Trek Slash 9 review
All-mountain machine gets 650b retooling
GBP £4,300.00 RRP | USD $5,769.99 Skip to view dealsPublished:
Trek’s Slash has been completely reworked around the 650b wheel size this year, offering more aggressive, race-ready geometry as well as a significant reduction in weight. We tested the priciest of the three Slashes available.
Frame and equipment: flexible friend
Even with the introduction of bigger wheels, Trek has opted to slacken the Slash’s head angle to 65 degrees (when in the low setting) and stretch the effective top tube to 600mm (on our 18.5in test bike), bolstering stability when the speeds creep up. The bottom bracket has been dropped to a more corner carving-friendly 350mm too. There’s also the option to tweak the geometry slightly via the Mino Link flippable chip, located at the rear of the one-piece magnesium EVO Link. This alters the bottom bracket height by 8mm and the head angle by 0.6 degrees.
Ride and handling: room for manoeuvres
The reduction in weight and active rear end help make the Slash feel playful and sprightly on the trail – it rides a lot lighter than its 13.6kg weight would suggest. The roomy cockpit – even with a stubby 50mm stem – gives plenty of breathing room on the climbs too.
Point the Slash into rough, chattery terrain – especially when the speed picks up – and it rips. That supple back end smooths out the trail impressively, and the slack head angle and lengthier front centre give confidence when you start really moving. Slinging the bike through fast corners does get you thinking about the suspension balance though.
The Slash is confident and fun on the trail
To make the Fox 34 fork feel supportive enough, we had to run a reasonably high spring pressure. This meant it didn’t match the plush, active feel of the rear (with the DRCV shock in ‘descend’ mode), leaving us working the bar harder to stay on line and making it difficult for more aggressive riders to load the bike through the turns.
Flicking the shock into ‘trail’ mode helps balance the suspension, and it’s where we spent the majority of our time. It does make us wonder how the Slash 9 would behave with a tuned, plusher fork plugged in. Still, there’s no denying that the changes made to the Slash help bolster confidence and fun on the trail.
Latest deals
Product Specifications
Product
| Name | Name, 0, 10, Name, Slash 9 (14) |
| Brand | Brand, 0, 20, Brand, Trek |
| Brakes | Brakes, 2, 0, Brakes, Avid X0 Trail |
| Cranks | Cranks, 2, 0, Cranks, SRAM XX1 |
| Fork | Fork, 2, 0, Fork, Fox 34 TALAS FIT CTD (Factory Series), 160-130mm (6.3-5.1in) travel |
| Frame Material | Frame Material, 2, 0, Frame Material, Alpha Platinum Aluminium, 160mm (6.3in) travel |
| Front Tyre | Front Tyre, 2, 0, Front Tyre, Bontrager XR4 Team Issue 27.5x2.35in |
| Handlebar | Handlebar, 2, 0, Handlebar, Bontrager Rhythm Pro carbon, 750mm |
| Rear Derailleur | Rear Derailleur, 2, 0, Rear Derailleur, SRAM XX1 |
| Rear Shock | Rear Shock, 2, 0, Rear Shock, Fox Float DRCV CTD (Performance Series) |
| Rear Tyre | Rear Tyre, 2, 0, Rear Tyre, Bontrager XR4 Team Issue 27.5x2.35in |
| Saddle | Saddle, 2, 0, Saddle, Bontrager Evoke 3 Ti |
| Seatpost | Seatpost, 2, 0, Seatpost, RockShox Reverb Stealth |
| Shifters | Shifters, 2, 0, Shifters, X01 |
| Stem | Stem, 2, 0, Stem, Bontrager Rhythm Pro, 50mm |
| Weight (kg) | Weight (kg), 2, 0, Weight (kg), 13.6 |
| Wheelset | Wheelset, 2, 0, Wheelset, Bontrager Rhythm Comp tubeless ready wheels, Bontrager XR4 Team Issue 27.5x2.35in tyres |
| Year | Year, 2, 0, Year, 2014 |
| Weight (lb) | Weight (lb), 2, 0, Weight (lb), 30 |
Authors
Rob Weaver is BikeRadar's technical editor-in-chief. Rob manages all of the testing here at BikeRadar and across our magazines, Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus. Rob first graced the pages of MBUK back in 2001 when working as a freelance writer and went on to start testing bikes for the title in 2007. In 2010 he joined the team full-time and has been keeping a close eye on all things test-related ever since. Rob’s expansive knowledge of bikes comes courtesy of his passion for racing. He cut his teeth racing cross-country mountain bikes in the early 90s before finding his feet in downhill. After many years competing on the UK national circuit (including a year attempting to race UCI DH World Cups), Rob realised his know-how and passion for bike setup, tech and writing clearly outweighed his racing ability. A degree in sports technology and decades of riding experience all help to give Rob a thorough understanding of what’s needed to create a great bike or product. While Rob’s a mountain biker at heart and never happier than when he’s sliding down a Welsh hillside, he’s more than happy to put the miles in on the road or gravel bike, too.
