It's new bike day! Join me as I take my new Trek X-Caliber 9 out for its first spin and give you my initial thoughts of the bike. 📍 Tuggeranong Pines Sweet threads 💁♀️ pcisports.com.au/ Insta 📸 / Facey 👩💼 /
Liz Nice bike , I smash full sus bikes with my Excalibur 8 on the right trail it’s fast and light but yes when it get rough on trail - wrong bike. I gave Excalibur to my niece and really miss how nimble they can be to steer as well as fast to accelerate and can go. Her first outing ( beginner ) on the bike was the Thredbo valley trail and I had to go hard with my new fuel ex to stay with her…. Hope you have lots of fun with you new bike
I was definitely pushing its limits! And will be sticking with my Stumpy for Tuggeranong Pines from now on… But I am so happy with it! It is going to be so perfect for all the adventures I’m planning.
Bike looks awesome. Nice to see someone actually riding it rather than just talking about specs. Haven't ridden a mountain bike in quite a few years and never really gone off-road that much, but keen to get something and have a go. Struggling to find the X-Caliber 9 in stock. I can see the 8 available, but that blue is hard to go past and it has some nice upgrades. Probably overkill for me, but wouldn't see me replacing it anytime soon. Very different to my Giant Cross City 0 (2018 I think with Deore). Did you consider the X-Caliber 8 instead of this?
Welcome to the MTB community! I chose the X-Caliber 9 because it is really good value for the parts over the other XC hardtails on the market in that price range. There were none in stock when I chose mine, I went into my local Trek store and pre-ordered as they have a really good pre-order system with fortnightly status updates, and I’d get my deposit back if I didn’t like it in store when it arrived. Good luck and all the best with your MTB Adventure!
@@Lizzie_MTB after finally test riding the X-Caliber 9 in a ML, I couldn't resist and ordered one in L (road the 8 in L and think it felt like a better fit). I picked it up a couple of days ago and I love it. Not too much off-road riding close by, but found a tiny bit for some fun 😎 Looking forward to some adventures on it soon.
That depends on so many other factors! It’s not just overall height but her reach and clearance too as well as her experience and riding style. I’m 166cm and have all my bikes in Medium 29”. However my first bike was a small 27.5” and was perfect for learning. I’ve also got many female friends who aren’t fans of 29ers and stick to 27.5” or mullets and smaller bikes. I never buy a bike without sitting on it first to make sure the geometry is just right for me. So maybe surprise her by taking her on a date to the bike shop?
I don’t race XC… too much pedalling for me 😂. So I’m probably not the best person to ask. I’m enjoying riding it at a more leisurely pace and it’s good value for money, but… depending on the tracks you’re planning on racing there are lighter and dual suspension XC race bikes on the market.
That’s totally up to you… the X-Calibre is an XC hardtail where the Roscoe is set up to be more a trail bike. All depends on your preference, trails and style of riding. I went for the X-Calibre as I am looking to take it on bike-packing trips so wanted the extra pedal efficiency it offered. Happy bike shopping!
I know you’ve had the Trek for a little while now, I also have and have just swapped out the bar and stem for a 40mm stem and 760mm 30mm rise bars and it rides so much better, maybe loosing a little bit of efficiency (although still logging and fast tyres) but it’s a super fast singletrack bike now and feels comfortable on small jumps and drops.
Glad you’re enjoying your bike! I’ve switched my bars out now too for a little more rise which has been awesome. Haven’t switched the stem though. I got a new saddle (fitted) too which is the bomb!
I've been riding my fathom hardtail on mostly fire roads all of which look much rougher rooty and rocks, loose sand etc. I have been thinking of full since there are trails I won't even do on a hardtail, I only wish I had singletrack that smooth.
@@Lizzie_MTB I don't get why they haven't fixed depth perception with cameras, that why I hate action cams most of the time they actually don't show how it really looks. Them you show the clip to a friend and he wonders why you are struggling with a 10 degree downhill when in person it's really a 50 degree incline.
Have you taken the X-Caliber 9 bike packing yet? I ride a Trek Fuel EX 8 and am looking to get a second bike for light trails and bike packing/touring, so I'm considering the X-Caliber 9. Is it significantly faster, especially on the climbs, than your Stumpy? It would be great to hear your thoughts on all this, and the bike in general, now that you've had it a while! Thanks!
I absolutely love the Trek X-Calibre! And yes, it climbs brilliantly and is way more efficient than my stumpy - I always get surprised when I switch between the two bikes how different they are. I'm slowly collecting all my gear for bike packing and making small tweaks to the bike (I've switched to higher rise handlebars and a new fitted seat to make those long rides more comfortable. I'm trying to go ultra light so taking me some time to get my whole kit together. I've done some pseudo test rides with consecutive long days but no camping yet and can't wait to get out and explore more on my bike.
Thank you so much for your reply! Which handlebars did you get? I look forward to seeing your whole kit once it's all together! I'm still considering the X-Cal 9 and have one more question. How much faster is it on flat ground as compared to the Stumpjumper? I'm trying to gather information on the bike because there are no bike stores where I live that sell the bike so I can't test ride it. I have to buy it first and then ride it Thanks so much!@@Lizzie_MTB
Being a hardtail, having faster rolling XC tyres and being lighter than my stumpy, it is much quicker and more efficient when pedalling - it’s a noticeable difference! I had spare 27mm rise bars lying around so switched to those. I’d been having some back pain and switching the bars took that away. I went and got fitted for a saddle at a bike shop, as the one that came with the bike was excruciating for my seat bones. Hope this helps in your bike search! I couldn’t test ride my bike either as had to preorder it via Trek which is nerve racking but for me this bike is everything I hopes and dreamed for it to be ☺️
Yes, your reply helps - thank you! One of my concerns was the geometry putting me in a more forward leaning position and causing back pain, which you actually mentioned! Is the geometry significantly less upright? Also, did you swap out the pedals? I'm sorry for so many questions - you're the first person I've come across wanting to do the same type of riding on the same bike! @@Lizzie_MTB
With the higher rise bar the geometry of the medium is perfect for me (I’m 166cm tall if that helps). Mountain bikes don’t usually come with pedals (except for plastic ones), so I put a pair of my favourite pedals by Jet Black on (I ride flats). And all good on the questions, happy to help ☺️
Cool vid but as you say, the bike isn't designed for chunky trails? Seems a bit unfair to criticise it for not rocking those so well as a downhill bike. It's an XC fast bike I think?
I find the best way to test a bike is to find its limits! I didn’t buy it for those types of trails but was a great way to find out what it can and can’t do and thought it would be good to share that side of things for others getting into MTB. You might like my latest vid better, where I ride the types of trails it’s designed for 🤘
I think the bike is very good value for the parts. Here it is $2,599.99AUD and I’ve ridden many more kms on XC single track and fire roads since making this vid and think it’s fantastic! It all depends on the type of riding you’re planning. Have fun bike shopping!
@@Lizzie_MTB I'm honestly really stuck between 2 different bikes haha I keep flipping between the 2! I'm looking at this Trek X-Caliber 9 2022 and the Whyte 805 V4 2022. The Whyte is a trail style hardtail. The Whyte is about £1050 and the Trek is about £1290, I can't decide if it's worth upgrading to it haha
That’s a tough one! I don’t know much about the Whyte or your home trails so can’t help you there. I have no regrets with my X Caliber though, it has been perfect for the trails and purposes I bought it for 👌
@@Lizzie_MTB Yeah It was stressing me out in the end 😂 but eventually I decided on the Whyte 805! It's a trail style hardtail, 27.5inch rims, 11 speed 11-51t Deore instead of the XT on this Trek, but also like £250 cheaper, 110 front and 148 rear boost as well, dropper post pre installed, it's coming in 2 days! This will be my first bike since I was about 14 years old haha so it's been some time since I've ridden, my local trails are mostly long windy ones, I haven't seen many super tight crazy ones before.
