Popular mountain bike magazine Decline reviewed a rising star in Trek’s Technical Trail category, the Trek Remedy 9.8. Here is their official review:

For most technical trail lovers, the current ride of choice is a 125mm- to 160mm-travel all-mountain bike equipped with quality suspension, a travel adjuster on the fork and possibly a remote adjustable height seatpost. This type of bike has the efficiency to take on any trail loop and is savvy enough to conquer most rugged terrain. Trek’s Remedy 9.8 fulfills this role beautifully, whether you’re into lengthy trail loops or just want to get to the top of the mountain to blaze back down.

The Technology

Trek makes two types of Remedy chassis: The Remedy 9 series features a carbon main frame and seatstays while the Remedy 7 and 8 series are all aluminum. The Remedy 9.8 we tested is constructed using Trek’s proprietary Optimum Compaction, Low Void (OCLV) Mountain design in the front triangle and seatstays. Trek’s been perfecting their carbon technology for a long time and has developed specific materials and techniques for each frame application. The Remedy 9.8 also uses aluminum chainstays and a magnesium rocker link. The frame has a tapered head tube design, Carbon Armor down tube guard, full-length seat tube and 12x142mm rear hub spacing.

ABP Convert Suspension The Remedy uses Trek’s Active Braking Pivot (ABP) suspension design that places the rear pivot inline with the rear axle. This helps eliminate the affect of the rear brake on the suspension movement and keeps the bike feeling supple in the rough. The ABP Convert design allows the use of a 12x142mm thru-axle or the bike can be converted to work with a standard 135mm quickrelease rear hub. The chassis also incorporates a suspension linkage that does not attach the shock to the main frame, producing what is called a “floating” shock. With the upper shock pivot attached to the EVO rocker link and the lower pivot attached to an extension of the chainstays, Trek says the floating design allows them to produce the exact shock stroke they want to achieve.

Suspension Fox handles the suspension duties on the Remedy with a 32 Talas Fit RL up front and a Float RP23 DRCV shock in the rear. The 150mm-travel fork has a travel adjuster that swaps the available active travel between 120mm and 150mm and has adjustable rebound damping and a lockout. The Dual Rate Control Valve (DRCV) shock is proprietary to Trek and features a secondary air chamber that is engaged about halfway into the travel. This dual chamber system is designed to produce an air spring that feels more like a coil spring. The shock also has a rebound damping adjuster and an on/off ProPedal adjuster to aid pedaling. The ProPedal adjuster gives the rider the choice of three damping levels when it is engaged.

The Ride

Flanked by the cross-country Fuel EX and the freeride Scratch Air in Trek’s lineup, the Remedy hits the all-mountain category right in the center. It has a superb all-around ride that excels on an extremely wide variety of terrain, making this bike ideal for trail riders that like to dabble in a little of everything.

Setup The Remedy comes ready to rip right out of the box. It has a solid parts kit and gives the rider the critical suspension adjustments. The bike comes with a full Shimano XT drivetrain, DT Swiss wheels and quality Bontrager parts. It also has a Joplin 4R remote adjustable height seatpost, which is a necessity for aggressive trail riding. The only thing that was said about the Remedy setup that wasn’t a compliment was the bars were too narrow at 660mm. Most riders would like to see at least a 710mm-wide bar on a bike of this caliber because riders can always cut them down if needed.

Trek supplies their bikes with clip-on sag meters to help the rider quickly and accurately set the correct air spring pressures. It’s a small detail that can make a big difference in getting the bike feeling good out on the trail quickly and we were happy to use them ourselves.

Pedaling The Remedy is a great pedaling bike that has minimal feedback from the terrain. It cruises up fire roads and mobs over rocks and ruts, letting the rider maintain cadence and momentum. The carbon main triangle is noticeably stiff and translates power from the cranks to the rear wheel well.

We flipped the ProPedal lever over to level “3” anytime we wanted to get a little more punch at the pedals for ascending and traverses. Even with the ProPedal adjuster on, the suspension still takes the edge off bumps and tracks the terrain. The 1, 2 and 3 ProPedal settings have a light, medium and firm feel that will make most riders happy but some test riders said they would have liked to have the option for an even firmer ProPedal setting to make the bike feel snapper at the pedals. Even still, the 150mm-travel Remedy is an efficient trail bike that comfortably takes on everything from big trail loops to short lunch rides.

The travel adjuster on the Fox fork can be a big help for riders that want to get their bar height down on climbs. A quick flip of the lever on the top of the crown drops the fork down 30mm, just enough to put the rider in a better climbing position when the trail gets steep. We didn’t use it all of the time but when we did, it was a welcome option.

Descending One of the best things we noticed about the Remedy is that the harder you push it, the more it responds and the bike will go where you lead it. While the character of the bike is happy flowing through a forest full of sinuous singletrack and berms, it also embraces burly trails full of rocks, roots, ruts and jumps. The carbon main frame is stiff, allowing the bike to hold a line when cranking through a corner or skipping over rocks and providing a positive feel through the handlebars. It also transfers pedal power to the rear wheel well when spinning out of the corner or punching it on the trail to gain more speed. The geometry and suspension cater to a good range of all-mountain riding that make this bike adapt well to any given terrain. It’s a great descender that lets the rider focus on the trail to choose a good line and maintain speed.

Overview

A quality all-mountain performer, Trek’s Remedy 9.8 has a high-end, well thought out parts kit mated to a superb full-suspension chassis. It can take on the meanest routes you want to pedal and the remote adjustable height seatpost and quality Fox suspension will take care of you when blazing back down the mountain. For a do-it-all trail bike, the Remedy delivers fabulously and will make any technical trail lover extremely happy.

Specifications

Chassis
Frame: OCLV Mountain Carbon Main Frame & Seatstays/Aluminum Chainstays
Fork: Fox 32 Talas Fit RL; 120/150mm
Shock: Fox Float RP23 DRCV; 150mm

Cockpit
Brake Levers: Avid Elixir X.O
Brakes: Avid Elixir X.O
Handlebar: Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon
Headset: FSA E2
Saddle: Bontrager Evoke 3
Seatpost: crankbrothers Joplin 4R; 100mm
Shifters: Shimano XT
Stem: Bontrager Rhythm

Wheels
Hubs: DT Swiss M1800
Rims: DT Swiss M1800
Tires: Bontrager XR3 Team; 2.3”

Drivetrain
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XT
Cassette: Shimano XT; 11-36t; 10-speed
CranksRANKS: Shimano XT; 24/32/42t
Derailleurs: Shimano XT
Pedals: N/A

Reprinted with permission from Decline Magazine. All rights reserved.