A_M _B_2015_02_03_

http://www.ambmag.com.au - 73

InItIal ImpressIons – Warm Up at

stromlo

The testing was in and around The Cannonball
Festival at Thredbo but since we bypassed
Canberra I felt Mt Stromlo would be a perfect
playground to get my head around this sexy
blue machine. On the climb the Trek was feeling
exceptional as I expected. The roll was noticeably
more efficient than its 26-inch friend I’d come
to know all so well and I was immediately
comfortable and naturally set up on the bike after
a quick seat, gear and brake position adjustment.

Gearing and pedalling felt crisp and clean with
an excellent range from the SRAM X1 group set.
But the real surprise was on the fast, flowing
runs down Skyline and the Luge and later the
more techy Pork Barrel/Double Dissolution; the
ability of the bigger wheels to soak up the rougher
parts of the trail yet still remain feeling extremely
fun and lively was proof that bigger wheels have
a place in the trail bike market place. The bike

with a few minor adjustments would be primed

for the adventure that lay ahead in the NSW

Alpine region. The main issue I had was the

handlebar width being narrower than what I was

used to, so we swapped out for the new Bontrager

Rhythm Pro Carbons (cutting them down to

740mm)... Perfect! A touch more pressure than

what was recommended in both the Pike Forks

and Fox DRCV RE:aktiv shock and I was set. It was

time to get on the road for some lift assisted runs

at Thredbo and whatever else the Snowies had to

throw at us over the next four days of trail riding

and gravity racing.

thredbo and the snoWIes

Straight out of the gate the Remedy felt like a

bike I was excited to race on! It was slack but

responsive - and the length of the 17.5” frame

felt perfect. My concerns of 29-inch wheels

being a hindrance in turning and cornering were

unfounded. The wider handlebars and well-

tuned suspension front and back completed my

confidence levels for chasing mates down the

mountain.

Thredbo was such a fun mountain to test this new

toy – fast, flowing and at times technical, plus you

tested

dereK reCIo

rIder bIo

Riding Experience: Plenty of years riding the

trails around Sydney in pursuit of good times

and good lines.

Generally Rides:

Rocky Mountain Altitude Rally Edition

Height: 176cm

Weight: 80kg

Bike Test Track: Thredbo, Stromlo,

local Sydney trails

could push the limits if you were game to try out

the DH track, which we did. The Remedy certainly

held its own and impressed on the fast open stuff

and managed to handle the roughness and tech of

the DH course, a trail that the bike was not quite

designed for!

29ers that are made right are efficient pedalling

bikes. The past few years have seen lots of tweaks

and refinements by multiple brands aiming to

get these larger wheels working how they were

meant to. Trek are self-proclaimed to be at the

head of this game and we felt the 2015 Remedy

has the 29er trail set up dialed. 29er riders have

been stereotyped as fire trail loving lyrca bandits,

keener on tamed down tracks and long XC races

(not that there’s anything wrong with that),

however Trek’s 2015 Remedy 29er dismissed that

myth immediately. She was sooooo much fun

eating up every bit of tech and roughness that that

she blazed past.

The Remedy climbed like a mountain goat. And

with a 32 front chain ring and 10 – 42 out back

there was easily enough range for all the elevation

changes in Thredbo and the Snowies. SRAM’s X1

shifters were crisp and clean the whole test, and

it’s great to see this simpler drivetrain system

continue to ‘trickle down’ the range. I only had

one issue with a dropped chain going down the DH

course. If you were taking your descending more

seriously and are situated near rougher trails a

chain guide could be a nice addition with ISCG

tabs included for installment.

Braking was everything I expected from the

Shimano Deore XT, something that was certainly

put to the test working out the speed and

terrain of the Flow track before the race run

began. Dropper posts are one of those recent

technologies where once you have one its difficult

to own a bike without, and the Remedy 9 comes

with the RockShox Reverb which came in handy.

The plushness of the DRCV RE:aktiv technology

suspension allowed the smaller bumps and

chatter to be minimised, making general riding

and cornering effortless and supportive whether

you were sitting down for the long haul or

standing and putting the big power strokes in.

There was noticeable sensitivity between the

low and high compressions, leading to top notch

traction and bottom out control. When the bigger

drops or hits came, the Remedy was still tracking

well thanks to the 140mm RockShox Pikes, a

perfect combination with the 29-inch wheels,

stayed solid yet agile when I wanted it to throw

it through multiple berms, tabletops and drops.

Trek have worked out some clever bike geometry

changes, which I had running on the slacker of

the two options using the Evo Link which gives

you an extra ½ degree slacker head angle at 67.5

and made the Remedy perfect for those long

techy descents.

I finished with a grin from ear to ear, realising

that this bike was a true trail machine and that