Hi Guys,
I’ve been racing XC and Cross Triathlon (MTB in the middle rather than road bike) for a few years now on a superlight hard tail (8kg).
Whilst I can fly on the flat and climbing, my weakness is downhill (I’m a big scaredy cat).
So, full suss seems like a good way to go.
I like the look (and price) of the Trek Supercaliber, but how will this handle compared to a “normal” full sus such as the Specialized Epic?
Cheers,
Pat.
Pinkbike did a field test on these bikes among many others. I liked their videos, but it made me want all the bikes.
You may also consider getting a dropper for your current bike to see if that helps with your descending. There is a learning curve, or familiarization period, and some seem to pick up on dropper use quicker than others.
Thanks - and great link. Confirmed my thoughts that a full sus would be better as my limiter is descending.
I do have a dropper - been riding MTB for a while.
Pat.
The Supercaliber is much more than the sum of its parts and much more capable than you would expect. That being said, lots of great options.
Take a look at these threads for a lot of discussion and information:
Do people use protection film for the flexible seat stays on the SC? I am going to get the SC and wondering if the wrapping of the flexible seat stays will stiffen up the seat stays, leading to greater stress load at the ends of the seat stays that connect to the seat tube and the rear dropouts. If so, then would the greater stress at these locations exceed design limits? I suppose that nobody may know the answer to these questions.
I did talk to Trek and they said that they themselves sell RideWrap and using it shouldn’t void the warranty.
I was thinking of Invishield, but I think I might just go with RW.
Thinking back to beam theory from a college course many eons ago, I suppose that cutting slits in the wrap at the lower part of the seat stays where tension would be the greatest would mitigate any stiffening effects of the wrap…
I’ve never used a wrap but I imagine they aren’t super stiff. Like a beefed up sticker basically. I highly doubt they would significantly add to the stresses on the stays. I mean the bike is designed to take drops of a couple feet and probably sees wayy higher stress if you accidentally lock out the shock on a decent hit than if you put a sticker on the stays. Especially if Trek says they sell a similar product than I’m almost certain it would be fine.
This question is an attempt at trolling right? An attempt to make fun of the neurotic-cyclist stereotype? 
The Trek is only 60mm rear travel. I saw a comparison of bike weights and the Supercaliber was middle of the pack on weight compared to other high end XC bikes. Epic, Scalpel, etc… If you’re only gonna give me 60mm of travel at least give me a competitively light frame.
I even thought about mentioning Timoshenko Beam Theory, but then I thought that nerd-trolling might not work too well. 
I just brought the bike home from the shop! Now gotta post stuff on FB marketplace…