Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Picked up an 07 Fuel EX8...Set up needed?

1K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  kgraham11 
#1 ·
I brought it home yesterday and have been tooling around the neighborhood a little. Is there anything on this rig that needs to be addressed before I hit the trails?

Thanks:thumbsup:
 
#2 ·
Assume you got it at LBS and they set it up for you. For me that meant:

Shock pressure front and back according to your weight
Seat adjust (height and forward/back) to get proper leg position
Adjusted stem (mine 110 mm)
I changed tires to Nevegal 2.1 rear, Bluegroove 2.3 forward (really like the new tires)
Have tinkered with both front and rear shocks for two months and not sure where I will end up (right now have stiffened front shock a bit and have rebound six clicks to right, always ride with rear end in propedal).

Really enjoy the bike, but it is my first dually and still working on the setup myself.

Good Luck
Dave
 
#3 ·
You will need to play a bit with the suspension. Start with the manufacturer's recommendations for pressure, and see how it feels, and adjust accordingly. I lock the suspension if I am going uphill on a paved road, but off road I use the suspension (propedal for the rear). Going downhill, I fully open the rear suspension.

You will also need to play a bit with the tire pressure and see what you find comfortable. Again, start by a general recommentation (like 3 bar or so) and adjust if needed.

Good luck with the bike, hope you enjoy it as much as all the other Fuel 8 owners do... (including me).
 
#5 ·
I got it from Trek SD in Vista, Ca...


They did the basic check over as far as I can tell....then set the shock and forks.

I wasn't sure if there was something that everyone is replacing right off the bat though.....like......the grips are garbage or it needs new tires to be dirt worthy....Egg beaters or a new chain.,.......stuff that folks are seeing fail rather quickly.
 
#7 ·
unit74 said:
I got it from Trek SD in Vista, Ca...

They did the basic check over as far as I can tell....then set the shock and forks.

I wasn't sure if there was something that everyone is replacing right off the bat though.....like......the grips are garbage or it needs new tires to be dirt worthy....Egg beaters or a new chain.,.......stuff that folks are seeing fail rather quickly.
I swapped the Deore shifters to XT, and went with a Race X lite carbon bar for bling factor. Other than that my chain has had no problems, and I still use the stock grips, although they are not that great. Gotta upgrade those soon. Bike works great essentially stock for now.
 
#9 ·
im pissed my chain doesnt have a quick-link.

anyways, i found to get the best ride, i needed ~5psi less than the reccomended values and only 2-3 clicks of rebound front and back.

getting good tires and running stans is the best thing u could do also. im running a 2.1 nevigal and 2.1 blue groove at 28psi and its incredible how much traction reserve i have. and when i do lose traction, its gradual and controllable.
 
#11 ·


that's mine before a few upgrades. the paint looks great, but it rubs off easily. i have spots where all of my cables touch. since then, i've put scotch tape over those areas to keep it from rubbing. bad choice though because i dont know how to get the scotch tape off and put some real lizard skin patches on!

since then i got eggbeater SLs and a thompson elite post.
 
#15 ·
you must have done some extensive modding to get 27lbs. I put on a lighter stem and much lighter pedals, along with a nevegal and blue groove 2.1 both running stans, and i'm at 28.4lbs. im pretty sure that scale is accurate too.
 
#16 ·
Maybe it was the HiFi that was 27 then......I know the EX8 was about a pound heavier. But I saw a 27 something on the scale......we were going back and fourth on the two bikes comparing specs, so I'm sure you know more about it than I do.....I'm just a rookie in the game.
 
#17 ·
IMO, definitely change the grips... I had Yeti Lock-ons from my last bike and put those on. Also put on a Thomson seatpost and plan on getting a Thomson stem. The handlebar just doesn't seem to seat straight in the two-bolt Bontrager stem. I'm still working on dialing in the suspension, though.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top