Does F1-inspired suspension bring benefits to mountain biking?

Product Overview

Overall rating:

Score 9

Trek Remedy 9 29

Pros:

  • The first ride: on flowy trails, with stock quick-rolling rubber, the Remedy was a rocketship
  • Tweaking the geometry and getting the most from an already good bike
  • On tour at Coed-y-Brenin, where the Remedy made mincemeat of the trail centre terrain

Cons:

  • My first Remedy crash, OTB when the front wheel got hooked up in a corner
  • Discovering the Mino Link adjustable geometry doesn’t push things low and slack enough
  • End of the road: the 2016 Remedy won’t be available in the UK as a 29er

Product:

Trek Remedy 9 29 (2015) longterm review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£3,500.00
TAGS:

Key points

  • 29er trail bike with 140mm travel and enduro-bike stiffness
  • Newfangled RE:aktiv damper from Fox and Penske Racing
  • Mino link adjustable geometry to fettle head angle and BB height
  • Internal cabling, 1×11 drivetrain, Reverb Stealth dropper post

Trek Remedy 9 29 longterm Jamie riding

 

What attracted you to the Trek Remedy 9 29?

The colour, the fact it cost more than my car, and the stunning array of technology firsts from Trek. Plus-size bikes are spreading Boost 148 hub popularity far and wide, but the Remedy got there first, with its ultra-wide back end and stiffer rear wheel.

Then there’s the new RE:aktiv shock, designed with Fox and US race-car engineers Penske to give more pedalling support and still offer a plush feel for maximum grip. The Holy Grail?

Trek Remedy 9 29 car park

Did you change anything straightaway?

It’s so long ago, memory fails me, but a close look at the photos from my first report, back in May, show something alarming — a saddle pack slung underneath the seat, presumably holding tools. The shame of it; ruining the Trek’s lines with that monstrosity.

I swapped the dry tyres for muds a few weeks later, fitted a wider bar and shorter stem and added a mudguard that I’ve never had cause to remove.

Trek Remedy 9 29 stem 2015

Was the bike easy to set up?

Yes, initially. You have to cycle the shock through at least 50 per cent travel when setting it up to ensure air gets into its second DRCV chamber, but that’s the only difference from a regular full-sus configuration — set the sag to 30 per cent and go riding. The hard work came later.

Trek Remedy 9 29 re-aktiv suspension

How did it ride?

The RE:aktiv shock didn’t deliver on its promise. I mean that in a good way, the Remedy doesn’t have the pedalling platform it boasts of, but I really couldn’t give a flying lump of mud — the suspension is incredibly sensitive and it makes the bike feel exciting, full of pop and brilliantly fast.

It’s very active on climbs though, so I’d flip the blue lever to climb mode, where you can actually hear the tick of the valve inside the shock opening and closing as you pedal.


Watch how to fit offset hardware


The bottom bracket is too high to really feel comfortable at speed though, so I set about lowering the bike with offset shock hardware.

And if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, I thought, so I added angled cups too and slackened the head angle to 65 degrees. I’m left with a long, low and slack trail bike that feels brilliant.

Jamie, longtermer offset hardware

Did anything break or wear out?

No, it’s so sturdy it feels unbreakable. You wouldn’t expect breakages on this top-end equipment either.

If you could change one thing about your longtermer what would it be?

Trek fits an increased offset fork to the Remedy, and I think the idea is to make the steering quicker. That’s bad in my book though, I want it slow and controlled, so I’d do away with that and fit a Pike with regular offset.

Trek Remedy 9 29 riding 2 Jamie

Would you buy this bike and why?

Six months ago, half way through the test, I’d have said no. But now I’ve worked out how easy and cheap it is to sort the Remedy, I’ve got to say yes. The bike’s a lot of money but it’s worth it: light, stiff and brilliant. The colour’s too garish for me though.

Trek Remedy 9 29 packshot

Details

Frame:Alpha Platinum Aluminium, 140mm travel
Shock:Fox Performance Series Float, DRCV, RE:aktiv, CTD
Fork:RockShox Pike RC, Solo Air, 140mm travel
Wheels:SRAM Roam 30 tubeless, Bontrager XR4 Expert/XR3 29x2.3in tyres
Drivetrain:SRAM X1
Brakes:Shimano XT
Components:Bontrager saddle, bar, stem and grips, RockShox Reverb Stealth seatpost
Sizes:15.5, 17.5, 19, 21, 23in
Weight:3.74kg (30.3lb)
Size tested:21in
Head angle:67.4
Seat angle:68.7
BB height:348mm
Chainstay:449mm
Front centre:750mm
Wheelbase:1,199mm
Down tube:712mm
Top tube:618mm
Reach:451mm