In 2016, the Remedy got a major update, making it Trek’s go-to enduro bike for 27.5″ wheel enthusiasts (if you want a 29er, check out the Slash). With that iteration, it went to 150mm travel and dropped the 29er option, but otherwise looked similar to the prior version, which was updated in 2015 with Boost spacing. Now, it gets a slightly different suspension layout to simplify the rear end, make it stiffer, and work with more modern components, but overall is more of an update than a complete remake. Here’s the details…
The most noticeable functional difference is the move away from their Full Floater suspension, switching to a fixed lower shock mount. Interestingly, Trek says this makes the bike more sensitive to small bumps, but that’s likely coming from improvements in the air shocks they’re spec’ing. We always liked the sensitivity that a floating rear shock provided, so the real benefit probably comes in improved mid-stroke support. Considering the intended use of a 150mm bike these days, that’s probably the bigger concern. Here’s Trek’s explanation:
“We developed Full Floater years ago to address performance and tuning constraints associated with the air shocks that were available at that time. In recent years, air shocks have improved dramatically. More responsive dampers, along with more refined air springs like DebonAir, offer the tuning ability and performance benefits our engineers originally sought to achieve with Full Floater.
“Now that we have better air shocks, we can use a fixed lower shock mount to address other constraints. The fixed mount opens up the lower frame area, giving us more opportunity to design a stronger, stiffer frame and chainstays. This also gives us more flexibility to accommodate larger, more capable shocks. All of these effects are experienced most dramatically on long travel bikes, like Remedy and Slash.”
The shocks are also now using their Thru Shaft design, which replaces the typical IFP design with, um, a thru shaft. Trek says the frame is 5% stiffer, and it drops 100g over the prior model.
Their MINO link lets you adjust the geometry…check the chart at bottom of this post for all the numbers.
Drivetrains are now all Eagle, all the time. Hope you like SRAM. Max chainring size is 36 tooth, and it’s designed only for 1x drivetrains. Up front, you’ll have the choice of the latest Rockshox Lyrik on the Remedy 9.8, 9.7 and 8. The top of the line 9.9 gets a Fox 36 Performance fork. Max fork length is 562mm Axle-to-Crown, which is about a 170mm fork, but the bikes will ship with a 160mm fork on all models…up from the stock 150mm fork that came on the regular Remedies from before.
The seat tube gets a little steeper to help you climb more efficiently. And it allows for 10mm more post insertion, which lets you run longer dropper posts. The medium and larger frames (18.5″ and up) can now fit a 150mm dropper.
You can also go bigger on the tires. The bikes will come stock with a meaty 27.5×2.6 set of rubber, but it’ll clear up to 2.8″ tires.
Other features include their Knock Block headset which, coupled with a rubber bumper on the bottom of the downtube, prevents anything from swinging around and damaging the frame. There’s also a downtube protector and chainstay guard. Another cool update is the addition of mounts on the underside of the top tube, letting you fit a Wolftooth Components B-Rad accessory or similar.
And the women’s models? They’re the men’s models. Or, more accurately, there’s simply a Remedy, consider it unisex. Each model will come in two colors, and anyone can upgrade their cockpit as need to change the fit. There’s a 15.5″ extra small bike for shorter riders.
The bikes will come in carbon ($3,999 to $6,999) and alloy ($3,299 to $3,799) models, with a frameset available in each, too. Availability ranges from in stores now through October, depending on model. Full pricing and specs on their website.
