights, so we're pleased to see that they've given what was an excellent bike another makeover. The 2018 model has been significantly revised in terms of the frame design and is available in a range of builds.

So what's changed? probably the best way to highlight the differences is to show the two bikes back to back...

This is the 2017 bike that we rode last year...

...and here's the new bike. As you can see, the battery integration has been significantly improved. Where before the Bosch PowerPack effectively sat on top of the down tube, now it's been recessed into the tube. That looks neater, but more importantly it also moves the battery slightly lower which will improbe the Powerfly's centre of gravity.

The motor is still Bosch's Performance Line CX unit, which pushes out 75Nm of torque and is still top dog in e-MTB circles. Trek add a motor cover to protect it against damage, which also incorporates a bottle opener for your post-ride beer.

As last year, all the full suspension models feature Trek's Active Braking Pivot for better suspension response under braking, and forks and shocks are tuned to cope with the extra weight that you're carrying around. All of the bikes are built around plus-sized tyres and Boost axles (110mm/148mm) which were originally a Trek development but have quickly become the industry standard for e-MTBs.

The geometry is based on the equivalent non-powered bikes: gone are the days when e-MTBs were seen as more of a leisure offering, these are proper trail-ready machines. We don't have UK pricing at the moment but we'll update this story when we do.

Trek Powerfly 2018 line up