07 Trek Fuel ex 9
After several rides on the new Trek I’m starting to get a feel for the bike. It is most at home on technical single track and inspires a lot of confidence on descents too..
Sometimes too much confidence as I discovered on one of the infamous “Secret Trails” at Glentress this weekend LOL
I am pleasantly surprised how well it climbs, as I was expecting after coming straight of a hard tail onto a full susser that it may not climb so well, but it does !
As far as spec goes, it is mostly Deore XT with DT Swiss hubs and wheels badged as Bontrager Race Lite and boy are they Lite!! So far seem strong too and cope well with the punishing rocky descents on the Black route at Glentress with ease. As they were tubeless ready I changed to the tubeless set up and am still in the process of judging the benefits. I have changed the front tyre as the fitted tyres are more suited to dry conditions and will come in handy if we ever get another summer.
The Fox Talas front forks are a dream to set up, with height adjustment as well as the usual adjustments. The Rear Fox shock has three settings, Full Lock, Full Open and Pro-pedal which is where it rests most of the time for me.
Gear shifting is smooth with the Deore XT Shifters and Mechs, moving up and down the gears with ease. Last bike had SRAM and I must say I am glad to be back in the Shimano camp at last.
The rest of the finishing kit is Bontrager Race Lite gear and seems to be well up for the job.
I had to turn the seat clamp round as it was hitting the the rear triangle when the full travel was needed. I think this is the only criticism so far but will update this if anything changes.
Rating:
Mountain Bike Borders
