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2019 Trek Remedy 8 First Impressions

Let me start by saying that this is the second Trek Remedy I’ve owned, which I hope says something about the bike. I bought this one in 2015 and it has been a great bike ever since.

I bought this one with a lot of research about the suspension . Being a bigger guy I have to look into these things a bit more than the average rider. What I neglected to do was to really pay a lot of attention to the fit. To be honest, I thought the fit would be fine as it would be the same size (so I thought) as the last full suspension bike I had (2004 Specialized Enduro Pro) but I didn’t consider a number of things such as brand, aging, the fact that I had been riding such different bikes for a number of years since then… It was clear very quickly that I bought the bike in a size too small and that was on me. It became more clear when I picked up my 2016 Trek Farley in the proper size for my body. It was a huge difference, and the Farley has become my primary bike because of it.

That’s what brought me to this. Funny enough, I was going to go with a Full Stache, but there are a few upgrades on this that made it a better value in my eyes. Some of the key factors are 4 piston brakes, the ability to ride plus tires or normal tires, the increased suspension, a better fork, and the fact that after a year and a half in production, the Full Stache is still sporting the same colors, and there are reports of frame/wheel flex, led me back to the Remedy again.

The 2019 Trek Remedy 8. My ever-amazing, wonderful, and understanding wife has been very supportive of my riding for my health and well being, so she agreed to let me update. Ok, enough about the personal stuff, what are my impressions of this bike???

For starters, the size is a huge difference. I noticed it right away. Keep in mind that it is very early in the season here in Michigan, so the trail choice is limited. My first ride was a 15 mile bike path ride with less than 2 miles of singletrack. All of that riding on the path helped me notice the room and feel right away. The other thing I noticed right away, which is more of a review point, and very important to note, was that the suspension has come a long way in the last 4 years. I felt comfortable on the road with this thing. I wouldn’t enter it in the Tour or anything, but I felt the improvements in both the front and rear suspension. I wasn’t bobbing or anything.

SRAM GX Eagle. Very impressive. I upgraded my Farley to a 1x Shimano XT drive train and was very happy, but the range and precision of this drivetrain is very nice. The only thing the XT has over the Eagle is the ability to drop 2 gears at a time which is useful when coming out of a climb and getting back on the gas.

My second ride on the Remedy 8 was on legitimate trails. I had elevation and technical, as well as a couple spots to open it up. The ABP suspension was a plus on the original Remedy I had, and it seems slightly improved since then. It might not seem noticeable to some, but after riding other bikes, I have noticed it. The ability to be in a technical down hill and feel the suspension working flawlessly while braking comes in real handy.

Frame stiffness from 2015 to now is an amazing difference. I said before that this was one of the things I am concerned with as a bigger guy. The difference 4 years makes is incredible. This helped considerably in all areas of the ride. Climbing or descending, you will appreciate a stiffer frame.

I am still working on dialing in the suspension, but the updates are solid. Small bump performance was exceptional. Big hits were very nice. This bike sports 160mm front/150 mm rear travel. This is an upgrade from 140 mm front/rear. The change in the full floater to the current design adds to the frame stiffness and with the upgraded RE:aktiv shock, the ride quality is much smoother. The Lyrik handles everything I’ve had available in 2 rides. It feels like a very solid fork so far.

Some complain about the “dated” geometry in reviews I have read. I am not sure how this is a knock against this bike. It sports the Mino-Link which gets the head angle down to 65.5 degrees. The bike feels solid. I guess some of the other bikes in the category sport a little longer top tube length, but I really think that can mess with the overall feel. The Remedy, in comparison to the many other bikes I have ridden, fits my riding style. I am a smooth rider for being a big guy. I play on the bike and it sees air. I come from an 80’s BMX background. I started riding MTB’s when the first production bike rolled off the line and lived through the dual purpose XC/DH days with high seatposts and narrow bars. I guess what I am getting at is that the geometry seems to fit for my upbringing and style. The front end comes up to manual when I need it to and it tracks where I point it. Speed was comfortable as was technical.

Climbing was also a big improvement. The changes over the last 4 years that I have mentioned make for a solid climbing performance. As I have said, I am a big guy. I climb like a tank, slow and safe. The bike didn’t disappoint me. I was easily climbing and felt like I picked up where I left off last year rather than struggling. Some of that may have to do with the fat bike and the winter exercise, but some of it has to do with the improvements of the bike and the massive gear ratio provided by the Eagle drivetrain.

So, my first impressions of this bike are positive. I will add that it is about 33 pounds. I buy the aluminum bikes still because I don’t want to shatter the carbon fiber at my size. I have long learned that I can just take the weight off my body and save money upgrading the bike. That is what I plan to do. This is the first production bike that I haven’t felt the need to change things immediately. Though I normally run a slightly wider bar, this one is comfortable. The only thing this bike needs at this point is more miles…