I had a 9.9 XTR gen 6, While i absolutely loved the heck out of it, it was very expensive - i had it running awesome after servicing fork etc a friend wanted to try my top spec version vs his ex 8... cool, we got out there and blasted down a few fast and steep trail, jumps etc At the end of each trail i kept asking myself why i paid more than 2 x the amount for what essentially felt like the same damn bike except stiffness. I ended up being able to return my bike for the alloy 8, Its not "quite" as good but bloody hell i will never spend more on anything higher than a rhythm/z1/performance & slx/xt level again.

@Robin887

Ай бұрын

9.9 XTR gen 6 jez its cost a little fortune :D for most of the bikers (including me ofc) buying a 2k+ bike its hella of money and ruining the budget xd I Think thought ex 7 and 8 gen 6 its really good quality bike for the reliable price

Really good review man! I'm looking at getting one of these soon, thanks for the info :)

Thanks for the review. Helped me a lot and I just got my fuel Ex 8 gen 6. Got the Aluminum frame because bikes are way expensive here in Brazil. Just had the first ride and loved the first impression.

Just bought a trek fuel ex 7 gen 6 in blue alloy, can't wait to ride it.

I have the 9.8 gen 6 and yep; the first thing I did was swap tires and bars. Burley and capable bike for sure; it’s rocky and techy here in PA and she eats it up. Parks are opening soon, can’t wait to see how it rides there!

Great videos and your style works well. I had to keep reminding myself that you weren’t narrating whilst actually riding. I just got the gen 6 fuel ex 8.

I have the 9.8 with the XT group on it. love the bike but had to change out the tires and the RSL bar/stem combo. Loved how the bar looked but lack of adjustability on the handlebars caused a lot of shoulder fatigue for me. Once I made the change to a regular bar and stem, the shoulder fatigue was gone. overall, love the bike and have a smile on my face every time I am on it.

Great review. I have a Fuel EX 9.8 and love it.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Cheers and awesome! thank you!

I had the hardest time getting double downs tires into the Bontrager rims with plastic inserts on my gen5 ex. Found out later through a lot of riding that DDs are way over kill for 99% of riders and add about a pound more per tire to your bike. Later on I set the bike up to be more xc oriented with aspen and ardent race tires (non-DD) and still never had puncture issues, and the tires go on much easier onto the rims with the plastic insert still in. The suspension on these bikes are so good that traction feels unlimited no matter the tire, I do live in a dry area though.

That was great! Love the bars

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thank you and good to hear you're digging the RSL bars. have a great day!

I've got the 9.7 Gen 6. Love it. Perfect everything bike. If you're doing a lot of chiunky xc, you'll definitely want to put it in high. Hitting laps at the downhill park, slap it back to low and it's a downhill shredder. Love this bike.

I ride mine as a "heavy Enduro bike" and its crazy how well it keeps up with actual enduro bikes.

Really good review man. Hope you get tons of subscribers. Really good channel 💯

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for the kind words, I greatly appreciate that. Have a solid weekend and thanks for the support

Sick review! Amazing shots, audio editing, everything! Genuinely, great video! I am curious tho, where are these trails? They seem like a blast

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for the kind words! A lot is CO and some Utah. Cheers!

Great video thanks for sharing! I shaved my bars immediately, they were comical large. Coming from a XC bike, I did change my leg gym routine and focused more on strength. This bike is 6lbs heavier than my XC and can feel it after 20+miles on trails.

@bbkmtb

9 ай бұрын

Thank you very much and right on! I think I need to shave them or sell them they are huuuuge! Cheers and hope you're enjoying your season!

Great video man! Hey list do you know if its possible to install a RockShox remote lockout on this bike? That's the soul part I really miss. Thanks a lot!

Sweet ride. I’ve been rocking the same bike in blue. Built up from carbon frame only and ended up going with oneup carbon bar, maxxis tires, mullet and, most recently, a 160mm 5dev crank. Such a great bike. Congrats and thx for the video.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thank you! How do you like the mullet setup!?

@nyc4smokey

10 ай бұрын

@@bbkmtb haven’t tried without the mullet setup, so I can’t compare. But, I’m absolutely loving the ride. I think the mullet may slightly compromise climbing, but it otherwise feels very maneuverable.

@zachzeman3092

6 ай бұрын

Which model? The EX 7 Gen 6?

Dude, the Bontrager rim strip is awesome. You'll never burp a tire with that setup. I've run the Line Carbon wheels for 7 years I think with all Maxxis casings. Yes, DD is a bit of a fight but I think it's worth it. By the way, you can likely go just EXO+ in the front.

Commenting for the algorithm

I just got this bike and this is my first full suspension, I previously had a Marlin 6. The fuel EX Is so much better

@zachzeman3092

6 ай бұрын

Hey! Coming from a Marlin 7, looking to go to a Fuel EX. What model do you have? I’m looking at the Fuel EX 7 Gen 6.

@VotrexSpikez

6 ай бұрын

@@zachzeman3092 yea i have the one your looking at and if your looking at other ones than i say look for what suits you and what your looking to do best, like me for instance i got it because i needed smoother bumps and stuff for racing and just going fast in general and its also really good for just having a blast! so i totally recommend it!

@DB-sd3cw

Ай бұрын

​@@zachzeman3092 go for the ex 8. The 7 has the garbage rockshox recon fork.

So a friend of mine turned me onto this bike as an option. I stand at 6'8", so my options are very limited. We do have places like Big & Tall Bikes out of Colorado. But I would rather not go custom if I can help it. I was looking at the Procaliber 9.6 for the longest time. But upon looking at this, I might be better off. For those of you who stand at 5'6" to 6'2", you should feel lucky. The world is your oyster.

I had the mino link in the low position when I got it. Had alot of pedal strikes. Switch the mini link to high and no more pedal strikes and feels great for more moderate trails.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Right on, I haven't tried it in the high just yet, does it feel a bit more playful on flatter trails?

@cgtlea9202

10 ай бұрын

Yeah I’m enjoying it more on flatter trails and also get less pedal strikes than I did when I first got it and had it set in low

It's amazing how big the difference is when you flip the Mino Link. With the type of riding I do I keep the link in the high position.

@sjd229sd

9 ай бұрын

AMEN! Sammmme

You can changeout to a tradition stem/bar combo right?

waiting for delivery of mine ... been out of the game a long time. Lots of changes. When you suggest a "progressive" set up ... can you elaborate (basically newb here)? Great video btw ... my buddy sold me on this bike ... similar to yourself ... can't go wrong!

So its also good for long climbing sessions on road and trails?

they got rid of the “knock block”?

Love the look of these intergrated Stem/bars but after having Bought the Canyon grail with the hover bars i Will never buy something like that again, just having computer mount, lights and stuff just gets to another dimension of hassle

It looks like your progressive chip has the bolt in the front so less is facing up vs more which would have the bolt behind it. I believe it comes with the word more facing up. So… did you flip it to less and it’s more fun? Great and insightful video. Thank you!

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

I have b roll in this video with it shown in both more and less. I prefer the more progressive setting in most situations

@jonathanhershberger5239

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for your quick response and insight. you have me playing with the different setups. And you are right, this bike is pretty awesome. it pedals uphill so nicely... Thanks again for your insight!@@bbkmtb

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

@@jonathanhershberger5239 thank you! I hope you have a great time shredding and thanks for the support, cheers!

Good vid, and some nice trails there! I was originally wanting to buy one of these (earlier this summer) - Wanted the 2023/2024 with the new Sram T-type kit, the 9.9 version. But my local shop claimed Trek were impossible on price, cant do anything below msrp, and there was a 4 month lead time on delivery. So would still be waiting. Went with a s-works stumpy evo instead, $4500 off mspr, and it was one week delivery. Loving the stumpy, but cant get the trek out of my head still. Thinking about buying the frame kit and taking all the components from the stumpy, not sure yet tho.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

I just came from a 2018 stumpy expert 29'er loved that bike a ton. Congrats on the evo, I've heard they are legit!

@Doggepp

10 ай бұрын

@@bbkmtb Thank you! Yeah its nice so far! Not many trails around here, not many "mountains/hills" so only been really riding it at bikeparks, but so far its amazing.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

@@Doggepp That's awesome, cheers and shred hard

@MrSupermugen

9 ай бұрын

I had the Stumpy Evo expert... Recently got the fuel EX gen 6. Hands down the fuel is a better bike, Better leverage curve, better sorted with its Adjustability aswell - the sizing is all weird either, s4 to small, s5 to big for me. size large fuel, spot on.

@Doggepp

9 ай бұрын

@@MrSupermugen Im glad to hear you like it! But I couldnt swing the extra $5000~ they wanted for it at the other bike store. So went with the stumpy evo instead. Super happy with it also

Please upload more :)

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thanks, will do, more on the way!

@JamesM-T

10 ай бұрын

@@bbkmtb call me crazy, but I'm selling my dirtbike to get the hex blue alloy fuel ex 7 gen 6. super excited

I'd ditch those RSL bars. They are not pretty and honestly i like stems, nice stems set off a nice cockpit. (maybe im a traditionalist?). Plus not being able to mess with bar roll would be a drag. Also 820 is way way to wide. 780 probably would feel much better?

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thank you, and yeah I think this off season, that will be the goal is to sell them and swap out for a more traditional setup. The 820 is crazy haha. Cheers and thanks for the comment!

I'm coming from a 2016 Fuel EX (28.5 lbs). Starting to ride bigger stuff, bigger jumps, bigger chunk, so I'm looking for a bigger bike. Looking to ride Moab next summer. But I still like to climb fast. This is a bigger bike so it should weigh more, but it looks like 31 to 34 lbs. Ouch.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Right on! Have you ridden out at Moab before? It's legit! You're going to love it. Make sure to get out there before it gets too hot though, late April and May is perfect! Let me know the trails you're thinking of riding, Enchilada is amazing (I've got a vid on this channel about it) and Ahab is ssoooooo fun

@alfman7630

10 ай бұрын

@@bbkmtb Just starting to research the trails. Never been. Whole Enchilada is top of the list.

What frame size are you rocking at 6'2"? I hear Trek Ex frames can be tight.

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

I'm on a large, which has a 485 reach, which is actually pretty long. I came from a large 29 stumpjumper expert which was 445 on the reach. It honestly feels solid on the fuel, I haven't really minded the longer reach. I would definitely not get an XL at 6'2", L was the way

i have the trek fuel exe alloy Xt. Best tyres?

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

I've linked the tires I like using in the description, an assegai on the front and a minion dhf on the rear

I just bought one Fuel Ex 9.7 and did my second ride yesterday I also own a Giant Trance X Advance Pro 2 2021 I am still running adjustments on the Fuel Ex to get it to my full confort but first comparison fuel Ex appear to be lighter I felt less confident going down hill compared to the Giant but lest see after a few months riding it

@Robin887

Ай бұрын

Hi, Can I ask how its going after a month? :D I got big dilemma between new fuel and Trance X but alu not carbon. Which one could be better on flat terrain long chilly rides with peddaling and climbing? Best regards

How tall are you on the large.. debating on the ml or large myself

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

6’2” the bike has a long reach of 485m on the large, I would definitely size down before up on a bike like this

@jmerodgers

10 ай бұрын

At 5'9 i have the ML and its good. I however think bikes are sized way long these days. I like about a 450 reach. Anything longer feels stable as heck but not playful. My Slash is a M/L and feels about perfect, but its a longer bike and meant for more steep stuff so it works @ 460 reach. My E-Bike has a 450 reach, but is really slack and its honestly my favourite geo of the 3 bikes. Small so you can whip it around, slack so you dont go OTB. I did notice with the steeper seat angle that the Fuel Gen 6 is shorter saddle to bars, but most of the time when you are actively riding you are not sitting.. Its so personal, but id' say if in doubt size down.

I am with you. The looks of the bar is a turn-off. It would bother me looking at it

@bbkmtb

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! Yeah... I'm just not sold on them yet, nothing against the bars, they feel great, but I miss the traditional stem bar combo

Integrated bars on a bike with an adjustable head angle....makes no sense to me. I'm always reluctant with Trek's single pivot for climbing technical terrain.

No integration! The inability to adjust bar roll is death!

slash gen 5 better then this.