Yeti MTe vs Trek Fuel+ EX

shenzi105

shenzi105

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Both looking very good for an SL with good ride reports, both with the TQ, but both pricey for the standard specs they offer in their cable shifting options (Eagle 90).
Any thoughts of which one you’d go for, and f you were late 50, 195lbs and a very decent rider?
 
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Heart says Yeti as they’ve done something special with that Sixfinity suspension, wallet says Trek as you get way more bang for your buck.

Propain Sresh SL might be the best of both worlds though…
 
If "I" was buying one of those right now it would be the Trek. Price, adjustability, reputation, warranty, etc. Yeti is going to get the hipster vote though if that's your thing, it gets more "cool" points then riding a large brand like Trek lol
 
I too have narrowed my short list to include those two as well. There is no denying Trek value and customization, and Yeti panache.
One way I'm looking at it is that I could get a Fuel+ EX or MX, with an additional/alternate sized back wheel, and battery ,and range extender, for the price of the Yeti when comparably spec'd.
But it'll still never be as cool as a Yeti :rolleyes:
 
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Noclutch said:
I too have narrowed my short list to include those two as well. There is no denying Trek value and customization, and Yeti panache.
One way I'm looking at it is that I could get an EX or MX, with an additional/alternate sized back wheel, and battery ,and range extender, for the price of the Yeti when comparably spec'd.
But it'll still never be as cool as a Yeti :rolleyes:
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True but looking at the EX Carbon 9.8 Eagle 90 vs the C2 90 MTe, price is the same for basically the same specs, but of course no option to customize the Yeti as much as the Trek, at a cost. There two are pretty expensive for bikes without electronic shifting. And the Fuel+ EX and LX have pricier base models.

hard to chose. Might end up being decided by which one is easier to finance lol
 
I was going to buy the Trek recently but supply was limited at that point. It does a lot of things really well, and the modularity of it also really appealed.

The only thing that stopped me was a geometry preferences. I’m on the long chainstay train now, possibly even more so on an Eeb so I started to have a look what else I could get with the TQ motor.

I ended up with the MTe. I’ve got a post elsewhere on here about it & everything
I wrote still applies, it’s a really, really good bike.

My experience with Yeti in the past hasn’t been good, so will see how this goes. I managed to get mine at approximately 50% of retail, sold a load of bits off it & swapped the parts off my pedal bike, so it really doesn’t owe me much money at all & ended up costing me less that even the 9.7 Fuel at trade.

That’s said, as a ‘normal’ paying customer, I’d find it hard to justify the Yeti, it’s only I got offered a ridiculous deal I ended up on it. If it was retail, I could nearly buy 3 Fuel+’s for the price of the Yeti 🤦‍♂️
 
Hob Nob said:
.

That’s said, as a ‘normal’ paying customer, I’d find it hard to justify the Yeti, it’s only I got offered a ridiculous deal I ended up on it. If it was retail, I could nearly buy 3 Fuel+’s for the price of the Yeti 🤦‍♂️
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😲
 
I have the Trek Fuel Exe so not exactly the bike you are looking at but very close. I also have owned Yeti analog bikes in the past and this would indeed be a rough decision. Given that this is an eBike selection, I would consider support and service. In the US at least it is much easier getting support for trek than Yeti. I had great service fro Trek when I had issues with the motor or the frame on my early Fuel EXe.
 
shenzi105 said:
Both looking very good for an SL with good ride reports, both with the TQ, but both pricey for the standard specs they offer in their cable shifting options (Eagle 90).
Any thoughts of which one you’d go for, and f you were late 50, 195lbs and a very decent rider?
Click to expand...
I chose the Fuel+ EX. Mainly because my shop is a Trek Dealer and I got a better deal on it than a comparatively speced MTe. The bike is awesome. My non-powered MTB is a Yeti SB4.5. It is a fun bike but my Fuel+ is much more plush on the rough stuff. The motor is silent except when really pushed on a climb and even then I can barely hear it. The power delivery seems so natural. I just need to keep my cadence relatively high and the motor delivers. I still get a great workout riding it, especially when riding with my buddies on full powered Rails. My longest ride was 30 miles with 4200' of climbing (90% of the time in the highest power level) and I still had 13% battery remaining. I am sure you will be blown away by either bike, but I cannot imagine the MTe rides and handles much better then the Fuel+.
 
Keef said:
I chose the Fuel+ EX. Mainly because my shop is a Trek Dealer and I got a better deal on it than a comparatively speced MTe. The bike is awesome. My non-powered MTB is a Yeti SB4.5. It is a fun bike but my Fuel+ is much more plush on the rough stuff. The motor is silent except when really pushed on a climb and even then I can barely hear it. The power delivery seems so natural. I just need to keep my cadence relatively high and the motor delivers. I still get a great workout riding it, especially when riding with my buddies on full powered Rails. My longest ride was 30 miles with 4200' of climbing (90% of the time in the highest power level) and I still had 13% battery remaining. I am sure you will be blown away by either bike, but I cannot imagine the MTe rides and handles much better then the Fuel+.
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I agree. The Fuel Exe is very much bullet proof for me! I have the 9.8XT with Rockshox suspension and I was very positively surprised. I prefer it over Fox factory which I have on my stumpy. All components are really solid. One thing I did was to remove the thick rim tape on the carbon wheels. Using regular much thinner tape makes it so much easier to get tires on.
 
Mine is technically Fuel+ EX 9.8 XT Di2 Gen 2. It comes with Fox Factory fork & shock. I am sure the Rockshox version (with Sram Transmission) is awesome as well, but I have no complaints with my choice.
 
You ever end up with one of these? I have narrowed it down to these two as well. The Yeti is definitely way cooler and are local to me. The Trek is probably slightly cheaper but not enough to matter. Both have great reviews. The Trek may be a bit more easy to pop off features but while the Yeti is more planted, I hear the rear suspension is really nice. I am not sure so am holding off.
 
shenzi105 said:
Both looking very good for an SL with good ride reports, both with the TQ, but both pricey for the standard specs they offer in their cable shifting options (Eagle 90).
Any thoughts of which one you’d go for, and f you were late 50, 195lbs and a very decent rider?
Click to expand...
I am super happy with my Fuel+ EX. I considered the Yeti but got the Trek for a better price with similar spec. No regrets.
 
I can add a bit of context to this now, as earlier this year we had our bikes stolen & included in that was our MTe.

With supply of the Treks now good, and courtesy of some very nice contacts, I got a substantially discounted Fuel+ to replace the Yeti. I always wanted another mid power bike as to me, that’s replacing everything other than my XC bike these days, so it was a bit of a no brainer.

Spec is a bit fancier than my old T3 build so it’s a bit lighter, and so far, so good. The ABP system is still one of my favourites to ride, doesn’t do anything weird & is a nice balanced ride. It’s not as gooey as the Yeti in its stock EX build, but the adaptability of the Fuel gives it a big positive. I would also say the integration of the battery & motor on the Fuel is a significant step up from the Yeti. You can genuinely hot swap batteries on the Fuel in 30 seconds if you wanted to, the Yeti, no chance.

Much like I said before with the MTe, if I was only able to have one bike, this, or the MTe would still be it - they are both some of the best riding bikes I’ve been on regardless of motor or no motor, half fat, full fat, whatever. You will have a great time on either.
 
Great information, Hob Nob. I did not realize that the battery swap was so much easier on the Trek.
 
F4Flyer said:
You ever end up with one of these? I have narrowed it down to these two as well. The Yeti is definitely way cooler and are local to me. The Trek is probably slightly cheaper but not enough to matter. Both have great reviews. The Trek may be a bit more easy to pop off features but while the Yeti is more planted, I hear the rear suspension is really nice. I am not sure so am holding off.
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Stop by the Yeti HQ for a demo ride! Only $40. I demo'd a MTe today actually, so just came to this thread to discuss.

I would love to test ride a Fuel+ for comparison. The HPR60 motor is mostly great, it takes some adjustment to use higher cadence pedaling over technical sections but the battery life and assist are incredible.

As far as the MTe goes, I wasn't entirely satisfied with the suspension setup. Rear end was really harsh when landing to flat, and a couple times I felt the rear slide out. The guy at the Yeti HQ was really friendly and pointed out a few ways that we could have adjusted suspension based on that, but did mention that Yeti goes for a race-oriented tune which can feel harsh.
 
That makes sense with the MTe. The LTe is more plush tuned, I hear. Glad you got to ride one and I truly appreciate this feedback! I will have to ride the Trek as well.
 
I have owned several Yetis over the years. The older versions were a bit more plush in the sense that they were all about the same...Titus, Yeti, Turner, Ventana, etc....all in the 4-5 inch travel range. When Yeti started using the Switch Infinity, they (IMO) become more firm feeling and efficient than many others. To a degree, DW Link bikes are like that as well. The ABP used by Trek will be a bit more plush. I have a Trek Top Fuel and it is definitely more plush feeling and more planted feeling than my Ibis Ripley. If you see the Yeti guys ride, a lot of them are racers and they stand and climb a lot. I have ridden with them in the past and almost every one of them just stands to climb (and they are hellishly fast). The rear suspension has to be very supporting and ore firm for that. I think their longer travel bikes are tuned differently though.
 
F4Flyer said:
I have owned several Yetis over the years. The older versions were a bit more plush in the sense that they were all about the same...Titus, Yeti, Turner, Ventana, etc....all in the 4-5 inch travel range. When Yeti started using the Switch Infinity, they (IMO) become more firm feeling and efficient than many others. To a degree, DW Link bikes are like that as well. The ABP used by Trek will be a bit more plush. I have a Trek Top Fuel and it is definitely more plush feeling and more planted feeling than my Ibis Ripley. If you see the Yeti guys ride, a lot of them are racers and they stand and climb a lot. I have ridden with them in the past and almost every one of them just stands to climb (and they are hellishly fast). The rear suspension has to be very supporting and ore firm for that. I think their longer travel bikes are tuned differently though.
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Very interesting. I've test ridden a lot of bikes but never tried a Yeti till now. I am a big fan of DW-link and recently, Mondraker's Zero suspension. I completely agree about long travel and e-bike tuning is different too. I am seriously looking at the Trek Fuel+ right now...just can't find a way to actually test ride it. One of the reasons I really liked DW-link is how it climbs. Too bad the new Oso TR won't be available for a few months at least.
 
Yetis generally climb really well. I have a Ripmo also. It is a climber. I’m not as picky with eMTBs but I definitely don’t want it overly plush. I do not like that unless it is a supportive platform on climbs.
 
Random but has anyone heard of upcoming updates to the MTE builds? Another thread talked about updates for the LTE, so wondering about the MTE as I’m about to pull the trigger on purchasing one!
 
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