[Carter227]

I am a serious mountain biker who wants to start racing xc, i am looking at the Fuel 90 and 95 since my local bike shop is a trek dealer. I noticed the significant price difference betweent he two bikes (around $1000) and was wondering if the 95 is worth that extra money, also i noticed the fuel 98 which has an OCLV Carbon frame instead of the ZR9000 the 95/90 have, and better front fork (98-Rock Shox SID Team) (95-Manitou Skareb) (90-Rock Shox Duke xc)and back shock (Fuel 98/95 Fox Float RL) (Fuel 90 Fox Float R) is the 98 is worth the extra $500 over the 95 or extra $1500 over 90. Which one is the best buy for your money all around. Thanks for your opinions Also if anyone had the weights of these bikes or knew a website with them that would be great, trekbikes.com doesnt seem to have them.

Fuel 98- $3,099
Fuel 95- $2,599
Fuel 90- $1,549

 

[FuelFan90]

personally i don't think the 95 is worth the cash over the 90 because you could put a grand into the 90 and possible end up with better components than if you bought the 95, if you get a little lucky with some ebay or closeout stuff. if you like the new dual control stuff the 95 is a better deal but the 05 90 should have dual control lx stuff if trek doesn't spec it with sram. the skareb is a good fork, and for racing it will be better than the duke, since it's a lighter. if you're mainly into racing and are leaning towards the 95 but don't care about the disc brakes i would definately spend the extra dough for the oclv because it'll save about half a pound depending on the frame size. my advice would be to hold off as long as you can for the new models to start rolling out. if the rumors are true the oclv fuels will be even lighter and the forks will probably be better depending on what rs does with the sid or if trek specs the 98 with a reba. if you absolutely have to have a bike right now i would go for the 98 if you want a total race machine but the 90 if you're not sure. also the 90's should be on closeout by now so you could probably get it for less than list.

 

[Carter227]

Ya i am definatly going to wait to get next years models, maybe even get them late next year closeout depending on as soon as i can save up the money.

 

[Blue Shorts]

I am a serious mountain biker who wants to start racing xc, i am looking at the Fuel 90 and 95 since my local bike shop is a trek dealer. I noticed the significant price difference betweent he two bikes (around $1000) and was wondering if the 95 is worth that extra money, also i noticed the fuel 98 which has an OCLV Carbon frame instead of the ZR9000 the 95/90 have, and better front fork (98-Rock Shox SID Team) (95-Manitou Skareb) (90-Rock Shox Duke xc)and back shock (Fuel 98/95 Fox Float RL) (Fuel 90 Fox Float R) is the 98 is worth the extra $500 over the 95 or extra $1500 over 90. Which one is the best buy for your money all around. Thanks for your opinions Also if anyone had the weights of these bikes or knew a website with them that would be great, trekbikes.com doesnt seem to have them.

Fuel 98- $3,099
Fuel 95- $2,599
Fuel 90- $1,549

Wow. That's a tough one.

Are you going to be using the bike as a trailbike, or just for racing and xc riding (mo jumps or drops)? If you need a trail bike that you can race, then there are better options than the Fuels. If it's mainly for racing, then the Fuel 98 is a great bike.

The reason that I ask is that Trek has raised their prices so high, that they've entered an area that was previously reserved for boutique bike builders.

For the same price as a Fuel 98 (I own a 2001/2002 fuel 98), you can get a Racer X from Titus. The Fuel is a great bike, but it's not as good as a Racer X.

If it must be a Fuel, the 90 is the best deal, but it will be a little heavy for racing. If you're going to spend upwards of $2600, then you should be looking at the Racer X, Turner Burner and others that have great rear suspensions.

Just my $0.02

 

[Carter227]

yea well that is one of my problems, i basically do xc riding alittle jumps and drops ladder rides but nothing to crazy, the other problem is the nearest bike dealers only sell trek and a little cannondale. Ya but anyway my riding style is i guess you could call it hard xc, and i really want to start racing asap, maybe even try the race at ringwood in the beggining of sept ( NJSCS) in the Junior Begginer class.

 

[MTbikerJM567]

I like the 95

I have a 95 and i'm more than happy with it. If ur weight picky, the 98 would be better pick.

 

[Carter227]

is there any way to see the weights, im not very picky, but it would be nice to know if there are any major differences by like a lb but like 1/2 lb doesnt really matter to me im not that serious. Im hoping the new models (2005) maybe the 90 is upgraded alittle more, because that is the one in my main price range, but i will save up extra and go for the 95 if its really worth it.