The guy in the post above who asked this “Would you consider it more ‘trail’ or ‘enduro’ as a general average?”
My reason for trading in the Rail for the EXe was the weight difference. I am old and have shoulder problems. Loading the Rail in and out of my truck was painful. My rides are not long so I was not using the full capacity of the battery or motor. I could get 100kms from a charge.
FWIW I deleted stuff that was going way off topic in my defending our crappy trails here versus JP's amazing trails. That was going off topic and I've fixed it. Apologies for the huge inconvenience of reading a handful of unrelated posts. Must have been quite a burden.
But it seems like what you're saying here is we aren't allowed to discuss the bikes' capabilities here in the Trek Fuel EXe Megathread(???). Not everyone has the ability to test ride, or people local with the bike to talk to about it. I sure didn't.
I think it's a mistake to immediately bin the Charger 3. It's not garbage it's just different, and it can be made 160mm with minimal expense, if that's the requirement. There are plenty of stellar reviews, and the complaints probably mostly come from impatient people who expect it to setup like the old Rockshox. I felt the same thing at first.
If you're not a confident cornerer then I would stick to the Assegai out of the maxxis range. The Assegai has intermediate knobs between the center knobs and side knobs. This avoids the horrible dead patch that a lot of front tires (DHF/DHR II I'm looking at you) have when there is a gap/channel between the center and side knobs.
Since they don't have demos, Trek told me that if I wanted to return it within a month, no problem.
Well sure, if what you're saying is demo the bike if you can, then of course, makes sense. I'm in full agreement.
. Hopefully you're just talking about the retail MTB market here being austere and well that is true. It's a lower population and very short of MTB demos in any sense. Generally we get rodgered by retailers in all markets in Australia relative to the rest of world. Only big US companies like Amazon and Apple have recently bought anything in the vein of good customer service in my experience.I was going to do this. Then I heard people say things like "4 hours". And so I didn't
That is useful insight in terms of your experience. Theoretically speaking however, wouldn't a 2.4in DHR II have its side knobs engage faster than a 2.5in Assegai? This is plain geometry given the DHR's smaller diameter. Assegai would probably still engage its intermediate knobs faster than a 2.4in DHR would engage its side knobs but it sounds surprising that this effect was so pronounced. I have ridden both Assegai and DHR II for about a year each and I cannot tell a difference in cornering. Plus, I've never experienced a washout with either tire. Not to mention Assegai would clog easier with a bit of mud, defeating its otherwise higher grip abilities.If you're not a confident cornerer then I would stick to the Assegai out of the maxxis range. The Assegai has intermediate knobs between the center knobs and side knobs. This avoids the horrible dead patch that a lot of front tires (DHF/DHR II I'm looking at you) have when there is a gap/channel between the center and side knobs.
Why would not all tires have intermediate knobs then?
It is all about peak grip when the bike is leaned over. In theory having a gap between the center and side knobs allows the side knobs to dig in better and will generate more peak grip. Whereas with intermediate knobs, both these and the side knobs dig in at the same time, but to a lesser extent, hence generating less peak grip.
What will you be able to notice when riding?
On a tire like a DHF/DHR II as you lean the bike in there is a dead patch in the grip that you need to get through quickly, then the grip really ramps up, but you have to aggressively roll the bike onto the side knobs to experience this. I've managed it a few times and ended up on the inside of the corner as the front has bit in so hard. The downside is if you don't roll the bike enough the front will wash (I actually suspect this might be part of the cause of Rob's washout in his review video) or you will experience a skittish sensation from the front as it wanders around. This can cause people to be timid when leaning the bike in to avoid the dead patch and thus never really ending up on the side knobs.
On a tire with intermediate knobs the grip will be predictable/stable across all lean angles, with the downside of less peak grip and slower rolling.
My take is that since making the switch from the DHF to the Assegai on the front my cornering has improved greatly from the confidence I now have in the front end. We aren't all world cup racers who can get the bike leaned over every time. The Assegai also works amazingly well in all conditions.
Regarding WT, I've run them on 27mm rims and they were fine.
If you do want something faster rolling the profile of the new Maxxis Forecaster looks good:
Review: Maxxis's New Forekaster Tire is Heavier & Better Than The Original - Pinkbike
The new Forekaster has turned into more of an all-round trail tire, and it's a good one.www.pinkbike.com
Maxxis said, "For any 2.60 size we recommend 35-40mm (rims) for best performance."
Just to throw in my 2c on the Minion/Assegai topic.
Same here. Pull, loctite, and torque out of the box, regardless of time of purchase. And if you do this kind of thIng yourself, be aware that you'll likely need some new (but inexpensive) tools if you haven't dealt with ISIS before.
The chain guide is not tight\narrow enough. Try using thicker washers to space out from frame a little more and then some mastic tape inside of it on the outboard side. Will solve the dropped chain issue.
If you're an experienced home mechanic, try greasing and tightening down by feel. Needs to be pretty darn tight.
Bought a 9.7 and only oem parts left are single-piece ring and cranks. That two piece spider is made by FSA (out of left field, right). Currently not for sale by FSA. Hopefully can get one through Trek when I burn through current ring. Would really like to run a wolf tooth stainless.
As a 210-215 pound aggressive rider, I wouldn't bother with that stock shock. If you're going to try it and willing to spend some money, consider a 205x65 Hazzard and pick up 2.5 and 5mm travel reducers when you purchase. Clip on and off in 2 seconds and inexpensive. If you are comfortable pushing the bushings out of the eyelets, you can use the fox hardware in the MRP.
