While we were in Mayrhofen, Trek surprised us yet again with the elimination of the Scratch Air. In its place, you can now find the totally new from the ground up, Trek Slash. Aimed squarely at the All mountin/Enduro DH market, the Slash is built exclusively for big events like the Megavalanch that require a bike with nearly full DH capabilities, but still must be light enough to ride uphill. In fact, the guy you see charging on a Slash above is Rene Wildhaber who just took third place in this year’s Mega. Between Rene, Ross Schnell, Andrew Shandro, and other amazing riders, Trek had a deep talent pool to look to for guidance in the new bike. Which at first glance, certainly looks like a winner.
See the full bike after the break!
A few years back, the Remedy went from a 160mm travel bike down to a 150mm platform, which left a lot of people wishing for a slacker build. In 2012, the Remedy is indeed slacker, but still 150mm and aimed more at the technical trail market, rather than the enduro segment. With the Remedy as capable as it is, many riders found themselves riding past what the Remedy was really intended for, still wanting a little bit more. The Scratch air was a step in the right direction, but still slightly on the large size for enduro events. Which is exactly why Trek settled on the 160mm Slash.
Based around a 66° head angle, the Slash looks to be a very potent DH weapon that can still climb with the best of them. Like the Session (and the Remedy!), the Slash features the Mino Link to allow for two geometry settings, and has an Angleset compatible head tube for even more adjustment.
Feature wise, the Slash reads like most of the Trek mountain bikes these days: ABP, 142×12 rear, 20mm front thru axles,Full Floater, Evo link, E2 tapered head tube, internally routed front derailleur cable, aluminum armor, and of course the DRCV rear shock. New for this year, the DRCV shocks on the high end bikes get a new RP3 damping unit with 3 distinct settings: Climb, Ride, and Descend. The reasoning for the new system was to remove the difficulty of adjusting an RP23 while you are riding, giving you three stock settings that are in the same detented place. Descend mode is of course completely off, whereas Ride is a mid level compression damping, and Climb is fully on.
The Slash will initially be offered only in aluminum with 3 models, the Slash 7,8, and 9, with 9 being the top end. All Slash models will be Rock Shox Reverb stealth compatible, and the 8, and 9 will actually come with them stock. Also stock on at least the Slash 9, will be the Sram XO double chainguide to keep the chain in place while you are blasting down the mountain. Slash 7, and 8 are pictured with chainguides, but initial spec isn’t clear.
We should have much more on this bike, including weight and pricing after Trek World US, so stay tuned!
