Trek Fuel EXe Review - Vital's SL eMTB Test Sessions

Trek's Fuel EXe is part of the SL e-bike club that strives to strike the lowest bottom line when it comes to weight by utilizing a smaller battery and motor. Like Specialized's Levo SL or Orbea's Rise, the Fuel EXe aims to give riders enough juice to get up climbs with moderate input, matched with a riding experience that mirrors a regular mountain bike ride. And it manages to achieve this in a frame design that nearly hides the fact it's an e-bike.
Highlights
OCLV Carbon frame
29-inch wheels
140mm of rear wheel travel // 150mm fork travel
ABP suspension design
50 Nm TQ HRP50 Motor
360 Wh removable battery (160 Wh range extender available)
Integrated top tube display
Wired assist switch
Mino Link geo adjustment
64.8-degree head tube angle
76.8-degree effective seat tube angle
440mm chainstay length
10 carbon builds // 3 aluminum builds
Sizes: S-XL
Verified weight (size X-Large, no pedals): 43.12 lbs (19.5 kg)
MSRP: $13,999 USD as tested ($9,999 USD as tested, 9.8 GX AXS Build)
Thanks to these brands for supporting the test!
Tannus Armour Inserts - tannusamerica....
Feedback Sports - feedbacksports...
Maxxis Tires - www.maxxis.com...
Read our SL E-MTB Test Sessions article - www.vitalmtb.c...
More mountain bike news and reviews - www.vitalmtb.com
#ebike #emtb

[@Rubblechops]

SL bikes are not likely tp be 'winch and drop'. So this whole segment review needs to have that in mind. What are the forks and shock like? Considering this spec myself seeing as the 23 bikes can be had 50% off here in the UK now🎉

[@Pesmog]

I have now ridden the Trek Fuel Exe a few times. The one thing that I was not happy with was that in the large and XL sizes it uses 165mm crank arms. So with me at 6'3" (1.9m) the pedal circle feels cramped. With only a low powered motor this also means that the rider assists a little less than they could do on steep climbs than if they had 175mm crank arms and more mechanical advantage. If I owned one I would change that. I am also unconvinced by the inconsistent battery range and on one occasion only saw 15 miles (24km) from a full charge with not a lot of elevation, but with a few long shallow climbs on eco. The next time I use one I want to tweak the power settings using the App to see if I can get it closer to 30 plus miles range like other folks are claiming.

[@johnwrycza]

midwest rider here w/battery extender - the EXe 9.8 makes a good XC ride, 3-4 hrs in mid setting, 200lbs w/Camelbak, gear your'e correct about the RSL 1 piece bars/rise, width TQ motor is quiet Happy with my EXe

[@RideTannus]

*🙌 Love to see it!*

[@joefishtale]

I have the Exe 8 and the Rail 8 and rail 9.9. All great bikes. The fuel exe is my daily rider.

[@marshallhughes4514]

Cool. Tell me what is the range difference between the Rail and the exe? I know the exe is lighter by close to 10 pounds but does the Rail seem to heavy when doing tighter turns?

[@joefishtale]

@@marshallhughes4514the bikes behave similarly on the paved trails that I ride to the office. Off-road, the rail has a lot more power in the hills. As far as battery life, the rail w 625wh battery has significant more range than the fuel exe with both its main and bottle cage battery, by about 30 percent. If I were to guess, the rail has twice the range as the fuel. I rode the fuel because it feels like a regular bike with light assist, the rail feels like an e-bike that will get me up gnarly hills.

[@marshallhughes4514]

@@joefishtale thank you.

[@denniekruit2078]

What's your opinion on the better bike the trek exe or the Santa cruze heckler ?

[@80211Denver]

I dont think you can ride without the battery on the models where the rear derailleur uses it for power (not an AXS battery)

[@rgoring81]

Fuel exe vs trance advanced e+ elite? How does the range compare?

[@JohnWilson-jh5iz]

You guys never show what differences there are in performance when you use the app to tune the motor settings, what are the motor settings you have on the test ?? Just seems like hit and a miss

[@cliffsangelsphotography]

I have the EXe 8 🤙 I love it

[@dshow1658]

My buddy has it . What u mean by more power not turned up???

[@alangolightly9850]

Tune motor with Trek app

[@dshow1658]

It feels like you’re dragging the brakes when u petal on flat NEXT to my SL.

[@AIMarketingFunnels]

I bought a 2023 9.8 XTR last week. This morning it would not turn on. I plug the charger in and it turns on, 150% charge. When I turn it off I cannot turn it back on unless I plug the charger in. It also has rebooted on two different occasions when the power went from the the extender to main battery. I should have bough the Orbea. This is a lemon and it is wrong that a person can spend this kind of money and get such poor results.

[@davefreeman9347]

I have an EXe it’s the bomb 💣

[@rolfehorn]

JMP!

[@tehgearz]

The park in Oakland?

[@codyhughes2222]

yo