Why the Trek Top Fuel is the Best Downcountry Bike For Me
Long time readers know that my heart ached to get back into mountain biking after moving to Huntsville, Alabama. This article explores how I choose the Trek Top Fuel to be my mountain bike and why it might just be perfect for you too.
Many top reviewers consider the Top Fuel a downcountry bike, which raises the question, what the heck is a downcountry bike anyway. Trek describes the Top Fuel with a quintessential description of a downcountry bike – “Top Fuel 8 fuses the lightweight efficiency of a cross country bike with the capability and forgiveness of a trail bike.”
Other downcounty bikes include Mondraker F-Podium DC, Pivot Mach 4 SL, Guerrilla Gravity Trail Pistol, and Juliana Joplin / Santa Cruz Tallboy. The Podium and Mach 4 lean towards their cross country roots while the Tallboy and Trail Pistol are more rock and roll trail bikes. The Top Fuel is designed to have the best qualities of both. Pink Bike field test calls it a “featherweight that packs a powerful punch.”
I looked deeper into the Top Fuel because of its blended performance and my wife’s love for her Trek female-specific hybrid.
Huntsville mountain bike trails are sneaky good. There over 183 listed mountain bike trails with over 200-miles of riding. Between Monte Sano State Park and the North Alabama Land Trust, there are about a dozen trailheads either in the city limits or just outside. Here’s the catch, there are more intermediate routes than beginner routes and more advanced/expert than either one.
Riding in Huntsville is notoriously steep and rocky. Riding from my house is a microcosm of riding in Huntsville. I can reach the closest trailhead with only 10-minutes of biking on blacktop, but I make sure that I use my Top Fuel’s lockable suspension to make it easy. Once I get on dirt, it’s a 500′ climb to the heart of the trail system, and I need all the help I can get. User reviews claim, “This bike (Trek Top Fuel) specifically is a climbing weapon and will descend way better than a typical XC bike.” I love the dropper seat to get me home on the downhill. Small bump sensitivity is many people’s knock on the Top Fuel, and I can feel it on the rocky trails of Monte Sano. As I ride more, I’ll try to dial in the suspension tuning to match my home trails and riding style.
Remember, a downcounty bike isn’t supposed to be as beefy as a trail bike or as light as a cross country. It’s a little bit of both, and the specs show it. Here are some of the features to look for in a downcountry bike, what they do for you, and what the Top Fuel offers.
- Front Fork Travel (100mm – 130mm): The Top Fuel offers a 120mm RockShox fork, which is on the upper end of the category.
- Rear Travel (100mm -120mm): The Top Fuel’s 115mm of travel is near the top of the category. It’s not the beefiest, but it’s no wimp.
- Hydraulic Dropper Post: I wasn’t sure about this feature, but my local bike shop said I really wanted one. It turns out I love it. Almost every time I rise out of my seat, I drop my post. It makes my center a little lower and easier to improvise if I mess things up.
- 12-Speed Single Crankset: 1×12 gearing was a thing when I bought my last bike, but it’s awesome. I never have to worry about binding my chain with a forbidden gear combination. I only need to shift up or down, and my Top Fuel quickly gets into the right gear.
- Lockable Suspension: I wanted a lockout from the get, but it turns out I only use it when I am on the pavement. It does make the Top Fuel a reasonably good bike for riding gravel or even greenways. I have enjoyed it on Huntsville’s trails.
- Hydraulic Brakes: The Top Fuel has high-quality hydraulic disc brakes, which help with all-weather braking. I always avoid heading out on wet/muddy trails, but one time I was caught in the rain facing my 500′ descent home, and I felt like kissing my brakes when I got back down.
- Tubeless Rims: I loved riding tubeless from my days mountain biking in Tucson. It turns out that they handle Alabama’s sharp limestone just as well as they kept out Arizona’s cactus thorns. Plus, running with a lower tire pressure helps with traction.
- Carbon Fiber Frame: I upgraded to carbon fiber as much for bike availability during the pandemic as anything else, but I like it. The carbon fiber option saves a couple of pounds vs. aluminum, which is huge when climbing a hill or hike-a-biking my rig (which happens more than I care to admit).
- Knock Blocks: These are the elephants in the room for Trek Mountain Bikes. Some riders absolutely hate them because they feel they limit turning on tight, technical climbs. Maybe this says something about the way I ride, but I haven’t noticed the knock blocks other than when I am wheeling my bike around the garage. I imagine that any downcountry rider will feel the same way, and if you’re technical enough for knock blocks to impede your riding, then you’ll be buying a trail bike anyway.
If you’re in North Alabama, you should go to Bicycle Cove. The store staff was awesome at the point of sale as well as post-sale support. They made sure to tune the suspension to my weight and put a spacer on the seat-post so I wasn’t overextending on my pedal. A few rides in, I was having issues with my suspension bolt. They were able to fix the problem, and everything has been solid ever since.
Elsewhere you can either purchase from your local bike shop or order online with our affiliate link, which will support our website at no additional cost to you. Trek offers a satisfaction guarantee and a lifetime warranty for online sales. During the online checkout process, you will be asked how you would like to receive your bike, including in-store pickup, curbside delivery at the shop, and home delivery.
Buying a mountain bike is a personal decision based on your budget and riding style. Studies show that cross county bikes are the biggest sellers, but the super cool riders love their trail bikes. I’m an average dude with some skills and a budding case of dad-bod. I need all the help I can get going uphill, but I still like the option to challenge myself. For these reasons, the Trek Top Fuel was the perfect bike for me.
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