Trek unveil new Scratch full-sus mountain bike
Trek Scratch 9 2010 (Matthew Cole/BikeRadar)
We’ve just had a look at Trek’s new Scratch full-sus, which aims to bridge the gap between the company’s Session downhill bike and Remedy all-mountain machine.
With 160mm of travel up front and 170mm of rear bounce, it’s aimed at riders who want to blast downhill and then pedal back up the mountain.
The Scratch uses Trek’s E2 tapered head tube system (1.5in lower and 1 1/8in upper), which is designed to be stiffer than a 1 1/8in head tube but lighter than the 1.5in alternative.
It has adjustable geometry – the head tube angle and bottom bracket height can be altered from 66.5° and 14.4in to 66° and 14.1in respectively – so you can slacken the angles for high-speed riding and steepen them for more technical terrain.
The rear dropout can take 135mm or 142mm hubs and has a tabbed guide for ease of installation.
Starting at £2,700, the base model has a RockShox Lyrik fork, Fox Float RP2 rear shock, Shimano SLX crankset and Bontrager Cousin Earl Disc wheelset.
The top-end model (pictured) will set you back £4,000 and has a Fox Vanilla RC2 fork and DHX RC-4 shock, RaceFace Atlas crankset and SRAM XO rear mech.
We’ll bring you news from the Trek Scratch’s official launch in October, and you can get your hands on the new bike from mid-December 2009.
User Comments
There are 6 comments on this post
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 comments
-
king_rw
Posted Mon 21 Sep, 2:59 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
I wouldn't want to pedal that up very far...
-
prb007
Posted Mon 21 Sep, 6:34 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
mmmmmmmm.......like a Specilaized Pitch - but TWICE the price! Think I'd rather buy TWO Pitches, myself!
-
Ynotgorilla
Posted Mon 21 Sep, 9:05 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
Hmmm, thought the Commencal Mini DH didn`t sell that well, it was neither fowl nor fish, neither is this it seems...
-
Shaggy_Dog
Posted Mon 21 Sep, 10:17 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
I don't think you can compare this bike to the pitch, it's more like an SX trail. The SX is a great bike and has ruled the roost for the last 5 years if you've been looking for a short travel DH rig or a very burly all-mountain bike. I personally find bikes like this very impractical but it's a great way to get a quality downhill bike for not a lot of money. A lot of people believe that a 6-7 inch bike is plenty for all but Fort Bill in the UK DH scene. I'd like to see more stiff but light 100mm-120mm bikes with low BB's and long wheelbases, set up with a double and bash, a lot like Doddy's Blur 4X.
-
nferrar
Posted Tue 22 Sep, 7:37 am UTC Flag as inappropriate
It's on my 'maybe' list but the price is pretty high (I'd be looking at the Scratch 7), I think I'd go for an SX Trail instead for similar money if I had to choose between the two. I think I'll end up with a Lapierre Froggy 518 though as it ticks a few more boxes for me.
I think there is a market for this type of bike (albeit a relatively small one), I want to do the odd uplift day, some Alps trips and also have something I could ride at a trail centre if my 140mm bike was out of action.
-
hksdrift159
Posted Wed 4 Nov, 5:23 pm UTC Flag as inappropriate
finally a bike i can beat my mates down a hill and just stick behind them on uphills. i need this bike, any other bike ive had gives way to much pedal bop. this bike i can ride all day, hit a downhill course and ride round a freeride park.
Good going Trek!!!
- 1
Post this story to: