Trek Fuel EX 9.9 29
Cruise on the trail with control
Trek’s Fuel line of bikes sits in between the company’s Top Fuel group of cross country race machines and the Remedy set of a longer-travel trail/all-mountain bikes. With 130 mm of travel, the Fuel seems to borrow some aspects from both of its siblings.
The standout feature on the new Fuel is the Reaktiv Thru Shaft shock technology. Trek worked with automotive part marker Penske Racing Shocks to develop a regressive shock technology. This system is supposed to act similarly to an inertia-valve platform, such as Specialized’s Brain. In each case, the suspension remains efficient when you’re pedalling and travelling over small bumps. When you encounter a large obstacle or feature that requires significant suspension compression, the system feels soft and supple. In practice, the Fuel has great pedalling efficiency. It was easy to spin up the Bontrager Line Pro 30 carbon wheels. I felt very little pedal bob when climbing steep sections of trail. One of the most impressive aspects of this bike was how well it let me pedal over larger rocks and roots and still keep speed and control. The Fuel can sometimes save you from your poor line choices through singletrack, especially on climbs with obstacles. When pointed downhill, the Fuel has nice, sharp handling, but does seem to use up its 130 mm of travel quickly. It doesn’t recover from bigger hits as well as I expected from a bike with this amount of travel. I wasn’t getting bounced off-line at the end of every rock garden, but the suspension performance does seem to favour pedalling efficiency and smaller bumps to big hits and aggressive riding. The Fuel EX 9.9 comes equipped with sram’s 1 x 12 XX1 drivetrain, ranging from a 10-tooth and to a whopping 50-tooth cog on the cassette. The Fuel has enough gear range to take you anywhere you want to go. My favourite component on the bike was the Bontrager Drop Line seatpost (150 mm). The Drop Line has a super smooth feel when in operation and was easy to initiate thanks to the shifter-style lever. A Bontrager 750-mm Line Pro bar with matching stem takes care of steering, while the sram Guide Ultimate brakes offer plenty of stopping power. I really enjoyed my time atop the Fuel. The longer and slacker geometry is a very welcomed change compared with previous generations of the Fuel and helps increase the bike’s capabilities on rough, steep sections of trail. It’s a very comfortable bike that’s easy to ride for long distances over varied terrain. Trek has done a great job of blending aspects from its XC platform as well as its trail line to create a bike that is very versatile and fun to ride.
“It’s a very comfortable bike that’s easy to ride for long distances over varied terrain.”