Something a little different? Trek Fuel EX 9.8

As a self confessed weight weenie and XC racer boy I have often glanced at modern trail bikes and wondered if slacker head angles, longer forks and some plumper rubber could turn me into Jared Graves.

When I was invited to ride at Surrey Hills this weekend, with my main bike out of action I contacted Alex at South Downs Bikes in Goring to see if he had a demo bike I could try. Given the technical trails around Peaslake perhaps this was my chance to scratch that Trail Bike itch. In the end Alex very kindly lent me his own Trek Fuel EX 9.8.

Its a stunning looking bike shod with 27.5 inch wheels, the middle sized half brother of the 29er and original 26er. The 27.5 inch wheel is ridden by short arses or riders hoping to maintain some of the sharp 26er handling, but still with some of the improved rolling momentum of the larger 29er. The wheels are fitted with 2.35 tyres and the Fuel has 120mm of suspension travel front and rear, with a nice slack 68 degree head angle. Its poles apart from my hardtail with 90mm fork.

Despite all these differences the thing that took the greatest getting used too were the monstrous 760mm wide handlebars! As my familiarity with the bike grew the benefits of that 120mm of travel came to the fore. The suspension means that you can ignore roots and rocks that would knock a hardtail off line and just pick the fastest route down the trail. The extra mass of the bike certainly made itself felt on the climbs, but the suspension enabled the rear tyre to maintain grip again letting me pick more technical lines. Checking my Strava account when I got home I set my personal bests on all the famous trails, like 'Barry Knows Best' and 'Yogurt Pots'.

I admit I am not normally interested in bikes with bulging 2.3 inch tyres and anything over 100mm of suspension travel. I haven't owned a full suspension bike since the 29er revolution 5 years ago. To me the larger diameter wheels made the extra weight and complexity of suspension unnecessary. However, technical riding has always been my weakness. Riding the Trek certainly gave me confidence to carry more speed and attack more agressive lines, but the limiting factor was still my own personal skill level. The advantages of this type of bike over a XC race bike are obvious in technical terrain and when decending. However, I spent the entire ride labouring at the back of the group. Dragging the burly frame, fork and wheels around really took its toll. Perhaps a there is a middle ground that might offer the best of both worlds - the Trek Top Fuel perhaps?