I have seen a couple of posts lately with some questions on the new Trek Slash. I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time on one today thanks to the Trek Demo program. They were in town and I was happily surprised to see they had a few slash's in different sizes. The color of this bike jumps out at you, especially once your in the woods!
Since this was a demo bike, I didn't get to set it up the way I would my own bike. This wasn't a big deal, I think the only thing I would have done is drop the stem lower and other small control things like that. I'm 6'1 190 amd rode a large, which is a 19". Bike felt really good fit wise with a 70mm stem. I might opt for a 50mm stem when my slash arrives later this year because the bike will mostly see all mountain and light gravity riding and I like the shorter stem for that. I set up the front and rear shocks based on guidelines from fox and trek per air pressure which is body weight plus 10 pounds in the rear shock and body weight divided by 2 then minus 15 pounds for the front fork.
The above pic was taken at the end of my riding. You can notice the rubber ring that tells you how much travel you have used is at the bottom of the shock, but there is still a small amount left before reaching the end of the stroke. The only reason i point this out is because there seems to be some concern from folks of prior model years fox air shocks being too soft and bottoming out harshly. I have had some older fox air shocks, even a DRCV. This years rear shock was different, seemed to ramp up better. I used to notice how soft my old DRCV while riding, but I never got that feeling today while riding the Slash. Is it head and shoulders better? I can't say after one day, but i can tell you it is better and I liked what trek and fox has done.
I got to hit some drops and jumps - nothing huge, but medium sized stuff. The trail also had plenty of rocks, roots and braking bumps. The Slash did a great job of getting thru the rough stuff. I was able to stay on top of the braking bumps and hold my speed well. Maybe it was the extra speed I was carrying thanks to the confidence the bike inspires? Seems I was going scary fast in some sections when compared to my remedy. The ABP works, many times in the rocky sections I was on the brakes some where it was really steep and the suspension worked like it would without the brakes applied. The bike really feels like it has more travel then 6.3 inches on the descents. The bike corners and jumps like a light weight downhill bike and the bontrager tires were biting good in the dry conditions.
The bike I was on was 30 pounds with pedals. Climbed well, your not going to win any xc races but it will get you to the top in good order. I even cleaned some steep stuff and was maybe going slightly slower then when on my xc bike. The dropper post is really nice and has internal cable routing. On flat sections the bike was still pretty fast pedaling, but it definetly shines on the DH sections. I think if you live anywhere there are hills or you have access to some technical/gravity trails this is a great bike for you. Would handle the bike parks too. All in all a great DH'ers trailbike or a XC'ers gravity bike.
Since this was a demo bike, I didn't get to set it up the way I would my own bike. This wasn't a big deal, I think the only thing I would have done is drop the stem lower and other small control things like that. I'm 6'1 190 amd rode a large, which is a 19". Bike felt really good fit wise with a 70mm stem. I might opt for a 50mm stem when my slash arrives later this year because the bike will mostly see all mountain and light gravity riding and I like the shorter stem for that. I set up the front and rear shocks based on guidelines from fox and trek per air pressure which is body weight plus 10 pounds in the rear shock and body weight divided by 2 then minus 15 pounds for the front fork.
The above pic was taken at the end of my riding. You can notice the rubber ring that tells you how much travel you have used is at the bottom of the shock, but there is still a small amount left before reaching the end of the stroke. The only reason i point this out is because there seems to be some concern from folks of prior model years fox air shocks being too soft and bottoming out harshly. I have had some older fox air shocks, even a DRCV. This years rear shock was different, seemed to ramp up better. I used to notice how soft my old DRCV while riding, but I never got that feeling today while riding the Slash. Is it head and shoulders better? I can't say after one day, but i can tell you it is better and I liked what trek and fox has done.
I got to hit some drops and jumps - nothing huge, but medium sized stuff. The trail also had plenty of rocks, roots and braking bumps. The Slash did a great job of getting thru the rough stuff. I was able to stay on top of the braking bumps and hold my speed well. Maybe it was the extra speed I was carrying thanks to the confidence the bike inspires? Seems I was going scary fast in some sections when compared to my remedy. The ABP works, many times in the rocky sections I was on the brakes some where it was really steep and the suspension worked like it would without the brakes applied. The bike really feels like it has more travel then 6.3 inches on the descents. The bike corners and jumps like a light weight downhill bike and the bontrager tires were biting good in the dry conditions.
The bike I was on was 30 pounds with pedals. Climbed well, your not going to win any xc races but it will get you to the top in good order. I even cleaned some steep stuff and was maybe going slightly slower then when on my xc bike. The dropper post is really nice and has internal cable routing. On flat sections the bike was still pretty fast pedaling, but it definetly shines on the DH sections. I think if you live anywhere there are hills or you have access to some technical/gravity trails this is a great bike for you. Would handle the bike parks too. All in all a great DH'ers trailbike or a XC'ers gravity bike.