2020 Trek Supercaliber XC MTB Race Bike

Equipment
65

anyone have the cliff notes to this in english?

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66

if you download the picture and put into Google translate as a picture, it will translate it

67

What would be your pick then? Seems your thought seems like mine

68

I donā€™t think you want my opinion. I bought two Orbea Oiz:es and have now exchanged them for one Scott Spark RC900WC AXS and one Scott Scale RC900 Team. The Oiz was way to nervous, steering-wise, but extremely light so it felt like a HT. Likewise on the backend it bounced around like crazy even though I Shockwizzed it and tested practically every setting I could on the shock. Didnā€™t help. Switched to Spark and itā€™s a much stiffer ride. Not as plush as a lot of other bikes Iā€™ve ridden but itā€™s a race machine so it doesnā€™t matter. Iā€™d say Spark or Fourstroke if youā€™re looking for a bike that rides as good as it handles.

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70

I am between the Spark RC or a Canyon Lux. Think the Spark is a better handler.

71

Yeah for sure! Considering geometry I believe the Lux is worse off than the Oiz in regards to being ā€œnervousā€. And with nervous I mean very light on the steering. And itā€™s positive sometimes but for the most part not really. It has to do with wheelbase and if youā€™ve ever driven race cars then youā€™d know all the positives and negatives that come with longer vs. shorter wheelbase. Basically if you want a fast handling bike youā€™d be looking for shorter wheelbase. But that comes with the expense of having a more ā€œstableā€ bike.

For me the latter is more important. Something I came to realise expensively with dual Oizesā€¦ :joy:

73

Thanks! (I am new at thisā€¦) For some reason the Supercaliber also got my attention.
Having two bottle cages could be a thing.
I guess thatā€™s another newbe thing? Rating bikes based on bottle cages

74

Yeah. Either you get a pack, someone to help or bottle-sticks. :smiley:

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75

Flow MTB will be doing a review of the Supercaliber. I value their reviews.

It remains on my shortlist - which now looks like this

Blur
Supercaliber
Scalpel

The Blur and the Scalpel are the emmotional choices. Always had a soft spot for these two brands (loved my Cannondale F800 with headshock)

Last MTB was a 2018 Top Fuel, fitted me like a glove. To me Trek is like a VW Golf - maybe not the most exciting - but just works.

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77

I am drawn towards the Supercaliber to. Funny comparison with the VW. My Emonda is kinda the same, no bling but just works indeed.

My choices are Spark RC900, Supercaliber or a Canyon Flux, the only one with a dropper out of the box. Have a nice deal on a Supercaliber however.

78

Spark RC was on my list until I test rode it. Didnā€™t really get on it. I test rode it same day as the Blur. I felt the Blur was far more efficient both in pedalling and climbing. Scott relied a lot on its lockout - which of course is also a stenght I guess - and I struggled keeping the front down on steep climbs.

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79

Really expect something about that Supercaliberā€¦need to find a test ride. Or just get a Lux.

80

Test riding is difficult. Nobody has stock let alone demo bikes. The Blur and Spark I rode both belonged to staff at the shop.

I am waiting for a shop to come back to me with a few numbers on the Scalpel and Supercaliber (power meter upgrade etc) and I need to speak with someone who rode the SC at a stage race in Portugal (my sort of riding). I will then make up my mind.

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81

Indeed, there is alway the Scalpel.
Keep us posted!

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82

The Lux is hard to look past - and clearly race proven. Geo is a little old school - but in sheer value for money nothing beats it. I will end up paying pretty much 50% more for one of the other bikes like for like specā€™d

83

The ā€œold geometryā€ā€¦something your hear often on the Lux, is that a bad thing and is ā€œthe newā€ geometry that much better?

2 Likes
84

So we wait foe the Flow review of the Supercaliber then? :grinning:

85

Iā€™ve been riding my Supercaliber all season. Iā€™ve posted elsewhere, but here are a few thoughts.

  1. Been very happy with the bike on mid-west rocky, rooty trails. Itā€™s very efficient on the climbs and I rarely lock it out as many of our climbs are not smooth. Itā€™s good sitting but also out of the saddle.

  2. The bike has been solid on the downhills Iā€™ve taken it on. Most are shorter, typically mid-west descents, but Brown County, IN has a downhill flow trail (Hobbs Hollow) and it was surprising good on that as well.

  3. The SID Ultimate took some work for me to dial in. I needed it soft enough to soak up the roots, but still firm for out of the saddle work. Settled on two tokens and slowed the rebound down a fair bit from my initial settings. Feels efficient now without beating me up.

  4. Along with the SID tuning, I didnā€™t care for the XXX Kovee 35 720mm bar. While very light, it was incredibly stiff and a little too narrow. Switched it out to an Enve M5 31.8 760mm and it made a world of difference. I find I can handle the bike better and the bars provide some nice dampening. Put on an Enve stem too.

  5. Rear suspension. Iā€™ve done little here other than tweaking the pressure a little. Kept thinking I would put a spacer in but never did. Itā€™s felt very good as is. I was initially getting more pedal strikes than I would like, but I increased the PSI a little and this helped lift the bike a little and seem to be getting less strikes. At some point Iā€™ll likely try a volume spacer just to see the difference.

  6. Bottom bracket. This has been creaky for a while and at some point need to get it addressed. Itā€™s creaking whenever I put down the power and seems to be getting worse. The Trek dealer locally is pretty much appointment only these days so waiting to hear back from them when a good time to bring it in is.

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86

Thanks for taking the time write that up. Very useful feedback.

87

Have you had any maintenance issues or challenges with the IsoStrut? Or just regular shock service?