Selecting the Bike of the Year is never a simple task, and choosing the winner for 2017 was no exception. Even after culling the list of contenders down to
five finalists there were still plenty of lively debates about which model should take the prize, a sign of just how tight the competition was this year. But as we all know, there can only be one winner, and this year the award for Pinkbike's Mountain Bike of the Year goes to the Trek Slash.
The Slash was completely revamped for 2017, and, in a move that came as a surprise to many riders, Trek released it solely with 29” wheels. That proved to be a hint of things to come, and there are now more long travel 29ers on the market than ever before. That flood hasn't subsided yet, and with 2018 nearly upon us the next wave of burly big wheelers are already beginning to arrive.
Trek didn't hold back when they designed the Slash, giving it a 65-degree head angle, 150mm of rear travel, and a carbon frame that posesses a level of stiffness typically reserved for downhill bikes. It's a bike that'll make mincemeat of the most technical terrain around, and as Mike Kazimer wrote in his
review, “It's one of those bikes that makes you think, 'I've got this,' time after time, no matter how treacherous the trail ahead appears. Feel like taking that cheeky inside line, the one with the nearly ninety-degree exit? Or would you rather go wide, blazing a round, clean arc on the very edge of the trail? In either case, the Slash is an unflinching machine, no matter how hard it's pushed.”
Of course, the Slash's geometry numbers mean this isn't going to be the best choice for taking on mellower trail rides, but luckily there's nothing in the rulebook that says the bike of the year needs to be a practical option for everyone. It wouldn't be a stretch to call this an 'aspirational' bike; it'll make riders who live in locations with a lack of vertical daydream about hitting the road in search of rougher and steeper terrain.
Pinkbike's Take | The Slash's blistering speed and downhill wizardry helped propel it to the front of the pack in the battle for Mountain Bike of the Year, along with the fact that it's a sign of the future in both the enduro and the DH race worlds. There's no doubt that 29ers have left their awkward adolescent stage far behind, and in 2017 it was the Slash that epitomized just how capable they've become. |
I thought I wad the only one left who still referred to the company as Crack&fail.
MS dos for life
Good girl!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpbsaC_Vivo
The following bikes were not even considered which is laughable:
Yeti SB5.5
Evil Wreckoning and Calling
Pivot Mach 5.5 and Mach 6
Ibis Ripley V2
Yeti SB5 v2
I find it almost laughable that a Trek wins again for the 2nd time in 3 years.
Pinkbike how much were you paid for that?
I don't give me some Crap that how much a brand pays for advertising has no effect on the outcome.
The fact that Pinkbike has only reviewed 1 Evil in 5 years shows there is some underlying agenda.
If you don't review all of the top bikes than how can you have a Bike of the year award. That's like giving an academy award to a movie having not watched or review all of the years movies.
BOOM! Checkmate atheists.
If pinkbike was paying full pop for the bikes they review (advertise), these "reviews" might contain more than just flagship bikes and the same old bike test clichés.
www.evil-bikes.com/products/wreckoning
@mikekazimer: Yeah, what is it now, 17 years and counting?
Now that I'm reminiscing, I kind if wish I had one kicking around...
The seat mast flexed beyond reasonable, the URT wagged like a dog, the whole front triangle twisted in corners, the URT design itself was a joke. I could go on. That thing killed my desire to ride/race. Coming off a GT RTS... so it's not like I had high standards.
denver.craigslist.org/bik/d/klein-mantra-comp-pre-trek/6419913914.html
PS: The 17 years and counting was in relation to how long the y has been out of production, not when it was launched. Although I probably got that wrong too.
Speaking of, remember their embarrassing "Trek Remedy 27.5: 2014 Bible of Bike Tests" redo video? Trek doesn't mess with these bike of the year competitions. It sell bikes.
@mikekazimer Based on the geometry numbers and my old Trek Remedy experience, I am of a strong conviction that your bike of the year just does not work out for riders taller and heavier than yourself. That STA, both effective and furthermore real, is too slack and CS not long enough to make a proper climbing geometry bike, which is a half of the bike ride story (otherwise you could have given this title to Session 29). Trek is aware of this. That's why they speced the bike with Talas in the first place, but in reality it doesn't solve anything other than further lowers the BB, just in situations when you need the opposite (steep, technical climbing).
Also far from "perfect", but, on paper at least, with very similar geometry to Slash, Norco Range 9 seems to have almost all the linkage numbers better than Slash (and Enduro 29). So, what gives?
mrblackmorescorner.blogspot.it/search/label/Trek%20Slash%202017
As for the shock and fork. Norco Range C1 comes with the same Float X2 as the Slash pictured above and the fork (Fox Factory Float 36 with HSC/LSC) which should be as good, if not better than the Talas Slash is sporting. Though, Mike has previously tested a cheaper build - Range 9.2.
But anyways, let's hear @mikekazimer 's opinion on what makes Slash a better bike than Range. Especially given his positive initial impressions. I'm really curious.
About the suspensions, I was referring to that. Range was tested with Rockshox and Slash with Fox. With the same brand, models and settings could be more similar yet, but IMO this isn't enough to get a clear winner. As I said, to evaluate the whole bike the only way is testing personally the bike (the best bike is not the best for others, is the best for you) because there are a lot of variables impossible to measure from paper. If not possible to test the bike, from kinematics, geometry and personal experiences (among others) you can get a knowledge to understand if a bike can satisfy your preferences.
I’m an official long travel 29er fanboi
I love opinions like this. I've spent time on one. It does some things well and some things badly. I would never, ever buy one.
I wouldn't buy a trek full stop.
That’s where I’ve see this bike before! It’s the one Nino Schurter AND Aaron Gwin rode this year...
No one said u had to buy a trek dude!
If you're looking for an enduro bike, then a fuel is going to do most things badly. If you're looking for a trail-ish XC bike, then the slash is going to do most things badly. It doesn't say anything about how good the bikes are.
"I drove a Ford focus back to back with an F150... Guess which one I bought? The focus commutes, carries groceries and road trips better, the F150 is good but doesn't do everything as well as the Focus".
All true statements but pointless if you're talking to someone that actually wants to pull a trailer.
It's great that your riding is more suited to the fuel and that you don't need something more biased towards descending. It's also irrelevant when talking about whether the slash is good at what it's designed for.
Nothing irrelevant about my comment whatsoever as I've ridden both and own the fuel... Just trying to give some insight to other folk that are perhaps looking at the slash as an option..
In regards to downhill bias... The new Fuel can hang with the slash with a bumped up fork on the downs.. It is the near equivalent of last years remedy.. Hence the reason some pros were riding the fuels instead of the slash for certain races on the ews!
Now if you want a bike that can take on a casual Enduro race and still be comfortable pedaling up and down what ever you please. The Fuel EX is sooo good especially bumped up to 140mm fork. I say this because I own one, I race Enduro, and I'm a stickler on performance. For me I didn't want two bikes, I wanted one that I could get comfortable with and use it for pretty much anything. The EX has yet to let me down, and that's no dig at the Slash or other brands out there; it's just been one hell of a bike.
I'm in the same boat man.. One bike that comes pretty damn close to doing it all except for perhaps extreme downhill/freeride applications...
And when Iv riden it on tame trails it's still blisteringly fast.
Best bike Iv ever ridden.
Gee I wonder who paid the most in advertising in pinkbike this year.....
'We, at PB, have nothing against the people at Evil Bike Co., or their products'.
I mean honestly, how much of the mountain bike community can really afford these? It's an honest question. Maybe I'm underestimating how much people are willing to spend on bikes. I know none of my friends can drop that kind of cash. I'm an engineer, and I have been for several years now, so I'm pretty well off- and I could never justify this purchase, no matter how much I love mountain biking. Maybe I'm just old and crotchety at this point... but it just feels like the $5,500 (of course, before any taxes you have to pay) is an answer to "how much is too much".
Again, maybe I'm the one who's out to lunch here. Or, maybe the bike industry is, and PB is along for the (very supple, well supported through the mid-stroke, great geometry, confidence inspiring, chunder eating) ride.
I'll stick with my Hightower LT, thank you very much, and have fun anywhere.
As nice a bike as I'm sure the Slash is, it just doesn't appeal to me. A bullet-proof frame, threaded BB, lifetime bearing warranty, and a great all around performer is what I wanted, and exactly what I got, right out of the box.
Especially if i marry gf whom is a nurse...now we'd be considered rich.
Btw, i dont buy into the marxist class system but ill.play along.
I've ridden other bikes that are as good at speed and way more fun in the corners. You can have your cake and eat it too, whereas the trek is very much a one-trick pony IMO.
youtu.be/J2jlaOEQzTU