OK, so far Trek’s put their longer travel “trail” bikes into very specific wheel size categories for 2017. We saw the Fuel EX go to mostly 29ers with the capability to run 27.5+ also, the Remedy move strictly to 27.5″, and now the Slash goes 29er only. Both the Slash and Remedy work with 150mm rear wheel travel, but they now go about it in different ways.
The Remedy keeps Trek’s very plush Full Floater design, which puts the lower shock mount on the chainstays in front of a main pivot. The result is an incredibly supple rear suspension regardless of travel, something we’ve especially liked on the shorter travel Top Fuel in the past. The new Slash, however, switches back to a fixed lower shock mount. And it’s made for big wheels…
All 2017 Slash models use 29” wheels with Boost110 & Boost148 hub spacing, and they’re launching with carbon frames only in October. Rear travel drops 10mm to 150mm since it’s getting bigger wheels than before, paired with adjustable travel forks that start at 160mm and drop down to 130mm for climbing.
Like the Fuel EX & Remedy, Slash gets a Straight Shot downtube with their Knock Block headset to keep the handlebar from swinging around and smacking the frame.
Control Freak cable routing runs everything through the front triangle to keep it clean.
In order to fit the larger wheels, long travel and be able to bring it all to bear in a size small frame, Trek had to ditch the Full Floater system. Fortunately, they do say that suspension technology has gotten much better since the years when FF was introduced, so you’re not losing performance. The bike is designed around the new Metric shock designs, too, which usually allow for a little more stroke and/or air volume. Putting the lower shock mount on the frame gave them more room for a more capable shock, too.
It does keep their ABP concentric rear axle pivot at the back, and it gets their Mino Link to let you adjust the geometry. The high (steeper) position sets the head angle at 65.6º, and the low brings it down half a degree to 65.1º. Bottom bracket and seat angle also drop a bit in the low setting, but the bike will ship with it in the high setting.
The move to Boost spacing opened up the rear end enough to accommodate massive 29 x 2.6 tires, but they do not recommend trying to run it as a 27.5+ bike…it’s designed specifically to run as a 29er.
Two versions will be offered. In red is the Race Shop Limited (RSL) and gets additional suspension adjustments, a Rapid Drive rear hub, and the new SRAM X01 Eagle 1×12 drivetrain.
The Slash 9.8 comes in black (this one’s a rendering, just ignore that front derailleur mount…the bikes are designed for 1x chainsets only) and gets SRAM X1, Rockshox Lyrik RC fork and Super Deluxe RC3 shock, Bontrager Line Comp wheels and 29×2.4 Bontrager tires.
A frameset is also available and includes Fox Factory Float X2 shock, Knock Block headset, and Line Pro 35mm stem. Sizes are 15.5, 17.5, 19.5, and 21.5. All three are available in October.
