The biggest change to the Fuel EX this year is the addition of the Thru Shaft technology in the rear shock.
Q&A with Travis Ott, MTB brand manager of Trek Bicycles That’s a solid value regardless of where you’re from. One tester noted that the side knobs of the Bontrager XR4 tires felt under-gunned and that the 750-milleter-wide bars are too narrow, making the Fuel feel more XC-like than trail.ĭon’t let the price of the 9.9 scare you away-the Fuel EX is available in a complete build with an aluminum frame starting at $2,100, and if you aren’t in a hurry, the Thru Shaft technology is likely to trickle down to lower-priced models in the coming years. The 9.9 build we tested is expensive and spares very little on parts as one would expect when investing $8,400 in a toy-it sports a SRAM XX1/X01 Eagle drivetrain, carbon wheels, Fox Factory Kashima-coated suspension and SRAM Guide Ultimate brakes, weighing a scant 26 pounds-although we’d prefer to see a 150-millimeter dropper post on the size 17.5 instead of a 125. But one tester felt that it was too conservative, perhaps targeted at the rider who isn’t looking to push the bike beyond its limits, and would have preferred at least a 140-millimeter fork to give it a more aggressive demeanor on descents.
The Fuel screams uphill, aided by a light and agile chassis and superb rear-wheel traction that makes powering up and over successive rocks practically painless. The Fuel’s 67.7-degree headtube angle and 74.7-degree seat-tube angle (in the high geometry setting) are evenly matched, giving it a balanced and maneuverable feel-despite its large wheels, the Fuel was easy to move around, its tires eager to leave the dirt.
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