£2,700
New2.6intyres
andample
clearancefor2.8in
Plus size rubberTheRE:aktiv-damped
RockShoxDeluxeRT3
shockpumpsout150mm
oftravelandgetsa
three-position thresholdVerdict
Allofthechangestothe 2019
Remedy8 arepositive.Thesteeper
seatanglehelpswithclimbing,
the2.6intyresincreasetraction
andthelowershockpositionand
150mmdropperimprovestandover
clearanceandfit.
Trekis stilla touchtoo
conservativewithitssizingthough.
Yes,therearefivesizesonoffer,but
thebiggestoptiononlyhas a 475mm
reachmeasurement....
hardlyXL
proportions.
Everyother
aspectofthebike
is sorted.It even
looks top dollar.trek remedy 8
Specification
FrameAlpha
Platinumaluminium,
150mmtravel
ShockRockShox
DeluxeRT3RE:aktiv
ForkRockShoxLyrik
RC,160mmtravel
WheelsBontrager
hubs,Bontrager
LineComp 30 rims,
BontragerXR4Team
Issue27.5x2.4intyres
DrivetrainTruvativ
Descendant6K
32tchainset,SRAM
GXEagler-mech
andshifter
BrakesSRAMGuide
R,200/180mm
Components
BontragerLine
780mmbar,Line
KnockBlock50mm
stem,Bontrager
Line150mmpost,
BontragerArvada
saddle
SizesXS,S,M,L, XL
Weight14.49kg
(3 1. 9 4lb)
Contacttrekbikes.
com
Geometry
SizetestedL (low)
Headangle65.8°
Seatangle69°
BBheight342mm
Chainstay434mm
Frontcentre
735mm
Wheelbase1,199mm
Downtube707mm
Toptube595mm
Reach 455mm
B
link,andyoucouldmissthe
latestroundofrevisions
toTrek’slongstanding
Remedyplatform.
Thebiggestchangetothe
frameis thatTrekhasdroppedtheFull
Floatershockmount.Previously,the
shockontheRemedywasmountedto
anextensionoftheswingarm,allowing
Trek’sengineersa degreeofwiggle
roomtovarytheprogressionrateof
the150mmsuspensionastheshock
compressed.Idealbeforetheadvent
ofvolumereducersandcustomtuned
shocks,butmuchlessrelevantnow.
Sofull-floateris gone,thelowershock
mountnowwedgedbetweentheseat
tubeanddowntube.A movethatplaces
theshocklowerintheframe,allowing
theupperlinkagetoshiftdowntoo,
makingit easiertoaccommodate150mm
dropperposts.Theframeis also100g
lighteranda claimedfivepercentstiffer.
Theseattubeanglehasalsobeen
tippedforwarda fulldegree,soyou
don’thavetoleansofarforwardon
theclimbs.TrekretainstheMino-link,a
smallasymmetricchipintherockerthat
offers two geometry settings. The bikenowshipsinthelowsettingandwith
the2.6intyresraisingtheBBheight,the
highpositionis somewhat redundant.SuSpenSion
Trekhasalwayslookedtogaina
performanceadvantagewithproprietary
suspensioncomponents,themostrecent
developmentbeingitsRE:aktivvalve.
OntheoutsidetheRockShoxRT3shock
onthe150mmtravelRemedylookslike
anyother,butTrek’scustominternals
givethesuspensiona uniqueresponse.
It’sstablewhenpedallingbutretains
goodsmall-bumpsensitivity.Alsothe
dampingrampsuptoprovidea hydraulic
pillowonharshdropsandcompressions.
Upfront,the160mm-travelRockShox
LyrikRCneedsnointroduction.And
whiletheRemedydoesn’tbenefitfrom
thetop-endChargerRC2damper,it
stillgetsthebigger-volumeDebonair
negativeairspringandlow-friction
seals,makingit butterysmooth.Itsreal
strengthis thatit’ssupereasy to set up.componentS
NoticeanythingdifferentontheRemedy
comparedtotheotherbikes?That’s
right,thedowntubeis straight,rather
than kinked at the head tube. This makesfora stiffer,lighterframe,butit hassome
knock-oneffects,namelytheforkcrown
hittingthedowntube.
TopreventthistheRemedyhasa
steeringlockheadset.Trekhasdubbed
it KnockBlockandit sitsjustbehind
thetopraceoftheheadset.It’sa
replaceablecomponentdesignedto
failina massiveimpact,whichis why
theframealsohasprotectivebump-
stopsonthedowntube.Theheadset
spacersandstemarebothkeyedto
interlockwiththeheadset,butyoucan
usea normalstemprovidingyou have a
femaleconversionspacer.performance
WhysomuchdetailonKnockBlock?
Wellit’simportanttohighlightthatit
doesn’tlimityourturningcircle,even
onthesteepestswitchbacks.It canbe
trickytogetthebikeintothebackofa
car,though,becauseevenwiththefront
wheeloutthehandlebarwon’tlieflat.
Moreimportantly,theRemedy 8
comeswiththreeinterlocking10mm
spacers.Atmaxheightthehandlebar
felttootall,causingthebiketorunwide
onflatturns.Dropit down10mmand
it felttoolowforsteepchutes.Given
thatthespacersarecustom,Trekreally
shouldreplaceoneofthe10mmspacers
withtwo2.5mmspacersanda 5mm,so
youcanfine-tunethebarheight.
Size-wisetheRemedy8 felta little
shortandtallforthesecond-largestsize
ina five-strongrange,theheightofthe
seatmastmakingit nighonimpossible
toupsize.
It’sstilla reallycapablebike,and
eventhoughit’soneofthelonger-travel
bikesontest—withgravity-focused
suspensionthatsettlesinunderbraking
tomakethebikefeelmorestableon
thesteepestdescents—thankstothe
stiffframeandRE:aktivdamper it’s no
slouch on the climbs either.2 7.5in trail BikeS
60 mbr M ay 2 019
in association with