- Bike 1 – $5k – 2023 Trek Fuel EXE 9.9 AXS (yellow). I know this one is an EBIKE. Im debating that.
- Bike 2 – $2800 – 2022 Trek Fuel Ex 9.9. Kashima suspension, 130mm rear, 140mm front. Great trail bike. Carbon Wheels. Sram X0 drive train
- Bike 3 – $2500 – Trek Fuel ex 9.9 2022 Ride wrapped. New frame in 2023 from warranty. New assegai tires front and rear. Tubeless front and back. Sram XO drivetrain and Shimano XT brakes. Full carbon frame, wheels and cranks. Kashima coating on the fox fork and shock. Shock rebuilt last year
- Bike 4 – $3000 – Bike 4 Trek Fuel EX gen 6 ex 8 axs. Specs: 150/140 mm suspension travel Full 29 inch wheels Fox 36 rhythm fork Fox float x rear shock Sram’s latest GX axs transmission 12 speed(electronic) Upgrades: Brakes: sram code rsc Dropper: 210mm one up v3 Tires: highroller 3 front and rear Pedals: one up composite Comes with 3 year frame warranty, charger for derailleur, and internal frame bag.
by Born-Masterpiece8042
21 Comments
None of them are an Ibis Ripmo so I wouldn’t buy any.
That Trek is good.
Edit: Alright realistically if I could afford it I’d go with the Ebike honestly. But I’m getting old, it depends on how easily you get up mountains.
My EXe is one of my favorite bikes ever. Feels like you’re just having a good leg day every time you ride it. Eco mode can do roughly 18 miles the way I have it configured without a range extender and the bike just feels freakin good. I prefer it over the full power e bike I had before it. It supports up to a 160mm fork. Get the airspring and make it 160, the bike comes alive with a bit higher front end. It’s phenomenal.
You would be better off with the newest gen bike – don’t focus too much on components – the diff between kashima vs no kashima and xt vs xtr is not of value
Personally I’d pick 3.
Probably the trek.
Bike 4
Bike 4 seems like the clear front runner to me. That 2022 Fuel seems a bit overpriced.
Yellow or gray that frame is superior
Not a trek
It really depends what your uses are. If you are going downhill or intense trail riding with lots of jumps, get the enduro bike with more suspension.
If you like in a place that’s flatter or flowier, get the cross country.
I would get the Trek
Why no Stumpys?
Stay away from bikes 2 and 3. This generation Fuel EX had a known issue where the frame would develop cracks at the seat tube | bottom bracket junction.
If you were the original owner this wasn’t an issue, Trek warrantied the frame. As the subsequent owner beyond 3 years of the purchase date (which bike 2 and 3 are), you’ll have to pay out of pocket for a replacement frame if you experience said cracking.
How do I know? I had two of these frames warrantied for this reason, my wife had one warrantied and my friend had three warrantied. Many other people experienced the same issue, it’s easy to find online.
Save the money and go bike 4.
All of them look like they are carbon but the last isn’t and the first one is an E-bike if you want that w bike go for it but personally I would go for the second one
id go with the trek
I’d go with bike #4
The newest one
Don’t buy used E-bikes unless you hate money.
Had to google the 3 yr warranty being able to be transferred. It looks like a case by case basis, I wouldn’t take that as a guarantee by any means. That said I would still go bike 4 and haggle down a bit. Have you looked at the latest transition sales? You will get a much cooler and arguably better bike for $3400 with a gaurenteed warranty.
My strategy would be to lowball all of them and whoever comes back with the lowest final number is the one I get.
If I am trying to narrow them down though:
They all seem to be a decent value except the ebike. I think that 5k is a bit overpriced. Also I personally would not have an E-bike as my primary bike, assuming that is what this purchase is.
I personally do not like the AXS stuff. Its annoying to add batteries to something that didn’t ever need it in the first place so I would rule that one out from that alone. Also the specs are slower and the price is higher.
I commend you for buying used. Too many people will drop 2.5k on a new bike with entry level components when they could get one 2-3 years old with the exact same frame and parts with top of the line components. I have personally bought two bikes in the last couple months just because I found such good deals I couldn’t pass it up.
What travel are you looking for? I personally ride more cross country type stuff so I would lean towards the 140/130 travel vs the 150/140. I think less travel is more fun unless you ride a ton of enduro.
The 2500$ one seems to be speced just as good as the 2800$ one for 300$ less. That would be my pick but I would lowball both 2 and 3 and see who can go lower.