Interbike 2008 -Trek Session 88 DH
by Mike Levy
Oct 2, 2008
It was hard to miss Trek's presence at the Outdoor Demo this year. With a massive tent, a huge demo fleet, and multiple water cooler's they were a popular place to be. It also didn't hurt that they had their brand new Session 88 DH out soaking up the rays. We take a closer look at the bike behind the buzz and talk to some key people involved in it's development.
HD Video inside!
HD Video inside!
Trek Session 88 DH
Trek's Session has been one of the most highly anticipated big-travel bikes in, well....the history of big travel bikes! I can't remember a new design platform ever causing so much of a stir. Internet forums were buzzing, people were claiming to have seen it, and speculation was rampant. The Pinkbike crew (even including me!) got a chance to spend a few days on the new speed machine a few months ago and came away greatly impressed with it's temperament. There are two versions, a FR and DH, here we look at some details of the DH.
Watch the video and get to know the Session a bit better!:
The Specs:
We made a short video of myself riding the Session awhile back, check it out!
I don't get too excited about many bikes these days but I have to admit that the new Session gets the blood flowing a bit. Full of new technology and with looks that can kill, the Session will be on many riders wish lists in '09. One point that should be touched on is the bike's weight, sitting at 38 lbs. out of the box. While I can't quote the Session's frame only weight, the bike's built weight is very light, relatively speaking. I'm guessing that the Sessions frame is among the lightest in class and could very easily be built into an uber-light race bike.
For more info on both the Session DH and FR versions check out Trekbikes.com!
Mike "Kakah" Levy
Trek's Session has been one of the most highly anticipated big-travel bikes in, well....the history of big travel bikes! I can't remember a new design platform ever causing so much of a stir. Internet forums were buzzing, people were claiming to have seen it, and speculation was rampant. The Pinkbike crew (even including me!) got a chance to spend a few days on the new speed machine a few months ago and came away greatly impressed with it's temperament. There are two versions, a FR and DH, here we look at some details of the DH.
Trek Session 88 DH
The Session's tapered E2 headtube
The Specs:
| Frame size | Small, Medium and Large (200mm of Travel) |
| Rear Shock | Fox DHX 5.0, 8.75x2.75, Tuned for the bike |
| Fork | Fox 40 RC2 |
| Headset | Custom Canecreek 1 1/8" top and 1 1/2" bottom |
| Crank arms | Shimano SAINT |
| Chainring | Shimano SAINT 38T |
| Bottom Bracket | Shimano 83mm SAINT |
| Pedals | Bontrager Big Earl Platform |
| Chain | SRAM |
| Cassette | SRAM PG970(12-26 9 spd) |
| Rear Derailleur | SRAM X.0 Short Cage |
| Shifter Cable/Housing | Stock |
| Shifter Pod | SRAM X.0 9-Speed |
| Handlebar | Bontrager Big Earl OS Riser |
| Stem | Bontrager Big Earl OS |
| Grips | Bontrager (Lock On Grip) |
| Brakes | Avid Elixir CR Brakes |
| Front Wheel | Bontrager Big Earl 20mm TA |
| Rear Wheel | Bontrager Big Earl 150x12mm |
| Tires | Bontrager Big Earl 26x2.5", Kevlar Bead |
| Tubes | Standard DH tubes / Shrader valves |
| Saddle | Bontrager Big Earl |
| Seatpost | Bontrager Big Earl |
| Extra | MRP G2 Chain guide |
One piece EVO link is stiff and light
Trek's novel ABP pivot
FullFloater suspension
We made a short video of myself riding the Session awhile back, check it out!
I don't get too excited about many bikes these days but I have to admit that the new Session gets the blood flowing a bit. Full of new technology and with looks that can kill, the Session will be on many riders wish lists in '09. One point that should be touched on is the bike's weight, sitting at 38 lbs. out of the box. While I can't quote the Session's frame only weight, the bike's built weight is very light, relatively speaking. I'm guessing that the Sessions frame is among the lightest in class and could very easily be built into an uber-light race bike.
For more info on both the Session DH and FR versions check out Trekbikes.com!
Mike "Kakah" Levy
Must Read This Week
- 1. STUND Episode 5 - Watch Now! 26126 reads
- 2. Andrew Taylor - Bike Check 18205 reads
- 3. Chase Life #9 - Get yo 3's dumped! 14643 reads
- 4. X Fusion Side flight Championships 14355 reads
- 5. Sam Blenkinsop joins Lapierre! 13786 reads
- 6. Team Ok - First Short Film 13011 reads
- 7. Loeka Tech Jacket & Pants Review 12269 reads
- 8. Brendan Fairclough Training Session 12239 reads
71 Comments
- + 12
p2fever
(Oct 2, 2008 at 12:00)
sweet bike!
[Reply]
[Reply]
that headtube is soooo sexy, love the linkage too, great bike. huge step up over the session 10, aka whale
It's nice but not a one 1 off a caint frame design like the session 10,The session 10 was a radical frame design with a huge shock,big travel and highly adjustable geometry,CTE best thing for your'e chain against chaingroth.
[Reply]
ya, thats cuz trek owns bontrager, that's why you usually will only see bontrager components on their bikes. I'm suprised it has saint cranks to be honest and not king earls
amazing bike probably feels insane to ride!!
Look wise I have to say I prefer the session 10...
but performance wise and technology wise I dont think any frame can beat this beast!!
Look wise I have to say I prefer the session 10...
but performance wise and technology wise I dont think any frame can beat this beast!!
very nice..huge improvement from last year..wouldent buy it because of all that bontrager bull shit ..but evry thing else is amazing
My local shop has one in, the frame weight is 9.5 pounds including shock with steel spring. My session 10 is 14.5 pounds with a revox & ti spring, nearly 2 session 88's together! So I guess weight wise it's a huge step forward eh..
[Reply]
[Reply]
you could probably get that thing near 35-36lbs without making drastic changes that would hinder its dh capabilites. I-beam, ghetto tubeless (most cost effective), 09 LG1 etc.
just my thought
just my thought
anyone else think andrew sounded like an idiot? awesome bike that's too expensive for me to ever get.
Uh, no. That guy has forgotten more about mountainbikes than you will probably ever know. Just because someone isn't a gifted public speaker does not make them an idiot.
I can't believe Sam Hill took a demo over the session. i thought he would join trek ( especially with the 23 degrees program going on).
i heard he will be riding a special demo frame (34 pounds) for the 09 season. but in 2010, he'll be riding and designing a new downhill frame with specialized.
should be interesting to see what he comes up with
i heard he will be riding a special demo frame (34 pounds) for the 09 season. but in 2010, he'll be riding and designing a new downhill frame with specialized.
should be interesting to see what he comes up with
not everything is based upon the sickest ride you can get. it has become such a business now. incentives and oppourtunities that are offered to riders can go a lot further for some people than just what bike is the latest and greatest. plus those guys are riding for a paycheque, and money talks. (whether that was the case i don't know)
plus team budgets play a huge part. this is a little tidbit of info from littermag.
"When talking with a couple team managers at Interbike this past week, they figured the budget to send ONE racer to all the DH World Cups and World Champs will be between $20,000 and $30,000"
"When talking with a couple team managers at Interbike this past week, they figured the budget to send ONE racer to all the DH World Cups and World Champs will be between $20,000 and $30,000"
finally? their xc/all mountain line has been solid for a long time. road bikes anyone? lance made them famous of course.
way to go trek . i think i speak for most people in our area and most scottish dh tracks in general when i say that the sesh 10 was overkill , just had a dh88 delivered to the shop where i work and wow ! had to weigh it twice because it looks so much lighter than 32lbs , just sitting on it you can get a feel for what it can and prob will do . awesome .
Best porn I found on the net today! Drool! Looks like a stab, but way better....this coming from an 8 year Kona rider. Nice!
i have to agree with you kyle cuz if this is local to them then it sure is local to us TELL US!! lol
[Reply]
looks like a really nice ride, but at around 7000 dollars for a bike that only come with bontrager parts that are most likely made in Taiwan, and a frame that's welded in Taiwan it just doesn't seem worth it. That much scratch and your still gonna want to replace all the big earl components. I guess you could spend the 4000 on the Taiwanese made frame set then put your own build kit on it.
You do know most of the components today are made in Asia correct? And most of the Frames are made overseas as well. People seem to bitch and complain about Bontrager parts, but who has actually ridden them? They are cheap and light. When you say comes with only Bontrager components you mean that Bontrager Makes SRAM X-O, FOX 40, FOX DHX 5 and Saint? I didn't know this...
looks rad, although ive gotta agree with aroundpg £1800 for a frame made in taiwan is knocking on a bit, save up and get a foes dhs 2.1, bring on the rocks!
Congrats to Trek !!! I can't get over the flow of the lines and the sexy appeal of the entire package .
For those that have thumbed their noses and made know their disdain for the most recent release from Trek ......Why don't you try designing a better bike and put it into production ??? Perhaps then you might respect another's efforts more readily .
For those that have thumbed their noses and made know their disdain for the most recent release from Trek ......Why don't you try designing a better bike and put it into production ??? Perhaps then you might respect another's efforts more readily .
Absolutly beautiful bike. Specialized's demo is suddenly looking a little outclassed! Its good to have 2 huge manufacturers battling it out on the World Cup Circuit!
Post A New Comment
Why was a comment deleted?
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
1. add additional on topic info to the article that other users will find useful
2. add props and support/encouragement for the video/photo/article/product/story
3. add and explain constructive criticism for the video/photo/article/product/story
RSS
