Trek goes Full Stache with new 29-plus adventure bike
High volume big wheels and 130 mm travel combine to explore the best the backcountry has to offer
The growth of adventure biking, riders pushing themselves on big, backcountry rides, has seen the emerging riding style change recently. Riders are no longer satisfied just pushing the limits of where they can ride a mountain bike, but want to challenge how they can ride when they’re out there. Trek’s new 29-plus, 130mm adventure trail bike, the Full Stache is intended to tackle rugged trails on backcountry epics. As riders get more comfortable pushing beyond the confines of their local trail networks, sometimes way beyond, Trek has designed the Full Stache to for riders demand for bikes that will not only survive out in the wilderness, but thrive there.
To make room for the extra volume of those big 29-plus wheels, Trek fully redesigned the Full Stache’s suspension layout and added an elevated chainstay to increase drive-side clearance. The new look allows Trek to keep the chainstay length to a tight 430mm, a hair shorter than its Fuel EX platform, to try find a balance between the 29-plus wheels stability and the fun-factor of trail bike geometry.
One sacrifice the redesigned rear end makes is the loss of a size Small frame. The Full Stache is only available in Medium, Large and XL sizes, with Trek recommending any rider missing the 15.5″ frame size look at the Fuel EX 29 or Fuel EX 27.5-plus instead. There’s also not much wiggle room on tire size, outside of the recommended 29 x 3.0″ size. Trek allows that riders looking to shed weight of the Full Stache’s 33.88lbs build, or liven up the bikes ride can run tires as small as 29 x 2.6, but cautions that this will affect the BB height.
The Full Stache is available in one build kit, or as a frame only option with the same Fox Float shock with Trek’s exclusive RE;aktiv damper that comes on the complete bike. Rockshox Pike RL 130 mm handles front end suspension for the lone build kit, with SRAM’s GX Eagle drive train keeping the Full Stache moving. With so much emphasis put on the 3.0″ tires, it’s not surprising that the Full Stache will roll on all-new Bontrager XR4 tires, featuring an aggressive tread and tougher sidewalls.
Since Trek do want riders to get out on proper backcountry adventures, which often have a way of stretching past the 24-hour mark, a line of custom frame bags designed to work with the Full Stache will be available through Bedrock Bags.
The Full Stache combines trail bike handling and travel with the increased versatility of high volume 29-plus tires. Balanced 130 mm front and rear travel, and 67.4 degree head angle (adjustable to 67.0 via Trek’s Mino-link adjustment system) meet a frame that is “unapologetically committed to high-volume 29-inch tires.” Trek’s Full Stache adventure bike either sounds a bit weird, or like the exact bike you’ve been waiting for. It’s a potentially divisive approach, and Trek is OK with that. The company know the audience for the Full Stache may be limited, but it still thinks it is a bike worth making for those riders who are already scheming new trips to make use of it. In Trek’s words, “anyone who likes to go long and get weird will like the Full Stache.”
Just what is the Full Stache intended to be used for? Riders who regularly find themselves in the backcountry, those who plan adventures with more than a touch of the unknown and want a bike capable of handling whatever they might run into, and trail riders whose preferences run towards rugged, natural trails. Going Full Stache will get you way out there and back in one piece, and make sure your bike is capable of having as much fun as you’d like while you’re out there.
