@Jeff, After owning this bike for the last 2 months and trying out the Thru shaft shock that came with it, a Super Deluxe I bought used as a backup shock in case the thru shaft takes a dump, and an X2 loaner from a buddy's Remedy (while my buddy tried my thru shaft shock for a week), we've come to the conclusion that the Thru shaft feels best for 95% of the trail situations we ride. Small and medium hits feel better than the X2 although for For Larger drops or bigger hits, the X2 feels more composed. Big hits on the thrushaft was about the same as the superdeluxe in my opinion. Neither have Low or High speed compression settings. Climbing however, I feel the Thrushaft has more of a pedalling platform than the others when set to open. On full lockout they are the same but the Thrushaft can still go through all its travel in lockout mode when there's impact which is good to have in times you forget to open up the shock. I will try adding a volume spacer to the thrushaft shock for a bit better progression at the end of the stroke later on when the local bike park re-opens after the winter. Since you had a defective shock from day one, you probably never felt what a working thrushaft shock feels like (at the time of this video). It it way superior to the Super Deluxe and in some ways to the X2. Depends on your riding style, preferences and terrain. By the way, if you decide to get a different shock, I would suggest you look into getting a 230x60 shock rather than 230x57.5. A few guys on the Slash forums are getting away with long stroking it for an extra 5-6mm of rear wheel travel. This last 5-6mm is probably more useful for a coil shock where you can use that extra progression at the end. For folks with a small 15.5" frame, and short legs, the wheel may hit the seatpost but for most it should clear!!
Hey Michael I can say this. The Thru shaft (TS) shock does "feel" better at times. In a way, with the regressive valving alone it reminds me of an old Curnette (sp?) shock. It sort of "releases" in a way other shocks don't on medium/bigger hits. However, I don't think this is due to the IFP/TS situation but the valving. Moving on, I also am not convinced that "feels better" and "faster" are the same thing. Far from it in my experience. Finally, there are so many variables in this. Volume spacers. Valving. Trail conditions. How many beers you had the night before ;), how you slept etc that I really struggle to isolate what is doing what without extensive testing In any case, thanks for your thoughts man! Happy 2018!
Awesome review!!! Short, precise, expert knowledge and most of all, very honest. I also really enjoyed your other vids! Looking forward for more content and subscribed immediately.
I had a chance to demo the 9.7. Liked it a lot. Just heavy 31.7 with pedals. So I'm thinking my build will be around 29xxx. So I'll be happy with that I think. Thx again for the vid!!
I felt that it made me better immediately, and couldn't really fault the climbing ability at all. I felt less tired climbing on this bike. The only complaint I can come up with is my bank account is much emptier now.
Same frame! Its a brawler of a bike and I'd say you are lucky if you have the terrain to actually put it in its element. One of few bikes that made me realize I was the limiting factor in everyway to how I was descending regardless of terrain, not the bike.
I've got about a month on my 9.8 as well. Blew up the shock on the first descent, which was a huge bummer. I was also impressed with the GRIP fork, but I was surprised to find it was not the performance elite with the fit4 damper, given that the bike has house branded (excellent) bars, stem, wheels, dropper, grips, and saddle. Also, I developed a BB creak after a mere 75 miles of riding. The rear brake hose routing through the chainstay is absolute trash, and the knockblock solves a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place. The bike and chassis are definitely superb, but the value is a bit lacking. I think the Thru-Shaft shock has potential, but durability issues must be super widespread. I have a Remedy 9.8 in the mail, and that shock will see some torture as well.
Sounds like we have similar thoughts. Thanks for chiming in Grant. Hearing the RS thru shaft problems (I hate having to spell wrong for branding reasons btw) are due to a manufacturing issue (seal is getting compromised during install). This would make sense. Having been a part of the Trek prototyping process in the past (as a tester) I know first hand they go out of their way to suss out durability issues while something is on the drawing board per-say. This would mean shocks assembled with care in California/Colorado were likely fine. Shocks assembled in China have a problem during the assembly process. Also hearing the Fox shocks on the Remedy are fine. Point is, engineering wise it seems the product is okay, just not on the execution side. Which brings me back to the first point - unless its fixing a known problem why do it?!
Jeff Brines With my 2019 9.8 Slash, there has been no issues with the thru shaft shock. I have added spacers to it to make it more progressive but the bugs you guys suffered are gone. The rear is a good supportive pedal platform even when wide open. The 2019 GRIP 36 Fork is improved but I had to get a lower leg service on mine new as the seals had half dried up and the fork was sticking well through the upper part of its travel. I also added another spacer there and lowered PSI to get 30% sag. The actual STA is not too bad but I pushed the saddle forward a little through the seat post clamp and also tilt it nose down a little for hill climbing. It pedals well and steep climbs you can tractor up with enough patience and fitness. The front stays relatively planted and rear traction is good with the Botranger SE4 tyre. I run a XR5 2.6 up front though, good grip, maybe not as durable as the SE4 it replaced up front but I feel most impacts will be on the rear so no issue. Getting the weight forward on the descent as you mentioned is true and will bring a planted front end regardless of the steepness of descent. Something which took me a bit to come to terms with after my 2014 XC hardtail which would have me hanging off the rear to stop from being thrown OTB's. Done some DH track riding on the Slash and it is fun. Still need to build confidence on the chunder sections to let her go but getting there.
Knock block improves stiffness and strength without weight gain. And all dropper posts have a small amount of play. Just use the headset that came with the bike and don't worry about the seatpost, a little play doesn't take away from performance.
Good Morning. I had seen your video before buying my Trek Slash 9.7 2018, now that I have it, I have some doubts about the buffer, it reads well (although I find it difficult to move at first), the best example I can give is, that all my friends think it is blocked and after all this is in the open mode, good on the pedal part, but I find it very hard at the end of the course, I notice this mainly in big jumps, use 180 psi with 5 rebound out, supposed to use 190 psi, according to the trek's website. One problem i have is with the rebound button, whenever mode (open, climb) the rebound has tendency to close, slower. The rebound also seems to me that it is never in the right place or it is too much or too little. What I want with this is to know if there is any malfunction of the damper. Thank you.
Have you tried specialized Enduro 29? I'm trying to decide between these two. Enduro uses normal shock, no knock block, has steeper seat angle and swat system. I think pricing is also better on elite model. Not sure if their seat post is any better.
more or less ended with the same thoughts during the period I tested the same bike. To me the most noticeable downside during uphill sections is the lifting of the front wheel when it's steep, didn't bother the weight or the seat angle (I come from giant bikes which are inclined back). Think the knock block thing it's supposed to work with it's stem so if you change... Very good wheels and good tires, not so good dropper. it's a shame a few sizes are missing
Can you make any comparisons to the 2018 Intense Carbine 29? I recently demoed one and was blown away by how happy it was to get rowdy going downhill. The suspension was also happy to efficiently slog away on some long fire road climbs, but I couldn't come to terms with the slack seat tube angle; with the seat all the way forward on the rails, the nose of the saddle is about 3" behind the BB - it just didn't work for me.
Its a similar situation whereby the seat angle is very slack but because it does not actually start at the BB, its effectively much steeper. How much steeper will depend on your actual saddle height. As much as steep seat tube angles are in vogue, I'm a bit against going too far down that path as my pedal stroke is a more "power" stroke than a "spinner" stroke. As you'll note in the road world, those that generally turn a slower cadence appreciate a more relaxed STA. The Slash is tolerable for me, without a doubt. As far as comparing it to the Carbine, I cannot say as I don't have any time on that bike. So in the words of Walter, one could tell me... "Donny you are out of your element..."
Thanks for the reply. I suppose I have more of a spinning pedal stroke - preferring to generally keep the cadence up as along as I'm seated. On my current bike (Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol) I've found my sweet spot with the nose of the saddle just about over the crank spindle. I suspect that my history of back injuries may be a contributing factor to this preferred position - the need to close up the hip angle that accompanies a more rearward saddle position just isn't comfortable for me.
Absolutely - it is personal preference for sure - among other things. I do believe that Intense has gone too far when it comes to STA - but that's me. Keep an eye on Transition's new Sentinel - it may be your best bet.
Hey Jeff how about a review of your Rip9? Do you think installing a -2 angleset be good enough to transform that bike to make it able to run with the big boys?
Sure. I'll perhaps do that next. The RIP9 was a close-but-not-quiet bike, even with head angle modification (which was honestly not the big concern for me). The biggest problem with the RIP is chassis layup. Its the softest bike I have ridden in years. A lot of flex and vibration transmitted through the chassis. I had a short amount of time on the alloy one, and that bike is great. So its one of those cases where if you can nab the alloy one, and maybe throw a -1 or -1.5 headset into it you'll have a good bike.
Interesting. So the carbon version is flexier and has less vibration damping than the alloy one? Will definitely give it a view if you ever come around to making the review. Not much reviews of the Rip9 around.
This is where my job is to cut through the marketing BS and tell you what the reality is. If you look close, the fork is a few mms (millimeters) away from clearing. The "rigidity loss" Trek might lose for slightly arcing the downtube would be 100% non-material. You would never notice it. EVER. It was an engineering oversite turned into a marketing spiel. I've tested many other frames with an arcing downtube. Yes, the Trek is stiff, but that has more to do with the size of the tubes, the overall weight, the type of carbon used etc. To boil down rigidity to one attribute...well...that's crazy talk. I'd happily pickup an extra few ounces to get rid of it.
Jeff Brines “my job is to cut through the marketing bullshit” Brilliant 😂😂 I have to agree now you’ve enlightened me. An oversight turned into marketing, very clever
Just to be clear, I'm sure there is a gain in stiffness. The point I'm making is there are literally a 100 other variables that create "rigidity". To add, any engineer will agree you can curve that tube, add a few ounces, and achieve the exact same rigidity. Finally, even if they were to arc the tube here and add *no* weight, it would not be a discernible difference. The Trek is one of the most rigid bikes I've ever ridden. Its also among the heaviest carbon frames I've ever ridden. Coincidence? I don't think so. Weight, layup and tube diameter have a lot more to do with this than one minimal bend in the downtube (which is under tension) or not... Its an oversight. Trek is gimmicky like this. If they would drop all that stuff, they'd have a real killer bike. Its still the most amazing enduro race bike I've thrown a leg over, so take all that with a grain of salt...
