Brand new Gravel/XC MTB Crossover by Trek - CheckOUT

Gravel Cycling Mountain Biking
1

Anyone else see this new release from Trek. Basically a gravel frame with a rear XC suspension and a newly designed low travel fork. The tagline has them marketing it as an epic bikepacking mule, but has the features that may have it be used in big races like Leadville considering the amount of drop bar mtn bikes we see these days.

I’ve gotta say i’m pretty interested. I’m in the market for a beefier gravel bike that can take on the rocky, washed out forest roads in the colorado mountains better than my focus mares (40mm max I know I know…). But at that price tag I’d rather go through the conversion on an existing XC bike.

Pretty hefty price tag at $9k for the Sram AXS version, and heavy, 25lbs stock.

image
image952×624 114 KB

1 Like
2

That’s pretty much what the DIYers have been doing for years. TONS of short-travel FS and old 26” MTBs getting adapted to 27.5” and 29” with drop bars for gravel riding. Looks like Trek decided to try and cash in on it.

Also, nine grand is ridiculous

3

My LBS has a couple on the floor and I was talking to one of the guys there who has ridden it. His impression was that it’s a pretty niche bikepacking/touring bike that is more suited to ultra events like the Tour Divide than fast races like Leadville or Unbound (mainly due to weight and geo). But who knows, I’m sure someone will race it at one of those.

It’s definitely cool looking and if I lived somewhere with lots of good gravel riding I might consider it. In my area it’s either super rocky and rooty singletrack or 70/30 road/gravel - neither seems optimal for this bike.

Not surprised at the price, it seems consistent with other high-end gravel and mountain bikes.

4

Yeah I get what your saying about it being more of an ultra/ touring bike. I am interested in it because the gravel in the CO mountains is a mix of nice, washed out & potholes, to full blown rocky jeep trails that would make this bike really fun to ride. One of the reviews I read took it from Colorado springs to Grand Junction, and that seems like an awesome trip to take.

5

I’m interested as well. I’m planning to demo one this weekend. My gravel rides include quite a bit of mellower single track (which can be fairly gnarly on a full rigid gravel bike). James Huang interviewed the designers on his N-1 podcast.

6

First, this is a cool bike. Everything below should be prefaced by…ride the bike you want, not what Slowtwitch tells you. And, I promise.. no 90s mtb bike jokes!!

What you need to know…

It’s all about axle to crown and head tube angle. You gotta get the bike low enough to perform differently than a gravel bike with clearance – e.g. a Giant Revolt does 53 vs the Trek’s 56m. Do you need to spend 9k for 3mm of tire clearance? Or maybe it’s just a dressed up mountain bike with drop bars. Which I fully support!!

**If it’s just an mtb w/drop bars…**The axel to crown on that fork is 475mm. The A-C on a regular XC mtb is 50 to 51 – usually 51. So, you’re about 3.5cm lower (w/the Trek) than a run-of-the-mill XC bike. The rule of thumb in the mtb-to-gravel-build world (for reference I built a Specialized Chisel with a 27.5+ fork at 460mm A-C) is approx. 30mm of fork length shorten = a degree of head tube steepening.

Do you want a super slack gravel (remember that Giant ref’d above) or a marginally twitchy XC bike with drop bars. Can you control it with stem length and angle??? What about seat height or saddle set back…Dan Emp…. you know what I mean :slight_smile: I’ll give you 5mm in either direction :slight_smile: Only the end user can decide LOL!!

For example, a Giant Revolt is 71-72 degrees of head tube angle depending on the size of bike. Bring that down to an A-C of 475 and, really, you’re on a hard tail with a Whisky short travel fork - with regard to feel and geometry. (and they don’t make the ST fork anymore, you’ll need to source it from China, try S-Pcycles).

Put plainly, it will feel like you just slammed the stem on an mtb. Put drop bars on it with Sram Axs, and call it a new cool crossover bike with suspension – Add in some lifestyle vibes and put a cool paint job on it, some dudes with mustaches, and it’s a new bike!!!

Hint: QBP stopped making the Whisky ST because of this very thing!!! (insider info, oops)!!

The other thing to consider is tire size….once you get out to 56mm tire size, do you really need full suspension? Do you understand the type of riding that full suspension was made for? Not you….swear….I mean, The Royal “you”

That begs the question(s)…do you really need that tire size with drop bars? And do you need it for NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Are you riding the divide? If so, go for it! If not, be realistic. Get a good bike for 3k and spend the other 6k on a Royal Oak on rubber or a GMT 1675 on Oyster.

The bike industry is in trouble….they need us to drink the cool-aid.

You’re buying a re-packaged full suspension with a short travel suspension fork….and a cool paint job.

1 Like