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New Trek Session 88 DH and FR version

Runner

Monkey
Sep 21, 2007
377
0
CT
Yup the 2009 40s are coming with integrated stem mounts:


"Potential buyers of Fox's 40 fork will now be happy to hear that last year's upper crown will be replaced by a direct mount-type version that uses the industry standard four-bolt pattern for integrated stems."
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Yup the 2009 40s are coming with integrated stem mounts:


"Potential buyers of Fox's 40 fork will now be happy to hear that last year's upper crown will be replaced by a direct mount-type version that uses the industry standard four-bolt pattern for integrated stems."
Which usually means they will be available by June. :thumb:
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
you know what you just described does not equal "rebadged", right?

anything that's purchased from Truvativ (like BBs) are labeled as Truvativ, and that's stated right on the website. I believe that any crank that's labeled as Bontrager has been designed and engineered in-house.
So what bikes besides Trek has these components been tested on? It is not like Trek does anything on the race circuit.

That's the problem with OEM components. These parts could be made of unobtainium, but until riders can use them and they develop a reputation, you would hard pressed to convince me they are better than Truvativ's well-known and tested componentry.
 

dhzion

Monkey
May 4, 2008
157
0
Mighty Zion
Geometry Specs are out on treks site. These suckers are laid way back!!

Looks like DH version is avail frame only which is nice.
 
Apr 22, 2008
92
3
Rotorua, NZ
hmm, mrp guides. It's like someone in wisconsin is grumpy about something...
Zap sounded pretty grumpy in that zap's rant in some pink bike forum. Caught a blurb about dont make the same mistakes like the VRX. I liked my old VRX so much I shuttled on it for like 3yrs solid, made a few changes but still very strong front end! Good engineering midwest rocks!
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
how is a vrx similar to the 88? I didnt read the rant but i put my money on the 88 being the new sunday, that thing is solid...

and i am not a trek fan
 

DORO

Monkey
Jun 15, 2006
131
0
They did the release of this bike at Highland Mountian Bike Park. There is a bunch of youtube vids of it if you search for them. The owner of the mtn. was given one in thanks for hosting trek at there place. Its an awsome bike minus the stock tires it comes w/.
 

DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
I'm keeping an open mind for a rig for next season, was even looking at the Session 88...but after dropping $1000 for a new Mongoose ECD frame that does better than anything I've ridden so far...I can't imagine WHY I would ever spend 3X that on a frame that will do the same thing! There's no reason ANY of those bikes should cost that much. I had an 06 Demo 8 that I bought new, frame only...and I'm STILL paying on it! I've had 4 other bikes since that thing!
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,926
671
blahblahblah but it comes with bontrager parts blahblah

who gives a crap, when was the last time you broke a bontrager part? its a 38 lb build (just like the demo, that also comes with spec parts) they're reasonably light and aren't a huge deal. The only thing that sucks about it are the tires, since I hate having to immediately throw down for new tires after buying a new bike.

seems pretty reasonable for a high end bike now days.
 

ED75

Monkey
Dec 3, 2003
174
2
France
Is that dead or forgotten ?
Anybody has got his frame/bike ????????
 
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norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
6k... That's why buying completes if they aren't on clearance is just plain stupid for me. You can get a great build if you simply decide to order parts from more than 1 source.
 

robz

Chimp
May 18, 2004
36
0
Scotland
Got mine yesterday.

Riding it tomorrow for the 1st time. Can't wait!

Got rid of the Bonty tyres, stem, seat, post and pedals and it looks fricken awesome.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,369
1,605
Warsaw :/
Got mine yesterday.

Riding it tomorrow for the 1st time. Can't wait!

Got rid of the Bonty tyres, stem, seat, post and pedals and it looks fricken awesome.

I can understand riding without tyres but how you keep your bars attached to the bike without stem? Ductape? What ppl do these days to loose weight...

PS. Post a review as soon as you ride it.
 

robz

Chimp
May 18, 2004
36
0
Scotland
Its worth the sacrafice...only weighs 37lbs now!





SDG I beam, Thomson stem, Funn pedals and Maxxis tyres on it now.
Will give you an opinion and some photos tomorrow.
 

robz

Chimp
May 18, 2004
36
0
Scotland
As promised I thought I’d do a mini review of my brand spanking new Trek Session 88 bike to give my opinion and maybe to answer some of the many questions that have been asked about this bike, especially after the recent Dirt review.

I am by no means a suspension nerd/expert. I have however been riding suspension bikes downhill for well over 10 years and have owned virtually every suspension design at one point or another. Faux bar, Horst link, single pivot, I-drive, link actuated single pivot, VPP, DW link - you name it, I’ve owned it, so my opinion is just that of a rider who had ridden lots of bike over the years

At £3500, the bike is, in my opinion, amazing value for money. Alpine Bikes kindly quoted me for a custom build with the frame kit, but it was impossible to get anywhere near the spec on the complete bike for same sort of money. Having settled on a medium bike, Alpine kindly let me swap a couple of parts, namely the seat and post to my preferred choice of an I beam and a Thomson stem for the original King Earl. Maxxis Hi Rollers replaced the respectable but single ply Bontrager offerings, and everything else I was happy to roll with.

The SRAM XO mech and shifter needs no further comment, the Bontager wheels and bars are light yet seem very well constructed and the remaining mix of Saint cranks, MRP G2 chain device and are all proven at the highest level.

By the end of the day the Avid Elixirs had bedded in nicely and were starting to show their true colours. Brutal power, yet really well modulated with tonnes of adjustment so you can easily get them set up just how you want.


On first ride round the car park I very quickly felt comfortable on the bike. At 710mm, the bars are wider than my old Easton EA70s, but I really liked the way they felt, stable without being cumbersome. Jumping between the Trek and my friends 2008 V10, which had exactly the same seat and post set to the same layback and an identical 50mm stem, we decided that the Trek felt slightly longer than the V10, so any fears of an excessively short top tube were forgotten there and then.

The next thing that was very apparent was that this bike can accelerate like a rocket. My other bike is an Iron Horse 6point with a PUSHed DHX 5 perfectly set up for my body weight and the Trek, with 2.5 Maxxis rubber and a standard DHX with very minimal fettling, pedalled noticeably better.

Once on the trails I was very surprised just how the bike felt to ride. Having come from a V10 where I felt very much in the bike and the suspension had a feeling of infinite travel, on the Trek I felt more like the bike sagged, then stopped. I am finding it hard how to articulate this, but what I can tell you is that I was going through rocks, roots and ruts like they weren’t there. On my Santa Cruz I was aware of ploughing through bumps and the bike soaking it up. The session just seemed to float through them with no fuss whatsoever. This is no mean feat when you consider that I weigh 97kg (0r 213lbs in USA talk). In contrast to Transcend, I found that square edged hits were dealt with especially well with virtually no harshness even on big hits.

The suspension remained active during braking and the active braking pivot certainly seems to be doing its job.

The geometry seems spot on to me. The head angle was just right for my taste with the stanchions dropped in the crowns. We rode fast and slow stuff all day and I really could not fault the handling at all as the bike provided stable and confident steering in all situations. Cornering was especially good as the bike feels very easy to pick up and move around underneath you.

The one piece rocker and industrial pivots made for a very stiff back end, which I noticed tracked beautifully when cornering. This was especially evident on rooty off-camber corners and high speed drifty stuff.

I really am very glad I got this bike. I was a bit sceptical about buying an off the shelf bike from a major manufacturer but hats off to Trek. I can see my self getting used to this bike very quickly and I reckon this bike and I are going to enjoy a long and happy relationship together (well for at least a year).

Robin



 
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klunky

Turbo Monkey
Oct 17, 2003
1,078
6
Scotland
Its deffo longer, lower and slacker than my (most recent generation) V-10 in a Medium.
 
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robz

Chimp
May 18, 2004
36
0
Scotland
I guess so - didn't actually weigh it after. Even with heavy rubber, it still shifted very easily.

The weigh gain on the tyres was probably cancelled out by swapping the Big Earl stem and bonty seat and post.
 

ED75

Monkey
Dec 3, 2003
174
2
France
The next thing that was very apparent was that this bike can accelerate like a rocket. My other bike is an Iron Horse 6point with a PUSHed DHX 5 perfectly set up for my body weight and the Trek, with 2.5 Maxxis rubber and a standard DHX with very minimal fettling, pedalled noticeably better.
Hum ? Really ? Is the IH so bad ? :huh:
Hard to believe you must admit !

I'm currently running a 06 DHR (seriously considering the Session) and a SC Nomad, in no way I can compare those 2 bikes in pedaling performance ...