trek fuel ex 5 27 5

2024 BUDGET BIKE ROUNDUP

Trek fuel ex 5 gen 5 review.

Words by Travis Reill  |  Photos by Dusten Ryen & Brian Niles Sponsored by Leatt & Tifosi Optics

With trail bikes in Trek’s lineup reaching five-digit prices, it is nice to see the industry giant offer a full-suspension trail bike that doesn’t break the bank. Trek was kind enough to send us the Fuel EX 5 to ride and review in our budget-bike shoot-out. At just under $2,500, the Fuel EX 5 is one of the most expensive bikes on test. We were excited to get the Fuel EX 5 out on the trails and see how it stacks up against the others in our test bike group.

• 130mm single-pivot ABP • Flip-chip adjustable geo • HTA 66.5 (high setting) • STA 75.5 (high setting) • REACH 475 (Large, high setting)

Big-brand Security

Highest Quality Frame On Test

WE DON’T

Short dropper post

Wide, Heavy wheels

Least Pedaling Support Of The Group

ABOUT THE TREK FUEL EX 5

Many of us are familiar with Trek’s trail-busting Fuel EX line. The Gen 6 Fuel EX saw added travel – not to mention a new frame design – but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the shorter-travel younger sibling out on the trails. With 140/130mm of travel and relatively moderate geometry, the Trek Fuel Gen 5 has been a trail bike many have reached for years.

FRAME AND FEATURES

Trek’s Fuel EX 5 features Alpha Platinum Aluminum. Trek boasts their aluminum “is continuously cold extruded and butted at multiple points, and hydroformed into sophisticated tube shapes for maximum strength and minimum weight.” The Fuel EX also has Trek’s Knock Block headset system, which prevents the handlebars from hitting the top tube and causing damage in a crash. Cables are internally routed, and the frame is offered in two color options: black, or the black and yellow we received.

The Fuel EX is offered in seven sizes, from XS to XL. X-small and small frame sizes come with 27.5-inch wheels and a pronounced dip in the top tube to help with standover height. Sizes medium and up are all equipped with 29-inch wheels. If you are familiar with Trek’s sizing, you will know that they also offer a medium/large size for those in between the two sizes. This is the only “in-between” size offered.

Trek’s Mino Link allows you to change the Fuel EX’s geometry. Switching from high to low will slacken the bike by 0.5°, drop the BB by 6mm, and shorten the reach by 5mm. While the bike comes with a 140mm travel fork, Trek gives allowance for bumping up to 150mm to improve descending capability.

The Fuel EX is essentially a linkage-driven single-pivot with one key difference—a pivot at the rear axle. Trek calls this their Active Braking Pivot (ABP) design. On most suspension designs, braking is considered to negatively impact the rear suspension’s ability to absorb impacts and provide traction. Trek’s ABP design aims to allow the rear suspension to remain more active under braking forces.

The Fuel EX 5’s geometry remains relatively moderate compared to today’s trail bike trends. For clarity’s sake, I’ll share the geometry in the “high” setting of the geometry-adjusting Flip Chip. The head tube angle is 66.5° and is paired with a 75.5° seat tube angle. The Stack Height ranges from 559mm to 623mm and Reach lengths range from 400mm to 500mm. Our size large came in at 609mm and 475mm respectively..

The BB height is 341mm in X-small and small, then 346mm for medium and up. Similarly, the BB drop is only 14mm below the axles on the two smallest sizes, and 28mm on sizes medium and up to account for the larger wheels. 436mm chainstays feature across all sizes. Our size Large Wheelbase totalled 1211mm.

BUILD SPECS

For the Fuel EX 5, Trek only offers two build options: a higher-end, 9.8 AXS Gen 5 and the budget-friendly EX 5 they sent us at $2,499. Leading the charge on our test bike was a Rockshox Recon Silver with the Motion Control damper and lockout. In the rear, there was a X-Fusion Pro 2 shock with “open” and “climb” positions.

The drivetrain is a complete Shimano Deore M6100 12-speed build, with Shimano’s 10-51 tooth cassette and a 30-tooth chainring. Shimano also handles the brakes, with 2-caliper hydraulic stoppers and 180mm rotors. 35mm width Alex MD35 wheels are laced to Bontrager hubs, and roll on wide 2.6 Maxxis Rekons. Bontrager makes up the rest of the build with tires, cockpit, and saddle—with the exception of a TranzX dropper post at a short 130mm drop length.

With a brand name as large as Trek, our expectations with the Fuel EX 5 were reasonably high. Even with a more budget-friendly component build, we figured Trek’s proven platform would shine through, regardless of the parts hanging from the frame.

When we tested the Trek Fuel EX 5 on the trails, we found it best suited for riders looking to put in miles. Its very moderate 66.5° headtube angle—the steepest of any of the bikes on test—puts the rider’s body more toward the front of the bike. This allows for a comfortable pedaling position, especially on climbs, which the Fuel EX 5 did reasonably well on. That forward-heavy position also provided good handling on the relatively techy bits of the climbs.

Even with a steeper headtube angle, the Fuel EX 5 wasn’t overly twitchy on faster descents. With 130mm of rear travel, it tackled some rough and chunky trails reasonably well, but finding its limit was quite easy for our aggressive riding crew. It also jumped decently, although the suspension had been firmed up quite a bit. This was done out of necessity, to add support to prevent harsh bottoming out on harder hits. Less aggressive riders looking for a more conventional light-duty trail bike may not feel the need to do the same.

One thing that seemed to hold the Trek Fuel EX 5 back while descending was the dropper post. Our size large EX 5 came with a 130mm dropper, a much shorter length than we’re used to for a size large frame. This meant having quite a bit less post insertion to get proper saddle height for climbing. When it was time to point the EX 5 downhill, the seat, even when dropped all the way down, was high enough between your legs to make handling the bike uncomfortable.

Initially, the expectation was that the Trek Fuel EX 5 might be the most efficient and best pedaling bike on test. However, we found that this wasn’t the case once we hit the trails. The bike’s geometry teased that as the case, but something seemed to be holding it back. After several of our testers spent considerable time on the Fuel EX, we concluded that the rolling weight of the wheels made the bike seem sluggish. We’re not sure why a trail bike is spec’d with 35mm inner width rims, but that, combined with 2.6 width tires, surely hurt the Trek’s performance when it came to rotational efficiency.

As with many of the other budget bikes in the field, the suspension and brakes were also where the Trek Fuel EX 5 came up short. The Fuel EX 5 shared the same suspension, and many of the same issues, as the GT Sensor Sport. The fork and shock both seemed sticky, and there were very few adjustments. The air pressure X-Fusion recommended for me (Travis) essentially turned the bike into a hardtail. When I let air out to get an appropriate SAG, the shock bottomed out hopping off a curb. Regarding brakes, the Shimano 2-pistons performed better than some of the other brakes on the budget bikes, but they still left us wanting a bit more power.

The Wolf’s Last Word

Price: $2,499.99 Website: Trekbikes.com

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Trek Fuel EX 5 27.5 Plus (2017) review

• Alan Muldoon
• January 25, 2017

Fuel EX 5 Plus eats up boulders and roots on the descents

Product Overview

Overall rating:, trek fuel ex 5.

• First-class frame quality
• Needs better tyres and a clutch mech

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:.

For 2017, Trek has completely reworked its Fuel EX platform. Not only has it increased the travel to 130mm, it now offers two versions: one with 29in wheels, and a 27.5 Plus bike with massive 2.8in tyres. And it’s this bike that we’ve tested here.

Both models share the exact same frame, but the Plus bikes get 140mm travel forks , 10mm more than the 29ers. The extra fork length helps raise the bottom bracket height and offset the fact that Plus wheels come up smaller than 29in wheels.

Trek isn’t the only brand to adopt this two-wheel size, single frame approach, but its Mino-Link gives a distinct advantage. This small, asymmetric chip in the rocker link allows you to change the seatstay position relative to the link, which in turn changes the geometry.

In the high position, with Plus wheels, the BB height is roughly the same as the 29er in the low setting. As such, the Plus bike ships in the high position, but there’s nothing to stop you running it in the lower/slacker setting.

Rubber bumper adds belt and braces protection

One new feature on the Fuel EX frame is the Straight Shot down tube. According to Trek, it’s stiffer and lighter than the gooseneck profile normally used to achieve the necessary fork crown clearance.

Trek gets around the clearance issue with a steering lock that prevents the fork crown ever reaching the down tube.

Full steering lock is about 53° in either direction, and we’ve only hit the stop once while riding, on a particularly tight switchback climb.

Trek may have bumped up the travel on the Fuel EX, but it hasn’t taken away any of the signature features that made its suspension great. It’s still got ABP (Active Braking Pivot) to help keep the rear wheel tracking when the rear brake is applied, and there’s a metric size shock with increased overlap for improved reliability.

We’re not really fans of lock-outs, and while the one on the RockShox Deluxe is solid, we’d prefer a setting that firms up the suspension for climbing, but doesn’t make the rear suspension totally redundant.

Guide pressures printed on the lower legs of the RockShox Sektor Silver fork proved to be surprisingly accurate, but even with the rebound damping set fully open, the fork felt a little sluggish to return, so light riders running lower pressure will struggle to get the optimum set-up.

Tubeless-ready rims spell less sighs and more highs

Trek states that the Fuel EX 5 comes with a 750mm handlebar , which sounds ideal. Unfortunately, the bike actually has a 720mm bar, which is at odds with its progressive geometry and attitude. Thankfully, it gets a 60mm stem, so all is not lost.

Probably the biggest oversight in the specification is that it doesn’t get a clutch rear mech. As such, the Fuel EX is more prone to dropping the chain, and it’s noisy as hell, even with the rubberised chainstay protector.

Check your Mino-Link bolts — ours fell out

Performance

Setting up the Trek was a doddle. And seeing as we weren’t clipping pedals in the high geometry setting, we quickly flipped the Mino-Link to the low position to take advantage of the slacker head angle. All was golden until one of the Mino-Links fell out mid-ride.

Thanks to Head For The Hills bike shop, in Dorking, we were back up and running the very same day, and this time we added a spot of Loctite to the bolt.

In the right conditions, the Fuel EX 5 Plus eats up boulders and roots on the descents, and this encourages you to ride off the brakes.

Bontrager’s Chupacabra 2.8in tyres also provide unparalleled traction on the climbs, making the most painful part of your ride that much easier. They also roll surprisingly quickly, but the profile is very rounded, so the bike can start to slide in corners before you even reach the side knobs.

Get it on some sloppy waterlogged singletrack and it’s even more difficult to keep it moving in a straight line — and that’s with our £220 Maxxis tyre upgrade.

Visco spread narrows; market eyes South Asia tenders

Asia's viscosity spread for cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) narrowed further on Tuesday, while the market eyed several South Asia tenders offering HSFO for spot loading.

A couple of Indian refiners have offered 180-cst HSFO via tenders that close on Tuesday, industry sources said.

India's HPCL offered 20,000 metric tons of the product for loading between June 20 and 27, while BPCL offered 30,000 tons for loading between July 5 and 7.

Pakistan's PARCO is also offering 180-cst HSFO via a tender that closes on June 25, with the loading laycan to be finalised later.

The viscosity spread, which is the price difference between 180-cst HSFO and 380-cst HSFO, narrowed below $1.50 a ton on Tuesday, latest data showed.

The 380-cst market retained its strength, with cash premiums and margins holding stable from last week's levels.

Front-month cracks for 380-cst HSFO (FO380DUBCKMc1) inched up to discounts of about $6 a barrel on Tuesday, while low-sulphur (VLSFO) cracks (LFO05SGDUBCMc1) also closed higher at about $9.75 a barrel.

Meanwhile, intermonth timespreads for fuel oil widened in backwardation for the prompt months for all key grades.

BUNKER SALES

- Singapore bunker sales rebounded to 4.83 million tons in May after logging monthly declines for four consecutive months, with container throughput and vessel calls firming from April, official data showed.

- Fujairah bunker sales fell to a six-month low at about 610,000 metric tons in May, as tighter inventories capped uptake while lower prices at neighbouring port Khor Fakkan also drew some demand away, trade sources said.

- Oil prices were largely stable on Tuesday as traders awaited signs of a hoped-for summer demand boost to prop up prices even as strong supply threatens to blunt gains.

- Denmark is considering ways to stop a so-called shadow fleet of tankers from carrying Russian oil through the Baltic Sea, the Nordic country said, triggering a sharp response from Moscow's diplomats who said any such move would be unacceptable.

- Shell has agreed to buy Singaporean liquefied natural gas company Pavilion Energy from global investment company Temasek in a move the oil major said will strengthen its leadership position in LNG, according to statements on Tuesday

- Japan's top oil refiner Eneos Holdings and trading house Mitsubishi Corp said on Tuesday they will explore expanding their alliance to include hydrogen and decarbonised fuels, in addition to sustainable aviation fuel.

WINDOW TRADES

- 180-cst HSFO: No trade

- 380-cst HSFO: No trade

- 0.5% VLSFO: No trade

ASSESSMENTS