I did not realize I could up shift 2 gears at a time on my ex 8. Great to know because I was feeling I couldn't up shift fast enough coming from my Roscoe 8 with sram NX eagle shifter (very light shifter, easy to click very fast). Awesome!
@@TalalipopMTB probably would have taken me months to figure out. Glad you mentioned it in this thorough breakdown, thanks! Just went out and tried it and I can obviously rip through the gears much quicker. Thanks again.
Thanks for the comparison. Very informative. I have a Trek Marlin 5 that if you saw what I use it for you would think I'm insane. Definitely looking for a major upgrade to full suspension, most likely the Ex 8, but we'll see. I keep saying once I destroy the Marlin 5 I'll get one, but I'm not sure I can destroy it!! Either way, it will be sometime next year when I can snag a full suspension on sale. Thanks again.
Lol same here I’m surprised that my Marlin 5 has still held up nice with the abuse I’ve given it I definitely have taken it on trails it’s not built for lol
So… where does Giant and their Trance 29 and Trance X 29 land in comparison? Also, please do this video for every single company in existence. Polygon, Marin, Fezarri, Specilized… etc. PLEASE AND THANK YOU.
Thanks for this informative video. I have an Ex8 and my husband just bought an Ex7. I've been trying to talk him into buying one since I got mine LOL. I've upgraded my forks due to my light weight. I was wanting to confirm if swapping out the stock forks from my 8 to his 7 would be a good upgrade for him. After watching your video it sounds like it would be a good idea. Thanks again!
My Fuel EX 8 Gen 6 brand new from last week came with Shimano SLX 4 piston, 7120 breaks even though the specs on the web page say it supposed to come with he Deore 4 piston 6100.
Would you recommend to get the new EX 7 Gen 6 or the EX 8 Gen 5 from last year as they are so similar in price new and the 8 Gen 5 can be found for less. Great video and thanks for putting the price in pounds, it makes it loads easier to understand here in the UK.
One thing that has been overlooked by most reviewers is the huge increase in weight from the Gen 5 to the Gen 6 models. Per the Trek website, a Fuel EX 8 Gen 5 weighs in at 30.56 pounds. A Fuel EX 7 Gen 6 weighs in at 35.21 pounds. Thats a huge weight increase. Personally, I was looking at a Fuel EX 8 Gen 5 vs the Gen 6. Gen 6 weighs 4 pounds more then same Gen 5 bike and costs $400.00 USD more. I dont do downhill or enduro so I really did not need the slight extra squish the Gen 6 models provide . I bought the Fuel EX Gen 5 and I am very happy with it. Great all around trail bike to have fun on without lugging around another 4-5 pounds in weight. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the support! And that's a tough decision, like the other comment mentions, the new gen 6 is a lot heavier. From the reviews I've seen though, Trek adjusted the geometry well enough that the bike doesn't feel sluggish, and can still climb uphill well. If you value all the adjustability and bigger suspension or are riding a lot more downhill, the new one would be better, but otherwise the gen 5 is still a great bike on it's own.
currently have a Carrera Titan X, which I'm thinking of upgrading to a Fuel ex 5 or 7, leaning towards the 7 at the moment especially with the inbuilt storge which the titan lacks any ability to take anything (bottle cage pump etc)
are you sure that the fuel ex 5 using 54t engagement? as far as i know, the hub is not even the bontrager rapid drive hub with 3pawls 54t engagement and upgradable to 6pawls 108 engagement.🤔
Thanks for mentioning that! I had a feeling I messed that one up; I'll add a pinned comment to correct that. Trek isn't clear on what engagement it has but I'm pretty sure its a 30T hub.
I will probably go with the Ex 8 Gen 6... but not sure about the size... M versus M/L, I tried both in the shop... I'm 5'-7.75"... as per the sizing I'm in between... What do you suggest?
I’m pretty much the same height, and I ride a medium in almost all my mountain bikes. I think most people recommend sizing down if you are in between sizes since the bike will feel more manageable and maneuverable as opposed to larger.
Is the Gen5 upgradebale to have two chainrings in the front, by installing for example SHIMANO SLX FD-M7025 and convert to 2x12 (Gen6 has construction that probably does not allow) ?
Any tips on actually finding one of these bikes to buy? Not these exactly, but I've been looking for months to find a Fuel EX 9.8 XT Gen 5 (or even Gen 6 now) in small with no luck. My two local Trek stores haven't been much help...they just kind of shrug.
If you had the option to buy a fuel ex 5 gen 5 for $2000 or a fuel ex 7 gen 6 for $3000, would you make the upgrade. I have never had a real mtb before, only a 15+ year old trek fuel 70 which the frame broke on me. The trails near me are more xc focus but I still want to explore more downhill places and even some bike parks in the future and really don't want to buy more than one mtb. Any advice?
I’m a beginner but these bikes look amazing.. would it be overkill just to bike around town and pathways with this? I won’t be going down mountains or anything like that
That would be overkill for sure, but I understand liking the look of a bike enough to use it for a different purpose haha! These bikes can totally work for normal road riding and all that, but they’ll definitely be slower since they’re heavier and the bigger tires will slow you down, and the drivetrain isn’t geared for going fast on the road either though it’s going to fine every now and then. If you’re only riding short distances when you use it you can probably make it work, but it’s definitely not ideal for commuting or riding longer on the road / gravel
@@TalalipopMTB I appreciate the input! So I’m guessing a “hard tail” bike is what I’m supposed to be looking at? Just for casually biking around, and little dirt trails and whatever. I was thinking the extra suspension would make biking around longer comfortable that’s why I was considering a full suspension bike
@@zureai No problem! And yes a hardtail would be great for that purpose. The added suspension on the full-suspension bikes do make them more comfortable, but yeah you'll end up losing more energy and speed. I guess you could get a cross country style full suspension bike like the top fuel or supercaliber which would be lighter in weight and better for the road, but it's a lot of money to spend on a bike for that purpose.
@@TalalipopMTB Yeah that’s true. I was eyeing the cannondale bad boy and the specialized sirrus x 5.0 2023 with that weird frame haha. Only like those bikes for how they look
@@zureai The Sirrus x 5.0 is definitely a crazy looking bike hahaha, I do like that one. Cannondale's bad boy is cool because of the strange suspension, but otherwise seems like a pretty normal hybrid/commuter bike to me personally
35 is better than recon, recon only has 32mm stanchions while rockshox 35 has 35mm stanchions which helps with stiffness. Also the recon usually comes with the solo air spring while the 35 has a better debonair spring, although they both have the same damper (motion control)
After breaking two Trek carbon frames within 45 days of each other, they kindly asked me to stop riding their OCLV bikes... my Pivot feels like 100x the bike my Fuel was.
