tomreece Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Does anyone have a Trek Fuel Ex 8 29? Has anyone ridden one? What did you like? What did you dislike? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie193 Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I don’t have one, but they are listed in bicycle sport shop’s rental fleet- $45 for a half day, if you’re looking for a test ride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomreece Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 15 minutes ago, Charlie193 said: rental fleet Yup! I’m waiting to hear back about that. I filled out their online request form. I’m scoping the bike out from multiple angles. I value your opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, tomreece said: Does anyone have a Trek Fuel Ex 8 29? Has anyone ridden one? What did you like? What did you dislike? Buddy of mine rented the 27+ version in bentonville and turned it in early because he hated it so much. When he brought it back to the shop the rep he said "yeah we get that a lot". At the time, my buddy had a salsa horsethief and intense spider and went on to buy a sentinel. From what i rode of it, felt dull and and a bit cumbersome, the exact opposite of poppy. It was the carbon version i believe but it had HR2s on it with tubes. Sorry to be so anecdotal. His thoughts: "A solid bike that feels grounded for good and ill. Feels far heavier than the lbs would lead you to expect. like the hand of god was holding you down admonishing you for trying to have fun. For as much of a tank as that felt, I'd go with a Slash. Might as well have a bomber if its going to feel like that " Your experience as well as others may be completely different. If you're gonna buy from LBS, might as well demo, demo, demo. Good luck Edited November 1, 2018 by ATXZJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kobra Kai MTB Guy Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) There are so many better values out there’s in my opinion. Just on looks alone, the fuel is very “meh”. Friend of mine has one and rented one from BSS fleet while he was here. Nothing really impressive about it at all. Edited November 1, 2018 by Kobra Kai MTB Guy Grammar nazi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Tom are you looking for a large or medium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomreece Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 1 hour ago, throet said: Tom are you looking for a large or medium? Medium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Kobra Kai MTB Guy said: There are so many better values out there’s in my opinion. Just on looks alone, the fuel is very “meh”. Friend of mine has one and rented one from BSS fleet while he was here. Nothing really impressive about it at all. Don't want to dogpile on this but yeah, a lot of better choices. For a lbs sourced bike similar to the trek, I would suggest going to see AJ down at peddlers in CP and try out a smuggler. F*cking rad bike. If you are open to online sales, nobody can touch jenson on their closeout pricing. I'll also throw in a test ride if you want to try a kona hei hei. Edited November 2, 2018 by ATXZJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 In the world of 130mm travel 29ers, you should definitely check out the Norco Sight and Intense Primer before settling on the Fuel EX. I've got a large Primer that you can try out if you'd like. You can get a carbon foundation build in your size for under $3K. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fontarin Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) I'll also have a Santa Cruz Hightower up for sale soon in 27.5+ shoes. Welcome to try it out. Edited November 2, 2018 by fontarin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Docscotty Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 https://www.yeticycles.com/bikes/sb130 See if BSS has one of these in their demo fleet yet. Might have to eat sack lunches for awhile to afford it but damn......just ride it and see what you think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 4 hours ago, Docscotty said: https://www.yeticycles.com/bikes/sb130 See if BSS has one of these in their demo fleet yet. Might have to eat sack lunches for awhile to afford it but damn......just ride it and see what you think. Oh yeah! After watching Nate slay the chunk on one, it's easy to forget that is just a 130mm travel 29er. And now with a proper bottle mount, has to be on everybody's dream bike list. BTW, I believe Peddler's carries them as well as BSS. So you could check both for a test ride if you are prepared to lay down some serious dough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bestbike85 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Might I also suggest to look into a different LBS. Peddler Bike Shop will get you on a bike you love from their fleet for a great deal and are genuinely there to help you as a customer. In terms of other mid travel 29ers I suggest the transition smuggler be on your list. Edited November 2, 2018 by bestbike85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoAmI Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Quote I rode a Trek Remedy for a few years and loved the suspension design, which it shares with the Fuel EX. Was the suspension set up properly for those who rode it? It should've been, but I'm curious. Trek incorporates what they call a full floater, which means that the rear shock is not attached to the main triangle like almost all the other bikes. The shock is attached to a rocker and point on the chain stays in front of the seat post. Due to this design, suspension setup is key. Also, was the Mino link set up for a 29er (low setting) or a 27.5 (high setting)? This makes a difference. Edit: Bicycle Sport Shop has their previous year demo bikes on sale now at Lamar. I know people love to hate BSS, but it's an employee owned local shop in business since 1984. And, yes, i work there. Edited November 2, 2018 by WhoAmI 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATXZJ Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, WhoAmI said: I rode a Trek Remedy for a few years and loved the suspension design, which it shares with the Fuel EX. Was the suspension set up properly for those who rode it? It should've been, but I'm curious. Trek incorporates what they call a full floater, which means that the rear shock is not attached to the main triangle like almost all the other bikes. The shock is attached to a rocker and point on the chain stays in front of the seat post. Due to this design, suspension setup is key. Also, was the Mino link set up for a 29er (low setting) or a 27.5 (high setting)? This makes a difference. Edit: Bicycle Sport Shop has their previous year demo bikes on sale now at Lamar. I know people love to hate BSS, but it's an employee owned local shop in business since 1984. And, yes, i work there. It did have the floating shock and we made a special hail mary trip back to the shop to try and get the bike tuned before inevitably giving up. to us, it just felt like an overpriced fun removal machine. He finished the weekend on a borrowed slack 29 hardtail and said he had way more fun. No hating on BSS. If they'd mark down their 2-3 y/o inventory more than 20% i might actually do a little more business with them. The tallboy and hightower are great bikes for texas. Again, if you're cool with online purchases, jenson cannot be beat. Id imagine theres quite a few evil followings to sample around here. https://www.jensonusa.com/Evil-Following-V1-GX-Eagle-Jenson-Bike Edited November 2, 2018 by ATXZJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomreece Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 hour ago, ATXZJ said: if you're cool with online purchases What does the bike setup process look like once it arrives to my door? If I buy online, can I assemble myself with only basic tools and basic knowledge or do I buy online and then take it into a shop for a tuning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csmceuen Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 8 minutes ago, tomreece said: What does the bike setup process look like once it arrives to my door? If I buy online, can I assemble myself with only basic tools and basic knowledge or do I buy online and then take it into a shop for a tuning? I have purchased a few bikes online. The usual assembly that you have to do is basically put the bars, wheels and derailleur on the bike. Pretty minimal setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 hours ago, WhoAmI said: I rode a Trek Remedy for a few years and loved the suspension design, which it shares with the Fuel EX. Was the suspension set up properly for those who rode it? It should've been, but I'm curious. Trek incorporates what they call a full floater, which means that the rear shock is not attached to the main triangle like almost all the other bikes. The shock is attached to a rocker and point on the chain stays in front of the seat post. Due to this design, suspension setup is key. Also, was the Mino link set up for a 29er (low setting) or a 27.5 (high setting)? This makes a difference. Edit: Bicycle Sport Shop has their previous year demo bikes on sale now at Lamar. I know people love to hate BSS, but it's an employee owned local shop in business since 1984. And, yes, i work there. I still have and ride a 2014 Trek Remedy 29er that I bought at BSS on clearance. It has been relegated to my backup bike, but it's still very fun to ride, especially out of the saddle. Did 15 miles on it today at Brushy! Also, I've had nothing but good experiences at BSS and think it's great that we have a local shop that can offer such a selection, even on closeout bikes. To me the Fuel EX is worthy of consideration, along with the other bikes that have been mentioned in this thread. I rode a borrowed one in Colorado and it was good fun and a great climber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 My experiences with BSS have all been positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throet Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 13 minutes ago, tomreece said: What does the bike setup process look like once it arrives to my door? If I buy online, can I assemble myself with only basic tools and basic knowledge or do I buy online and then take it into a shop for a tuning? Either option works. Some manufacturers, like Intense, let you order online and ship to one of their affiliate bike shops for final assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 BSS is fine I guess, but you'll probably pay the most out of anywhere. Everyone should be able to taken an online bike out of the box and get it rolling. It requires pretty minimal skills that you can learn from a youtube video, and you should probably have at least that much mechanical knowledge so you can inspect your bike for safety's sake if you're bombing trails around here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cafeend Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 3 hours ago, tomreece said: What does the bike setup process look like once it arrives to my door? If I buy online, can I assemble myself with only basic tools and basic knowledge or do I buy online and then take it into a shop for a tuning? Ive gone through Art's and Jensen before. Both had great setup instructions, didnt need them but they were good. If you have the basic tools one needs anyway you can easily do. Or post up and ask for a hand. Most guys are pretty nice and would be willing to help if asked nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco_junkie Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 hours ago, tomreece said: What does the bike setup process look like once it arrives to my door? If I buy online, can I assemble myself with only basic tools and basic knowledge or do I buy online and then take it into a shop for a tuning? There are videos online but here are a few much less useful pictures of an eBay bike I assembled this year. I had to mount bars, front wheel, seat post & pedals. Put some air the shock and convert to tubeless. The only troubleshooting I had to do was center the rear brakes for a little rubbing. My eBay seller packed instructions that I ignored. All I remember needing to use were clippers to get the zip ties off and a torque wrench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Handle Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 23 hours ago, ATXZJ said: Buddy of mine rented the 27+ version in bentonville and turned it in early because he hated it so much. When he brought it back to the shop the rep he said "yeah we get that a lot". At the time, my buddy had a salsa horsethief and intense spider and went on to buy a sentinel. From what i rode of it, felt dull and and a bit cumbersome, the exact opposite of poppy. It was the carbon version i believe but it had HR2s on it with tubes. Sorry to be so anecdotal. His thoughts: "A solid bike that feels grounded for good and ill. Feels far heavier than the lbs would lead you to expect. like the hand of god was holding you down admonishing you for trying to have fun. For as much of a tank as that felt, I'd go with a Slash. Might as well have a bomber if its going to feel like that " Your experience as well as others may be completely different. If you're gonna buy from LBS, might as well demo, demo, demo. Good luck Is it possible that the "+" sized tires made the bike feel sluggish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Handle Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 What's your budge, @tomreece? The range of bike prices suggested here is pretty wide with Yeti's starting out at $6k for a complete SB100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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