Trek Fuel Ex 9.8 Gen 6 AXS - First Ride feeling out the bike!

A local trail finally opened!!! I was finally able to get the new Fuel out on dirt. The bike feels amazing so far, and I can’t wait to get it fully dialed. A few things I noticed right away, Trek’s suspension is again a little soft for my liking. I will probably add a volume spacer to the front and rear shock to make it ramp up a little quicker. I was blowing through the travel and bottomed out the fork on one of the drops already. I also need to bleed the rear brake. I basically did this ride without a rear brake. Worked at the shop, but not when I got it out on trail. Other than that, it felt really good, more stable compared to the Remedy, but still playful in the air. I love the feel of the 35 mm PNW handlebars and XL PNW grips. It’s a solid stable feeling in the hands. The PNW pedals I’m trying for the first time feel very similar to the OneUp alloy pedals, but possibly have slightly more grip with the pedal shape. The GX AXS shifting worked flawlessly for the first use! This loop is very tough on drivetrains with steep punchy climbs and short descents. The SE6 tire up front seemed to grip extremely well for the first ride! Overall, I got on with the bike very quickly and it felt natural on jumps/riding by the end of my first short ride. I can’t wait to get this bike on more trails and get the small fine tuning worked out!! To be continued…

[@lukewarden9681]

Wow that Luke guy is a fast rider, impressive stuff

[@youling1997]

I miss standing rocks! Gonna hit it when my knees are better

[@olsonmap22]

Awesome!

[@mosquitofleetfishing6599]

This bike is literally unobtanium unless you’re a KZbinr or just buy it and hope for the correct result. Pretty sad

[@BeachModeBiking]

What do you mean? I know many people who have this bike, race it harder than its intended use, and do extremely well with it. They aren’t “youtubers” either.

[@mosquitofleetfishing6599]

@@BeachModeBiking I mean they aren’t a stock item (according to Trek) and only built to order. I want to demo one before I shell out $6k but that seems like it’ll be very difficult since there are a grand total of 2 in my size within 500 miles of my house. I didn’t say they are lacking quality. Trek was kind enough to let me know I could spend about $1000 to go to one of their demo events though.

[@BeachModeBiking]

@@mosquitofleetfishing6599 Trek does have a very nice 30 Day like it or return it guarantee. 🤷🏻‍♂️