Casey Brown's Trek Slash 29 - EWS Round 6, Whistler

 @wolf-amongst-lambs: a real wolf here

 a traildog is one of the best things i've ever gotten !!

 Pinkbike Dogcheck

 Classic dog at 24". If it was one of the new metric dogs, it would be 610mm.

 I demoed a Mega 290 and took it straight to some dirt jumps...obviously a full suspension trail bike isn't the right tool for the job there but the 29er was more fun than my 650b in that scenario. At that moment I realised that I was gonna have to get my wallet out because not being able to jump was my only concern. I was talking about Guinea pigging some new dirt jumps we have on my new 29er and everybody thought I was mad but I've no doubt that once it's built I will have a bike that's better than my 650b bike in every way.
Oh and I can whip (a bit!) and there's no problem there so you have no excuse :-P but yeah the old, fat and beat up bits I get!

 @ThomDawson: I think the Mega 290 have all the angles spot on but heres a question that I have always wanted to ask, how does the longer long chain stay performs in turns and switchbacks?

 @AlexS1: u
Had a go on a spec enduro 29er and that was brilliant in the turns and everything but that has a really short back end (that's the bike that turned me onto 29ers ). Dunno bout the new nukproofs not sure on the length. But had plenty of goes on a 27.5 2014 mega and I don't like it. To long at the back sucks the fun out of it for me, no pop to play with and doesn't turn aswell as my process.

 @AlexS1: I've always preferred longer chainstays, in fact I think short chainstays are a daft idea and shouldn't be a part of anything but dirt jump bikes and bmxs. So I'm used to them and I think that's all it takes is just to get used to it. For me they have many benefits (stability, grip, etc) but what some people see as a disadvantage in corners I see the opposite - with longer chainstays I can weight the front wheel easier so it will grip more and so I can corner harder than bikes with short chainstays. You can also still manual, bunny hop, jump, etc with long chainstays. To answer your question more directly I'd say the chainstays can help you corner but it's the overall length of any bike (not necessarily the chainstays) that may make the bike slower on the tightest switchbacks.

 @markg1150: Thanks for the comment!

 @ThomDawson: Thanks for the comment!

 Other canadian females on the top of the world podiums are ahead of Casey for that title but she's up there.

 Nah, this isn't about race results. She's only raced a couple of enduro's this season, and placed well for how little she's done. I'm more referring to her style, how big she goes, and how awesome a person she is. Is there any woman on earth that can huck and whip as hard as her? I don't think so. With a solid team behind her now, I think she's set to become the first female freerider/freeracer. No doubt that's what Trek was thinking in picking her up.

 In my mind Casey Brown is one of the main leaders of today's generation of female shredders though I do not want to belittle any shredding from other Women. It kills me that mtb is so male dominated, and I value every roost and whip from a woman. She may not top the EWS, but she's a super important influence. When I bought the last Anthill film to find that it has two women in it I was ecstatic. Send it Casey! Also, if that bike was made in the USA I would have it. Long travel 29ers sound like stokage. Also, Baby blue is free speed.

 Or XC rider!

 treasure.diylol.com/uploads/post/image/460771/resized_all-the-things-meme-generator-slam-all-the-stems-fa8b7c.jpg

 @delusional LOL!! The struggle is so real, though... Even with flat bars and yes, the stem slammed, my size small 29er feels like I'm riding a Harley with ape hangers.

 @ryetoast: have you tried one of those FSA stems with the -20° neg rise? That would get the bars lower.

 @ryetoast: Syntace have stubby one that goes down to 44mm. www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=2629

 Do you know if customer bikes will be available in blue? It seems they'll be only available in red.

 @sngltrkmnd: Red and then Blue and Black for the 9.8

 All bikes are machines...

 It's a matter of point of view
"the Earth's most efficient machine creates its most efficient animal, the bicycle"

 I've never seen a head tube that's so much higher than the seat tube before!

 That Casey Brown's has more spacers on that stem than Trump has braincells...

 Welcome to the world of LLS 29'ers...

 It *looks* slack but it's sitting at 73.6 (or 74.1 in the high setting). So, not particularly slack.

www.pinkbike.com/news/trek-slash-29-first-look-2016.html

 Looks like the wires are routed into the frame, so I'd guess the frame has a battery compartment.

 Good luck with warranty. When I did it they blamed me and I was S.O.L. #ftrek

 @Dustfarter: Their actually #NotTooBad with their warranties. I broke both the Treks I've owned and they replaced them and, even upgraded me. Thanks for that btw Trek people.
Go Casey and Snuff dog!

 Trek is in a tie for last place in bike industry customer service when it comes to their frames.

 @irideyourtrail: Good, will drop bike tomorrow, hopefully they will help me.

 Forks without the 2 position setup feel better.

 @j-t-g: It doesn't say much for the parts selection of "Treks Race Shop Limited" bikes.

 Most pros run a lot more power & endurance so a slack HA climbing not to much issue, mortals the talas is a gift when climbing all day long

 Because riders who can afford the RSL but aren't that picky about suspension performance are very likely to be slow both up and down - making the dual air fork an excellent choice (makes it easier to climb with, gives up comparably little downhill if its not being ridden super hard).
Faster riders can spec the RC2 Fox36 or similar fork, and the rest of us can merely wonder what it's like to be able to complain about the performance of a $9600 USD bike.

 The Slash will only be available as 29, and the Remedy will only be available in 27.5.

 @charmingbob: Ah, that comes as a real surprise. So Trek is of the view that their "most enduro" type model, the Slash, will be in high demand in the 29er version? I have my doubts about that. I know "aggressive" 29ers are becoming a bit more popular (Evil, Spesh etc), but question their strategy here. Anyway, not trying to start a wheel size discussion here, just more questioning the offering, although the Remedy looks sweet and am sure can handle a beating.

 @MTB-Colada: Give it time, I'm thinking Trek will come back to a 650b Slash. I'm on a 2014 Slash 8 - think it was the first year they offered it in 650b. It's a bruiser - a real speed demon that will let you push it as fast as you can. I'm guessing the 29 version could be scary fast. I love my bike, but after being on it, I said my next bike will likely be a Remedy or Nomad, or at least something similar to those. The Slash climbs ok but shines on the decent and I, like a lot of PB peeps, am ok with that as I only climb out of necessity and for exercise. Don't get me wrong, climbing is fine but it's not like I get jacked to clean a climb. At 66 degree head angle, I really feel like the Remedy will be an amazing compromise between both and I'd love something that is at least a little less sluggish going uphill - especially if you get a two setting fork you can push down to 67 or 68 degrees.

 I have its rubbish compared to the solo