BIKER'S EDGE

Today we have the second-ever Trek bike on the channel, the Trek Fuel EX. It falls in the all-mountain category, where the bikes can tend to be a bit… beige. They intentionally lack some pizzazz or specialization in favor of versatility and well-roundedness. And I don’t mean that as an insult. All-mountain bikes are supposed to be versatile. They’re supposed to climb well, descend well, handle a big range of terrain, and avoid being too specialized in any one direction. That is kind of the whole point. But the downside is that a lot of them end up feeling competent more than memorable. Good at everything, exciting at nothing. 

Yet it’s my favorite category of bicycle. The Trek Fuel EX falls in this category, but it does it with style and a bit of flavor that most other bikes don’t bring. Stick around to see if it’s beige done right.

What You Should Know About the Trek Fuel EX

The Fuel EX is a 145mm travel bike designed for the ever-versatile, but often least exciting, all-mountain category. These bikes are supposed to climb well, descend well, and handle a wide range of trails without getting too specialized in one direction or the other. The Fuel EX does all of that, but with a bit more character.

Trek Feul EX: Ride Review

Climbing Performance: +1

Most bikes in this category lean toward the more DH-focused side of the scale. They prioritize descending prowess and versatility over a fully balanced uphill-vs-downhill character. The Trek Fuel EX shifts that just a little bit. It finds itself very close to the middle. 

Starting with suspension feel on the climbs, the Fuel EX is fairly quick and snappy on the pedals. It has a noticeable pep in its step that many other all-mountain bikes miss out on. It encourages standing efforts and putting some power down. For those short punchy climbs, I found myself standing and giving it the beans rather than staying seated and downshifting. It reminds me of bikes like the Giant Trance X and previous Orbea Occam on that front.

When it comes to more technical climbing, the Fuel EX isn’t a slouch. It offers enough traction and control to get through some tougher climbs. The back wheel isn’t as glued to the ground as the Hightower or Ripmo, but it offers just enough traction to not lose any points here.

From a geometry standpoint, the Fuel EX feels more relaxed and upright. The front end is tall, which puts you in a comfortable position on the bike. There’s enough weight over the front wheel to keep it from lifting off the floor. The chainstays are on the longer side at 447mm, helping offset that very upright body position. 

All in all, the Fuel EX is slightly above average at climbing in the category, earning a +1.

Downhill Capability: +1

The Fuel EX is one of those bikes that would be hard to figure out the travel category if you didn’t know. What I mean by that is sometimes it rides bigger and deeper than the 145mm of rear travel it has. Other times, it feels more precise and trail-bikey than it actually is on paper. I think the reasoning comes down to the blend of geo and suspension design.

From a suspension standpoint, the Fuel EX does exactly what you’d expect from a bike in the category. It minimizes the chunk and chatter but still translates quite a bit of the trail through to you. It doesnt erase the bumps, but it takes just enough sting out of them to keep you under control.

I think a lot of the bike’s capability comes from the geometry and, oddly enough, the precise handling. The head tube angle is on the slack side for a 145mm bike. That paired with the tall front end, there’s a lot of confidence on steep and rough terrain. Your weight naturally sits right over the bottom bracket when descending without any sort of contortionist-type efforts to stay centered. The longer chainstays add some stability and a bit of rear center, making the butter zone or safety zone on the bike a bit bigger. Then the handling comes into play, offering a lot of control over where the bike is going. From time to time, the bike will get knocked around and off line, but the sharp, fast handling makes it easy to correct and change lines. For an active rider, it ends up being a great blend of stability and control.

The Fuel EX earns itself a +1 in the category for its unique approach to confidence and capability. Instead of leaning fully into plush suspension and slack, long geometry, it blends handling, geometry, and suspension to make a confident ride.

Suspension Performance: 0

For better or worse, some bikes make the suspension design extremely noticeable. You hop on and immediately think “this bike is super plush” or “this bike feels firm and supportive.” The Fuel EX’s suspension design blends into the background and doesnt call attention to itself. And frankly that makes it hard to talk about here. 

From a traction and control standpoint, the bike accomplishes the expected. You’d hope a bike with 145mm of travel could keep you from getting bucked around and sliding all over the trail, and it does exactly that. But beyond that, it’s not offering much more. It’s not making every takeoff feel like a trampoline, and it’s not completely erasing the trail. 

The one thing it does very well is blending into the background and not making your ride about the bike. It just quietly does its job. So a 0 feels fair.

Handling: +2

And now we get to handling. This is my favorite part of the Fuel EX and easily the bike’s defining characteristic. Remember when I said the handling is sharp and precise but just forgiving enough to keep you from tomahawking into the weeds in every rough section? It’s damn near perfect for my style of riding.

The first thing I noticed on this bike was how sharp and quick it felt in the corners. In fact, I found myself oversteering for the first few miles. It’s just so responsive it takes a second to adjust, especially if you’ve been riding big bikes lately. Once I got the feel for it, I loved how I could make quick directional changes and just goof around on the trail. I found myself squaring off tight supported corners, just for the hell of it. It’s also really good at cornering correctly, too. It leans easily, holds a smooth arc through wider corners, and offers enough traction for the flat, rubbly ones. 

And then when it comes to getting the bike off the ground, the Fuel has some hops. I think Trek has nailed the front-to-back balance, making it easy to manipulate the bike for unweighting over obstacles, bunny hopping, and changing direction. It’s not the poppiest bike, but it’s probably the best-handling bike in this category. It’s an ultra-precise bike that’s just forgiving enough.

So a +2 makes a lot of sense.

Versatility: +1

I look at versatility in two different ways. The first is the ride-quality aspect — how versatile the bike is across trail difficulty levels, terrain types, and riding styles. In that regard, the Trek Fuel EX is more versatile than most. Not so much that it handles difficult trails better than the category, but rather the opposite. I think this bike punches down easier than most other all-mountain bikes. It keeps easy and mellow terrain, blues and greens, exciting and fast. A lot of ig bikes will slow down substantially as trails get flatter. The Fuel EX holds speed well and stays engaging on that type of terrain. All while handling up to double black diamond terrain comfortably. 

The second way I look at versatility is how the bike can be built and configured to better match different riding styles and locations. The Fuel EX offers three different travel categories and two different wheel sizes. That certainly gives the bike some points. All three travel ranges span a relatively small range, however, from 145- 160 mm. The frame offers a progression flip-chip allowing for a change in suspension feel as well. 

A +1 feels justified as it offers more than most but less than others.

Intangibles: 0

From and intangbiles standpoint, the Fuel EX doesn’t really stand out one way or the other. It

Doesnt have any weird standout negatives, but it doesn’t really have any shining stars in the category either. It has internal frame storage that a lot of folks love, it offers standard internal cable routing and not headset style, it doesnt make any weird noises or have any durability issues I’ve discovered so far. 

A 0 feels right.

Trek Fuel EX: Comparisons

This category is stacked. The competition is high, but the Trek Fuel EX more than holds its own. Here’s how it stacks up against other bikes in the category.

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Who is the Trek Fuel EX for?

Rider Profile: “I’m not competetive” rider who still checks Strava after every ride

This group will appreciate the Fuel EX’s climbing ability, speed, and momentum-holding character. It’s certainly not a race bike of any kind, but competitive folks will like that it feels pretty sporty while being forgiving enough for a daily driver. 

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Rider Profile: The Elite parallel Parker

The folks who value precision, control, and responsiveness will love this bike. It rewards a rider who can pick a creative line and put the bike exactly where they want it. It’s not so precise, though, that you end up paying the price every time you get it wrong. I think this bike might have the best balance of handling and capability that I’ve seen in the last little while. 

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Rider Profile: everyone

Because of the category and Trek’s design and execution, the Fuel EX is easy to recommend to anyone looking for a mountain bike. It’s already in a versatile and usable category, and then Trek made it fun and lively as well. 

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Final Thoughts

The Fuel EX is a splash of color in an otherwise beige category of bikes. It’s as versatile as the others, all while bringing a bit more excitement to the trail.

Trek Fuel EX FAQ