For 2007 Trek's fully sussed Fuel Ex 9.5 is a corker. The front end of the 9.5 and 9.0 versions is now stiffer ultra light 110gsm (gram per square meter) OCLV carbon fibre. An asymmetric alloy back end, wider spaced bearings, new dropout pivots and a rocker link help carbon and alloy EX bikes lose nearly a pound of frame weight and up to double that as complete bikes.
Travel is up from 100 to 120mm with a Fox RP23 rear shock giving a low 2.4:1 leverage ratio for smooth control. A 90/110/130mm Fox TALAS fork up front enables you to tune geometry on the fly too, and angles are nudged back for extra stability. It's light enough to sprint, and charge between turns, but will still nail most technical downhill sections. The suspension is very tolerant of different sag settings, we ran anywhere from 20-30%.
The Trek Fuel EX range has also been expanded with new cheaper versions (EX5) and the Women's Specific Design EX7 gets the full 120mm travel too.
