Submitted by
Craig Andresen
a Racer
from Bloomington, Minnesota, USA Date Reviewed: June 17, 2007
Favorite Trail:
River Trail, Bloomington, MN
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$4000.00
Purchased At:
Maple Grove Cycles
Strengths:
Everything works like a cross country racing bike should. Maneuverable, shifts & brakes great, rear triangle super stiff, remote rear lockout, puts my old 2005 Fuel 110 to shame. Racing nirvana. I love this bike!
Weaknesses:
Bontrager Revolt 2.1 inch tires a bit skinny; 2.2's are better. Wheelset weighs 1850 not 1550 grams like Race X-Lite. Carbon cranks; would rather have XT. X9 shifters; would rather have X0; SRAM cassette weighs 330 grams; would rather have XT, which weighs 265 grams. Avid Juicy Carbon brakes chatter a bit but I'm still working on it. I'm nitpicking here.
Similar Products Used:
2003 Fuel 100, 2005 Top Fuel 110.
Bike Setup:
Size XL. Weighs 26 lbs. but that will come down as things wear out and get replaced. All stock except Thomson seatpost and 2.2 inch Revolt tires. This is a Project One bike painted Red Carbon w/gold lettering. Most beautiful paint job I've ever seen. I'm told that only Project One bikes, and those sold in Europe, come with Manitou's remote rear shock lockout, and my experience seeing other riders on the trail, riding 2007 Trek Top Fuels, bears this out. They all wonder where I got the remote lockout.
Bottom Line:
Trek has shortened the seat tube to 19.3 inches on size XL, from 21.5 inches, for 2007. All other frame specs are the same as size XL always has been on a Fuel. The rear triangle is now aluminum, rather than carbon as on earlier year models, and the stays are reshaped. The suspension pivots are actual sealed bearings rather than sleeve bearings as before. The bike now comes with a Fox Terralogic fork, which is absolutely fantastic. No, you don't notice the "first hit" with Terralogic as some others have said. For racing, I now can't imagine not using this great fork.
Trek has done something magic to the Top Fuel with the new rear triangle, pivot bearings, Manitou shock, and Fox "brain" fork. It is unlike my other two earlier model Fuels. I'm a 45 year old, 190 lb., top 25 percent of the pack Sport racer, triathlete, sometime road racer, but mainly I race MTB. I can't believe I'm saying this but SRAM all-thumb shifting is so much better than Shimano I could never go back to it ever. I can keep all fingers but one wrapped around the bars now, all the time, shifting, braking, going over logs, down steep chutes, my hands never change position on the bars. This greatly increases control. Tracks much straighter through turns and turns quicker than my older Fuels. Locked out or not, it climbs like a hardtail. Highly pleased with this racing bike.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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