TREK SESSION 9 X01
World Cup DH bike gets a full makeover in the hunt for speed
Trek’s Session downhill bike has a long, celebrated history. This latest version is designed to get racers down the hill faster than ever. With a high-pivot suspension design and chain idler, it’s bang on-trend.
THE FRAME
The burly aluminium chassis delivers 200mm of rear wheel travel. Trek have squeezed in a 250mm shock, which has a ‘Mino Link’ chip allowing you to alter the suspension progression by five per cent. The bike comes as a 29er, but another chip lets you fit a 650b wheel in the frame if you want to try a ‘mullet’ set-up. You get both internal cable routing and external guides.
Sizing is based on reach – the seat tube length and frame stack are equal across all three sizes. In the ‘29er low’ position, reach rises from 440mm on the R1 size to 465mm on the R2 and 493mm on the R3. Chainstay length also grows, measuring 439mm, 445mm and 452mm, respectively. The head angle is 63 degrees, steepening to 63.6 degrees in the high setting.
THE KIT
As befits Trek’s highest-spec DH bike, there’s a 200mm-travel RockShox BoXXer Ultimate fork up front and a matching Super Deluxe DH air shock out back. SRAM’s X01 DH drivetrain and Code RSC brakes are top-level kit, but it’s interesting that Trek have opted for a 200mm front and (small for a DH bike) 180mm rear rotor. The wheels are Bontrager’s DH Line 30s, shod in their G5 DH tyres, which are tubeless-ready but not set up tubeless. A Bonty saddle, seatpost and cockpit finish things off – the latter featuring their 820mm-wide, carbon fibre Line Pro handlebar.
THE RIDE
While the Session doesn’t deliver a true magic carpet ride, it gets on with its job without much help from the rider. The combination of its suspension design, idler and air shock mutes most trail chatter. As a result, we could ride the Session more on autopilot, with fewer things to think about when charging down the hill. Because of this, it loses some of the playfulness that bikes such as the Specialized Demo offer, but is equally fast down a race track.
Hitting the turns, the Session feels planted, but with its 29in wheels and long chainstays, it doesn’t feel as quick as some through tighter bends. Grip is impressive, though, and you can hit any corner with confidence. Of course, you have the option to sharpen up the handling by fitting a 650b rear wheel. While the bike smoothes out the trail really well, it doesn’t wallow through its travel and the geometry is stable. Big hits are handled efficiently, and there’s a steady progression through its travel that inspires trust. LUKE
VERDICT
A very smooth-riding and exceedingly fast DH race machine