Trek Slash owners...

I've recently bought a 2022 Trek Slash as a bike for rougher stuff. It pedals OK but I mainly got it for uplift days as my regular bike is 120/120 f & r so I can't comment on that aspect.

I've taken it to BPW (where, to be honest, it felt a bit much for the tamer trails), Antur Stiniog and have just come back from Italy where it proved awesome on the steepest, roughest tracks at La Thuile as well as Pila Bike Park, soaking up red and black runs with equal aplomb.

Sizing wise, I'm 6'1" and normally ride a large, the fit feels spot on to me

This is my third carbon bike and I have never had any issues even in the rockiest terrains. Also, the downtube on the Slash is very well protected.

I had one after two remedy's . Absolutely fantastic bike , climbs well and great on the steeps. If I wasn't going on to an Eeb I'd buy another in a flash. Get it bought.

but want something that feels enjoyable enough going up hill and along too

in my experience, that's not a full enduro bike. Yes they'll winch you up the hill but it wont be spritely, along/undulating is just very "meh"

I've only ridden a couple of friends' Slashes briefly, but they seem pretty good at going up and along - in the context of enduro bikes.

Was close to buying one myself and would have been happy, I'm sure.

See that's what I've read about them, that they're pretty good at the up and along bit too and not too big and cumbersome feeling for an enduro bike.

I have had a carbon slash since April last year.

Great bike, pedals well - a jack of all trades I would say. The harder you push it the better it gets as pretty stiff at slower speeds. though that may be my setup with Zebs and carbon wheels/bars ?

happily ride it on local Surrey trail loops and also had it on Morzine for 3 weeks this summer...loved the pleney steeps on it!

Have confirmed with seller, I knew I just needed a little nudge 🙂 thanks for the input, they sound great!

I have ridden one fairly extensively, and nearly ended up on one recently & purely from a riding perspective, it would have been a good choice.

But (and its a big but for me), I had heard they were a little snappy (both carbon & alu frames) so did a bit of digging & found that quite a few were breaking. Having just been through that headache (again), I didn’t really want to have to deal with a bike that has a bit of a reputation for it.

So I didn’t & went for something else.

I look forward to reports, sometimes I want one instead of my Fuel

I have managed to put a big dent in the downtube of an aluminium frame before which I would have thought would be a write off if it was carbon.

I've no advice on Trek bikes but I know from experience that carbon frames can be repaired to a better standard than aluminium and there are a number of companies doing just that in the UK. As I said I've had a carbon frame crack (underside of the downtube, behind a plastic guard which wasn't cracked), had it repaired and didn't think twice about buying carbon again when I replaced the frame

I hadn't unearthed that info Hobnob 😧
Luckily it's still got 2 years on a transferable warranty. Part of the reason I feel a bit more comfortable buying a second hand carbon frame...

Also I'm not that heavy and don't do massive jumps so I doubt the engineering capacity of frame will be tested!

Yeah I've heard that before pothead, it's just a mental thing with carbon seems like a more difficult material to understand and trust somehow!

2 other friends have them and I'm good mates with local trek dealer in Dorking - no reports of any breaking

Did meet a chap in Morzine last week who had a crack and done under warranty in days - Trek Customer Service excellent he reported.

I bought one in Jan this year, Slash 8 , so not carbon. I'm currently into my 5th week on it riding in the Alps. So far it's been exactly what I wanted. Feels good in the bike parks, and also when riding techy footpaths (Meribel, Zermatt, Garda etc). I'm 5'10'' and bought a medium. I reckon ML might have been better for the park stuff and bulldozing down straight lines, but possibly medium is working better on the tighter trails. I've certainly ridden all the switchbacks that I was previously able to ride on a smaller 650b Meta.

Cant say whether it was a better choice than all the other bikes out there, but definitely value for money (and not much else was available at the time!).

Couple of minor issues, that I have seen reported elsewhere. There is a small gap between the top tube and headset. Apparently Trek say this is only cosmetic, but my top bearing disintegrated after a few months riding in the UK. Might not apply to the carbon frames I guess. And I might not stick with the Code R brakes, partly a personal choice, but also because there is an issue at the front where the rotor isnt contacting 100% of the pads. Almost like the calliper is spaced out 1mm or 2mm too far. I've emailed Trek about this today (having seem this happen on 2 out of the 3 sets of pads I've used so far). Oh, and the Code R + Centreline rotors really didnt like big decent days, so I upgraded to HS2's which seem way better and quieter.

The down tube storage is useful, even though I am backpack rider. The diameter of the downtube and square shape does make it quite an awkward bike to carry (if that is your thing...!?).

The Thru shock has been faultless so far, as has the budget seat post.

So very happy overall, but a couple of minor niggles.

I've got a Slash 8 and I like it. According to Pinkbike commentators, it's impossible to ride the bike uphill due to the 'slack' seat tube angle but I never found it much of an issue. It does benefit from the Climb switch on the shock though. I've owned bikes that don't need a Climb switch but they generally feel not so good on the downs, e.g. Norco Sight.
The internal storage is a nice touch, but the bag is a bit thick! I replaced it with a cut up Thomson handlebar bag and it's much easier to store things inside the bike without spending 5 minutes struggling to pull the bag out.
I've not seen or heard of these or the carbon ones failing more than any other brand.
I'm 6' tall and my Large feels spot on.

Other thing to check is dropper insertion for your frame size/seat post length/saddle height. Due to the kinked down tube/pivot you can only fit a seat post so far into the frame.

Check shock compatibility for replacement if required

One thing that on paper I like about it is that it doesn't have a really steep seat tube angle, I hate feeling cramped sitting down and I'm happy to move forward a bit on the saddle up steep bits..
Plenty of aftermarket shocks fit so that's fine if needed.

Just thought I'd post up on here @weeksy as I've seen on other posts you're considering a frame change (I gather from some comments that's not uncommon for you!) there's a 21 model carbon slash frame and fork on pinkbike at the mo, looks very nice. 2 rides into mine and feels great from the off... 3 yr transferable warranty too gives some peace of mind buying 2nd hand.

hey @restephenson i actually have a guy on there who wants to straight swap his Slash 8 2021 model for my Fuel ex9.8.
The only concern is that his is an XL and from the looks of it would be HUGE... but he tells me he's 5'10 and rides it. But i think it'd be too big... Hard to say as i've not ridden one... But would be a shame if massive as it works out really nicely in terms of a swap deal.

I'm also in discussions on a few other random deals from the Canyon Torque that's still in for a swap on our older GT Fury, to a later GT Fury either for cash or trade on the Fuel along with some cash my way.

I'm 6' and bought a large. It fits perfect. Ive found I'm usually between a large and xl in most brand's sizing and have to make a compromise either way but the slash's reach is a bit longer than most so a large is spot on for me. It's a large part of why I went for it as I feel like the fit of a bike is so important.. Good luck with your decisions!

Yeah i think that rules out the XL for me then matey... Thanks for the post.... saved me a drive/hassle.

No probs, the Xl does look pretty massive