‘Plus-sized’ mountain bikes are just barely breaking ground but Trek is already bucking the emerging trend with its new Stache 9 hardtail, slapping 3in-wide tyres on 29in wheels instead of the smaller 27.5in ones.
Cast aside your images of a slow and cumbersome machine though – the wheels and tyres may be huge but the Stache 9 is remarkably nimble and far more entertaining than you’d expect on paper. If your main goal is just having fun when you hit the trails, the Stache 9 just might be the bike you’ve been waiting for.
This ain’t no lumbering big-wheeler
The Stache 9 may wear Sub-Ringlé rims that are the same diameter as on a standard 29er but they’re nearly twice as wide and end up about two inches taller in total when you account for the matching 3in-wide Bontrager Chupacabra tyres. Given such a massive disparity, then, it’s no surprise that those huge feet large define the Stache 9’s personality on the trail.
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The 45mm-wide rims and 3in-wide tyres make for a huge footprint on the ground
When you combine that bigger overall diameter with the huge increase in air volume and lower operating pressures – roughly 12psi for this 70kg (154lb) test rider – what you get is more akin to a hovercraft than a mountain bike in terms of isolation. With so much pillowy goodness underneath you, the Stache 9 positively floats over small-to-medium rocks and roots without so much as a hiccup to disrupt your flow.
You can’t escape physics
Fantastic frame, great kit
Wicked fun but also conditions-dependent
Complete specification:
- Frame: Trek Alpha Platinum Aluminum
- Fork: Manitou Magnum 34 Pro, 110mm travel
- Headset: FSA IS-2, 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in tapered
- Stem: Bontrager Rhythm Pro
- Handlebar: Bontrager Rhythm Pro
- Grips: Bontrager Race Lite lock-on
- Front brake: Shimano Deore XT BR-M785 w/ 180mm RT81-M rotor
- Rear brake: Shimano Deore XT BR-M785 w/ 180mm RT81-M rotor
- Brake levers: Shimano Deore XT BL-M785
- Rear derailleur: SRAM X1
- Shift lever: SRAM X1 trigger
- Cassette: SRAM XG-1175, 10-42T
- Chain: SRAM PC-1130
- Crankset: SRAM X1 1400 w/ 30T X-Sync chainring
- Bottom bracket: SRAM PF92
- Rims: Sun-Ringlé Mulefüt 50SL, 32-hole
- Hubs: DT Swiss 350 Centerlock w/ Boost spacing
- Front tyre: Bontrager Chupacabra, 29x3.0in
- Rear tyre: Bontrager Chupacabra, 29x3.0in
- Saddle: Bontrager Evoke RXL
- Seatpost: KS LEV Integra
- Pedals: n/a
- Weight: 12.26kg (27.03lb, 17.5in size, tubeless, without pedals)
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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