Submitted by
Claymo
a Weekend Warrior
from Durango, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2009
Strengths: Great frame and rear suspension. Corners great. Very stable at high speeds. Great climber. Keeps a good line.
Weaknesses: Wheels are pretty weak, front fork not the best choice. Heavy. Outdated by trek's new technology like "ABP" and "Full Floater"
Bottom Line:
This is a great bike for someone who who loves being able to track straight all the way up the mountain and then fly down. Good for beginner to intermediate riders. Seasoned riders that want to go faster will want something a litte more sturdy with better components and stopping power.
Similar Products Used: GT Avalanche Expert, Trek Fuel EX 6.5
Bike Setup: Stock
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Submitted by
Gianfranco
a Weekend Warrior
from Encinitas, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2006
Strengths: Handling is great. The rear shock performs fantastic
Weaknesses: The fork
Bottom Line:
A great bike for all mountain. However, the frame broke right above the deraileur and it all happened on a relatively smooth trail . I read some reviews about this problem before I bought the bike but I thought that it was not endemic to this model. I was wrong! Too bad. Trek however honored their lifetime warranty on just send me a brand new 2007 Remedy 66 frame. Thanks Trek! Hope this one will not have the same problem. I give this bike 2 chilis overall because just because the frame cracked.
Submitted by
jonathan yoo
a Downhiller
from ridgewood NJ
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2005
Strengths: the rear suspension works the best has grear travel for the big jumps. The fork is the best and works great and the frame is very sturdy.
Weaknesses: the pedals are very small and bend if leaned to a ledge. the weight is a little heavier then the fuel 100.
Bottom Line:
It is a great bike and if you like to ride downhill on mountains or just down a local trail or even up it is great very smooth and it takes the jumps very great. The suspension was great and for those trails with mud, rocks, uphill, steep falls and sharp turns this is a perfect bike. just try it for yourself and if u dont like it which u wont just return it.
Weaknesses: None so far. Only half dozen rides so far.
Bottom Line:
I built this bike to replace my 6yo I-Drive using some parts off it, some used parts and some new. The frame I bought off the classifieds here. The suspension is plush and takes the roots/rocks much better than the GT. In the tight, twisty stuff, it does not handle as sharp as the GT. The GT must have a steeper crown angle. The Trek is a little longer due to the long travel fork. It's a trade off. I am in the process of rebuilding the GT so I will have both and my old Bronco is large enough to carry both. I will give it 5 flamers as I was able to build this ride with top drawer components at a reasonable cost.
Similar Products Used: GT I-Drive. Early model with no provision for discs.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Marathon, Mavis 317's laced to Kings, Hayes disc brakes, XTR shifters and derailleurs, Race Face bars and crank, King head set, Thompson stem and post, 540's, Selle Gel Titanium, Odi LockJaw, etc.
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Submitted by
Christian
a Cross Country Rider
from Lima, Peru
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2004
Strengths: Strong frame, Fox fork & rear suspension
Weaknesses: Noises from stock seat post and saddle. Needs to be lubed. Heavy from stock (could be lighter?). 6" Hayes Rear disc break. Stock pedals.
Bottom Line:
I am 5'8" and weight about 160. My bike size is 17.5 and it weights about 30. The suspension is good. It cames with Fox Talas RL air spring (80/125mm on-the-fly adjustable travel). You have to set it up for your weight and style of riding. Also you can setup rebound/compression damping, lockout. With 5" of travel the roughest trails are smoothed out. Is a high performance do anything bike. It's too expensive for a beginner. Not for racing. Performs very well on the trails. Climbs very well and goes down at high speeds. If you like hitting small jumps, ledges, and bombing down hills, but you also like going up hill, this is your bike. Highly recommended.
Bike Setup: selle italia flite gelflow saddle, shimano xtr chain, 8" hayes rear disc brake, easton ec70 monkeylite xc riser bar, crank bros eggbeater pedals, thomson elite seatpost, panaracer fire xc pro tire (front & rear)
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Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from North Yorkshire UK
Date Reviewed: June 19, 2004
Strengths: Descends beautifully, will ride over pretty much anything that gets in the way, rocks, roots, drop offs. TALAS shock is very easy to set up and super smooth, lockout is good for the road and the climbs too. Handles well on the technical stuff, and through woods and single track. The bike climbs very well, it digs in and responds well to pedal input. I have Marzocchi freerides on the front with ECC5 lockdown, which is great for climbing as it enables the front to be lowered to just the right angle. The finish of the frame is excellent with an attractive black paint job.
Weaknesses: The frame is heavyish, which is most noticeable when shouldering over gates, stiles etc. Doesn't ride heavy though.
Bottom Line:
Very pleased with the Frame, I'm riding over stuff I wouldn't have done before on my old Specialized FSR, but still climbing just as well. The extra travel is well worth having, the travel adjustment I'm not sure about, as I have used it a lot but now tend to leave the bike in the max setting. The suspension is fully active, but I like that because of the comfort factor. The Bike really accelerates, with a very direct response to pedalling. For road sections the lockout is a bonus which I do use a lot. It is heavier than some other similar products, but I haven't found that to be an issue, its not the sort of bike you'd go racing on anyway. Overall it does everything I want it to, and you can't ask for more than that. I've only given it 4 for value, because I have spent a lot of money on it.
Similar Products Used: Orange Sub5, Marin TARA, Specialized FSR.
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z1FR SL forks, XT Transmission, Hope Mini disc Brakes, Mavic X317 rims on WTB hubs with WTB Motoraptor 2.24 tyres. Easton EA50 bars, stem and seatpost, Hope quickrelease seatpost clamp.
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Submitted by
Ray Green
a Weekend Warrior
from London
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2004
Strengths: Versatility. Most of my riding is done in my local forest where i use the bike predominantly in short travel mode. However I have made a few trips to Bracknel and Wales where the terrain is more rough and the bike just eats up the lumps and bumps. It climbs fairly quick locked out. Plus you can stand up and give it some up the hills.
Weaknesses: You notice the weight when your trawling through great British mud in the winter. My headset seized up within 6 months. My bottom bracket went within 9 months. The bars are the next on my list..going to fit some Easton carbon risers. The bike was advertised with a TALAS FLC but came fitted with a FL i.e. no compression damping or remote lockout. Also no quickrelease seatpost clamp.
Bottom Line:
Excellent alrounder. Excellent spec. Fox front and back say no more. More fun downhill than up but then that's biking fullstop.
Bike Setup: Stock except Hope headset, Hope seatpost QR and FSA platinum BB.
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Submitted by
Dean
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh, NC, USA
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2004
Bottom Line:
Update to previous review: The headset finally gave out on the bike. LBS gave me $30 credit towards a Kris King and installed it for $15 (I guess I have to eat crow on the KK headset comments previously:-)
The Front Shock gave out not 15min. after I got the bike back. During the first part of the compression cycle it makes a loud "klunk" and the travel adjustment knob on the left stanchion just turns and turns with no resulting adjustment. Sounds like something has come loose internally. Sending back to Fox via LBS.
The Rear Shock no longer 3 adjustment settings. Only fully compressed or fully extended. The middle setting does nothing. LBS stated that FOX says that cycling the shock without air in it will cause this failure. I did this exact thing while packing the bike for a trip to Moab, UT. DO NOT CYCLE THE SHOCK WITHOUT AIR IN IT! Sending back to Foax via LBS.
Submitted by
Ryan Z
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago IL USA
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2004
Strengths: Great Bike. Climbs very well for the suspension that it has. Bakes are just fine. XT/XTR setup is great. Fox front shock is the best ever!!!
Weaknesses: rear lockout just sucks, you really have to put a lot of air in it to keep it locked out for climbing
Bottom Line:
For the price the bike is just great. A little too much travel for city riding seeing that I live downtown chi-town. but for trails the bike is great. Took it out to Colorado last year and had the best time jumping and racing around corners, keeping with the locals with there DH bikes! My only conern is that the rear lockout pretty much sucks, front shock is just great, everything from loking out to extending it in a hurry and the look and feel of this bike is just great!!! Everyone always asks me about it!!!
Bike Setup: stock but for Chris King headset, ProFires front tire, will be getting new seat this year
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Charlie
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh,NC USA
Date Reviewed: March 4, 2004
Strengths: Suspension is the best. Fox Talas makes a wonderful product. I should have upgraded to a bike of this grade earlier. Truly allowing me to do jumps and things I never believed I could do. Great product if you want to XC and do some jumps.
Weaknesses: Price point puts to out of most price ranges. I was VERY lucky to get this on Ebay. The stop putting the FOX Talas front fork on the 2004
Bottom Line:
This IS the best dual sport mountain bike for cross country and some jumps/downhill. Or if you are >190 pounds. I you can find a 2003 model... GET IT!
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Milwaukee,WI
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2004
Strengths: Looks, plush suspension, geometry
Weaknesses: P.O.S--- headset on an expensive bike. Its not really a headset at all, but a dirt storage compartment.
Typical Trek seat-tube creak.
Bottom Line:
After sixs months of racing xc and endurance races I want to update my previous review. My overall view of this bike is unchanged. IT ROCKS ! Absolutely hands down my favoite bike of all.
Only two small issues have crept up in six months. First is the leaky seals on the otherwise fabulous Fox suspension that Fox has fixed under warranty. Second is what I suspect to be the chronic problem Trek bikes have of seatposts creaking. I have had two other hardtail aluminum Trek bikes that had the same sounds emanating from that area. In both cases the culprit was a 4" shim inside the top of the seat-tube of the frame that works loose. Warranty work did not solve my problem either time. I fixed it myself by clamping an old front derailleur (clamp only) aroound the seat tube about 2" down from the seatpost clamp. problem permantly solved! Now my liquid is acting up and I don't think my old remedy will work on this new frame since the seat tube is tapered and much larger at the top than any derailleur clamp I know of. Anybody have a solution ??
Purchased At: Exreme Ski and Bike, Theinsville, WI
Similar Products Used: Intense Uzzi SL, Trek Fuel and Sugar
Bike Setup: Chris King Headset, Thompson seat post and stem. Super-X Tires.
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Submitted by
Dean Moss
a Weekend Warrior
from Raleigh
Date Reviewed: February 18, 2004
Strengths: Fox fork, beefy stanchions, no flex like in my old Rock Shox SID; TALAS fork/shock, really works nice switching to 4" travel on steep downhills (changing geometry), same for switching to 3" travel on the fork if you have a long climb (otherwise the front fork adjustment is too much trouble)
Weaknesses: Headset: I am not one of those riders that critiques every component based on name (it doesn't have to be a KING headset to work fine IMHO). I expect very few things from a headset but this one fails the most basic right out the box. There is no bottom seal on the headset! I thought that it must be an installation error so I looked at a buddies bike, exact same bike, purchased at a different place. Same problem. You can actually see the ball bearings and the grease if you turn the bike upside down and look down where the fork crown and the headtube meet. Must be a manufacturing defect. Anyone else seen this?
Bottom Line:
Haven't had the bike long enough to tell yet. Can make one statement on this bike though. I hit my first honest 5' drop this weekend (actually did it a couple of times) and the bike never complained. Not one creak! The landings felt vey smooth even though the "dirt ring" on the front shock showed that I must have bottomed it out. Never felt it. Don't know if it was too much adrenaline or what. 2 chili's for the headset. 5 chilis for the bike because I haven't found a reason to give it any less yet.
Bike Setup: More importantly, my setup: 205lb. rider w/o gear. Ride pretty aggressively 2-3 times a week. Like technical trails. Don't like climbing unless there is some downhill payback on the other side. However, must admit that short technical climbs are fun.
Strengths: the frame and rear shock. I weigh 240lbs and I have no worries with this bike under me.
Weaknesses: none that I can think of.
Bottom Line:
I've ridden this bike all over the place from Demo & skeggs to long cross country rides at Henery coe. This might actually be the last full suspension bike I buy. This bike can do it all. If your thinking about buying A new bike this is the one!!!!!!
Similar Products Used: trek fuel 98, trek fuel 100, trek Y 50,
Bike Setup: psylo xc, xt discs, Phil Wood disc hubs the best in the world. sun rhyno lite hoops , Phil Wood spokes, Chris king hedset,Time pedals.
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Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2004
Strengths: strong frame, plush ride, beautiful bike to look at and ride. rear hub supposedly made by Hugi? comparable to chris king (lets hope so) and feels light when riding. suspension has saved my privates many a time!
Weaknesses: cant think of any? actually, it would be nice to have a remote lockout for the rear as well. its hard to reach down there and flick it off before a climb..
Bottom Line:
for someone that lives in a flat city such as houston, the only available trails are at parks and such. we have a few singletrack trails and this bike eats it up easy. i'm a noob but this bike (after a few weeks) makes me feel like a champ. i rip through roots and drops like butter. suspension is plush and smooth. leave the back at 5" and keep it there. you may want to lock out the rear when climbing, its hard to reach down there while you are riding. some say they dont feel much pedal bob when climbing, but i feel some. maybe i should try to ride a little differently. for people wanting big air, this bike *can* handle it up to an extent, but go for a DH bike if you want to do 10 + ft. drops. the suspension only has 5" front and 5" rear which is plenty for XC and light urban (not trials obviously, get a trails specific hardtail for that)
