It’s the busy and exciting time of the year when bike brands are getting ready to unveil their latest bicycle creations. We headed down to the Trek World launch day in Milton Keynes to see what the big brand can offer us in 2017 for mountain bikes.
Find out why Trek are a TWC Champion brand
We’ve said it before, but women’s mountain biking is seriously booming and with many companies now playing catch-up, we’re starting to see more dedicated products, bikes, services and kit.
This year Trek have made considerable changes with their women’s division. Firstly, taking on the World Champion Rachel Atherton and her team, and adding Casey Brown and Katy Winton to ride alongside legendary rider, Tracy Mosesely.
Trek World – MTB
Perhaps the biggest change up to Trek’s women’s MTB range is the shift in focus from the popular 650b Remedy to the 29er Fuel EX.
The Remedy was last years ultimate trail and all-mountain ride, very popular among many women and at the bike parks, but for 2017 this model has been somewhat overshadowed by the new re-designed women’s Fuel EX.
Trek doesn’t believe in having a fixed wheel size for each model, but rather the wheel size should reflect the rider’s height. The 14″ and 15″ Fuel EX models come equipped with a 650b wheelset, while taller riders on 17.5″ and 18.5″ will have the larger 29″ wheels.
The top model is the Fuel EX 9.8 with a full carbon frame in a matte black and soft pink colourway. Being it’s the top model, it is eligible to be fully customised with Trek’s Project 1 scheme which allows users to personalise their ride in any colours and designs they want.
The Fuel EX 9.8 comes with Fox 34 forks, boasting 130mm travel in the front and a Fox Float rear shock. Full Shimano XT group-set adorns this ride with a 2×11 drive-train. The new Bontrager dropper post is fitted, along with a short 35mm steam and the obvious female specific saddle and grips.
The models descend from 9.8, to 8 and 5 with the last two having lightweight aluminium frames.
