First Look: Trek Slash 9
A bike that was sorely missed in our Enduro Compare-O was the the Trek Slash with 160mm of front and rear travel. The big brother to the Trek Remedy 27.5 and 29er, the Slash sports 27.5 wheels and an aluminum frame only for 2014. We suspect the wheel size will be exclusively 27.5 but the frame will soon be available in carbon fiber.
With the Remedy at 140mm of travel, the Slash comes in with a burly 160mm of travel, slack 65 degree head tube geometry and and a long top tube and wheel base for all mountain stability.
We liked the Remedy 27.5 but felt it was just a bit short on travel for big, rowdy descents. The Remedy 29er actually seemed like a more capable machine at the 140mm travel category. So this Slash is eagerly anticipated with all the right geometry numbers and proven tech features on this full-floater suspension platform.
Bontrager Rhythm Comp wheels and XR4 tires are a good match for this bike.
The suspension is adjustable and that is a welcome addition indeed. The Trek Mino Link suspension swing arm mount allows the rider to slacken/steepen the head angle by .5 degree. The bottom bracket is lowered/steepened accordingly in the process as well.
And our bike came with a Talas fork that sports 130/160mm of travel. I know what you’re thinking, “Talas, travel is not as good as the Fox Float.” For 2014 however, Talas is every bit as good as the Float. And given the slack and long wheelbase nature of this bike, having the 130mm travel option really expands the sweet spot for this bike into the milder ‘trail bike’ category.
We’ve had two rides on the Trek Slash and it’s been a delight to jump and descend. And having the option to switch the front between 160mm and 130mm makes it a versatile bike as well. The downside of these long wheelbase, slack head angle bikes is they tend to be sluggish on flattish and twisty trails. Well putting front fork travel at 130 mm steepens the angle quite a bit to deliver pretty agile handling
28.15 lbs without pedals and 28.71 lbs with light flat pedals. This is with tubes in the tires so about .5 lbs can be lost when converted to tubeless. This is is actually quite light for an aluminum bike with burly descending ability.
The Slash 9 features a X01 1×11 drivetrain and Reverb post for $5770.
Ample tire clearance is available for these big 27.5 tires and new wide rims.
The down tube has molded rubber armor at the bottom to protect from trail debris. The cable routing is cleanly tucked in or along the downtube and pivots along with the chainstay to avoid any cable rubbing or bowing out problems.
2014 Trek Slash Key Specs
- Weight: 28.17 lbs. (size medium)
- Wheel size: 27.5 inches
- Frame Material: Aluminum
- Fork: Fox Factory Series 34 Talas w/CTD , Kashima coating, adjustable 130/160mm travel
- Wheels: Bontrager Rhythm Comp Tubeless Ready w/Stacked Lacing, 15mm front hub; 142×12 rear hub
- Tires: Bontrager XR4 Team Issue Tubeless Ready, aramid bead, 27.5×2.35″
- Brakes: Avid X0 Trail hydraulic disc with 200/180 mm rotors
- R/Shifter: SRAM Xo1 11spd
- R/Der: SRAM X01 11spd
- Cassette: SSRAM XD – 1195 11spd 10-42t
- Crankset: SRAM X1 32t
- Saddle: WTB Volt Race, Niner graphic
- Seatpost: Bontrager Evoke 3, titanium rails
- Bar: Bontrager Rhythm Pro Carbon, 31.8mm, 15mm rise
- Stem: Bontrager Rhythm Pro, 31.8mm, 0 degree
- Bike MSRP: $5,769.99
For more information visit www.trekbikes.com.
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