2012 Trek Bikes - a sneak peak of whats on the way

Every year in September I get reminded how much fun it is working in the bike industry when I have the opportunity to attend Trek World where I see what's on the horizon for Trek bikes.  Like every year there are lots of tweaks, a few changes to the line up, and a couple of game changing technology jumps and  2012 Trek mountain bikes haven't let me down.  After spending a day listening to the changes for 2012 I'm excited to be heading to Mt Stromlo in Canberra today for a full day of test riding to get a feel for what these dramatic changes have made to the bikes I love.

The Trek EX range for 2012 from the outside looks almost unchanged.  Sure the styling is updated and the rear derailleur cable is now neatly internally routed through the top tube but underneath the Trek EX is a different beast all together.  The EX has made a clear shift towards the trail bike category by slackening off the head angle a whole degree back to 68. In addition to this working in conjunction with Fox Trek have introduced another game changing technology, the DRCV Fox fork.  And unbelievably this technology goes all the way down to the EX8 that comes in under 3K.

DRCV, or Dual Rate Control Valve is a technology that Trek introduced to the trail & technical trail bikes in 2010.  The DRCV shock was a fantastic development as it gave bikes like the EX supple small bump compliance and responsive acceleration while still handling the big hits well.  Basically it has the advantages of a small can shock merged with those larger volume.  Two shocks in one so to speak.  This year sees that technology adapted to the fork on the EX and Remedy bikes which should have an amazing result on how these bikes handle the bigger hits, drop offs, and large square edge bumps.  Quite simply the DRCV shock opens a second air chamber at 50% of its travel increasing the overall volume.  This eliminates the ramp up issue commonly associated with air shocks and something I'm really looking forward to testing today!