Trek Supercaliber with IsoStrut suspension

[Beard]

Looks similar suspension setup to the Liteville 301.

 

Mate of mine got a bad bruise on his thigh when he landed badly and the suspension “bit” him.

 

Freaks me out that my Crown Jewels are in such close proximity to those moving bits[emoji85][emoji15]

Maybe the ‘camouflage’ cover should be a permanent feature[emoji15]

[Bonus]

Has this link been posted yet?

 

 

https://bikerumor.com/2019/05/25/spy-shots-trek-short-travel-xc-mtb-race-prototype-whats-higher-than-top-fuel/

[DieselnDust]

Has this link been posted yet?

 

 

https://bikerumor.com/2019/05/25/spy-shots-trek-short-travel-xc-mtb-race-prototype-whats-higher-than-top-fuel/

 

 

 

see post #15 in this thread

[Bonus]

see post #15 in this thread

 

Cheers. I was short of time!  :-)

[Christie]

Freaks me out that my Crown Jewels are in such close proximity to those moving bits[emoji85][emoji15]

Riding commando in baggies? Very brave????

[hansolo]

Interesting move by Trek, I think this bike will have around 50 mm of travel and mostly be aimed at Pro's. They could revive the old STP name for this one or they should call it the Sugar.

 

The new Top Fuel looks like a very nice bike for "average Joe" riding stage races and marathon, possibly a better "solution" than an Epic EVO?

 

It would be interesting to see how their riders pick bikes for different courses, could a short travel fulls suspension bike like this make hardtails redundant?

[Grease_Monkey]

could a short travel fulls suspension bike like this make hardtails redundant?

If money is no object for the rider - maybe...

 

But the reason most people ride hardtails comes down to cost (initial and maintenance) rather than efficiency, so I think it will always have a place, even if dual suspension bikes become so efficient where it makes them redundant.

[Dirt Tracker]

If money is no object for the rider - maybe...

 

But the reason most people ride hardtails comes down to cost (initial and maintenance) rather than efficiency, so I think it will always have a place, even if dual suspension bikes become so efficient where it makes them redundant.

 

I ride a hard tail because it's just a raw and awesome fun way to mix up your riding but that is on the trail side of things. With suspension getting so good the idea of putting in hard kms across nadgery farm roads, rough district roads etc if frankly horrific. If I was doing more than 35kms across anything I'd want some squidge at both ends. Weight saving? I'll eat a pie less and drink a smaller draft. 

 

I just wonder what specific niche of racing the 50mm travel will find it's home. I guess it's all about how that 50mm works as some 115mm bikes are proper hard trail bikes. The last XCO event I attended had some decent terrain and if I was stage racing I'd still want some good travel to take full advantage on the descents. 

[Iwan Kemp]

Speaking to the pro's at the Epic, quite a few mentioned that they run their bikes plusher there than at XCO's. At XCO's they want the bikes a bit firmer as they're accelerating out of or through stuff the whole time. From the suspension guys I got that they have a specific tune with specific settings for just about ALL of the XCO pro's that are XCO specific.

 

RockShox's chief engineer said you don't need 100mm or 120mm or whatever to help with traction. With that in mind it wouldn't surprise me if Trek comes out with an unashamedly XCO focused bike that can double for Marathon riding as you'd also only need some "forgiveness". 

 

Not sure about whether it will be 50mm, I have no idea what's under there, but I'd put money on short travel XCO focused bike. XCO is all the rage at the moment. They have great racing with great riders and I can only see that discipline grow.

[Hairy]

No Flippie but I ride a dropper equipped HT on rougher longer tracks than most XCO courses at least once a week.

 

As you well know a dropper post allows the back of the bike and the rider to move more freely and stay in control. Traction with the right tyres isnt an issue.

 

Rider fatigue is a far bigger issue on marathon events.

 

Just my opinion based on my experience. Nothing personal dude, so I wont ask how many XC races you've done in the last decade. I dont care :-)

Did you see how Neff descended on her Trek this past weekend ... in particular towards the end of the race where she hit those step downs like a DH rider!

[DieselnDust]

Speaking to the pro's at the Epic, quite a few mentioned that they run their bikes plusher there than at XCO's. At XCO's they want the bikes a bit firmer as they're accelerating out of or through stuff the whole time. From the suspension guys I got that they have a specific tune with specific settings for just about ALL of the XCO pro's that are XCO specific.

 

RockShox's chief engineer said you don't need 100mm or 120mm or whatever to help with traction. With that in mind it wouldn't surprise me if Trek comes out with an unashamedly XCO focused bike that can double for Marathon riding as you'd also only need some "forgiveness". 

 

Not sure about whether it will be 50mm, I have no idea what's under there, but I'd put money on short travel XCO focused bike. XCO is all the rage at the moment. They have great racing with great riders and I can only see that discipline grow.

 

 

agree wholeheartedly. XCO and XCM disciplines require efficiency from the bike. Men and women at the sharper end want the bike to be forgiving not plush. Its pointless having plush when you end up carrying an extra 2 kg around for that privilege. top athletes spend a lot of time maintaining their diet and ideal race weight through the season the last thing they want is a heavy bike to offset that.

I'm wondering if the Giant Anthem of 2018 and now this Trek is signaling a bit of a reset wrt to how the bike manufacturers are thinking about XCO/M race bicycles specifically.

Anthem has 90mm of rear wheel travel and it feels superb across all terrain. 

SO i chatted to my pal last night re the bike and he was saying the 50mm he mentioned is shock stroke. So that means it could be anywhere from that to 100mm depending on the leverage.

Doesn't really matter because if the bike feels firm yet compliant and lively with good traction then its the kind of bike I like. Not eveyone wants an #endurolight bicycle

[DieselnDust]

On matters related to XCO bikes I was quite intrigued to notice that despite he trend to longer bikes, many pro's are racing frames a size smaller than they normally would  so that they can properly weight the front end for climbs and descents.

 

Check out Pablo Rodriegues Mondraker specifically: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-checks-5-xc-race-weapons-from-the-2019-nove-mesto-world-cup.html

[Headshot]

On matters related to XCO bikes I was quite intrigued to notice that despite he trend to longer bikes, many pro's are racing frames a size smaller than they normally would  so that they can properly weight the front end for climbs and descents.

 

Check out Pablo Rodriegues Mondraker specifically: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/bike-checks-5-xc-race-weapons-from-the-2019-nove-mesto-world-cup.html

The frame is smaller because the sizing is different surely? A small is now a medium in reach terms on many new bikes. Mondraker have been pushing the limites for years.  McConnell was looking proeprly stretched out on her #enduro style Mondraker. Where did she come again? 

[DieselnDust]

The frame is smaller because the sizing is different surely? A small is now a medium in reach terms on many new bikes. Mondraker have been pushing the limites for years.  McConnell was looking proeprly stretched out on her #enduro style Mondraker. Where did she come again? 

 

 

they're riding the next size down to keep the front centre in check. Sizing doesn't feature here. they want a balanced bike for up and down.

McConnell would look stretched on anything. She's short (1.58m). Shes already on the smallest frame they make. I reckon only Sina Frei is shorter

[PhilipV]

agree wholeheartedl

SO i chatted to my pal last night re the bike and he was saying the 50mm he mentioned is shock stroke. So that means it could be anywhere from that to 100mm depending on the leverage.

le

50mm is a long stroke. That could give it a lot of support and tuning ability.

 

If that gives 90-100mm travel then a lot of the discussion up top (including mine) is moot.

[Headshot]

50mm is a long stroke. That could give it a lot of support and tuning ability.

 

If that gives 90-100mm travel then a lot of the discussion up top (including mine is moot.)

So it might actually just be a "lighter but just the same travel as the other bikes", bike. 

 

And we had a whole argument about nothing. As usual :-)