Submitted by
ecubyrd
a Cross Country Rider
from Seoul, Korea
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2009
Strengths: Very stiff, yet somehow somewhat forgiving. The frame is lightweight.
Weaknesses: I haven't had it long enough to know yet.
Bottom Line:
I bought this recently as a second bike (more so as a daily commuter here in Seoul). My main rig is a fs Jamis loaded with all kinds of goodies that I constantly worry about if I leave locked somewhere. The Trek will serve its function well. I bought it used and paid a very fair price considering its condition. I'm digging it so far.
Similar Products Used: An abundance of hts over the years.
Bike Setup: 8900SL frame, XT shifters and hubs, XTR derailleurs, Avid Ti levers Single 7 Digit brakes, Matitou Black Elite, Thomson post and stem, Rhyno Lite rims.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
sample. stuff
a Cross Country Rider
from vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2006
Strengths: Lightweight as fcuk, stiff enough, flexy enough to make the ride suck less, easy enough set up to fix in a rush, the stock components still kick ass... it's easy to upgrade...
Weaknesses: it's a composite... older XT components
Bottom Line:
It's a hot piece of sh't I wouldn't trade/sell... it's with me till the day I or it dies...
Strengths: super light frame plush fork good geometry. great for trail riding.can build it up however you want to. looks good. own your freinds up the hill
Weaknesses: little flexy on bigger drops and gaps, hard on the legs and ankles. a little rattley on the dh trails but what can you expect?
Bottom Line:
don't buy it if you want to huck off 25 fott cliffs. do buy if you are just getting into the more difficult freeriding or trailriding. good all round intermediate bike. can use it for almost any type of riding just depends how you build it up. I use it as a freeride, dirtjump, aggressive xc bike
Similar Products Used: haro v2 rocky mountain flow devinci basher
Bike Setup: marzocchi z1 fork, race face crank, alexrims supra-d, shimano mech disk brakes, maxxis mofo DH tires , sram 7 drivetrain
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Submitted by
Zaheer
a Cross Country Rider
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2001
Strengths: Light weight, Handles like a dream, accelerates like a mountain goat with a firecracker up its butt!! Geometry is excellent, relatively better than expected on descents and can be thrown down the steepest trail with confidence. Rolf dolomite wheels are the best I`ve used- Only trued once. equal to Chris King hubbed, bontrager rimmed hoops on a friends bike. Hayes braking power is eye watering, nut busting good!
Weaknesses: Does flex on rocky jump offs. Can make u too confident? Hayes brakes drag on long descents(Needs a Bleed??), Icon parts are Shyte...
Bottom Line:
It just makes you want to go out and ride - if a bike can do that no matter the price, weight, name, components,etc. its a great bike. I always have a grin on my face on fast descents - trying to eek out just a little more speed-thanks Hayes. I have not had any other problems other than tuning things now and then. Shimano XTR has received enough praise in other reviews so I need not say anymore. My bike`s most revered bit is its Chris King headset, great too look at, works like a dream and is the best that money can buy. I enjoy dropping the hefty FS riders on the climbs and stick neck and neck with them on the descents - they wonder what they doing wrong... 10 years from now I will be happily fitting my brand new 500 gram Rockshox fork to my 8900... God willing... If you want a light weight, reliable, allround, racing cross country bike you cannot go wrong with an 8900 - if u can find one!
Similar Products Used: Giant, Specialised, Gary Fisher
Bike Setup: Chris King headset, Full XTR with titanium rear cogs, Tyres-depend on terrain, often use Kenda Kozmik lites for rolling hardpack,Selle Italia flite Ti saddle. bike weight about 21-22 punds
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Submitted by
Francis Gosselin
a Cross Country Rider
from Aylmer, Quebec, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2001
Strengths: Geometry perfect, Hayes, XTR - XT best setup, ultralight frame and indestructible Rolf Wheels
a dream bike for anyone who want a light and manoeuvrable XC bike. reccommend change of fork and perhaps the use of an ultralight TI instead. very responsive to quick turns and weight shifting, which also makes it an excellent trial machine.
Favorite Trail: The Epic Ride (Multiple Orgasm + Power Line + FourPlay)
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$1500.00
Purchased At: bought left over frame & parts from a friend
Similar Products Used: Kona TI bike full XTR + bomber Z3 -- Norco Bomber full suspension freeride w/bomber z1 full XT
Bike Setup: XTR - XT, homemade carbon fork w/judy SL kit, red rhynolites & XTR V-brake. F & R michelin wild grippers.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
zach chalmers
a Cross Country Rider
from chicaco, il, usa
Date Reviewed: July 29, 2001
Strengths: great frame weight and geometry - a real classic !.
On the tight trails, technical uphills, long drag climbs, techy descents, running with the freeriders, all day riding - it's the business. Can't say enough !.
Weaknesses: none. two years of marathon racing, downhilling in the rockies and all the hits inbetween and the baby is still going just as a stong.
Bottom Line:
If it breaks I'll cry and then go buy another. No question.
Who should buy it ?. The 8000 series aint cheap for the 200 or 400 grams loss over the identical geometry 6000 or 7000 series. But 8900 the bike with light parts just seems to react to thought and the slightest wish to change lines or speed. So - 8000 series = XC racer, marathon rider. 6000, 7000 series. Anyone who wants a great geometry bomb-proof hardtail.
Strengths: Bought this as a race bike the bike is a great geometry and weight for tight rough singletrack. handles awesome, I bought it mid season to replace a trek carbon and im amazed at how fast it accelerates
Weaknesses: frames a little flexy on big hits, but its a hardtail its not supposed to save your butt when you screw up like those Freeride bikes. This bike requires skills to ride and you gotta stay on top of things or it will throw you
Bike Setup: 00 sid xc, rolf dolomites W/panaracer trailblasters, Thomson stem & post, easton monkeylite bar,XT, Truvative stylo team cranks, selle italia seat
Great bike overall but as others have noted, the frame creaks and moans too much. This summer I nearly gave up because the seatpost had such a loud creak with each stroke. In fact, when I put my hand on the seat tube, I could feel this massive snap in the metal when I pedaled. By chance, I happened to put in another post and that solved it. But with colder weather, this post made the frame creak like crazy again. It's so loud it even drowns out the Hugi rear hub. I've tried grease, no grease, and WD-40, but the creaking comes and goes on its own. Any suggestions?
Submitted by
John Gunning
a Cross Country Rider
from Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture Japan
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2000
Strengths: The frame is light and nicely painted. For the kind of riding I do most, cross country, it is an all around great single tracker. I bought only the frame and had parts from another bike put on it so I can not make any reviews about the entire bike itself
Weaknesses: The bottom bracket is always hitting rocks, roots etc...too low, therefore my pedals are always smacking the tops of stuff also.
Bottom Line:
Ok bike, I could use some better forks but that is another problem. I do not like that fact that it rides low and tends to hit everything in its path. I really do not recommend it for racing, a little too flexible esp. on bigger drops.
Similar Products Used: Gt, Litespeed, Moots, Fisher
Bike Setup: Showa shocks (trash) all xt with Dia comp threadless and some cheapo headset (works well and suprisingly light)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
steve russell
a Weekend Warrior
from keene,nh usa
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2000
Strengths: The rolf rims have been the most impressive parts on the bike,i haven't had to have them trued in the 1 1/2 years i've owned the bike. The sl rock shock has been pretty steady in the woods and singletrack.
Weaknesses: Not enough clearence at the bottom of the cranks.
Bottom Line:
I never regretted buying the trek 8900, it's too bad that they don't make them anymore.
Strengths: Of course the Hayes. Wheels have held up suprisingly well for the abuse that I have put them through. The geometry is excellent for an XC bike. Pretty good visible components aside from the icon s**t.
Weaknesses: Unfortunatlly they have marketed this bike to be a strong All around bike, which it isn't. The frame flexes at the thought of a drop-off exceeding 10 inches. The rotors on the Hayes warped, TWICE, and yes both of them. The BB was some no name peice o' s**t.
Bottom Line:
You have to look at all the components you gt right off the bat. Rolf, Hayes, XTR. This would be a great bike for someone who is going to stick to the well groomed single track and eaiser. The icon parts need to be upgraded. Overall geometry of the bike feels good but there is too much flex in the frame. The only other compaint I have is with Trek. I had an 8500 but the shim in the seatpost came loose and couldn't be fixed. It took them 3 and a half months to get me a new frame, right in the middle of winter. So be careful of the company you are dealing with.
Submitted by
KEVIN
a Weekend Warrior
from CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2000
Weaknesses: Weak.....rock shocks, not TREKS fault.
Bottom Line:
This is my dream bike right out of the box. Love everything about it. This bike is FAST, just ask the cop that pulled me over for SPEEDING on a bike. Thumbs up TREK, keep up the good work!
Submitted by
Danny Wrench
a Weekend Warrior
from Moscow Mountain, IDAHO, USA
Date Reviewed: April 4, 2000
Strengths: Judy SL is easy to maintain, sweet looking Rolf wheels, Brakes Brakes Brakes.
Weaknesses: If you ride this bike people automatically want to race you. I think it is a subliminal message painted into this bike.
Bottom Line:
Its definitly raised my skills to a higher level. I took it to moab for spring break right after I bought it, and was immediately impressed with the brakes. After riding slickrock all day they didn't fade a bit. I can't wait to get rid of the damn xt rapidfire shifters, other than that it has been a good ride for the short time I've had it. Wish it was a little cheaper.
What can I say about this disaster! It was obviously designed by the marketing department at Trek: "Hey lets put heavy disk brakes and a light RS SID to offset it. We can put all our ugly icon components but people will overlook it because of the disk brakes and the SID". My wife was enamoured with this bike so she bought it. This bike worked great for about 6 months (which is about the life of a factory race bike) and then it started to fall apart. I'm not going to go into the details because there are many.
Currently, there are creaks in BB area and the seatpost. Inspecting the BB we noticed that it's some cheap crappy thing (can't remember what) that needs constant tightening. The creak by the seatpost comes and goes. I notice that the inside of the seat tube is scored from the manufacuring process.
To be fair my wife is a very agressive rider and racer. She has been destroying bikes and bike parts for years. We are in the process of turning this bike into a hardtail free ride bike by putting more durable components on it. Then it will used as a winter bike. Eventually, it will be forgotten as a "guest bike".
The Trek 8900 is a big disappointment for both of us. For her, she has to ride it and for me because I have to keep fixing it. She's looking forward to getting a new bike this year so she doesn't have to ride this one so much.
Guys,
Here is my spare bike. should I sell or keep? I ride a yeti 575, but I got this frame 4 years ago for $150. It was stuck on the wall as a "frame" and I decided to build it wi Read More »
