i bought the 2020 xt version right before the pandemic hit, ive had offers to buy it for more than i paid for it.. this version is $1600 CDN more than what i paid less than 2 years ago! also, the previous version had PF92, the shimano standard, which is perfectly fine... the issue was with Trek's BB90 and BB95, where the bearings press directly into the frame
That's what my fully upgraded 2012 Ironhorse Warrior 3.1 26" is , a down country bike and I really like the way that bike rides and negotiates the terrain , for more serious trail riding , I have the 2021 Giant Trance 27.5 aluminum . I love your channel , James . Thank you , brother
Such a good looking bike. It was between this the Ibis Ripley and the Transition Spur. I went with the Spur. The large is this bike with this set-up was in the 29lb range. That was a show stopper for me. The Transition I picked up in coming in at 26.5. Would have been nice to buy both 🙂
@@soycolombianisimo I bought it! I got the black matte! Woot woot! I’m stoked. I’ll keep my unbranded carbon to hammer and have visitors to my home use - can’t wait for my first ride with it! I like the color versions but I need this one to look like my other one, fly under the radar - my wife will think it’s the same one. 😂 otherwise, she’ll ask too many questions. 😆 like, how much was it. 😳
Not sure the difference but the XL I test fitted was 30.0lbs. It did have some off the shelf pedals on it for parking lot riding. It felt pretty good and a lot more stiff than my 150/135mm Polygon T8. Its funny that 120mm was Trail bike territory on 26" but is now "Down Country" as Trail bike have gone up toe +130mm forks.
I just picked up a 2021 GX model, love it! Got it for a great price due to the area ppl wanted more travel and too pricy for the area it was being sold at. If I waited any more 3 others were coming from out of state to get it, lucked out I guess. OK I would love to see the difference in ride quality and handling on the both of them and was it that much of a difference. The earlier model 2018-20 ppl love it and said it was super fast for XC. The same riders love the new super pro-caliper for XC and say its very capable to a point. Being said the Top Fuel was more of my ideal for a fast trail bike.
Nice rig! I'm surprised at how slack the head tube is on that. My old bike was a 120/120 Specialize Camber Evo and it had a 68.8° head tube, but it was a corner slaying machine. My new Stumpy is nearly 3° slacker, so pretty different. This Trek ought to be a riot in corners and a little ripper going down.
Sweet Bike. I recently purchased the Fuel EX 9.7 a week or so before they launched this. I'm extremely happy with the EX but would have prefered this model. My riding doesn't really need the Fox 36 and 2.5 tires. I like the threaded BB but never had an issue with my '15 Fuel EX so not a deal breaker. Looks like they answered the buzz for the Ripley and the Spur. What is the availability for this model at this point? The Chicago area is extremely limited for the Fuel EX's at this point and the reason I picked it up and not having a bike next spring. They could have shaved some weight to make it more in the league of the Ripley and Spur.
Did the same. Got the 9.8 XT and this bike is a little more appealing. Also has better brakes which is a little disappointing. Guess the Fox suspension costs a little more so they had to save money somewhere.
@@handlealreadytaken The new Shimano brake line is pretty solid, SLX to XT the differences are incremental, weight-wise it's just over an ounce I'm happy with the Deore model but only have a handful of rides in at this point. How do you like the Bontrager carbon wheelset with the 9.8? A reason I didn't purchase the 9.8 was the rims, I'm looking hard at the Reserve 30SL's, I have upgraded the hub to the 108 and the shifter to XT so far, a dropper is a probably in the future but it works as well as the OneUp V1 that I was riding before so I'll wait for now. My '15 Fuel EX8 was heavily upgraded and the only thing lacking was the modern 66-degree HTA, otherwise, it was a DC bike with a Factory 34 FIT4, which was plenty of fork. I certainly didn't need a new bike, I just wanted one! The 36 forks on the 9's is a bit much for my riding. Happy Riding!
@@Jamesthebikeguy no, effective seat tube angle is very relevant and is measured as a angle of line crossing BB and top of the seat tube. That's why moving seat in the rails forward changes effective seat tube angle and is best way to improve bike's climbing ability as long as reach and body position agrees with it. So, yeah, extremely relevant on climbs and absolutely irrelevant on downs
I tell you what,I just got an Intense XC Sniper,expert level...............and it is a nice trailbike,it will be lighter by the time Im done playing with parts on it..,,it rips downhills big time.
I love watching these. Thanks for all of your content. I do wish you would also provide a price. Would help figure out where the bike lands in price ranges.
RockShox SID fork is the optimum of "cross-country" and designed for uphill, useble for moderate downhill. Also is not a Trailbike. The complete geometry is similar to "Specialized Epic" (I working by a bicycle shop 😉 ) a Stumpjumper or giant Trance (both Trailbikes) have a different geometry... Both Bike's having a lot of difference to this bike. Also... I know it's not a Trailbike , cross country with trail DNA!
@@Andy-S. yet the guys that designed it call it a Trail bike, funny that. the SID has 35mm Stanctions and is very similar to a Pike from my own experience. I have owned this year a Kona 134 CR/DL and a YT Izzo pro race and now have a Norco Revolver FS1 120mm, I've ridden this year a Ripley, a Epic Evo, a Trance, a Spur a SB115 and 130, a Pivot Trail 429 and a Revel Ranger and this Trek Top Fuel I would say that the Trek because of its weight and overall feel its closer to the YT Izzo and Kona Process and Pivot - all Trail bikes. just my humble opinion.
@@kevinclark9176 its down country - Fuel and Spur are on paper pretty similar, but from what I can tell the Spur is a much lighter bike by around 1kg, spec for spec, which might not sound like much but I think that will translate in the ride. Having said that. The Spur is something special which can't just be defined by the numbers, same with the IBIS Ripley - both amazing all round machines, for my needs anyway.
@@shaun1900 I’m looking to replace an older trail bike and want something that doesn’t lose (or even gains) efficiency but is better at attacking recents. I love that this downcountry category has been growing for that need. So it sounds like you’d take the Spur over Top Fuel then? Do you not consider the YT Izzo in that same class?
It is definitely a Down Country bike, you won’t be able to push it as much as a 130,140mm trail purpose bike. The tires are garbage for trail, I will never feel as confident going DH as on my STUMPJUMPER. Today my Top Fuel 2022 felt very uneasy going dh I need to play more with the suspension/tire setup to make it feel more planted.
When did "Trail" become 140mm of travel? Wasn't that "All Mountain"? See this is where the conversation is, not that a bigger bike like a Stumpjumper would be have a higher limit of aggressive riding.
Bottom line It’s a Down country bike. Climbs faster but not the best choice if you don’t have the skills of the average advanced mountain biker, which I’m Not. I can climb faster on it but go DH slower.
I’m calling out on the weight online it says the bike weighs 26 pounds lol when my hard tail is 27 pounds and it has reserve 30 SL and the trek bike is much bigger where are they weighing there bike haha
Getting my 9.8 xt this week. Super excited. Great review.
i bought the 2020 xt version right before the pandemic hit, ive had offers to buy it for more than i paid for it.. this version is $1600 CDN more than what i paid less than 2 years ago! also, the previous version had PF92, the shimano standard, which is perfectly fine... the issue was with Trek's BB90 and BB95, where the bearings press directly into the frame
The local XC guys all put 120mm forks and somewhat beefy/grippy tires on it. This will make all the XC'rs racing on the Canadian Shield happy.
That's what my fully upgraded 2012 Ironhorse Warrior 3.1 26" is , a down country bike and I really like the way that bike rides and negotiates the terrain , for more serious trail riding , I have the 2021 Giant Trance 27.5 aluminum . I love your channel , James . Thank you , brother
Such a good looking bike. It was between this the Ibis Ripley and the Transition Spur. I went with the Spur. The large is this bike with this set-up was in the 29lb range. That was a show stopper for me. The Transition I picked up in coming in at 26.5. Would have been nice to buy both 🙂
Great review. I have the 2023 model, and i’m in love with it!
I’m debating on the 2023. You like it? Looks great! What was the cost when you got it? They’re wanting to charge me 5.6k.
@@gainknowledgeandinsight I love it! I bought it here in Colombia 🇨🇴 in january 2024, so it was at discount. I payed almost 6k, but it was at 7k.
@@soycolombianisimo I bought it! I got the black matte! Woot woot! I’m stoked. I’ll keep my unbranded carbon to hammer and have visitors to my home use - can’t wait for my first ride with it! I like the color versions but I need this one to look like my other one, fly under the radar - my wife will think it’s the same one. 😂 otherwise, she’ll ask too many questions. 😆 like, how much was it. 😳
@@gainknowledgeandinsightwow man. So happy for you! I hope you are enjoying it. To me it is the best bike I have had EVER!
@@gainknowledgeandinsightjajaja and I also hope you are not in trouble with your wife😅😅😅😅
Not sure the difference but the XL I test fitted was 30.0lbs. It did have some off the shelf pedals on it for parking lot riding. It felt pretty good and a lot more stiff than my 150/135mm Polygon T8. Its funny that 120mm was Trail bike territory on 26" but is now "Down Country" as Trail bike have gone up toe +130mm forks.
Hoping to pick mine up next week!
Nice review. Have you reviewed the 2022 Fuel EX 9.8 GX yet? Picking up mine at the end of the month.
I just picked up a 2021 GX model, love it! Got it for a great price due to the area ppl wanted more travel and too pricy for the area it was being sold at. If I waited any more 3 others were coming from out of state to get it, lucked out I guess. OK I would love to see the difference in ride quality and handling on the both of them and was it that much of a difference. The earlier model 2018-20 ppl love it and said it was super fast for XC. The same riders love the new super pro-caliper for XC and say its very capable to a point. Being said the Top Fuel was more of my ideal for a fast trail bike.
Nice rig! I'm surprised at how slack the head tube is on that. My old bike was a 120/120 Specialize Camber Evo and it had a 68.8° head tube, but it was a corner slaying machine. My new Stumpy is nearly 3° slacker, so pretty different. This Trek ought to be a riot in corners and a little ripper going down.
Roscoe 9. Please and thank you.
buddy said the chain slaps, nice
Really nice review. I'm not a Trek or Specialized fan myself, but this is one good looking bike.
Sure is, I suspect we will see one a lot more common on the channel 😉
Sweet Bike. I recently purchased the Fuel EX 9.7 a week or so before they launched this. I'm extremely happy with the EX but would have prefered this model. My riding doesn't really need the Fox 36 and 2.5 tires. I like the threaded BB but never had an issue with my '15 Fuel EX so not a deal breaker. Looks like they answered the buzz for the Ripley and the Spur. What is the availability for this model at this point? The Chicago area is extremely limited for the Fuel EX's at this point and the reason I picked it up and not having a bike next spring. They could have shaved some weight to make it more in the league of the Ripley and Spur.
Did the same. Got the 9.8 XT and this bike is a little more appealing. Also has better brakes which is a little disappointing. Guess the Fox suspension costs a little more so they had to save money somewhere.
@@handlealreadytaken The new Shimano brake line is pretty solid, SLX to XT the differences are incremental, weight-wise it's just over an ounce I'm happy with the Deore model but only have a handful of rides in at this point. How do you like the Bontrager carbon wheelset with the 9.8? A reason I didn't purchase the 9.8 was the rims, I'm looking hard at the Reserve 30SL's, I have upgraded the hub to the 108 and the shifter to XT so far, a dropper is a probably in the future but it works as well as the OneUp V1 that I was riding before so I'll wait for now. My '15 Fuel EX8 was heavily upgraded and the only thing lacking was the modern 66-degree HTA, otherwise, it was a DC bike with a Factory 34 FIT4, which was plenty of fork. I certainly didn't need a new bike, I just wanted one! The 36 forks on the 9's is a bit much for my riding. Happy Riding!
Any thoughts how the Top Fuel 8 compares?
70 degress...the hell it is mate! Whole industry discusses EFFECTIVE seat tube angle so let's keep it consistent. Seat tube angle is 76 degrees!
Ok... fair point on adding a word, but the seat tube is not really relevant its based on where you are vs the pedals we care about.
@@Jamesthebikeguy no, effective seat tube angle is very relevant and is measured as a angle of line crossing BB and top of the seat tube. That's why moving seat in the rails forward changes effective seat tube angle and is best way to improve bike's climbing ability as long as reach and body position agrees with it. So, yeah, extremely relevant on climbs and absolutely irrelevant on downs
Very pretty but... Wow that price! I'm 58 and have only bought one car that's more than that. Ouch! 🤕
Fantastic bike
Best bike you cannot buy!
What size?
I got 1……Really Sweet Bike 👍🏾
I tell you what,I just got an Intense XC Sniper,expert level...............and it is a nice trailbike,it will be lighter by the time Im done playing with parts on it..,,it rips downhills big time.
Nice
The Trek skateboard. Looks sick bro!
Lol
that's size XL right ?
Yes.
Nice ride. Given the geometrics of the bike, what size would you recommend to a 185cm tall guy with 88cm leg intern.
Large
I love watching these. Thanks for all of your content. I do wish you would also provide a price. Would help figure out where the bike lands in price ranges.
Click on the link in the description. It brings you to the shop he gets the bikes from and lists the price.
does it come with an option for a 130 fork?
Jesus those comments...
Nice bike in the quiver.
Whats it feel like riding downhill on trails?
jesus...
First trek I'd like to have. SC blur though I'm pretty sure would smoke this
Look at there specs and the kit. This is a marathon/epic xc bike capable of competing with the likes of Scott, Specialized, Cannondale and the like.
it looks beautifull after all its carbon fibre
By Treks' own admission the new Top Fuel is a Trail Bike.
RockShox SID fork is the optimum of "cross-country" and designed for uphill, useble for moderate downhill.
Also is not a Trailbike.
The complete geometry is similar to "Specialized Epic"
(I working by a bicycle shop 😉 ) a Stumpjumper or giant Trance (both Trailbikes) have a different geometry... Both Bike's having a lot of difference to this bike.
Also... I know it's not a Trailbike , cross country with trail DNA!
@@Andy-S. yet the guys that designed it call it a Trail bike, funny that. the SID has 35mm Stanctions and is very similar to a Pike from my own experience. I have owned this year a Kona 134 CR/DL and a YT Izzo pro race and now have a Norco Revolver FS1 120mm, I've ridden this year a Ripley, a Epic Evo, a Trance, a Spur a SB115 and 130, a Pivot Trail 429 and a Revel Ranger and this Trek Top Fuel
I would say that the Trek because of its weight and overall feel its closer to the YT Izzo and Kona Process and Pivot - all Trail bikes. just my humble opinion.
@@shaun1900 what category do you the define Spur, and more importantly, how does the new Top Fuel compare to the Spur?
@@kevinclark9176 its down country - Fuel and Spur are on paper pretty similar, but from what I can tell the Spur is a much lighter bike by around 1kg, spec for spec, which might not sound like much but I think that will translate in the ride. Having said that. The Spur is something special which can't just be defined by the numbers, same with the IBIS Ripley - both amazing all round machines, for my needs anyway.
@@shaun1900 I’m looking to replace an older trail bike and want something that doesn’t lose (or even gains) efficiency but is better at attacking recents. I love that this downcountry category has been growing for that need.
So it sounds like you’d take the Spur over Top Fuel then? Do you not consider the YT Izzo in that same class?
Sick
It is definitely a Down Country bike, you won’t be able to push it as much as a 130,140mm trail purpose bike.
The tires are garbage for trail, I will never feel as confident going DH as on my STUMPJUMPER. Today my Top Fuel 2022 felt very uneasy going dh I need to play more with the suspension/tire setup to make it feel more planted.
When did "Trail" become 140mm of travel? Wasn't that "All Mountain"? See this is where the conversation is, not that a bigger bike like a Stumpjumper would be have a higher limit of aggressive riding.
Bottom line It’s a Down country bike.
Climbs faster but not the best choice if you don’t have the skills of the average advanced mountain biker, which I’m Not.
I can climb faster on it but go DH slower.
they actually put a 130mm pike on the 23 models, same frame as well
I’m calling out on the weight online it says the bike weighs 26 pounds lol when my hard tail is 27 pounds and it has reserve 30 SL and the trek bike is much bigger where are they weighing there bike haha
Hi
👌
$6,500.00!!!!!!
please take the reflectors off. thank you.
No thanks, safety first 🦺