The last few months have produced a fresh crop of long-travel 29ers from the likes of Nukeproof, Evil, and Yeti, just to name a few, and now Trek is joining the fray with their new Slash 29. Designed to be even more capable than the Remedy 29 that preceded it, the Slash was built with the menacing tracks found on the Enduro World Series circuit in mind.
The full carbon frame's 150mm of rear travel is paired with a 160mm fork, giving the Slash a 65.1º head angle in the low geometry setting - that's one seriously slack big wheeler. Trek also claim its the stiffest non-DH bike they've ever created, thanks in part to the front triangle's massive downtube.
Slash 29 Details• Intended use: all-mountain / enduro race
• Rear wheel travel: 150mm
• Wheel size: 29''
• 65.6º or 65.1º head angle w/ 160mm fork
• Frame material: carbon
• Metric shock sizing
• 148mm Boost hub spacing
• MSRP: $3,700 USD (frame w/ Float X2), $5,500 - $9,000 USD (complete bikes)
•
www.trekbikes.com,
@trek There will be two complete bike options, the 9.8 and the 9.9 RSL, along with a frame only option when the Slash hits stores in October. The 9.8 is equipped with a dual position RockShox Lyrik RC fork that can be switched between 160 or 130mm of travel, a RockShox Super Deluxe RC3 shock, and a SRAM X1 11-speed drivetrain for $5,500 USD. The 9.9 RSL (RSL stands for Race Shop Limited) is the no-expenses-spared version, which uses the same carbon frame as the 9.8, but receives a 160mm Fox 36 TALAS, a Float X2 shock, SRAM's 12-speed Eagle group, and Bontrager's Line Elite wheels for $9,000. For those who want to build the Slash from the ground up, the frame alone will go for $3,700.
Frame DetailsThe Slash shares many of the same frame features as the recently announced
Remedy 29.5 and Fuel EX, including the Straight Shot downtube and the Knock Block system, which relies on a stop chip located on the top tube that works with a keyed headset top cap to prevents the fork from turning too far. Trek's Control Freak internal cable routing design keeps everything neatly tucked inside the frame, including the housing for the new Bontrager Drop Line dropper post that's found on both models. Somewhat surprisingly, especially given the type of terrain the Slash is meant for, even the largest frame sizes come with only 125mm of drop, even though there's plenty of room to run a 150mm post.
In order to get the chainstays as short as they'd like Trek's designers had to eliminate the front derailleur, but with the advent of wide range 1x11 or 12-speed drivetrains that's likely to be of minimal concern for most riders. There are ISCG 05 tabs for running a chain guide of some sort in order to make sure a dropped chain doesn't dash those podium dreams, and downtube and chainstay protection are in place to protect the carbon frame from trail shrapnel.
12x148mm rear spacing creates a generous amount of tire clearance, and the Slash will fit up to a 29 x 2.6” tire. What about running the bike with 27.5+ wheels? The official line from Trek is that “We designed Slash around 29 wheels and tires for maximum speed. Running any other wheel/tire size will adversely affect handling and speed.” In other words, it would probably work, but it'd be like putting a donut tire on a Ferrari - not ideal for achieving maximum velocity.
The Slash still uses Trek's ABP suspension design for its 150mm of rear travel, with the rearmost pivot located concentric to the rear axle, but notably absent is the Full Floater layout, where the shock is positioned between two moving links. That design is found on Trek's other full-suspension frames, including the Session downhill bike, but according to Trek, using a fixed lower shock mount gave them more room in the lower frame area, which in turn allowed for the creation of a stiffer main frame and beefier chainstays.
GeometryThe Slash has two different geometry settings, and by flipping the chip found on the bike's seatstays riders can select from either a 65.6º head angle and 433mm chainstay length in the high setting, or kick it back to 65.1º with 434mm chainstays. In the low setting this is one of the slackest long travel 29ers out there - for comparison, the Yeti SB5.5C checks in at 66.5º, the Evil Wreckoning at 65.5º. It's also worth mentioning that there's a 15.5” frame in the lineup, something that's often overlooked with longer travel 29ers, since it can be tricky to balance the amount of suspension travel and wheel size in a frame that's small enough to accommodate smaller riders.
Keep an eye out for the Slash on the EWS circuit, and we'll report back with ride impressions as soon as we get our hands on one of these enduro race weapons.
Fuel EX - Plus tires and shorter travel are most suitable for moderate trail riding, where their traction and flotation outweigh any relative deficit in feel.
Remedy - Expert, aggressive riders tend to want the fun and responsiveness that 27.5 wheels offer - their better handling in the air relative to 29 and their increased precision relative to plus.
Slash - But as far as racing is concerned, 29ers have the rollover advantage and are therefore the final word in out-and-out speed. An actual racer, according to Trek, will be willing to muscle a long-travel 29er around a bit more in turns in exchange for its unmatched ability to plow rock gardens clean.
I like this scheme. It makes sense - it feels complete. No one wheelsize is superior to the others; different applications attract different kinds of riders and therefore suit unique wheel formats.
Or hey, maybe I'm just a marketing sponge and should be shot for treason. Who can really say these days?
www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/are-275-wheels-and-tyres-better-than-29ers-47047
Not a complete experiment nor totally conclusive (as they say themselves in the video) but the surprisingly the 27+ tyre was faster in more areas than one might think:
On the other hand, maybe we're all just total homers and refuse to ride a bike designed more than 100 miles away. I know I fall into that trap...
Overpriced but it is inline with other top end bikes.
It's kind of like fitting shoes, doesn't matter how sick Sidis or many sneakers are, I will dislike them because they won't fit around my feet properly (I have wide feet). I always recommend to try first.
On pricing, I find Trek bikes are discounted heavily during the off season.
I purchased my 2015 Slash 9.8 in November 2015 for $4,800 CAD brand new. Oil & gas slump in Alberta is keeping high-end bikes from flying off the shelf.
We've had massive issues with bearing quality on every YT frame we've seen in the shop. Every. single. rear hub has needed to be rebuilt whether it's fresh out of the box or had a season put onto it. Try finding a derailleur hanger in 5 years (you won't be able to).
Conversely, if a Trek, Norco, or Cannondale breaks we can have pretty much any replacement piece in the shop within a week. Even traditionally nightmarish companies to deal with (Giant, Spec) are faster than sourcing simple parts from the Direct Sellers.
Theres something to be said for buying a bike distributed near you, almost every major brand produces good bikes you're simply asking for trouble if you have one shipped across the globe dodging tariffs. You get what you pay for and I haven't been impressed by these mail order brands.
(None of this applies to GG, you guys are great)
Redesigned Slash 27.5 en route? Can't imagine Trek would abandon the 160-165 mil frame market.....
I also bet they are going to announce more reasonably priced AL ones in a few weeks. This bike doesn't even drop until October
Every manufacturer has bikes that snap and fail. Its a fact of life, and it's important to choose a brand that will do their best to help you out. Does this mean they have to warranty your obviously abused XC bike that was set down the local DH track? No, but some will.
I think your biggest problem is that you won't admit that things changed and companies get better. Norco has upped their game considerably, and I havent seen a cracked Cannondale in recent memory.
Hopping on a Wreckoning (160mm 29er) it's just a more mobile DH bike. Luke Strobel runs a custom fox 40 with it and races DH. I absolutely adore the idea of a super slack, stiff, progressive 29er with 150mm of travel. I'm curious what the 27.5 (if there is one) will look like.
Absolutely not trying to be the usual Spec. hater because I'm not, but I just find the stumpjumper is kind of out classed. The Insurgent (or patrol) climb a little bit less efficient, but are in a whole new league for descending. To me i'll take that any day, granted i'm 21 years old and am in the best shape of my life.
In all seriousness, if this is all you read, I'd rent one and get a feel for it. Having been on a stumpy, I find a Patrol will climb very similar. Less pedal bob I find, just steeper HTA (you can get used to it or get an adjustable fork). On the flip side, the patrol will descend like a bat out of hell, completely outgunning the stumpjumper in anything rough and loose.
They've always sent me any requested parts incredibly fast. It actually takes longer to call your shop, get them to process a warranty, wait for the part to come in (usually at their next convenient batch order), deal with them being closed at weird hours etc.
You guys realize most shops do not stock replacement parts on high end bikes. so you still end up waiting on parts, regardless.
bearing issues with wheels are not necessarily a "YT" issue; take that up w/ the wheel manufacturer. YT doesn't make wheels.
Its cool that YT overnighted you a fork, but expect to hear "We only carried a 5 year stock of that part" a lot in the coming years.
Sub Par parts?
Like DTSwiss, Renthal, Race Face, Fox, Sram?
Your kidding yourself and your bike shop customers
Just curious how you define "massive." Does that mean 2 bikes, 10, or more?
And about your other comment, regarding the use of "subpar" components... What brand? Shimano? DT?
And just for fun.. I am not sure I know a lot of people that own a bike for more than 2 years, let alone 5. But I digress..
As for the Slack HT angle... there's a reason this bike is equipped with a dual travel fork. Drop it down for climbing to help with that slack HT. What I'm most curious about is just how this feels being such a long bike.
Until they have to pass emissions...
Sounds like the problem is with cannondale
A lot of Trek bikes are made in China
Source: worked at Trek dealers for over 10 years. Have a sticker right on the frame that says made in China.
We should smoke more weed. Or modify Catholic mass. I've been to church lately and I had an epiphany. On each mass there is this part with Communion. I understood the mechanism behind it. The revelation struck me like a lightning, it's brilliant! There's often a quiet melodic music accompanying it, putting believers into open state of reflection, bit melancholic making us feel "connected". The mistake they are making is that they give you a piece of round bakery, instead of mild psychodelics. Imagine 500 people trippin together on a sunday morning.
We should all start going to church for mass like that. World would be a better place.
I want a Ferrari but had to settle on something else within my budget.
Next season I may throw a 150 on the front and get Avalanche to tune the rear shock to squeeze a little more performance out of it on the downs. Anyway, keen to check out a Patrol and would love to try an Evil too.
A 150 or even 160 fork would be sweet to rake it out. I know some Transition guys who put a 160mm on their smuggler to rake it out, they also put a longer stroke rear shock in the rear to offset the rake. Avalanche also never hurts, I did find the stock rear shock on the stumpy I was on was pretty poor. A much more adjustable shock like the X2 air could totally change the bike. Most of my gripe was just rear wheel traction and stability (which is expected of a more trail orientated bike than a patrol or evil). Actually man, I guarantee a 150-160 fork (maybe get a 160 talas?) and an avy rear shock or an X2 or something would turn that thing into a machine. The coastal crew guys had Ohlin coils on their stumpys and I bet it was awesome. Trying out new bikes never hurt too, the patrol and Evil are my two top choices now, just don't get into a love affair with bikes, you and your wallet never win
I wonder if Specialized is getting close to ditching the wonky shock mount to free up some rear shock options. I was envious to see Graves and Brosnan rocking the Monarch Plus reservoir shocks on their Stumpys for the last EWS race. I know BikeYoke makes an aftermarket piece so any traditionally mounted shock will fit Enduros, don't think anyone's doing that for Stumpys yet (frowny face), so maybe I'll give them a call. I would think the demand is there with how many Stumpy are sold, but as the everyman's trail bike maybe most buyers are 'recreational' riders that wouldn't notice the difference.
Yeah I forgot about the oh so loved shock yoke...that definitely makes it troublesome to fit shocks on it. I would definitely give them a call, I'm sure the demand will increase, regardless of the fact it is a weekend warriors trail bike, all of us love new stuff and upgrades . Even a new monarch would probably make a huge difference on the bike.
P.S. YT didn't make the e13 hubs or the bearings - that shit is easily dealt with.
Do we still need to use this many words to talk about this?
Now it seems the perfect lineup to me and now Rene Wildhabers quote ''I'll get a 29er again. I was also involved with the development team, so with the final product, I'm always curious to find out how it works.'' makes sense to me!
Size seems pretty good to me in 20,5'' when i look at Reach and Stack! :-)
9.9rsl £6000
9.8 £4400
This is "the bees knees" kind of bike. What i´m truly dissapointed on your whole line up of bikes, is lack of lower build of carbon bikes. Same for new remedy and slash. I´m meaning "what works"-kind of build. Good frame with good suspension is key, but parts could be lower specced. For example drivetrain, brakes and wheels. Lower Sram NX drivetrain works, Sram Level/shimano Deore/SLX brakes work, basically any aluminium wheelset with sealed bearings will work... And they don´t sacrifice that much in real world trail performance. It could be your first testrun with new bike and you smash your derailleur to rock. Rock doesn´t care is it X01 or cheaper NX. What i´m trying to say is that it would be cool to have bike with good frame and suspension and parts that wont blow up your bank when they broke. And these changes would lower the bikes price 500-1000 that would make the bike more competetive pricepoint.
slipped by me as well, this was in february
its the second new bike recently announced with this max size...are we about to see a range of 2.5-2.6" tyres launched?
www.pinkbike.com/news/guerrilla-gravity-trail-pistol-first-look-2016.html
Not to mention the diminishing returns that kick in as you incrementally add volume- seems like 2.8's won out over 3.0's pretty convincingly, but to date there haven't really been any 2.6's to compare to 2.8's (speaking of 27.5, of course).
www.polebicycles.com/bicycles/enduro/evolink-140-en-29/?v=f0aa03aaca95
Also just to add this $3700 is a relative bargain (still stupid money though) compared with it big brother, in the UK a session frame is £4500! that's over 5800USD, how is this acceptable when most carbon DH frames are £2500-3000, its nearly double!!! what is trek smoking, mind you the need to pay the athertons somehow (waste of money in my eyes)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxFY2aDQMwA
This still is over a degree less slack than this new Trek, and it creates some other issues, like a too-slack seat tube angle (made worse by the back-set command post) and a less progressive suspension curve.
I'm curious to see how the lower BB works out. Not quite sure what rickmheim is on about when he mentions just changing your crank position and having minimal effect.
Also not sure if the anti-squat will be affected by lowering the chainring. I think it may have more.
I'll keep you posted on the outcome!!
@mikeep Yes keep us posted!
You should maybe get it check out?
THe debonair has a much larger air can, reducing the ramp up at the middle and end of the stroke. I've also heard that the non-debonair works much better on the E29. To be honest, the debonair doesn't feel any smoother off the top at all. I think its all hype.
Ohlins makes an air shock now thats spec'ed on the latest enduros. I'd love to give that shock a try and see how it holds up.
Also instead of putting the bar diagonal to the seat stay and top tube, now it's solid which is great for stiffness and strength but easier to manufacture on their part.
And bontrager stuff and junk puts margins through the roof!
Makes it not as competitive vs sworks Enduro
What IS your problem with it? Do you really think you're gonna barspin that bike? With it's huge wheels, 2 brake lines, shifting housing and dropper post cable?? I don't get it. New => Hate. That's the scheme? Or do you have a technical argument?
My issue with knockblock, besides the fact that you have to use a special stem and special spacers, is torque, in a crash if there is a force causing rotation on the bars or front wheel or whatever, under ideal or near ideal conditions, this force will be massive, and the force that the knockblock will need to oppose this force is have to be much much bigger (because Torque=Force X distance, and since the distance from the end of the bars or the tyre to the center is much bigger than the distance from the knockblock to the center). As a result I'm worried about damaging something, like the super expensive trek frame between my legs.
if i had to choose between replacing some cables (or even a fork, for that matter) and replacing the frame, id save the frame every day of the week.
which is why, my dream bike is still the old remedy 29 9.9.
>You don't have to use a special stem and special spacers. You can run a normal set up on the bike and it'll simple disable the knock black from working.
>the knock black is designed to 'break away' in severe impact so not to damage anything. the knock block pins crack away and take the force, you then have a small cost to replace the system.
Trek are a pretty big player, let's not forget. They have some very experienced designers and engineers and a very expensive testing program.
Im sure they do, and having a breaksafe is an obvious design feature, that said, it solves a problem that has no reason to exist anyway.
I get that people are riding harder and faster than ever and so stiffness is more of a priority than ever, but with some smart design and creativity you can get around the problem without giving the marketing department the headache of trying to justify these kinds of things.
I would explain how to get around it, but that's my secret
I would way rather have a tangle of 3-4 cables gradually slow by spinning bars, and maybe at worst damage a brake line connector or something, then have a hard sudden thunk equal damage on top or down below.
Stupid design, nobody else has this problem, and I'm not convinced a straight downtube is worth this.
So if the force is great enough to break the knock back system, you think that little rubber pad on the frame is going to be enough to keep the crown from damaging the frame?
All for small tiny % more stiffness in a lab.
Again, the bike more than likely rides great, just a few weird details that I don't think should figure at such a high price put me off personally.
Not to mention, from a fit perspective it's also about how much I can move the frame below me... being shorter with shorter legs, a small frame with low standover will typically have a lower saddle... both of those together allows me that motion through technical terrain or for maneuvering a bike in corners/descents/cambered lines/technical terrain/jumping etc... So no, I have to disagree with you that standover is "irrelevant". I seriously doubt ANYONE would want a bike where they have to have a leg hanging over the TT trying to dismount a tech section/needing to dab/or just standing over the bike on trails (YES STANDING OVER) waiting for their mates or just shooting the sh** during a quick break.
I'm looking for something with 160mm all round, 27" rims, non-travel adjust forks and non-carbon and the 2016 Slash fitted the bill. Even liked one when I rode it earlier in the year. I have a Fuel Ex so like the feel of the Full Floater suspension. Thought I'd see what the '17 bike was like before making any decisions though. I can live with Boost hubs, Knock Block headset and Metric shocks but less travel, a changed suspension design and big wheels rule it out for me I'm afraid.
Unless they do a different style of bike in alloy, which is doubtful, it puts itself off my list. Might see if I can get a deal on a '16 model now or the new Commencal Meta SX holds my interest.
My Slash loves jumps and rough steep terrain. I ride a lot of rock slabs, jumps and wood features out here on BC's West Coast. 29ers are not the right wheels for this stuff. Trek please offer a 27.5 also, I want to buy a new Slash but not a 29er.
1/ its a trek
2/ its a 29er
really a trek patent? there no such thing here in europe and it was specalized in the states that held the ridiculous patent after buying it from AMP research.