Introducing the 2020 Trek Fuel EX Mountain Bikes

The Trek Fuel EX has long been one of our most popular and capable trail bikes that we sell. Trek has always found a way to add that one killer feature at each price point that makes these point and shoot trail bikes great for so many types of mount bike fans.

We're not going to mince words.

The new 2020 Fuel EX mountain Bikes rip in ways that surprised us on the trail in some very good ways

Check out our review, read what's new with the lineup, explore the highlights of each model, and most importantly, come take these out for a spin so you can see how amazing they ride.

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Our Review

Check out our conversation with Trek's Jose Gonzales as we take an in depth look at the new 2020 Fuel EX Lineup.

Prefer to read it? Check out the transcription of the video.

 

What's new in 2020

Trek's Jose Gonzalez came out and let us rip our favorite local trails to try out the lineup before the launch. Here are a number of things about the new Fuel EX platform that make the new Fuel EX a killer choice including:

• So Quiet. The bike is incredibly quiet even while working through some technical sections with rocks and debris flying around.
• The bike climbs like a billygoat. We loved how buttery smooth and efficient the bike climbs.
• The trunkbox. The trunkbox is a really cool feature that allows you to store a small tool roll inside the frame for any trailside adjustments.
• The slacker Goldilocks geometry we've been waiting for. The slacker geometry allows an easier climbing position, which Trek refers to as a more neutral climbing position.
• All new Frame. We love the reworked Seat tube that allows for a 100 - 170 mm dropper posts for an even smoother plusher ride. Our rider with shorter legs (Pancho) noticed how cool it was that we could drop the seat all the way down into the frame giving us pleanty of room to do work on the trail.
• Huge 2.6"inch tire clearance. The new 2.6" tire clearance gives you plenty of room to go wide with your tire choices.
• 1x drivetrains Only.We also love the new commitment to a 1x drivetrains throughout the lineup. Whether it is the 1x10 on the entry level or the 1x12 found on the higher end models we had just the right amount of range to both climb and mash on descents.
• Women's Fuels are no more. Trek found that women were gravitating towards riding the men's styles and so Trek consolidated the lines together and offer two colors per model with a darker and brighter variant per model.

 

Fuel EX Models

These are the models that you can buy with us in store and online. They each have two stock colors per model.

Project One Fuel EX Models

If you want a custom built Fuel EX from Trek's Project One program built to your specs with your own paint scheme, then these are the bikes for you.

 

Geometry Charts

Below you'll find 4 different geometry charts, 2 for Aluminum and 2 for Carbon. Each frame type has a high and low chart. These correspond to how you've set the mino link, which with a simple adjustment allows you to adjust the headtube angle and bottom bracket height, in either the low or high position.

Fuel EX Carbon - Low Geomtery

Frame Size Letter	XS	S	S	M	ML	L	XL	XXL
Wheel size	27.5"	27.5"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"
Seat tube	35.6	39.5	39.5	42	43.5	45	50	54
Seat tube angle	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°
Head tube length	9	10	10	10	10.5	10.5	12	14
Head angle	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°
Effective top tube	54.6	56.8	57.8	60.3	61.9	63.4	66.3	68.8
Bottom bracket height	34.1	34.1	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6
Bottom bracket drop	2.1	2.1	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4
Chainstay length	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7
Offset	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Trail	11.1	11.1	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9
Wheelbase	112	114.4	115.4	117.9	119.6	121.1	124.2	127
Standover	69.5	70.2	70.2	74.1	74.6	74.8	77	79
Frame reach	39.5	41.5	41.5	44	45.5	47	49.5	51.5
Frame stack	56.3	57.2	60.8	60.8	61.3	61.3	62.7	64.5

Fuel EX Carbon - High Geomtery

Frame Size Letter	XS	S	S	M	ML	L	XL	XXL
Wheel size	27.5"	27.5"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"
Seat tube	35.5	39.5	39.5	42	43.5	45	50	54
Seat tube angle	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°
Head tube length	9	10	10	10	10.5	10.5	12	14
Head angle	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°
Effective top tube	54.5	56.7	57.7	60.2	61.8	63.3	66.1	68.6
Bottom bracket height	34.1	34.1	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6
Bottom bracket drop	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Chainstay length	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5
Offset	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Trail	10.7	10.8	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.6
Wheelbase	111.9	114.3	115.3	117.8	119.5	121	124.1	126.9
Standover	70	70.7	70.7	74.7	75.2	75.4	77.6	79.6
Frame reach	40	42	42	44.5	46	47.5	50	52
Frame stack	55.9	56.8	60.5	60.5	60.9	60.9	62.3	64.1

Fuel EX Alloy - Low Geomtery

Frame Size Letter	XS	S	S	M	ML	L	XL	XXL
Wheel size	27.5"	27.5"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"
Seat tube	35.6	39.5	39.5	42	43.5	45	50	54
Seat tube angle	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°	75.0°
Head tube length	9	10	10	10	10.5	10.5	12	14
Head angle	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°	66.0°
Effective top tube	54.6	56.8	57.8	60.3	61.9	63.4	66.3	68.8
Bottom bracket height	34.1	34.1	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6
Bottom bracket drop	2.1	2.1	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.4
Chainstay length	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7	43.7
Offset	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Trail	11.1	11.1	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9	11.9
Wheelbase	112	114.4	115.4	117.9	119.6	121.1	124.2	127
Standover	69.5	70.1	70.1	74.2	74.5	75	76.2	80
Frame reach	39.5	41.5	41.5	44	45.5	47	49.5	51.5
Frame stack	56.3	57.2	60.8	60.8	61.3	61.3	62.7	64.5

Fuel EX Alloy - High Geomtery

Frame Size Letter	XS	S	S	M	ML	L	XL	XXL
Wheel size	27.5"	27.5"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"	29"
Seat tube	35.5	39.5	39.5	42	43.5	45	50	54
Seat tube angle	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°	75.5°
Head tube length	9	10	10	10	10.5	10.5	12	14
Head angle	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°	66.5°
Effective top tube	54.5	56.7	57.7	60.2	61.8	63.3	66.1	68.6
Bottom bracket height	34.1	34.1	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6	34.6
Bottom bracket drop	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.7	2.7
Chainstay length	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5	43.5
Offset	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3
Trail	10.7	10.8	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.6
Wheelbase	111.9	114.3	115.3	117.8	119.5	121	124.1	126.9
Standover	70	70.6	70.6	74.8	75.1	75.6	76.8	80.6
Frame reach	40	42	42	44.5	46	47.5	50	52
Frame stack	55.9	56.8	60.5	60.5	60.9	60.9	62.3	64.1

 

FAQs

When will new Fuel EX be available in Project One?

New Fuel EX will be available in Project One late July.

What is the stock Mino Link position?

High Position

What is the max fork travel?

150mm (561mm axle-to-crown)

What is the rear brake mount? What is the max rotor size?

180mm direct. 203mm max

180mm direct. 203mm max

34-tooth

Can I use a shock with a longer stroke to increase the rear travel?

No. Doing so will void the warranty and will likely cause the seat stay to contact the back of the seat tube.

How much dropper post insertion length does the frame have?

	Alloy Frames	Caron Frames
XS 27.5	215mm	195mm
S 27.5	255mm	235mm
S 29	240mm	245mm
M 29	265mm	270mm
M/L 29	280mm	285mm
L 29	295mm	300mm
XL 29	345mm	350mm
XXL 29	385mm	390mm

Is it compatible with cranks with 30mm spindles?

Yes.

Are there ISCG mounts? Can I run a chain guide?

Yes. It has ISCG 05 mounts.

Is it compatible with 2x drivetrains?

No.

What is the max tire size?

29x2.6”

Is it compatible with 27.5” or 27.5+ wheels and tires?

Only the XS 27.5 and S 27.5 sizes are compatible with 27.5” wheels and tires. These sizes are not compatible with 29” wheels/tires.

Video Transcription

Ian: Hey everyone Ian and Poncho from summit bicycles here with an awesome new product review on tracks new fuel EX bike. We're lucky enough to actually have Jose Gonzalez here, the general manager for trek suspension lab in Southern California. And we are going to do a in depth review of the new fuel EX there's a lot of changes how you guys doing?

Pancho: Good. How are you?

Ian: Very good. Awesome. So we'll get right to it Pancho you rode. The fuel EX the new one model year 2020 and the 9.9 if I believe right, yes,

Pancho: nine nine X01 mechanical builds pretty awesome. I'm on X0-1 bike now. So that was a no adjustment period for me. So getting on it was, you know, really easy. And, man, the new fuel is way different than last fuel I was on.

Ian: Yeah. Yeah. That's great. Let's start with just your your first overall impressions of the bike.

Pancho: Overall, I thought it was great. It's been a while since I've spent all the time on a fuel. But this one is fantastic. I mean, the last one I wrote was probably a couple of years ago, at least less than our old very thoroughly. This one is far different than the last fuel that I was on. It's quiet. It's long. It's slack. It's it's really rowdy trail bike. It's it's real fun to be on.

Ian: That's awesome. How did it have? How did it climb?

Pancho: I mean tracks I've never not climbed well on this one. There's no exception that the fuel just really goes up the hill every time you pedal. It just keeps going. And yeah, there's no reason you can't get up any climb on this bike.

Ian: Yeah, we use Pancho as our testing dummy for climbing because he is by far the most sensitive to how well or not well a bike climbs.

Pancho: It's a really nice way of saying I'm terrible at climbing.

Ian: Yeah, I worked on that. Appreciate it. Yeah, no problem. How did it we have a lot of awesome video of you in some pretty sweet corners. How did it corner?

Pancho: Yeah, the bike is great. It's super stiff, it responds well, and corners. I mean, you throw your weight right into it and the snapshot of every single corner. Really, really impressive. The bottom bracket and change the area seem to do really well with all the forces you want to throw at it. So that's

Ian: great. That's great. Any other features that you want to touch on real quickly? Yeah, it was

Pancho: noticeably quiet. I think it's the quietest bike I've written probably in the last handful years if not the quietest bike I've been on. You know, bikes tend to make noise. The box sections are real big and their big hollow sections with rocks bang against it and chain bang against it. And you don't hear it anything. I mean, it's like the Vikas phone minutes. But it does it it's I don't know what magic that Jose through. But it's dead quiet. It's unbelievable.

Ian: Yeah. How did it they said, That's quite different geometry this year.

Pancho: Yeah, they they nailed it with the geometry. You know, the big knock on last year's model was maybe it wasn't as long as some of the bike set people wanted. And maybe it wasn't a slack. But this one hit the nail on the head. I mean, it's a 470 mil regional large, which I think is what people are looking for it certainly what I really like to see in a large trail bike. So the bike is long enough, it's slacking off, the bottom bracket felt lower. So the corners are really nice. And it descends again, like a really rowdy trail bike, you know, the the 140 travel in the front with the 130 in the rear, it just wants to go.

Ian: Yeah, that's thanks for that breakdown Poncho. I'll let Jose and you kind of talk about the number of improvements that truck made on this bike this year.

Pancho: So let's dive into it. I mean, let's start with the the frame, what were the biggest improvements you guys sought to make over last? The last few?

Jose: Well, as you can see, the frame is completely brand new. One of the significant changes is the increase in cross section on numerous tubes. And that enhance the stiffness of the bike. It also gave us the proper frame tuning, as well. So you can make a bike too stiff, which is something that's not really desirable.

Pancho: And it becomes uncomfortable today.

Jose: Because Yeah, people yeah, it's it's over reactive to, you know, one of the things that you want out of the chassis is for it to be able to settle when you drop it into a turn and not just want to ride over the turn, right? It takes a tune stiffness to do that.

Pancho: Yeah, it was kicking around. If it's too stiff, I can't go in a straight line if it's, you know, wanting to kick every rock left from Right,

Jose: exactly, exactly. You know, and the other thing to keep in mind is that, you know, suspension can only respond to so many frequencies. And then you know, beyond suspension, your your frame tuning, you know, your your tire stiffness, all those things are come into play. So one of the reasons why the bike was so calm for you so quiet, it's because all of those aspects are working in unison to pass on the bike down.

Pancho: Yeah, the bike was really, really impressive. And I can't say enough good things about it. But it's good to know that all that went into the frame. I mean, it shows that lot of hard work and engineering went into it because it rides on like anything else. You guys do something pretty cool this year, there's seems to be a storage section that down dude, can you go into detail about that? A little bit?

Jose: Yeah, yeah, actually, it's it's a feature that we been exploring for a few years. And it took us a little while to really get it to the point where we feel good about it, you know, from frame stuff, stiffness standpoint, from a way parameter standpoint, and so on. We're calling it the Trump box. And essentially, you just kind of flip lever and the whole thing comes out. Yeah. It's pretty, pretty easy to use pretty intuitive. And it's also very convenient. Yeah, you know, to get to stuff. There's basically a tool role that will go inside, so you're not just fishing for stuff, you just pull out a tool roll. And in that tool roll, you'll have your tools, you have your air, whatever, and just makes it a lot easier to get so

Ian: yeah, our film guy actually got a flat yesterday in your your purse, let's say yeah, that was started their work came in handy real fast. So let's save the day for sure.

Pancho: One of the interesting things here on the nose, is the chain so close to that chain, say can you go detail about that as well?

Jose: So essentially, by placing the chain closer to the chain stay, eliminate the chains ability to develop that momentum and you know, clink around.

Pancho: Yeah, it's very cool. It's almost like you guys use the chain says, like a chain guy.

Jose: Yeah, I mean, essentially, it's what it does is it'll even with 30. Thring, it still has the right clearance. So it doesn't create drag, but it does really force change to kind of stay on a trajectory.

Pancho: Yeah. What changing sizes the bike optimized for.

Jose: That is 32, 32 is what it's optimized for. 30 is really close to optimal. Okay, well, so you can go into a 30 and still be good. Yeah, it'll accommodate 34. Up to the 34.

Ian: Yeah, we saw your your bike had a 30 on it yesterday, right? Yeah.

Jose: A little bit higher cadence. Yeah, I like the smaller front, right? Yes.

Pancho: It looks a little bit different this year. Is there anything new with that?

Jose: Yeah, it's been reconfigured slightly, you know, to be more optimized, and slightly more compact. The other thing is that it has a more robust trailer hanger will sign into it. So again, it's just like you said, it's, it's the whole purpose of the bike is to be an aggressive, burly trail bike. Yeah. And, you know, all those little features kind of compliment that

Pancho: all the small things add up to the

Jose: that's exactly, absolutely, it's, you know, the other element is that the bike was designed to accommodate 150 and 170 droppers. And that, that took a little bit of reconfiguring of the seat tube. So the seat to not only grew in diameter for stiffness at the BB, but it also got straightened a little bit, so that you have enough insertion for those longer dropper posts.

Pancho: And we noticed that the seem to be a little bit steeper this year. Can you go into detail about that as well?

Jose: Yeah, again, it's gone in that direction of the modern trail bike with slacker head angles, longer front centers, and you know, part of that is going to a 75 degree. See, to bangle

Pancho: the bicep excellent climbing.

Jose: Yeah. And now what it does is it makes the bike a more neutral climber. You know, it still maintains good grip for technical climbing, but at the same time, it puts you over the crank a little more. So

Pancho: it's a little more efficient, get that nice pedal stroke going.

Jose: Yeah, the other thing that does is it complements the suspension function. How so? Because it when you move the rider forward, you tend to calm the the pedaling function and understand relation to the shock. Very cool.

Pancho: Yeah, well, that shot looks pretty fancy. There's a couple of bits on there that you don't really see another shocks. What's going on there?

Jose: Yeah, so that's a brand new shock, it's completely redesign. And it's all new components. It's got an all new air spring and all new damper. One of the big changes is we went away from the internal compensate of the previous through shaft to the external compensated that you see on this one. And that's what this feature is up here. That gave us a shock with more capability. And at the same time, it allowed us to reduce the the diameter of the shaft, we went from a 12 millimeter shaft to a nine millimeter shaft. The benefits of that are reduced for friction and stick slip. Because you have less seal area dragon on the shop, but at the same time increase the oil volume within the shock slightly. So it essentially puts the shock on the same platform as a DPS to instead of the flow, which the previous shock was more of a float, you know, unibody shock where now you know, we're talking more of a, you know, an aggressive trail by Yeah, shock.

Pancho: Yeah, generalized to see those larger volume air shocks on my trail bikes. But I had no issues with that shock overheating at all on the ride yesterday. So pretty impressive piece.

Jose: You won't I the thing that that gets overlooked with reservoir shocks is the majority of that reservoir is a gas charge. Yeah, there's no oil in there, per se. And that's to accommodate a large amount of displacement that radically is found on reservoir shocks. And since we don't have to deal with displacement, our reservoirs are a lot smaller. Yeah. But from a capability and thermal control standpoint and stuff. There's no no difference.

Pancho: So there's no need for a big old chamber. And

Jose: exactly, because we're not displacing that fluid. Yeah. You know, the other thing you'll notice on the shock is that we have numerical rebound knobs.

Ian: Oh, cool.

Jose: So you now no longer have to count clicks, you can just kind of visually or a click or that that position. And It's a really nice features.

Ian: That's amazing.

Jose: It's crazy,

Pancho: small thing. Maybe

Ian: we can do that. Right? Yeah. I also miss the floaters fun. Right, right. Yeah.

Jose: So as as shot technology has evolved. Full floater really had diminishing value. And there were more benefits for, for us from being able to manipulate that cross section of the frame. Yeah. Which full floater kind of limited in the past. So, you know, as, as the shots improved, you know, we didn't have to overcome some of the deficiencies that were in the shots at the time. With the leverage rate. Yes, essentially, local floater allowed us to do,

Ian: and there's there's two down two pads, right. The top one is actually a backup for the knock block feature. And the headset? Correct? Correct. And then this is that one's been there forever, or multiple versions of bikes just to help protect the frame from kickoff and whatnot. Correct?

Jose: Correct. Yeah, from kicks, or if he you know, happened to run into a rock on a technical section. The one difference with that pad is is it's it screws on now, it doesn't go on anymore. So it's it's much easier to replace it if you need to have some trail damage or whatever. Yeah. Just another little feature there.

Pancho: Yeah. So I think I wrote a 140 mil for from there, is that correct? Correct.

Jose: Yeah, they come with 144.

Pancho: And you can put a 150 on there. Maybe.

Jose: That's right, you know, the the bike The frame is tested and designed to accommodate a 150

Pancho: sweet and mobile began with a 154 from that bike, as opposed to the shorter 140

Jose: The 150 fork will give you about half degree less head angle. So puts it right about a 65 and a half, and then it'll raise the BB about a three millimeter

Pancho: cool, give you a little extra clarity in case you want to ride those really rowdy trails will rise.

Jose: Beyond going to the high you can also put 154 on there and it'll give you a little bit slacker head angle A little bit taller front end and obviously longer travel but at the same time it bumps up to your BB for a little clearance and so on that.

Pancho: sounds like it gets a little bit more fun with the 15o fork on there.

Jose: on there. Yeah, it does. I mean, it's it at that point, it really becomes a rowdy trail bike.

Pancho: sure and they go to 15o fork I guess all you need for that thing is air spring right? That's correct. So we do that for you guys at the shop. So just ask.

Ian: before we move on to the different models and line of the whole EX range. You we want to touch on a couple of different of the components of the tires and we noticed the dropper actually huge improvement on that one. I'll let you guys go into the details but what tires did you ride Pancho.

Pancho: I rode the XR 40 mission and a 2.6 so it looks like the clearance on the bike went up and the 170mm dropper was a nice addition to have also I didn't need to have any seats personality Frank is my legs aren't super long. So the 170 actually fit me just perfect. slammed all the way down and that lever action was really nice as well. So on the older line, I noticed that there's a little bit of stiction but on this one It felt better smooth Yeah, so do all the fuel ship of the same wheel says

Jose: no the extra smalls are smart wheel size so they go to 27 five.

Pancho: but just the extra small the small you get the 29.

Ian: Alright, so you rode the fuel EX nine nine XO one cabled version? Obviously the what are the different offerings for the full lineup?

Jose: Yeah, so one of the main differences is when you go from the 9899 you go to 34 millimeter forks. The only the 989 936 there's still one all 114 got it, but you do go to that smaller platform got it. Then from a DR traits standpoint, you know, the they're all one by

Ian: one by only right? Yeah, yeah. I just went allowed you to do a lot of...

Jose: allowed us to approve the change, say and, you know, frame stiffness and so on. There's, there's a mix of both Jamal and SRAM as far as drivetrains. So depending on you know, what you prefer, you have either option.

Ian: Yeah, the nine nine was X01 cable, X01 AXS and an XTR correct. For the 9.9.

Jose: There's three options, years analog and wireless. SRAM.

Pancho: nine, eight looks like there's GX and Shimano XT as well. Got it, right. Yep.

Ian: And the 99 is the only one with Kashima correct? Correct. Yep.

Jose: Yeah. Kashima was limited to the 99.

Ian: And there's two there's a MV color for all the models, right. Yeah. So and this is the we call this the be color. Right. Which

Jose: right, the darker tones? Usually the colors of the color usually are brighter tone. Got

Pancho: it? I like the paint job on the new Yeah, that blue. It's Yeah, sharp. That's pretty.

Jose: Yeah. It's kind of the Miami green ball.

Ian: Yeah, yeah.

Jose: I'm a huge fan of it. For sure.

Pancho: You're in San Jose Sharks territory here. So we're big fans of that colorway?

Ian: Yeah.

Pancho: How's it going? The specs on the 9798 and nine, nine and it looks like they're all full carbon frames. Is that correct?

Jose: That's correct. Even nine, seven gets a full carbon.

Pancho: That's pretty sweet. Because that wasn't the case before.

Jose: Right. Right. That was one of the adjustments that was made in past nine sevens for costs. And we were able to address that going forward.

Pancho: Sounds like it's a really good value, then.

Ian: It's an awesome value. Punch. I noticed you had some local comments but the brakes new XC break from the bike hero.

Pancho: Yeah, I really like them. I mean, they're strong and stopping on a dime every single time. So it was really excited to have those new XT 4% on there. Yeah,

Jose: yeah. All that our brains come Shimano Brakes.

Ian: Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. on bikes. Yeah. Yeah. All right. That about does it I think we've covered most, if not all the details on this awesome new fuel. I want to give a special thanks to Jose for coming out. And you guys crushed it on this bike. So Give. Give congrats to your team. We really appreciate it.

Pancho: So thanks so much for the opportunity for bringing us out here letting us write it and letting me write it. It was a great experience. Yeah, thanks a bunch. Yeah,

Jose: yeah. Thanks for having us and being able to help you out. Yeah, that was fun.

Ian: Yeah, for sure. So stop by the store. We have demo bikes in stock ready for you to test this awesome bike. Give us a call. shoot us an email. Come by. We'll take care. Yeah, see you guys.