Bag Maker and Beer Dranker Señior Tupper Becker went out and bought himself a dual suspension fat-bike up there in Fairbanks Alaska and I asked him to tell us a thing or two about how she rails berms and what-not, so stand by for his ‘most excellent’report below. I also contacted Travis at Trek HQ to get the ‘low down’ on the full suspension Farley. But first, we’re going to let you warm up with a little video clip from Trek. Roll the clip….
When Travis and I talked about the EX, he emphasised that the Trek Design Team wanted to build a full suspension rig that would excel in all four seasons. A philosophy that we support 100%! This is what he shared about the project.
The Farley EX was designed as a year-round mountain bike. The goal wasn’t to start from our hardtail fat bike and turn it into a full suspension bike, rather we started with our proven full suspension bike, like the Fuel EX, and turn it into a four-season trail bike.
We’ve seen a lot of riders get on fat bikes in the “off-season” only to never get off of them. So we wanted a true year round mountain bike. The new Farley EX marries all the advantages of fat bikes with our proven full-suspension performance to create a bike that, regardless of the season or location, never leaves the rider wanting for more.
The bike is loaded with all the Trek features such as Active Braking Pivot and RE:aktiv suspension to deliver the same performance as our skinny tire riding brethren have come to expect. One big difference: the Farley EX is unsurpassed when it comes to traction and ability to roll through challenging terrain.
Travis Ott / Trek MTB Marketing Manager
Ed – Next up is the meat and potatoes of the post. Tupper Becker shares his initial impressions of how the Farley EX 8 handles some Alaskan singletrack.
My thoughts after a couple of three mile runs on the Ester Dome Single Track aboard the 2016 Trek Farley ex8
Four weeks ago I saddled up on a Salsa Bucksaw for the first time. I’ve desired this bike before its very creation and lusted after it in the show room of Beaver Sports for years. After a ride only lasting a few minutes on the trail, my decision was made for me, I should have one of these squishy beasts. Although I didn’t end up with a Bucksaw I recently unboxed something equally as fun.
I haven’t been this impressed with the performance of a bike in over a decade. My GF Rig ss 29er was the last time I’d been remotely blown away by anything bicycle…that and when free coasters were invented but I digress.
For me this Trek Farley EX 8 offered so much more speed in the form of extra traction through wet leafs and loose gravel. I was railing sideways through tight 4″ tall ruts and accelerating through tight techy rooted sections. I was amazed by the traction and confidence I had in the bike instantly.
Blasting down the trail, laughing loudly to the trees with a grin. Doubling bumps on the trail that I hadn’t thought of as doubles before due to the new found speed and stability. I feel like the scope of my abilities grew but really it was the EX’s extra traction.
I wouldn’t call the Farley EX a Fatbike. Personally I see it as a plus bike with wider rims. The 3.8 tire is my new standard mountain bike tire. I’m 215 and I’ve been known to knock 29er tires off of a rim in a hard carve. These wider tires never left me questioning if my tire was going to pop a bead in a hard turn. Also the wheels held together with no twanging spokes or broken nipples.
I think this bike is an impressive all mountain traction machine that would be a option for enduro events. Uncle Gomez wants me to report back with how the EX handles some of the coldest temperatures in North America over the winter. Trek did say they designed the EX for all four seasons. The bottom line is Trek did a solid job on the release of their first full suspension Fatbike. I’d like the see Trek’s signature mino link integrated down the line. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what innovations the industry brings to this platform in the coming seasons.
Thanks goes out to Goldstream Sports for helping provide me with solid bikes.
Cheers,
Tupper
Ed – Well there you have it. Farley goes dual suspension. We’d like to thank our amigo, Tupp-Tupp, for herding some pixels onto the internet and for all of the sweet frame bags that he’s provided for our fat-bike radio contests. If you’d like to run the same packs that grace ITI Championship rigs, drop our amigo Tupper a line and he’ll get you set up. – Becker Gear
Thanks to Travis for providing us some insights from the Trek Design Team. – For the full bike specs on Trek’s Farley EX 8 visit – http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/trail-mountain-bikes/farley-ex/farley-ex-8/p/1133600-2017