Trek Fuel EX 8 Review - BikeRadar

The winner of What Mountain Bike magazine's Trail Bike of the Year award has been evolving for a long time, and has turned into a truly outstanding all-rounder for 2010.

It’s a bike that’s equally ready to charge technical descents or hammer skywards all day long, in the original 'one bike to do it all' mountain bike style – and a very good looking, good value one at that.

Ride & handling: The best all-round trail bike we've ever ridden

We had our first taste of Trek's 2010 Fuel EX range in the most gruelling race we've ever done. Despite the apocalyptic Austrian weather at the Bad Goisern marathon, the Carbon EX 9.9 never gave us a bad moment. The same capable, up-for-anything attitude characterises the whole line.

The EX 8 delivers superbly balanced pedalling performance that always feels efficient and responsive underfoot. It also has a neutrally confident yet involving handling character that’ll tackle anything on the trail without feeling nervous. And don’t worry, the bike can still speed over the singletrack.

The new tapered head tube gives the alloy EX noticeably more bite and tenacity when you're fighting the trail with every knob of the front tyre. The same tight feedback and line control stretches right back to the ABP axle-centric rear rear pivot, which sucks down onto the trail like a Hoover for ridiculous amounts of traction despite low tread rubber.

The new dual-chamber shock is outstanding too. At just the point where a progressive shock would choke over bigger stuff, its second chamber opens up seamlessly to swallow drops, logs and significant chunks of geology whole.

Plunge into really punishing terrain and the dual-chamber shock and stiff frame keep things remarkably anchored and controlled amid chaos. Lean back and let the EX 8 flow through, and off, everything and it offers a confidence that most 140-150mm bikes would be envious of.

Wherever we took it and whoever rode it, the Fuel EX flattered skill, nerve and fitness to always put its rider in contention at the front of the pack. It does so without demanding any particular style, approach or attitude from its rider to get the best from it, amplifying whatever enthusiasm and effort you bring to it into a mental scrapbook of big achievements and big grins.

Frame & equipment: Better-than-ever chassis plus quality kit spec

The EX's success is no flash in the pan, as it's been evolving for years to bring it to this peak. It has always handled well (once you adjusted the cockpit) and Trek tubing has always been decent stuff in either alloy or carbon formats.

The introduction of the much stiffer EVO rocker link, ABP pivot and floating shock arrangement in 2008 stiffened up the back end massively and also significantly improved square edge bump and braking performance.

More weight loss followed in 2009, plus the introduction of tapered headsets on the carbon bikes. It's the 2010 changes that have clinched it, though. The change to E2 tapered steerers on the alloy bikes has increased front end stiffness, and the new 18.5in frame size has bridged a big fit gap.

Perhaps the most important change, though, is the adoption of the excellent dual chamber DRCV shock, developed by Trek's sister brand Gary Fisher. This has added real depth and big hit capability to the suspension performance.

Add the quality Shimano SLX/XT transmission and fat but fast tyres on wide-rimmed, tough but relatively light Bontrager Rhythm wheels, and you've got a superb package that excels in every situation and has the versatility to race, rage or just ride into the distance. Our one complaint? It would be even better with a 15mm screw-through axle fork.

About BikeRadar reviews: Our review scoring system has changed in 2010. Therefore recent reviews may have comparatively lower scores than past reviews. Click here for a full explanation of our ratings.

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