Last year I finally got a full suspension mountain bike. After reading countless reviews and riding the bike around a parking lot I decided to buy it. The bike I decided to buy was the Trek Fuel EX 5 at the time I was mostly racing cross country so I thought this trail bike would be an appropriate bike especially because my team gets a very good discount from Trek. 

Frame

The Fuel EX 5 has an aluminum frame with 130 millimeters of rear suspension travel. It has the signature straight shot down tube which means the fork would hit the frame if you turn too far. Trek has implemented their Knock Block system so that you can’t turn far enough for the fork to make contact with the frame. This also means that the headset clicks when you turn and it is harder to turn due to all the extra parts used in the headset. The rear dropouts are boost 148 with a 12 millimeter thru axle. 

Components

The Trek does not shine particularly bright in this area but these types of components are to be expected on an entry level trail bike. It has a 140 millimeter RockShox Recon fork and a RockShox Deluxe Select+ shock. It has a Shimano deore 10 drivetrain with Shimano’s MT200 brakes. It has Trek’s in house brand Bontrager bar and stem. To keep the build on budget the bike comes with Alex MD35 rims with formula hubs. Finally it has a TranzX dropper post with a Bontrager Arvada seat. 

Climbing

On the climbs the rear suspension bob is pretty average. It’s not terrible but it’s also not ideal. With correct pressure the shock has a noticeable bob especially when out of the saddle. That being said there is plenty of grip and it should get you to the top of the hill. The gearing for this bike isn’t great especially when considering the fact that it weighs almost 35 pounds. The drivetrain doesn’t have much range and the front chainring is so small that the chain almost drags on the chain stay in the harder gears. 

Descending 

Somehow this bike is a pretty good descender. It’s pretty slack and stable. That being said the rear end of the bike is on the longer side so in really tight berms the bike has a hard time carrying speed. It also makes it hard for this bike to be playful on smaller features. The bike rides well on larger jumps and is plenty of fun. When things get technical or really fast this bike just can’t keep up. Because it is a trail bike it gets easily overwhelmed by repetitive hits like braking bumps or rock gardens. The stock brakes don’t have enough power to ride steep trails and the tires don’t have enough grip. On the fastest trails you will notice the 66° head tube angle and fork with 32 mm stanchions. The fork becomes pretty flexible and you can start to feel out of control. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, the bike is made for beginners and beginners will find that the Trek Fuel EX 5 is a pretty good bike at this price point. It is a pretty solid bike but progressing riders will eventually find this bike's limits. I would recommend a few upgrades for anyone looking to buy this bike. First of all the stock brakes will probably need to be replaced with something more powerful. Also riders might want to invest in wider handlebars for more control at high speeds. In conclusion, take this review with a grain of salt as I rode this bike very aggressively throughout my ownership of it, it is more than capable enough for a beginner rider.