Trek FuelEX 8

[WestVirginiaMTBR]

Just went and looked at one at the local bike shop. I was highly impressed. I think the ABP system sounds like a great design. Price tag of $2200. Does anyone have any experience with these bikes? I know they were just recently released but I figured it may be worthwhile to ask.

[url:2jc9kvnr]http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/mountain_full_suspension/fuel_ex/fuelex8/[/url:2jc9kvnr]

[watsonag2]

yes! go for it. i have the same bike and i am a bike mechanic. i love the bike. it has the handling to take it to the XC and enough travel to take it urban riding. the abp works! on the stairs you can lock up the rear wheel and still feel the squesh. the stock grips i didnt like so i put on odi rouge lock ons, i put on a wtb rocket v saddle. the onll thing is that the bolts for the pivots are aluminum so if your not carefull you can strip the heads. but this is an awesome all around bike. so far the best bike ive owned thus far.

[WestVirginiaMTBR]

I’m thinking about it real hard. It would be the first full-suspension rig I’ve owned. Actually, I’ve never even ridden an FS rig. I would like to ride the FuelEX8 at a demo-day before dropping that kind of $$$ on a bike.

[cjm]

If you are riding the same buff single track trails that I was riding near the border or Va and West Va you might take a look at the Remedy. The more slack head-tube angle will be much more forgiving on the steeps. The longer wheel base will help you get up and over the larger rocks. The higher bottom bracket will help with obstacles, too.

My first high-end bike was a Trek Liquid 25, Remedy’s predecessor. After I replaced the crappy Manitou suspension, I really enjoyed the bike on the trail. It was great in the rougher single track in that area. One of the guides on my last bike trip was on last year’s Remedy. He liked it with the exception the Manitou fork. The trails on that trip were a bit like single track on steroids. Both of those bikes bikes went extremely flexy in the main pivot in less than a year of riding. Last I checked, two is not a statistically valid number, so it may have been a coincidence.

Finding a shop that will rent that bike might be easier than finding a demo day. If you know someone with last year’s model, you could bum that and see what you think of the geometry in real riding situations.

[WestVirginiaMTBR]

Thanks CJM. The Remedy does look like a great setup. Do you know what they run compared to the Fuel EX8’s?

[cjm]

The low end remedy runs around 2800. Most trek dealers will knock 10% off the top. I know you get a beefier Rock Shox Lyric fork. With the 35mm stantions and 20mm axle up front, you will get a much more predictable response from that fork in the rough. I am not familiar enough with all the components to guess where the rest of the extra cash goes.

[Bombardier]

Trek’s stated MSRP for the Remedy7 is $440 more than the EX8. I’ve tried discerning what components account for the increased price.

——————–
Equipping the Remedy7 with a RockShox Lyrik IS Solo-Air definitely accounts for the higher price-tag, as does the extra 1.3" of rear-wheel travel given by the Remedy’s AM frame (those inches are expensive!). I’m not familiar with the Remedy’s Fox RP2 "XV" shock, so I can’t say if it’s any better function-wise than the EX8’s Fox RP2.

The Fuel EX-8 has slightly better brakes than the Remedy7 (Avid Juicy5’s vs. Juicy3s); however, the Remedy has larger brake rotors (203mm vs. 185mm) so the braking power & resistance to fade is better.

SRAM’s technical specs for the Juicy5 & 3’s outline a few differences.

Juicy5- 397g
Juicy3- 404g
(Not that big of a difference)

Juicy5 Fluid- DOT 5.1
Juicy3 Fluid- DOT 4
(DOT 5.1 handles heat/cold better than DOT 4)

Juicy5 & Juicy3- Tri-Alignâ„¢ Caliper Positioning Systemâ„¢, Power Reserve Geometryâ„¢, Ambidextrous

Juicy5- Split Clamp/Matchmakerâ„¢ compatible, Drip-free bleeding, Indexed reach adjustment
Juicy3- Wonder Clampâ„¢, Drip-free bleeding

Brake-lever reach adjustment is a nice thing to have; but the rest of the mounting options are generally frills that aren’t absolutely needed or affect brake performance. It’s just a comfort thing. So the brakes on the Remedy7 don’t add much to the $2,859 pricetag.

As for drivetrains between the Remedy7 and EX8, they’re exactly the same (LX/XT Shadow).
Wheels on the two are predictably different, with both being quality wheelsets that fit each bike’s intended purpose. Bontrager Rythm wheels have gotten very good reviews for All-Mountain riding, without being too heavy, flimsy, or expensive.
The Rythm 26" wheelset is $549 (Trek’s MSRP).
The EX8’s Race 26" wheelset is $879.

As for cockpit components, the Remedy7 & EX8 are basically the same, except the Remedy has a better headset (Cane Creek). Trek’s website lists the EX8 as coming with Shimano clipless pedals, whereas the Remedy is pedal-less.
——————-

Having had the chance to really paw the Remedy & new Fuel EX bikes during the Fruita FTF, I gotta say I’m really impressed with Trek’s new suspension design. Both Trek & Gary Fisher load a lot of value & quality onto their bikes by using Bontrager components, and they’ve not skimped on fork/shocks in a long while.

If I had to choose a XC/Trail bike with 5" of travel, I’d still pick the Fisher Hi-Fi. But the Fuel EX is definitely close behind, and I don’t think anyone could go wrong with a Remedy either.

[WestVirginiaMTBR]

Thanks again Bomb! I have definitely been keeping an eye out for a HiFi at a solid price. Maybe I’ll catch nobody looking on eBay and snag one.

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