NMTBD, the Fuel.... eh ? a Fuel ? Sure, i like Fuels :D

[weeksy]

Chatting in my own little brain and devising multiple plans all at once, i've got this ordered and will be collected tomorrow.

It's a Gen7 Fuel ex which is the latest generation and will start life as a 'double trouble' which will be a bike for him and me. It'll be a longer term plan of potentially being his bike for the duration and for enduro racing in 2027. But for now he'll race on his Gen6 and over winter this one will get converted into his race bike and i'll end up with his Gen6 as my bike.

I just need to persuade @crust to buy my full carbon Gen 5 now for his local/pedal stuff...

[mboy]

I guess when you find something and it works for you... I hadn't even realised we were up to Gen7 with the Fuel EX to be honest... My friend just messaged me asking to help sell his Gen6 9.8 carbon the other day (he's going more XC), in my ignorance I thought that was current!

Not sure when the EX line was added, but my first (and last) Trek was a 2001 Fuel 100 that I bought as a frame only and built up when I worked in a Trek dealer at the time... It was my very first bike with disc brakes too! A massive 80mm of travel front and rear with a 3x9 XT/XTR mix...

Just shocked myself reading how much travel the Fuel EX has now too! Used to be a 120/130mm travel machine...

What size did you go for...? I always used to think Trek had one up on the competition here with their M/L size, until they then dropped it a few years ago across their range... I always fall smack bang in the middle of an M and L in Trek's geometry ranges, which is where the M/L did well for a lot of people I guess (same story with my Mondraker Crafty, which is an M/L)...

[weeksy]

The GEn6 isn't exactly old school, it's only a couple of years old. They have like some other as you've seen snuck up the travel in increments so the Fuel is now more a low-pivot Slash.
The range is EX, MX, LX.

EX = 145 rear, 150 front (can run 160)
MX = 150 read, 160 front (can run 170) mullet
LX = 160 rear, 170 front.

There's a rocker link which you can buy and swap as you wish to switch between any and all of these. It's a top and bottom linkage which sorts out the progression and travel. You can even do things like run the MX links but still in 29 for a slightly different config.

This one comes in EX trim as standard, but what it will end up as is anyones guess. THe longer plan is that i'll end up on his M/L Fuel Gen6 and he'll end up on the Gen 7 for racing. It's a little slacker and a little bigger, which should suit him better i think. They've stopped doing the ML, which as you say, was arguably the goldilocks sizing for many people, but he's a bit bigger than me and the L isn't exactly a giant.

I'm not sure yet when he'll take it over as his, maybe not until after we go over to Europe, but the choice will be there as a 'spare' for racing too as i'll have it setup with Mavens on etc.

The Gen5 will be a shame to get rid of as it suits my riding very very much. But it only really suits it now, not when we move, i think i'll miss it a lot less then.

https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/trek ... utral-low/

Whilst the reach is longer, the ETT isn't that much different as the seat angle is different too. It's also obviously mullet compatible and also can run angle adjustable headset cups if needed, but i think he'll fly on it.

[weeksy]

So i collected the bike this morning with the boy and got it home... it's mostly a superb bit of kit with as always a few minor things.

Brakes, well they did bugger all, front needs a massive bleed and pads on the rear were not ideal, which is slightly weird as it's barely been used. But that led onto the 2nd weirdness, the rear wheel driveside bearing had a load of play in it... well, in my world it was a load of play, in some peoples minds i bet it would be perfectly OK.
This is where it soured slightly for me, i messaged the bloke on Ebay letting him know.
"that's a shame, i did give you a chance to check it over first"

It took me 5 mins to whip it out and fit a new 6903 and it's once again perfect... but that irritated me a little. If you recall i sold my Gen6 a few months back and he complained about the cassette, i sent him £85 to replace it, no discussion, no debate...

But onto the bike.
I've fitted the Mavens, which was fairly simple as always with the newer generation Fuels, internally sleeved to allow easy fitting, just a weird little guide you need to whip out first. Quick bleed and re-alignment and it's good.
Suspension needed setting up, so it's 90 in the Fox36s and 200 in the Float X and lets see where that takes us.

From reading the review on Pinkbike
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/review-th ... -need.html

One thing they note is the stack, which is 20mm higher than the Gen6, you can REALLY notice that when sitting on it, must admit, i do like that... Yup, i'm a fan of the stack.
I was slightly worried about the reach/size but i can safely say for whatever reason, that's a complete non-starter in terms of an issue, sizing feels perfect.
I've only ridden it around the close/green, but i approve lots and look forward to getting it out in anger at the weekend hopefully.

No other pics yet...

Mods to come... well all there really is, is an invisiframe kit for protection. Even though it has a couple of marks on it, it could benefit from a kit. So that'll get ordered up today.
Going to be interesting to see which one of me and him ends up with the Gen6 and who gets the Gen7. Either way, it wouldn't shock me to see a pair of Gen7s soon.

[weeksy]

ddcbc962-aacb-4250-90a3-b24aa5ad4678.jpeg by steveweeks59, on Flickr

Shakedown test was awesome!!! This thing goes down trails with such confidence. The high stack makes you stand higher which feels great. Best bike ever.


Its not quite as nice going uphill!

[superstu]

Nice
I think the newer ones lose a bit of adjustability (whilst still offering plenty) because in reality most riders don’t use the flip chips etc that some started providing. Does like nice in that colour and I’ve always been a fan of high front ends be it stack or handlebar.

What were the stock brakes you removed?

[weeksy]

Nice
I think the newer ones lose a bit of adjustability (whilst still offering plenty) because in reality most riders don’t use the flip chips etc that some started providing. Does like nice in that colour and I’ve always been a fan of high front ends be it stack or handlebar.

What were the stock brakes you removed?

Brakes were SRAM DB8 which are arguably my favourite budget brakes, but i always have at least 2 pairs of them in emergency spares for racing/racers anyway, so this is just another pair.

You're correct in adjustability but wouldn't surprise me if we end up with an extra linkage for him as he'll run at least 160mm on the Zeb should he use it for racing, so we may end up in LX with longer shock configuration as well. But for me, that's perfectly OK at the 150mm it's set at now.

[weeksy]

Bike is up in the stand and i'm sort of fitting an invisiframe kit... I may stop now though and leave to a grown up later as i'm really not that skilled at it. It's not a terrible job as such and the primary aim of course is for protection rather than perfection... but it's sort of getting there... kinda

[weeksy]

There's a LOT of pieces.... and quite a few i won't see myself using, but the big pieces that are likely to take abuse are pretty much done now.

121c0340-e530-457d-9935-1abb78ca3781.jpeg by steveweeks59, on Flickr

a2cb8f46-c307-41da-b663-c520533db952.jpeg by steveweeks59, on Flickr

[weeksy]

45km on it today. Apart from being a bit creaky due to dust etc, it was golden. Really nice thing to ride

[weeksy]

Still tracing and chasing a wee noise. It sounds possibly BBish, maybe pivot. But i've checked and cleaned all the pivots and swapped pedals. Only happens on hills and heavy power, other than that it's quiet as a mouse.
I've got a BB on the way as well to test and see.

One interesting thing i noticed is that the rocker pivot is fixed in frame, it's an insert which doesn't move... Then the bearing is in the rocker plates/sides. I've never ever seen that on a bike, all pivots have been in the frame itself before... Weird. It does mean i'm not having to bash a frame to get them out though, which is nice

[weeksy]

Oh, errrrrrm we do have another sodding thing i need to consider now too.

The Gen6 the boy has is SRAM GX (with Shimano cranks) and the Gen7 is SRAM T-Type.
Which means things like cassette and chain and mechs are not cross compatible.

It's more of a problem for me currently than it is for him..I often run different wheels/tyres depending on the conditions and the terrain, sometimes a fast XR4 and sometimes something a little more tech compatible. Obviously now, that's not an option as it would need a new cassette to run them on mine and the freehub is XD and the cassette is currently Shimano HG type...
Mmmmmm there's some questions there now.

edit, it seems a SRAM NX is HG freehub compatible.
https://www.merlincycles.com/sram-nx-ea ... ieshopping

[weeksy]

2edfd55a-651f-4cbc-9339-5175bb359bb9.jpeg by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Lunchtime local today. The awesome news is that one of the fixes for the noise deffo worked 100% and the bike is now silent. I'm not completely sure yet which one fixed it, but one of them did. I do wonder now though if it's the pedals needing a service.

The even better news is that on the descents this thing is a GOD !!! It's sooo plush and confidence inspiring... it's honestly my favourite bike EVER !!!