Shop-Tested a new Trek Fuel Ex8 but...

Buckaroo

Hey Forum,

I recently caught the MTB bug after wanting to keep fit without the various ongoing knee problems I've picked up after year on year of running.

3 months ago I grabbed meself a Fuji Nevada 1 and am now hooked.. but

... The lure of a full-suss is too great.

I just tested a Trek Fuel Ex8 (tested = quick ride round shop car park and pavements in the rain), amazing feel to it and the gears and brakes are sweetly positive but I have some observations if anyone can help me out??

The width of the bars - This is way different to anything I've ridden before! Weird feeling, I guess this is something worth getting used to?

The weight (or lack of it) - The lightness was unnerving! The Fuji is a breeze-block in comparison. I flipped it around a bit, felt good but weird. How have others dealt with moving to a lighter bike than their used to?

Shock response - The bike was set up by the shop for my height and weight but a touch of heavy front braking and the forks dipped quite alot. Is this normal? Can this response be tweaked easilly?

What d'ya reckon?

Cheers

S

popstar

Buckaroo, I was brainwashed by Media and bertrayed my ex-Rockhopper for a new bike. Rebound levels or higher pressures all can be adjusted and is a personal prefference of certain rider.
Recently I've found out that actually I am missing the crisp feeling of hard tail. Understanding that you can buy a bike whenever you want, for now I would insist you don't rush into it !
But if looking at the bike and appreciating it's sexiness is the thing that sets your mind into riding it more often than Fuji then you sir ... buy it if you really like it !

FS vs HT is very old debate, and these platform do offer very different feelings. HT is more crisp, while FS is comfier and in some cases is a skillz compensator! That alone could develop very very bad habits into your riding. You don't ride gnarly rooty vertical trails with sick drops littered with stones at uber high speeds?

Buckaroo

Good advice mate, deff not jumpin in for the sake of it... I love the HT, its wicked ...But,...I know now I bought the Fuji a size too big and its components are a little less solid than the riding I'm starting to do.... so... new HT or new FS,... very tricky....

I have a couple of HT's I'd like to check out too (Giant Talon 0 and the Felt Q920), but from what I've seen so far even they have wider bars than anything I've tried before.

How did you get on changing from a bike you knew and were confident on to something better spec'ed but ultimately alien?

S

popstar

You still could fine tune your riding position a bit by adjusting push-pulling saddle either way. Few mm. make big difference. Talking about wider bars, they tend in my opinion to give more confidence on very steep downhills and not being as twitchy as the narrower ones. But with narrower ones it's easier to flick the bike from side to side. It's all compromise and matching the style of your riding really.
I changed to FS just because i was brainwashed by magazines and actually getting an uber deal on me bike. That bike does inspire me to ride more often though, it's sexy enough in my opinion. But it took some time to get used to it, it may be better on some sections of trails but there are compromises to be considered too. HT are the crispiest performers and I start to miss them.

Oooh, and recently I discovered that the best specc on the bike is the actual rider!

Buckaroo

Nice 1.... Twitchiness vs Flickiness....

Robowns

If the width of the bars is your biggest issue, take a hacksaw to them and take a bit of length off either side, 2minute job.

Buckaroo

Yep, I've seen some how-to's for shedding some width if you wanted to. I guess it comes down to individual comfort and the balance of speed-control vs technical-control, but I wouldnt know that for myself until after I'd spent some time cracking it round some trails. I'm in no rush... (but an upcoming Snowdon walking trip has me looking at a possible North Wales trails hit while I'm there.... perfect test of a new FS-Trail bike... )

Ultimately I just wondered what other people thought and how they may have found adjusting to different set ups.

Cheers!

S

GHill

Bars, along with the whole cockpit setup, is a very personal thing. I prefer wide(ish) bars, but then I've got pretty broad shoulders. A lot of people change the bars that come with a bike.

Lighter bike, took a bit of getting used to - especially wondering if I would snap it. Now I love it.

The pressure I required in the fork was very different to what the manual suggested, but a little bit of brake dive is pretty common with a Fox Float RL.

Buckaroo

Cheers GHill.

Anonymous

Buckaroo wrote:

Yep, I've seen some how-to's for shedding some width if you wanted to. I guess it comes down to individual comfort and the balance of speed-control vs technical-control, but I wouldnt know that for myself until after I'd spent some time cracking it round some trails. I'm in no rush... (but an upcoming Snowdon walking trip has me looking at a possible North Wales trails hit while I'm there.... perfect test of a new FS-Trail bike... )

Ultimately I just wondered what other people thought and how they may have found adjusting to different set ups.

Cheers!

S

I'd definitely not cut your bars until you've tried them out for a while and decided they either ARE or AREN'T the thing for you.

MountainMonster

FS vs. HT is a very old debate, and in my opinion is purely based on personal preference unless you are riding some very serious downhill. Same with the width of the bars, remember you can always buy new bars or cut them down as someone above me has said.

FS does offer it's benefits, if you do any downhill sections, be it some gnarly stuff or only 5-10%, they are very comfortable, and are far better at the downhill bumpy stuff. But I still prefer my hardtail. I feel the climbing is much better with a hardtail as you don't have any rear suspension play.

I'd say try a few more bikes then make your mind up. When I boguht my hardtail I rode about 10 different bikes for about 5 minutes each, and then decided which one I wanted. Also remember, any parts you don't think are up to par on a bike you buy can be upgraded, so take that into consideration if you like the way a bike feels, but a rear derailleur is lowergrade or something.

Anonymous

Without wanting to start a debate on full suss V hardtail, I'd just like to mention, that as a newcomer, Buckaroo could do well to ignore the whole "ht climb better" nonsense.
Some do, some don't. Some full suss climb better, some don't - that's all there is to it, there is no definitive design of bike.

Buckaroo

Whoaaa, no FS vs HT required!... I've gathered enough know-how to know this MTB malarky aint black and white... what is!

I've been a runner a for a few years, get on the running forums to see how people feel about different types of running shoe!.... just a shoe!

I've been bodyboarding this country, the UK, Europe and beyond for more years than I'd like to mention.... everybody involved has an opinion on the best material board, the best shape, the best size, the best make... he right fins, the best wetsuit... it goes on.. and on... just like any sport that gets a little technical the better you get.

If anything, the MTB addiction so far has been fun, a LOT of fun. The magazines. This forum. The shops I've visited. Plus the ACTUAL riding... local trails, Wales trails, the Purbecks, messing about at the local country park. And unlike the surf oriented fun I've been locked into for so long the bike can be hit ANY TIME I LIKE. Add in the fitness aspects and it couldnt more perfect... but... I'm still new, so questions are asked. Sorry if they seem stupid, but to me things like the importance of the weight of a bike and how the width of a bar affects the ride are alien... until I try it all out... which I will...

Still interested in others thoughts and opinions though

S

MountainMonster

Yeah I didn't mean to come off as a biased type person between FS and HT, was simply only stating my opinion. Take it with a grain of salt! Remember that almost everything with the bike world is personal preference for the way things are set up, so when one says HT is better, others will say FS; and that is only based on their viewpoint. At the end of the day the choice is yours, and the most important thing is that you feel comfortable on whatever bike you choose in the end. That's the only important thing!

popstar

No, own the bike so beautifull in your eyes that it screams at you for just 1 more ride, and more, and more. You get the idea, no matter FS or HT. The rest is just - Fuff.

Buckaroo

Ah, thats more my style, the only question it all boils down to is "how will I look when I'm on it"?.

If the Trek was a person I'd be stalking it on FaceSpace by now...

Tartanyak

Buckaroo wrote:

Ah, thats more my style, the only question it all boils down to is "how will I look when I'm on it"?.

If the Trek was a person I'd be stalking it on FaceSpace by now...

Who cares how you look when you're on it? You never see that when you're riding!

M1llh0use

i tested loads of FS stuff and ended up buying one. i think it's ace!

bartimaeus

As a newbie to FS (before Easter I was on a 36lb GT Timberline) I would say:

(1) You definitely get used to wider bars - now I find the GT too narrow off-road, and when I sit on a road bike it feels just odd.

(2) Lack of weight... it took me a couple of rides to lose the 'I hope this doen't just snap' feeling, and even now at the back of my mind there is the worry that one day the whole bike might just collapse if I drop off something too big (not likely to happen for a very long time as I am too timid). I would say, though, that I pretty soon realised that the bike is more capable than I am, and I now clock myself at 25+ mph on downhill singeltrack that I used to tackle at about 10 mph. The loss of about 7lbs in weight and the addition of full suss has made climing a real pleasure.

(3) Shocks... I'm still getting used to this, as rigid bikes are, well 'rigid', so any dynamic movement feels odd.

Buckaroo

Cheers Bartimaeus.

Cool pic of the Anthem. I checked out a few bikes including the X4 and also the Trance 3 at the Giant shop in Rutland when I was there last month. Both very nicely balanced and positioned and sooo light.

cgarossi

See my sig for the bikes I have.

Before I bought my Trek, I had a Scott Scale 50 race oriented hardtail and it was great. It was brilliantly fast and nimble, but I took it to cwmcarn and suffered for it. Not because it couldn't handle it but because I was beaten about quite a lot when keeping the bike under control. Thats not the bikes fault, it was mine.

So, I bought my Trek and found it to be amazing fun. Ripping up trails without a care in the world is a brilliant feeling, I ended up selling my Scott and as soon as I saw it being ridden away I knew I had made a mistake.

I rode the Trek and love every minute of it for the confidence it gives me. Then, on a whim, I bought my Cube LTD Race. After a year of not riding a hardtail I have found it a revelation. It's so bloody fast at climbing and in a weird way, I think the Trek has made me fitter due to the extra resistance it gives.

So now I have two bikes to cover both situations and I love them both and would never dream of selling them.

The point is I suppose, is, as pointed out, every bike is different and will feel different. If you feel that a FS bike is for you then go and buy it. I have both, because I like both styles. Simples.

Please don't let anyone bully you into buying this or that, get what you want and what you enjoy.

Buckaroo

Yep, one of each seems to be the only solution....

MountainMonster

CGArossi, nice cube!

I've got meself the same bike but in the blue and silver. Just got done ripping the trails up, and it was a dream

Buckaroo

Update-a-rama.....:

As I wasnt 100% on the Ex8 I went back to check out the more XC oriented Top Fuel 8... Much more my style set up, seems to be a better fit... plus they've let me have a demo for free till Monday. 8)

I'm on the 45k Southern Trail Ride (soon to be the Southern Mud Slog) round the Chilterns tommorrow, willl see how it (and I) fares....

S

MountainMonster

Best of luck, should be a good bike. Heard very good reviews of it. Enjoy the trails!

Buckaroo

Update-a-rama pt2 :

Quick set-up of the Trek and a check back home, everything nicely tight and in place but that seat!... Wooaah, not designed for my oversize rear axle, swapped it out for something wider, and aaaaaaaah.

Otherwise its rides sweet and the remote lockout fork and pro-pedal were genius on a quick road climb, already thinking this may be the best compromise between the hardtail feel and the trail smoothing I was looking for.

S

Buckaroo

30 miles of rain, rain, rain and slippery mud later and I reckon I tested the demo Top Fuel 8 pretty well.

Good : This thing shifts! And climbing is a breeze. Pro-pedal rear and remote pop-lock fork was used and abused during the changing XC conditions, works sweet. Nice feel on trails, bridlepaths and roads, enough travel to soften but not so bouncy you lose confidence.

Not so good : Seat is comfy as a brick. Tires nowhere near up to the job of foot deep mud puddles and rain soaked slippery descents, some scary as fcuk moments I tell ya. Am not sold on the flat handlebars, weird feeling, wasnt too confident with em and just felt solid on the wrists.

Anyone else run flat bars?

Anyway, I'm off to test drive an Anthem X3...

MountainMonster

I would say so far the Fuel ( sounds like a pretty good choice for you. All the bad points of the bikes are cheap fixes, maybe 100quid or so to get good parts for the bars and a seat.

Enjoy the second ride and let us know how that goes!

Buckaroo

Cheers mate, will do.

That Cube you have is a looker!...very nice. Can I ask a novice question tho?... What's the benifit to the different tyre types on the front and back?

MountainMonster

It all depends on what kind of trail you are riding on. Some tyres are better for more technical singletrack, some for muddy singletrack, some for dh, it's much like motorcycle tires.

PSI within the tires also plays a large role in how well the bike handles going over any rough terrain, which isn't too surprising.

Buckaroo

Cool. So tyres are something else to consider once I've made my bike decision!... on it goes...

Schwalbe site actually made a good point once I'd taken the time to actually check for myself...

Nobby Nic front, Racing Ralph rear
In mixed terrain riding conditions pairing Nobby Nic with Racing Ralph can form an unbeatable combination. Racing Ralph's strength is on the rear wheel where rolling resistance is of particular importance as 60 to 70 per cent of the load is there. Nobby Nic is exactly the right choice for the front wheel where the tire should grip well, have good traction for braking and cornering, especially in softer conditions.

S