SBC tested and approved: Trek Slash 650b

After riding the long-travel mid-sized wheel option from Trek since early April my initial thoughts have been confirmed over and over again. The conclusion: this bike rules.

Yes,I could reel off all the numbers and angles and specs that make this bike so great but you can read that on every mtb forum on the web. What makes me give this ride the SBC stamp of approval is by the sheer amounts of fun I have had riding it.

Sporting a lengthy 160mm of travel it's been my one bike to rule them all.  And by "them all" I am referring to the different types of rides, races, and events I've done and not the inhabitants of Middle Earth (nerd alert!).  To name a few of the rides that seen the Slash get put through its paces; the Massanutten Yee-Ha downhill race, the Giro d'ville, the Massanutten Hoo-Ha XXC, le Tour de Burg, the SM100, and Shenduro. Yep, the same bike for a downhill race and a 100 mile endurance race.

I did a custom set-up using the Slash 7 to start, adding Sram's XX1 drivetrain, Industry Nine Torch wheels and a RockShox reverb stealth seatpost and it weighed in at 28lbs.3oz. The Trek Slash 650b is ready to pedal all day, but when the trail points downhill, it comes alive. It's squishy, it's light, it's fast, it's a total party. And it gets better, the 2015 Slash 650b is available in a  carbon model. Check it out at Trekbikes.com and check out a great review the fine folks at Pinkbike wrote up for the new carbon option here: Trek Slash 9.8 - Review .Ride on!  - Collin