Trek Top Fuel for 2025

I was at a product launch a couple years ago in Europe, and the bike we were being shown was a capable all-rounder that would please a large market share but probably wasn't going to stoke the flames of passion amongst the ardent consumer base. The French and Belgian scribes were in a huddle, and were muttering something along the lines of "C'est comme un Top Fuel." This was, I suspect, meant to be damning by way of faint praise. I took it the other way - the Top Fuel may not be the bike people dream of owning, but it is the bike that gets shit done, most of the time, most of the places, and it has been getting shit done efficiently and effectively for a very long time.

And now Trek has given the venerable journeybike another makeover, just a couple short years after Cooper reviewed the last one, with an eye toward increased versatility and broader appeal to a wider range of riders. Let's pop the hood.

Evolution over Revolution

Within the materials that Trek sent over along with the bike, the following phrase was repeated on a couple different slides: "Was already pretty dialed. Slight adjustments from previous." While it would be easy to just run with that as the lede, dust my hands with a dramatic flourish, wrap this up with a few supplied studio shots and call it a day, there is more going on than at first meets the eye. But the sentiment is there - this is an evolution, rather than a revolution.

For the TL;DR crowd, the changes can be summed up as follows:

Lighter frame (220g lighter than before), Mino Link (Trek's version of a flip chip) functionality now includes two height/geo positions and two shock leverage positions (making it more akin to Rocky's Ride-4 chip), size-specific chainstay lengths, mullet compatibility, long-stroke shock-ability, greater dropper post insertion, and improved internal frame storage. The head angle slackens a hair, from 66-degrees to 65.5 (in the Mino-low position), but seat angle and reach remain the same as before. Stock travel configuration is 120mm rear, 130mm up front. Suspension is still Trek's ABP, an enhanced single pivot design with the rear axle serving as the pivot between chain and seat stays. There's about 10mm more stack than before. Oh, and the Knock Block is gone. Some may lament that, others may rejoice.

Revolutions Can Get Bloody, Anyway

These mostly evolutionary changes may not look like much when considered one by one, but together they add up to a definite stance shift for the Top Fuel. In the stock configuration, the TF has more travel and more heft than the current crop of flexstay dedicated XC race bikes, and instead goes head to head against bikes like the Santa Cruz Tallboy, Yeti SB120 and Rocky Mountain Element; capable light trail bikes that can handle a surprising amount of terrain but still be called upon to get after it when pinning on numbers or chasing KOMs. The new Mino-Link, mullet compatibility, and longer fork and shock options, however, now allow the Top Fuel to play to a wider audience. Upping the rear travel to 130mm and slapping a 140mm fork on there puts it in the same space that the non-EVO Stumpjumper just vacated, sharing the room with the Mondraker Raze I just reviewed, or the Revel Rascal, or the Transition Smuggler, or the Canyon Neuron CF, or...

At the other end of the spectrum, full-on XC nerds can put the Mino-Link in the high position, slap a 120mm SID on the bike and happily wear nothing but skinsuits for the rest of their days.

Toss in mullet compatibility for more jib-aliciousness, and it becomes apparent that Trek is expecting the Top Fuel to wear a few different hats. Whether this broadened capability comes at the cost of its storied pedaling efficiency remains to be seen. Trek have done a remarkable job in the past of balancing suspension performance and pedaling manners with the Top Fuel, and it has a longstanding and deserved reputation as a stalwart letterman athlete. Hopefully the good bits are all still alive and well.

Evolution At Elevation

Trek sent out a Top Fuel 9.8 GX AXS that has barely had a chance to taste dirt yet. This size Large test rig weighs bang on 30lbs with a set of Shimano XT Trail pedals and retails for 7000 USD (9000 CAD). Riders can get into an aluminum-framed Top Fuel for as little as 2700 USD (3600 CAD), but they'll be carting around an extra 5 pounds of bike at that price. People who want to impress the neighbors can spend 10,500 USD (14,000 CAD) for the XX AXS Top Fuel, and can also strut around confident in the knowledge that they have saved almost a pound of weight over the GX version. Personally, I can think of several ways to hack a pound of weight off the bike without spending three and a half thousand dollars, but that's a conversation for down the line.

Model by model, the Top Fuel is available as follows:

There are a lot of nice touches here. The stock color is one of the more pleasantly understated and cleanly executed finishes I have seen in a long time. I'm a total sucker for the Bontrager RSL integrated bar-stem, even if that means I can't obsess about bar sweep or roll options. The internal cable routing is fully sleeved and incredibly quiet. The frame storage door is easy to use and doesn't rattle (yet), even if the actual downtube volume is not massive. The added ability to futz with not just head/seat angle and bb height, but also play with shock progression AND maybe even long-stroke the bike for more travel is appealing. Everything is cleanly laid out and nicely finished and nothing looks janky.

I'm only a couple rides in, but so far the bike is supremely quiet, the Pike Select+ fork and Deluxe Ultimate RCT shock feel beautifully paired, and nothing sucks. I even love the Bontrager Verse Short saddle and XR Trail grips. The only complaint I can make at this very early point is that the Bontrager Line dropper post looks poised to continue a tradition of less than stellar performance, with a noticeable amount of fore-aft play right off the bat. Ah well, perfection is better considered an aspiration than an expectation. That aside, the new Top Fuel's a very easy bike to get along with. So far. All hail the evolution!

Trek Bikes