

The fact that you can run such a large cassette and such large tires are enabled by the Boost 148 on the back axle. The SRAM Guide R brake system does its job, although I have to say that, riding Dutch trails, it wasn’t possible to really put it to the test of prolonged and hard breaking which you would encounter if you are doing alpine rides. The rest of the bike is just as smooth, with internally routed cables and a clean cockpit. Simpler, cleaner, means less maintenance and is slightly lighter. The SRAM XG cassette has a wide 10-50 range that will help you up any steep climb. I really like not having a front derailer. The Trek Stache has a SRAM GX 1×12 groupset which shifted sharply and smoothly. The seat dropper post helping in switching the saddle height and riding position from low for the downhill to high for the climb. The Stache handled this corner really well. You have to try to carry some speed, shift down a couple of speeds quickly and power through. There is a place on the trail I did, where you hid downhill at speed, making a very tight corner and go straight up again.
#TREK STACHE 9.7 PLUS#
The plus size tires give you heaps of grip while making your tight corners. It is easy to wheel, it is nimble in parking lot playing around, and more importantly, you can thread your way through the technical trails with ease. The Stache delivers on its agility promise. The idea behind this complex construction is simple: the tighter into the frame you can bring the tire, the closer it will be to the center of the bike, the shorter the chainstay will be, the shorter the wheelbase will be, and the agiler the bike will be. In effect, you will see the chainring over the back tire. The chainstay on the Stache is a-symmetrical, with the chain running underneath the chainstay to be able to bring the bottom bracket much closer.

To begin with the wheelbase: Trek has managed to place the wheel very “deep” into the frame.
