Trek Fuel EX 8 or 9.8

DJR

Likes Dirt
i have a fuel ex 9.8 2019 model. Got it on the BUPA discount as well.

It's great. Came off a 150/140mm Trance 27.5.

You can get your dealer to swap out the pawl kit to go 108pt on the stock hubs. $50 worth of parts or so.

If you're worried about carbon wheels just stick cushcore or other rim protection in and/or beefier sidewall tyres. I've given mine a pretty solid workout with the rocky trails round here and things have been fine. 2 year uncondtional warranty on them as well, i think.

Only weak point I thought were the SLX brakes on a $6k bike, swapped them out to Magura MT5 4-pots. The bontrager tyres weren't too bad but swapped to minion DHR2's as I am more comfortable with them. Probably needs a 10-15mm shorter stem as well, but all good for now.

also if you want to take the fork out to 140mm the fork on the 9.7 apparently needs a new CSU to work with a 140mm air shaft (stanchions too short, most likely). the 9.8's fork just needs the air shaft.
 

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Nice ! I picked up my 9.8 on Friday :D The shop suggested the pawl kit and did it when they put the bike together, and told me about the warranty on the wheels being increased to two years when I picked it up. I'm going to rely my riding skills to avoid smashing the rims, not keen on adding weight to them in the form of Cushcore.
Re the brakes I've got XT brakes only a few rides old on my HT (same brakes with a more expensive sticker) which I'll swap over and get a 203mm front rotor. Being in WA I don't think I need 4 pot brakes but will keep an open mind as I like to have awesome brakes.
I have an X Fusion Trace HLR fork which can be set at 140mm so I'll give that a run, but nice to know that the Fox only needs an air shaft.
Looking forward to getting this bike dialed in :cool:
 

DJR

Likes Dirt
Nice ! I picked up my 9.8 on Friday :D The shop suggested the pawl kit and did it when they put the bike together, and told me about the warranty on the wheels being increased to two years when I picked it up. I'm going to rely my riding skills to avoid smashing the rims, not keen on adding weight to them in the form of Cushcore.
Re the brakes I've got XT brakes only a few rides old on my HT (same brakes with a more expensive sticker) which I'll swap over and get a 203mm front rotor. Being in WA I don't think I need 4 pot brakes but will keep an open mind as I like to have awesome brakes.
I have an X Fusion Trace HLR fork which can be set at 140mm so I'll give that a run, but nice to know that the Fox only needs an air shaft.
Looking forward to getting this bike dialed in :cool:
Nice one. The adjustments on the Fox GRIP fork really does make a big difference, feels really good in Open compared to my old x-fusion plus a bit easier to adjust on the trail than the two-speed comp dials on a HLR fork.

I think SLX brakes are fine, I just wanted something different really, I do like the Maguras, heaps of power and great modulation. One day I'll try out the MT7 with the HC3 lever which are meant to be even better modulation and adjustment wise.

Enjoy!
 
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