![]() There have only ever been one other 29+ bike make its way to the masses, we reviewed the Surly Krampus a few years ago, while we loved its endless traction it was hard work to manoeuvre through any form of a tight corner and was a boat to try and rip through singletrack.Īn increased contact patch is beneficial in two main ways. 29+ wheels are huge, too big to fit into a normal shaped frame, hence the wildly asymmetrical rear end of the bike and its elevated chainstay arrangement. Not sure what we are talking about? Here, have a read of this if you’d like to know what a plus-size bike is all about.Įssentially, Trek developed the Stache around 29+ wheels due to the increased contact patch of the tyre when compared to 27.5+, but it wasn’t going to be so simple. When Trek decided to create a bike in the ‘plus hardtail’ category, they developed the Stache from the ground up using 29″ diameter wheels, instead of jumping on the existing 27.5+ wheel (27.5″ diameter with 2.8-3″ tyres) size bandwagon. The Trek Stache, with its big, balloon-like wheels. By Jared Williams, PCI #1214, Tacoma (WA) Police Department, IPMBA Industry Relations CommitteeĢ014 marked the second year of production for the Trek Stache model.Expensive for a hardtail with mid-range spec. For 2014, Trek offered three versions of the bike, with varying component specs (models 6, 7, and 8). The Trek Stache 7 is in the middle, offering a good component spec while maintaining a low price. The Trek Stache is a trail-oriented, hard tail 29er. Trek was a very early adopter of 29er technology, and their years of experience have enabled them to refine the geometry of their bikes, using what they call G2 geometry. The geometry of the Trek Stache models is a bit slacker than their cross-country bikes, including a longer travel (120mm) fork. ![]() This geometry allows the rider a more stable platform for riding over the ever-changing environment of trails. I found this to be advantageous to typical police cyclist riding environments as well. The Trek Stache 7 is equipped with a healthy and robust mix of components. It sports a 120mm Rockshox Recon Silver air-sprung fork with 32mm stanchions. The bike utilizes a 15mm thru-axle in front and a 142-12mm axle in the rear. These axles are beefier than the standard 9mm quick-release axles found on a vast majority of police bikes, allowing for more durability and stiffness. The bike features Trek’s “e2” tapered headset, which also adds a bit of durability and stiffness to the front end. The drive train is a mixture of mid-level SRAM and Race Face components, utilizing a 2X10 drive train equipped with a SRAM X9 type-2 rear derailleur. Trek has utilized internal cable routing for the drive train. The brakes are Shimano’s entry-level hydraulic M445 brakes with a 160mm rear disc and 180mm front disc. Even though they are considered entry-level brakes, they provide adequate and consistent stopping power. Trek puts the rubber to the road with their house-brand Bontrager Duster 29 wheels and Bontrager 29er XR3 Expert tires. The tires are knobby and trail-oriented, so we had these swapped out for a set of Maxxis Hookworm 29X2.5 tires. If you are thinking about adding a dropper seat-post, Trek has integrated internal routing for a stealth post as well. We also equipped our bikes with a Topeak MTX trunk and seat-post mounted rack. In my opinion, this is one of the best all-around bikes I have ever ridden. I currently enjoy trail riding on a regular basis, and actually purchased a 2013 Trek Stache 7 last year. It didn’t take much convincing of my chain of command to purchase two 2014 Trek Stache 7 models in “Trans Blue.” I was so impressed with the bike’s handling and durability that I thought it would be a perfect match for public safety cycling. I was lucky enough to have one of our purchases assigned to me. ![]() As I mentioned earlier, we changed out the stock knobby tires with a set of Maxxis Hookworm 29 X 2.5” tires. These tires are rather beefy, providing great traction combined with a low rolling resistance. I converted my wheels and tires to tubeless as a personal preference (see my article on this at ). I set out on this bike and quickly found it to be a joy to ride on duty. The 29er wheels allowed for easy obstacle clearance. I could complete stair ascents with ease that I was having more difficulty on with my old 26-inch wheeled bike. The slacker geometry of this bike, along with the 120mm travel fork, made dicey stair descents and other obstacles much easier to ride as well. One of the things that I love about this bike is the thru-axles I mentioned in the specs section.
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