[elrussbo]

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! I will be buying a full suspension bike soon and it will either be a Trek Fuel Ex 8 or a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR comp. Im wanting a good quality bike I can use hopefully for a long time and mostly as a weekend warrior. I live close to a state park with an awesome trail system that has every kind of riding to do. so the bike would see a lot of climbing and downhill, a lot of technical and fast single track, and both of those bikes seem well suited as all around trail bikes. What I dont know is the science in either suspension design and things like that so I would like to get some different opinions. oh, and i have test rode both and they both felt very good and any difference i felt was not too noticable for me anyways. Thanks!

 

[Whafe]

Nothing scientific at all, but for me, I would go for the Trek Fuel EX 8 in a heartbeat, the company has far better ethics than Specialized in my opinion, again just my opinion.

 

[AZ]

Yep...................

 

[Germany_chris]

or you could try enie menie meine mo, catch a bike with my toe..

 

[EnglishT]

Nothing scientific at all, but for me, I would go for the Trek Fuel EX 8 in a heartbeat, the company has far better ethics than Specialized in my opinion, again just my opinion.

Both good bikes (trek probably slightly better, but not by alot) - spec are bastards (moreso than trek).

Simple choice - slightly better bike from a company that isnt going to get you spat at (and that you wont feel guilty for supporting) and the outcome is.... buy the trek.

---But I'm a spec-hater, for good reasons, so maybe I'm a bit biased? ---

 

[elrussbo]

Yeah, good ethics are a wonderful thing. I have no idea about either of these companies. The one thing I liked about the specialized is the more standover clearance but I certainly dont want to support them if they dont do business well with a lot of people.

 

[elrussbo]

are you guys referring to the bad judgement by their legal behavior?

 

[ProjectBomber]

Ok so what gives with all the specialized haters. It seems like they're the company everyone loves too hate. What makes Trek so much more ethical? Just curious. As for the two bikes I haven't ridden the fuel yet but I really like the way the stumpy felt.

 

[EnglishT]

Ok so what gives with all the specialized haters. It seems like they're the company everyone loves too hate. What makes Trek so much more ethical? Just curious. As for the two bikes I haven't ridden the fuel yet but I really like the way the stumpy felt.

Any company that claims to be an "innovator", while its main "innovative" technologies were either bought (horst link patent) or stolen and then the original designer sued out of existance (inertia "brain" valving - stratos) is fundamentally dishonest and does not deserve to have a reputation as anything other than this.

I guess what makes trek more ethical is that they dont sink quite that low - they're not a love-and-hugs bro-deal kind of company that leaves you with a warm and fuzzy impression (like knolly, just for example, does) but they're nowhere near as nasty as specialized.

Yes spec will look after their customers (but so will trek), but when neither the company nor the bike holds any advantages over its rival (out of these 2) there are significant reasons to look past spec.

 

[Fix the Spade]

The Trek is the easier bike to live with, customer support and build quality wise there's nothing much between them. But the EX has a better shock in the back and it's suspension has the major advantages of Spec's Horst Link but with fewer of the inherent drawbacks.

It would seem Specialized reputation is pretty well covered already, but they do look after their customers ok.

 

[trhoppe]

If you want to talk "equipment" rather then ethics, here are where the 2010 Trek spec beats the specialized
- Tapered steer tube
- Rear shock (drcv)
- Brakes (elixir design is better then juicy)
- front deraileur
- for me, I like the SLX shifters over x-7
- pedals (smarty vs candy)

And where the Specialized spec beats the Trek
- Nowhere

Also, not sure on the price of the Specialized, but the Trek should be advertised at $2199 at bike shops and you can get 5% off usually, at least I got with mine.

-Tom