2017 STACHE 7 FULL

Trek stache 7: Steve Behr/Future Publishingįrame & equipment: Good value kit but heavy steel-legged fork

The front comes up surprisingly easily for manualling over or off stuff too, encouraging much more dynamic riding than most big-wheelers and leaving a big grin on our faces after every ride. While it can feel nervous and fluttery at first, the long wheelbase means it’s still an impressively stable bike once you learn to trust it, and the low bottom bracket means you can really rip it through corners with wheels scrabbling as you search for the exit point. The overall result is that you’ll still be surprised what the Stache can batter through (and at what speed) compared to a smaller-wheeled suspension bike. The G2 geometry also gives a distinctively light feel to the steering, so you have little trouble turning the big front wheel in sharply, even with a 90mm stem. The rear wheel screens out more chatter compared to some smaller-wheeled bikes, too, although you definitely get more of a wallop off bigger stuff than with some. The fat carcass 29er tyres also roll over rough stuff really well for serious speed sustain once you’ve got them going.

While it’s not light, the Recon fork is smooth enough and the extra 20mm of travel over most 29er hardtails makes a big difference in control and confidence on big drops, rocks and logs. It puts a lot of torque and traction down on climbs and marshy ground, too, clearing with ease several test moorland sections that have stumped us for a while.

2017 STACHE 7 FULL

There’s more than enough stiffness through the frame to recruit every sinew from shoulders to soles of the feet to getting the wheels moving, and it responds significantly quicker if you go full gas.

2017 stache 7