The subject of ride quality is complex, and in many cases, largely personal. I enjoyed my time on the bike, so I’ll do my best to explain the factors that influenced how the Townie Go! felt to ride, and you can determine if its features sound up your alley.
Beginning with sizing, fit, and the bike’s riding position, Electra offers two frame sizes for a relatively broad range of riders. The Small-Medium is intended for shorter-to-average riders between 4’11” and 5’8”, while the Medium-Large is geared toward taller folks between 5’5” and 6’4”.
At 5’11”, I’m roughly in the middle of the ML frame’s height range. Generally, I found the bike extremely comfortable and well-suited for its role as a leisure bike, though there are more details to consider: primarily, its reach and adjustability for proper leg extension.
The bike’s pedal-forward design/Flat Foot Technology had a significant effect on its overall feel. Pedaling the bike required applying pressure to the pedals in a more out-and-down motion than a more typical downward movement.
The bike offers a generous 10” of saddle height adjustment, so I was able to find a comfortable position for the saddle, though I was not quite able to put both feet flat on the ground. Moving the saddle low enough to rest my feet on the ground made pedaling feel somewhat cramped, but a comfortable middle ground is definitely doable.
The Townie’s reach is on the long side, so my arms were fully stretched outward and down from my upper body. The bike’s fixed custom stem, which includes cutouts for internal cable routing, may make finding a replacement difficult for those looking to adjust their handlebar height or reach; I’d have liked an adjustable stem to make tailoring the bike’s fit easier.
I liked the cushy cruiser-style saddle and curved, ergonomic handlebars. The ride was effectively cushioned and smoothed by the bike’s 2.35”-wide balloon tires despite the Townie Go! S’s lack of a true suspension. In terms of handling, the steering was predictable yet relaxed, and the tires also provided an appreciated layer of stability.
The Townie’s motor has many highlights of its own; in addition to being nearly silent, it delivers power remarkably smoothly. We noted that it felt responsive and natural, quickly adapting its output and allowing the rider to feel as though they’re contributing to moving the bike without the experience being strenuous.
Riders can also tune the motor’s output using the Trek Central app; the feature uses two sliders for the motor’s maximum power output and the torque sensor’s sensitivity, which are individually customizable for the Townie’s three PAS settings.
Motor tuning is just one of many great features available through the app. I appreciated the “range cloud” feature, which shows boundaries on the GPS map (also used for navigation) that represent the distance riders can travel to reach 50% of the battery’s capacity and 0% through two red boundaries of different thickness.
To complement the user-friendly EasyMag charger, the app also offers a handful of battery life extension options. Users can enable an Extended Life Mode that limits the battery’s charge (and range) to get more charge cycles out of it.
A charge alert can notify users when the battery reaches a desired charge level. There’s also a long-term storage mode for extended periods of no use and an optimized charging feature for those who leave their bikes plugged in for long periods of time.
Overall, the app is excellent, though we would have liked the ability to set up multiple user profiles for those who share bikes (as we do in the Electric Bike Report office). When switching to a new user, we had to fully delete our profile to unpair from the bike, as there was no simple “unpair” option within the app in its current state.
I mentioned some of the Townie Go! S’s ride-enhancing features, such as its turn signals and MIK cargo rack in the intro. The rack was a particular standout, boasting a 60-lb capacity and the ability to carry a child seat (among many other locking accessories). It was also great to see that the bike came with commuter essentials such as fenders and a chain guard!
In summary, the Townie Go! S’s ride quality is great overall; the bike feels great to ride and includes many appreciated extras that make it more functional and fun to use.
