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Trek Fuel Ex 8 29 thoughts


tomreece

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3 minutes ago, Anita Handle said:

What's your budge

Good question! I don't really know to be honest. 6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy to spend $1500 on a bike. But now after demo'ing the $7000 carbon Mondraker Foxy RR 29, I see what money can buy. The experience definitely gave me some upgrade-itis.

$2000 - no guilt
$3000 - minor guilt
$5000 - major guilt
$7000 - no

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5 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?

Most online bikes these days come 90% pre assembled! I gambled and bought my first online mountain bike 2 years ago and had little to no mechanic experience and put the last 10% together in about 45minutes (I think it would take a experienced mechanic less than 10minutes), then it took me about another hour to correctly set up my sag on my fork and shock by watching the manufacturers videos ( again experienced bike mechanic less than 10 minutes). But Definitely worth it! Between park tools and GMBN you tube channels I have now have learned how to completely disassemble my bike a rebuild it, minus my yearly fork complete overhaul! 

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1 hour ago, tomreece said:

Good question! I don't really know to be honest. 6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy to spend $1500 on a bike. But now after demo'ing the $7000 carbon Mondraker Foxy RR 29, I see what money can buy. The experience definitely gave me some upgrade-itis.

$2000 - no guilt
$3000 - minor guilt
$5000 - major guilt
$7000 - no

guilty pleasures suck

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2 hours ago, tomreece said:

Good question! I don't really know to be honest. 6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy to spend $1500 on a bike. But now after demo'ing the $7000 carbon Mondraker Foxy RR 29, I see what money can buy. The experience definitely gave me some upgrade-itis.

$2000 - no guilt
$3000 - minor guilt
$5000 - major guilt
$7000 - no

I’ve been riding a Diamondback Release 5c for the last few months. Got it online for 4K I think. It is the best value I’ve found. 

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3 hours ago, tomreece said:

Good question! I don't really know to be honest. 6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy to spend $1500 on a bike. But now after demo'ing the $7000 carbon Mondraker Foxy RR 29, I see what money can buy. The experience definitely gave me some upgrade-itis.

$2000 - no guilt
$3000 - minor guilt
$5000 - major guilt
$7000 - no

What size frame/how tall are you? Do you strictly want to buy new?

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57 minutes ago, TheX said:

Guilt sucks.

I am fortunate to make good money, but for that "privilege" I have to give most of it right back to student loans. I've driven myself crazy, literally, over the years worrying about student loan debt and fear of losing a job yada yada yada adult things. Whatever, I'm finally starting to come around to enjoying life while I still can but it's hard to escape thoughts of "do I really need that or should I just throw it at loans?"

Enough sad millennial life story.

17 minutes ago, RegisteredUser said:

What size frame/how tall are you? Do you strictly want to buy new?

I am 5' 9", 205 lbs. My current bike (Specialized Rockhopper) is a medium so I think that's right. I don't know how medium translates to other manufacturers but I assume some consistency in that medium is medium everywhere. I prefer new but am open to anything right bike right price.

Edited by tomreece
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The level of tech in the MTB industry has been excellent for many years now. Which means if you look at the large scale online shops you can often find a well reviewed, new old stock bike in the vendors warehouses. A one or two year old bike that is an excellent ride and sold for $4K or more can often be purchased for $2K or less.

This is the beginning of the season where many stores will be clearing their inventory before the tax year ends.

JensonUSA.com was mentioned earlier,

A few others include:

UniversalCycles.com

ChainReactioncycle.com (British site, with free USA shipping on orders over $49)

ColoradoCyclist.com

CompetitiveCyclist.com

BicycleWarehouse.com

There are more ...

Most of the manufacturers will have clearance sales on their new old stock. Check their websites for a clearance or sale page.

Many smaller shops with an online store can offer bargains for the same reasons.

You could also build a bike by sourcing components as you find the ones you want on sale. Thus, spreading out the purchase over time, and learning about installing components and doing your own maintenance, if that appeals to you.

Lastly, mtbr.com and pinkbike.com are a couple of good resources for reviews and classified ads and other information.

 

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18 hours ago, tomreece said:

Good question! I don't really know to be honest. 6 months ago I'd have said you were crazy to spend $1500 on a bike. But now after demo'ing the $7000 carbon Mondraker Foxy RR 29, I see what money can buy. The experience definitely gave me some upgrade-itis.

$2000 - no guilt
$3000 - minor guilt
$5000 - major guilt
$7000 - no

$3000-4000 is a the sweet spot for most "good" bikes. As others have said, you can get some really nice deals on leftovers for 2-2.5k right now. Anything over 5k in my opinion, is an exercise in diminishing returns, particularly in the flatlandia that we ride in. The upgrade-itis comment reminded me of the latest from IFHT.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Ridenfool said:

The level of tech in the MTB industry has been excellent for many years now. Which means if you look at the large scale online shops you can often find a well reviewed, new old stock bike in the vendors warehouses. A one or two year old bike that is an excellent ride and sold for $4K or more can often be purchased for $2K or less.

This is the beginning of the season where many stores will be clearing their inventory before the tax year ends.

JensonUSA.com was mentioned earlier,

A few others include:

UniversalCycles.com

ChainReactioncycle.com (British site, with free USA shipping on orders over $49)

ColoradoCyclist.com

CompetitiveCyclist.com

BicycleWarehouse.com

There are more ...

Most of the manufacturers will have clearance sales on their new old stock. Check their websites for a clearance or sale page.

Many smaller shops with an online store can offer bargains for the same reasons.

You could also build a bike by sourcing components as you find the ones you want on sale. Thus, spreading out the purchase over time, and learning about installing components and doing your own maintenance, if that appeals to you.

Lastly, mtbr.com and pinkbike.com are a couple of good resources for reviews and classified ads and other information.

 

THIS^

You picked a perfect time to buy a bike. I bought a 2600.00 frame for 1550.00 delivered this time last year. FYI, Jenson will discount their advertised prices further if you call them and ask if there's any room left on the price. They usually give me a minimum 5% off for using a CC over the phone rather than paypal online.  They buy these bikes and frames as bulk leftovers from distributors and manufacturers and get them cheaper than your LBS can. Basically bikewagon, but with bikes you'd actually want to own.

Bought my wifes process 134 complete from The path in tustin and only took a minimum of fuss to get it going, but im an ex mechanic. 

Dont rule out cambriabike. I bought 4 kona frames from them and pay 30%+ off with free or reducing shipping.

Id rock a used bike off pinkbike for sure, but only ones with aluminum frames.

 

Good thing is it sounds like you've narrowed your selection to a shorter/mid travel 29 FS which will make the process WAY easier. Assembly is easy enough and the benefit of being cool to fellow MTB riders and people on the forum is they'll be willing to offer help if needed. You'll be good on assembly.

Lastly, you might consider some of these offers on devinici. The Django and Marshall would be rad bikes for central TX, and as i recall theres a few people on the board that have them.

https://www.evo.com/shop/sale/bike/bikes/mountain-bikes/devinci?utm_source=Pinkbike&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Nov-18-Monthly-Deals&utm_term=Devinci&utm_content=Devinci

 
Edited by ATXZJ
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I support my local shop with many small things and always when I’m stumped on something or need a fork/shock service. Honestly a little mechanical aptitude, can do attitude, YouTube, $150 worth of bike specific tools acquired over the years and a 6pack of beer on a Sunday afternoon and I can pretty much do >90% myself. 

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14 hours ago, WhoAmI said:

I guess most people don't support local shops anymore.  I know stuff can be cheaper online, but what do you do when you need support or service?

 

Money for hobbies is always tight and I want to maximize my buying power. I'll buy small stuff at lbs when needed, but that's usually because of an emergency or poor planning on my part.  People on this board are probably the exception to the average mountain biker and can work on their own rigs. I've been into working on bikes since I was a kid and was an auto mechanic and fabricator. Bikes are super simple to work on in comparison. 

The big S, trek, Norco, and others are going to be the same price online as they are at the LBS. In that situation, ill absolutely buy from a LBS.. 

As a whole, all brick and mortar retail is going away. 

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So much poor bike feel comes from setup and the inability to attribute the experience to specific parts. This comes from a lack of experience in a range or tires and parts to see how those changes affect the same bike.

What is your goal with the bike? Do you want to buck big stuff or just ride chunky trails fast?


I have 9.9 top fuel, with Fox34 at 120. I mention this because of the suspension design. I love the full floater and it is fantastic on our trails. The rockier it gets the faster I can go relative to people I am racing. The bike helps a bit because it caters to my riding style.
I have to say it was really bad my first trip, in the greenbelt and I thought I had made a mistake. It turns out the shock only uses a small amount of the visible travel. My sag was actually at 50%! My tires sucked, and pressure was high. Appropriate tuning all around and good tires turned it into a trail slaying machine in a matter of 3 rides.

I’ve only ridden the fuel ex once and it wasn’t a great experience , but I think you need time on any bike to get it right unless you are just lucky with the tune.


My friend has the 9.8 fuel ex and I would say it’s a nimble and fast bike for him. He is putting up smoking fast times on XC races in it, so I wouldn’t say it’s a Dead Baum killer. That sounds like poor tune especially in rebound and rear pressure.


Others not in Austin, are raving about the new Fuel and how good of a bike it is, especially with a 140 form.

Trek has never had a good footprint with anyone on this forum or MOJO, so I wouldn’t let this forum bias your opinion.

Get a shock pump, rent the bike and go ride several different trails on it over a weekend. The shop will credit you the rental towards a purchase. Why on earth would you buy something that expensive without test riding it and it?
If your goal is just a trail bike, there are some good closing deals around town. Stumps, and even the 2016 fuel Eax that is 120/120 sitting at MJs


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Sorry, Tapatalk sucks and won’t let me see what I type.

-140 Fork
-Closeouts around town
-2016 9.8 Fuel Ex (blue and orange carbon) which is the Fuel EX that Trek should never have stopped making. That bike was fantastic!

Tell us a bit about what trails you ride and your goals. If you were looking at a Fuel EX, I would take a look at the Demo yeti 4.5s as wel. BSS has some in their used bike section with full warranty.

Lots of people will let you ride their bike as well, just keep in mind, you are riding their setup and tune or lack there of. It may not be the bike.

All of these bikes mentioned are good and light years ahead of what you have.. you cannot really go wrong unless you go too big IMO.


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On 11/2/2018 at 11:23 AM, 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?

Generally you can do ~90% of the work yourself if you have average skills. That last 10% is something that can be handled by a shop. I bought a frame from someone once, built it completely up to the point where it was 98% done but I had a few nagging issues. Took it to BSS and for ~$50 the tuned it all up and made sure it was perfect. Money well spent. 

I am always a big fan of having an expert overlook my work in the areas where I am not as proficient - mostly in shock tuning and hydraulics.

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15 hours ago, WhoAmI said:

I guess most people don't support local shops anymore.  I know stuff can be cheaper online, but what do you do when you need support or service?

I support local shops for service (which is where they make a lot of their money). For buying commodity products like Stans, Chain lube and generic parts I prefer online because Amazon will have it at my house in 2 days for no charge. The number of times I've called around on a Tuesday afternoon and found the simple part I needed not on the shelves has convinced me that retailers stocking parts is a sucker's bet. Yeah, I've bought brake rotors locally at a 50% premium and was totally OK with it because I needed the part now and they had it on the shelf. But when you tell me you can get the part in 1 or 2 days we're done talking. I can get it cheaper online, delivered to my house. My last full bike build was bought local (with varying degrees of success.)

The dynamics of retail in general have changed and most bike shops grapple with how this is impacting their business. Unfortunately most have not done an adequate job of catering to the "knowledgeable" class. They do great with newbies that need a lot of hand holding, but for those of us that know exactly what we are looking for, they fall short. Bought a SC Blur frame from your shop a few years ago when Clint was in service. I had come in for some simple part, got talking about the constant frame cracks on my bike and pretty soon he had me sold on a Blur frame. Dropped off the Knolly when the Blur showed up and he moved 95% of the parts over and I had an awesome bike, tuned perfectly and ready to go. When my Niner gives up the ghost I'd consider doing that again with another SC frame. But that is not a done deal as there are plenty of places to be competitive on the frame front. And I need to know and trust your techs. Jacob on Guadalupe is awesome, I'd work with him in a heartbeat (and I forget the other tech at that location, possibly Laura, who is also top notch but haven't seen her in a while). But there is another guy with your company that if I knew he worked on my bike I'd demand that the bike be repaired again before I even leave the shop. 

What makes shops great is not their retail selection, it is the techs in the back. Some shops have good ones, some shops have bad ones. I will buy based on the best deal unless time is an element. I am happy to pay a "convenience tax" or a "knowledge tax" with my purchases, but if I know as much (or more) than the person selling me that product, I am not going to pay the premium.

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15 hours ago, bestbike85 said:

I support my local shop with many small things and always when I’m stumped on something or need a fork/shock service. Honestly a little mechanical aptitude, can do attitude, YouTube, $150 worth of bike specific tools acquired over the years and a 6pack of beer on a Sunday afternoon and I can pretty much do >90% myself. 

The 6-pack also applies to the shop. Always reward good work. Thank god there is a liquor store next to BSS Guadalupe. They have really helped me out in a pinch more than once. When they say "just hang on, we can get this in a second" that is just enough time to run and get a sixer to leave in return for their work.

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I am demoing a Transition Smuggler alloy. It's marked down from $2999 to $2399 at Peddler.

Talk me out of it if you think I'm making a huge mistake, otherwise I think I will buy it given the price point it seems like a nice entry full suspension. I enjoyed riding it yesterday. What do you think?

* SRAM NX
* Raceface dropper
* Rockshox revelation fork
* Rockshox something shock

Components seem on the cheaper side, but given the price I have some room to upgrade parts later on as needed.

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s1KOy6zVQSOw4WnNVlHFIw.jpg

FGRRqj%YQSSskxWLyMyx4w.jpg

H2cjUYleS92ygiWG3gVrEw.jpg

Edited by tomreece
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That looks like a fine platform at a great price. You can upgrade components when/if you need/want to and it will perform and last a long while as equipped. There is likely enough tire clearance to try 27.5+ someday if you get the itch.

Choice is always better than no choice and this bike will provide a lot of performance and will accommodate changes to better tailor it to your preference in the future. Nice find!

 

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That's an excellent choice for our trails here. Very capable solid bike. Seeing more Transitions on the trails lately. For what it's worth I prefer to stay away from the big box bike manufacturers. I think you get more bike at a better price from the smaller companies. I also prefer to not ride something everyone else is riding (kinda like girls).

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Transition makes great bikes. A friend of mine has 2 of them and I have been impressed with them. Can't talk you out of it.

My only warning on smaller boutique brands vs. the big national brands (i.e. Trek, Specialized, Santa Cruz) is that if you run into warranty replacement issues, you'll be waiting longer for replacement. But that is probably a once in the bike's life issue. So If everything feels right with that bike, go for it knowing that somewhere down the line, if you need warranty work, it might take a little longer. But I would not let that possibility steer me away from the bike that is right for me.

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33 minutes ago, tomreece said:

I am demoing a Transition Smuggler alloy. It's marked down from $2999 to $2399 at Peddler.

Talk me out of it if you think I'm making a huge mistake, otherwise I think I will buy it given the price point it seems like a nice entry full suspension. I enjoyed riding it yesterday. What do you think?

* SRAM NX
* Raceface dropper
* Rockshox revelation fork
* Rockshox something shock

Components seem on the cheaper side, but given the price I have some room to upgrade parts later on as needed.

4F6vG5QyShKOKDIfW97dsQ.jpg

ESPKhuuwR3uB1C1n1YmRqQ.jpg

s1KOy6zVQSOw4WnNVlHFIw.jpg

FGRRqj%YQSSskxWLyMyx4w.jpg

H2cjUYleS92ygiWG3gVrEw.jpg

Damn good price on a damn good bike. I’d tell you to pull that trigger if you like it. 

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39 minutes ago, tomreece said:

I am demoing a Transition Smuggler alloy. It's marked down from $2999 to $2399 at Peddler.

Talk me out of it if you think I'm making a huge mistake, otherwise I think I will buy it given the price point it seems like a nice entry full suspension. I enjoyed riding it yesterday. What do you think?

* SRAM NX
* Raceface dropper
* Rockshox revelation fork
* Rockshox something shock

Components seem on the cheaper side, but given the price I have some room to upgrade parts later on as needed.

4F6vG5QyShKOKDIfW97dsQ.jpg

ESPKhuuwR3uB1C1n1YmRqQ.jpg

s1KOy6zVQSOw4WnNVlHFIw.jpg

FGRRqj%YQSSskxWLyMyx4w.jpg

H2cjUYleS92ygiWG3gVrEw.jpg

Did they figure out what was causing that ratcheting noise from the rear hub? That was annoying as hell and couldn't be good for the bike or it's performance. Would you be buying the demo bike or a new one like it at that price? 

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