The Bike

"The bike" -- I've been talking all spring long, on & off about getting a new bike to race this season with. Being so uptight and exacting, I must have analyzed things a hundred different ways over 8 or 10 weeks before settling in on a one of kind Trek Top Fuel 69er, yes, one of those Travis Brown freak bikes which can’t embrace uniformity of wheel size. It's however dressed up from the stock model Trek has on it's website. I worked with Penn cycle in Bloomington because they were willing to swap out parts at cost and were really understanding in helping build the bike I wanted. I learned a big lesson last year about working with bike shops to get the right bike, I know some people are fans of Jay "Hollywood" Henderson, of H-wood cycles, but I unfortunately didn't have a favorable experience last year in purchasing my Salsa 29er. Could have been communication on both our parts but I was left rather aggravated & unhappy from the process.

This full suspension 69er (29" wheel upfront, 26" wheel in back) has been set up with XTR, shimano componets, and the bontrager race x lite wheels, etc. Saddle is a fi’zi:k Aliante Gamma XM – most delightful saddle ever as far as my backside is concerned. I went with a Bontrager Dry 1.8" front tire -- which I had questions about it's width at first but it handled both the MNSCS race & the Cable Off Road classic without any problems. But you've got to try it to know if it's something you like to race with.
So how do I like the bike overall? All I can say is the bike suites me really well, I've got what I feel is reliable front steering that one can be carelessly aggressive with. And there's snap and quickness I like in the smaller 26" rear wheel. (Some riders notice the difference in turning the 29” wheels & 26” wheels, other don’t. I for one do, hence the 69er is so appealing). Both front & rear suspension I keep to a minimum when I'm racing, but I also pedal alot in the saddle so even that little give helps a lot when cranking the pedals in a higher cadence fashion like I do.

Otherwise when riding for fun the suspension is open all the way for a smooth ride. If I had to get picky I'd increase the head tube angle which at 69 degrees puts that front wheel out there a ways more than my previous bikes at 72 & 73 degrees. I'd also put less travel in both front & rear suspensions and have a carbon frame. Again, that's just getting picky because this one is dressed up as nice and light as just about any full suspension race bike out there.

I ride with 25psi in the front 29x1.8" Bontrager Dry that has a mixture of Bontrager "Juice" & Stan's in the rear I have 28psi on a 26x2.0" Bontrager Revolt(-something). Every have questions about this hybrid ride, drop me a line.