New Bike: Trek Stache

In my last post, I showed three bike boxes in my garage. Two of those contained my newest mountain bike, a '16 Trek Stache (one box for frameset, one for the big wheels). I demo'd this bike when it was new, and while I wasn't blown away by it, I was impressed by the great job Trek did in packaging a big rear wheel in a short frame. When I came across this bike on (Boston's) Craiglist for a very reasonable price, I didn't hesitate much.

Since I first demo'd the Stache almost three years ago, my riding has been slowly moving in a more modern direction. On a trail with a lot of downhills (for Ohio...), like Chestnut Ridge, I now prefer my slack ROS 9 B+ over my KM. My hope is the Trek can build on the strengths of the Niner.

My Stache was a custom build with mostly Bontrager components. The original owner had some Trek connections, clearly:

These "Hatchet" labeled rims are actually Bontrager Lines, but the decals are prototypes:

Single speed drivetrain, 32x20, 420mm chainstays.

Enve carbon bars. Wow, these are really nice. Noticeably smooth.

Bontrager seat on a cable activated Bontrager dropper post:

Manitou Magnum fork with Chupacabra tires, tubeless:

(I got the thru axle skewer corrected after this picture. I still prefer quick releases.)

Look at this excellent packaging of the fat tire, short chainstay, and crank arm. Someone at Trek should get a bonues for their layout work:

The cruelty of getting a new mountain bike in March in Ohio is that our trails are often covered in mud until May. But happily, Alum P2 showed "green" (open) trail status here on the first day of spring break. As soon as I saw that, I was throwing on my bike gear and throwing my bike in the back of my car.

My initial experience of riding my Stache was something of a mixed bag. In my previous experience with 29+ bikes (Krampus, Jones, various fat bike conversions), I liked the big wheel rollover, but didn't like the strong feel of the inertia in the front wheel. On a tight trail like P2, it's hard to get that big wheel to change direction quickly once it's up and spinning. My first ride with the Stache didn't really change this viewpoint. It's easy to loft the front wheel, but turning it takes a bit more work than a smaller, lighter wheel. It doesn't feel particularly nimble on these types of trails.

Beyond the packaging, Trek did a pretty good job on their aluminum frame. It rides pretty smoothly, aside from the occasional shot up the backside. I think the short chainstays don't do the bike any favors here. It doesn't feel too stiff and dead when I'm pounding on the pedals, like some aluminum frames can. I'm still tuning the fork, so I can't say much about the Manitou Magnum Pro except I need to soften up the air spring and figure out what all the little knobs do.

Aside from the complexity of the fork tuning, this is a nice and simple setup: single speed, cable dropper post, and mechanical TRP Spyke brakes. I'm looking forward to giving it a better workout at Chestnut Ridge this spring--when the trails are hopefully aren't as soggy.