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‘08 Trek Fuel EX 5.5 Compared to ‘09 Fuel EX 8

July 19th, 2008 by Arleigh Jenkins

Bikes : ‘08 Trek Fuel EX 5.5 & ‘09 Fuel EX 8
Tester: 23 years old; 151 lbs; “XC” dirt lover.
Where? Charlotte, NC & Pisgah, NC

This past weekend I woke at o’dark 30 and made the drive west to the mountains of Western North Carolina. There was a need to ride something with some type of elevation and to compare the two bikes we have in house.  The 2008 Trek Fuel EX 5.5, and the new 2009 Fuel X 8 (WSD.)

Two of the biggest things that were important to me to test between the two bikes were #1 - the WSD fit compared to the traditional, unisex, fit.  #2 the new “Active Braking pivot”

A friend of mine, Lucy, was kind enough to be suckered into test riding the bikes with me so that I could get decent distance on each bike and swap half way through the trail.

Fuel EX 5.5 : Descending Cove Creek was enjoyable, I needed to mess with the Fox Float R’s rebound adjustment from what Trek’s stock card recommended. But this was the first time I needed to do this in the dozen or so rides I’ve put on the bike. Once at the bottom it was time to turn right back around and climb back up the wet, rooty hill I came down. Soon into it I messed with the U-turn on the Tora and pulled down the suspension as much as possible. This helped me keep the front end down while keeping the rear wheel weighted as not to spin out on the leaves.

Fuel EX 8 : The active braking pivot did everything it said it would.  You brake, and the travel still continues

Once to the top I took a slightly different course down the hill side to Daniel Ridge. Somewhere on this trail I heard the knob of my rear tire ping off a root/rock. A mile down the trail a wobble could be felt in the rear wheel, thinking the tube was going flat I pulled over.  There wasn’t a flat and the wheel was in true. The issue was a cut in the sidewall which was causing a bubble in the tire. Gently I hobbled back to the car trying not to smack the rear wheel into anything. Time for a new tire!

All in all:

Fuel EX 5.5  : Any issues I have with the bike are more individual things that are easy to change out. (Saddle, grips and tires.) Not having test ridden tons of bikes in this price range I won’t say it is the best bike for the price. The Sram works amazing, the shifters feel on the cheaper side but they work fine. I will say that I feel comfortable doing about anything on it within reason. While coming down the trail there were a couple 2 footers that I easily came off of and the bike felt great on the landing. Pushing it on the local group rides is easy to do. I wouldn’t recommend to race this bike on your next Elite level XC race but if you are dabbling in racing and might do a few beginner races a year this bike is perfect.

Fuel EX 8 : All of my saddle, grip and tire woes from the EX 5.5 were taken care of.  The bike shifted flawlessly with the better Shimano drivetrain.  I’ll keep the rest of review under wraps as it will have a complete full review on the site shortly.

Check out TrekBikes.com for the bikes.


2 Responses to “‘08 Trek Fuel EX 5.5 Compared to ‘09 Fuel EX 8”

  1. 1 J 

    hey, thanks for the update on 2008 trek, 5.5. Im lookin at getting a new bike. i have been tryin to find as much info as possible on this model. Funds are limited. Im looking to spend within the range of this bike. I want to make sure im getting the most for my money. Thanks again for your opinion on the bike.

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