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Letter of the Month
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Dear MBT:
Hi there. I just recently found your review on the Trek Fuel EX 6. I found it very informative. I recently purchased am EX6 a few months ago. So far, I am very pleased, but as this is my first bike I don't have any point of comparison. Your article finished with this statement: "The positive news is that the (handmade in the US) frames have gone on to earn industry-wide accolades on most of the upper-tier Fuel EX models proving that individual component upgrades could potentially iron out the rough spots."
As a beginner and not knowing how to compare bikes and components, I was wondering if you could offer any feedback on what upgrades would be the best bang for the buck to increase performance on this bike.
I would greatly appreciate any advice.
Sincerely,
Eric Blankenship
Eric:
To answer your question, we gathered up the two testers who spent a week on the EX 6 and asked them to get specific with component upgrades that could potentially improve upon the bike’s personality. The complaints basically boiled down to two major camps:
1) Nervousness during extended climbs
2) Tendency to wash out during aggressive cornering on flat terrain
We took a long hard look at the spec sheets of all nine of the Trek Fuel models in effort to establish a base of the component choices through the upper echelons of the product line. It turns out the engineers at Trek remedied the handling bugs of the lower-middle tier Fuels by slapping slightly longer travel rear ends (120 vs. 100mm) and adjustable travel forks on the pricier versions. The logic behind their spec changes was clearly to offer riders the ability to reduce the front suspension travel on flat ground (to take some of the rider weight off the rear) and to increase it on the fly for steep descents.
If money were no object, we would recommend upgrading to a Fox Talas RLC fork. However, there are much cheaper means of achieving the same type of weight distribution such as an adjustable seat-post or slightly longer stem.
To counter the tendency of washing out in turns, not only will adjusting the weight balance on the bike help you out, we suggest looking at a rubber upgrade as well. Bontrager's ACX tires are reasonably good all around models, but it's easy and cheap to upgrade those to some grippier treads. Kenda's Nevegal and Blue Groove, Hutchinson Spider, Tioga Extreme XC and Geax Sturdy offer great performance at reasonable prices. Your local terrain and trail conditions will dictate the best tire for you as well, so see what everyone else is riding and pick their brains a little bit too.
Overall, your bike should provide years of trouble-free performance. All of our test riders agreed that a beginner couldn’t ask for a better platform on which to cut their off-road teeth.
For making us think, we’re going to send you a $20 gift certificate to spend at Evomo. Go get yourself a kick ass shirt to wear on that new bike: http://www.evomo.com/
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Dear MBT:
There is no way I can afford an all carbon bike so I’m thinking of replacing bits with carbon fiber as they go on my Mongoose. Where do you suggest I begin?
Corey Fuller
Corey:
Well to be painfully honest, begin by saving your money. The cost versus performance gain in slapping a bunch of expensive carbon fiber parts on your bike will never pay off. Keep in mind that the cost of fiber is so much greater than comparable aluminum components that the money saved in trying to piecemeal a trick-looking bike will add up to a full carbon frame in no time. In addition, aluminum components are much tougher and will take abuse much more readily than carbon bits. Aluminum will not fail suddenly or catastrophically like carbon tends to do. We know where you’re coming from, nothing looks cooler or adds more bling to a bike than some good old CF weave shining in the sun but our advice is to hang in there and do it right; refine your skills on the bike you have while saving money for a well equipped bike with some cool parts on it.
Dear MBT:
I was wondering if you were planning to do a fork shootout any time soon. I am torn between the Fox TALAS and Manitou Minute for my XC ride.
L. Thiesen
While we would love to do a full fledge fork shootout, the logistics of having Fox and Manitou participate are slim to none. However, between the two, we would chose the Fox TALAS system over Manitou’s rather difficult to master IT switch design on user friendliness alone. From what we've seen, Fox forks seem to have fewer problems than Manitou forks as well as better customer service. One caveat to the TALAS system is that before the redesign (2007) the TALAS adjustment was painfully slow to turn from minimum to maximum and visa-versa. Otherwise, either choice will serve you reasonably well with regular maintainence and proper set up.
Dear MBT:
I’ve never been fully convinced about the 29'er movement and CG’s article confirms my suspicion- You’ve gotta be a little off your rocker to get into this cult.
Unsigned
We have to agree to an extent, when we first learned of CG’s desire to enter the 29 inch scene there was a collective “it figures” heard around the office. On the other hand the bike it replaced was a rigid Schwinn beach cruiser circa 1982 so it would definitely fall under the classification of an upgrade. As for CG’s mental health, that’s another question entirely, and something we're not at all equipped to deal with.
Dear MBT:
A friend is offering me a sweet deal on his Azonic Fiend custom-build. What do you think of the bike?
Mitch Tochsky
We think it looks nice in the photos we’ve seen and that Azonic frames have a reputation for being tough as nails but having never ridden it ourselves, that’s all we can offer. At the risk of giving generic advice, use the same precautions as when looking at any used bike. Check the frame for cracks and the components for wear. Find out how often the bike is maintained and how many miles your friend has put on it. You should have some idea of how he rides and what terrain he rides in, so that should give you some indicator of the amount of wear on the bike. If your friend has a reputation for beating the crap out of his things run don’t walk away.
Earn Money by Making Us Work
Attention ASK MBT fans: You’ve always got questions and we like to think that we have the answers but now you could earn some swag just for putting our collective melons to the test. In each issue we will choose a winning question or comment to become Letter of the Month and send its author $20 toward the Evomo online store. What are you waiting for? Get hammering on those keyboards.
Got a question? Fire it away to us and we'll do the best we can to answer it. Send your inquiries to Ask Mountain Bike Tales.
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