2012 Trek Session 8 Downhill Bike
The new Trek Session 8 has the lineage of a champion. The Session 8's frame is in fact the same frame that Aaron Gwin rode to victory on in 2011 and was riding until he was given the carbon 9.9 to put through it's paces. So although the pricing is at the entry level for a DH bike the heart and soul of the Session 8 is of a racing thoroughbred. The Mino Link allows you to change up the bikes geometry by adding 1/2 a degree to the head angle whilst also raising the bottom bracket 8mm, and is a great feature that takes about 5 minutes to swap around to adjust for the course conditions. If that isn't enough however, Trek have also specced the Session 8 with a Cane Creek Angleset so that you can adjust the head angle alone by + or - 1 degree, giving you even more scope to change the bikes handling and feel to your liking or as your riding progresses. The RockShox Boxxer Race fork up front is simple and reliable, with adjustable low-speed compression and rebound, and is a great value match to the Kage rear shock out back. Sure the dampers don't have the bling or high-level adjustability you get on the top models but that isn't necessarily a bad thing as not only is there less to go wrong, you also reduce the chance of ending up with a poor suspension settings if you don't know what you're doing. Another great aspect to the Rockshox suspension is its weight. Keeping the weight down is definitely an advantage and the complete Session 8 tips the scales at around 17kgs, making it lighter than many bike worth almost double. This is a real advantage if you don't have the muscles to throw around a big heavy tank and allows you to shave as many seconds from the racetrack as possible.
 
Wheels are an important part of a DH bike and a part that really cops a flogging. The Bontrager Cousin Earl wheels that are tubeless ready use the new 157x12 standard that makes putting your rear wheel in easier and more secure. They use standard DT Swiss spokes that means the wheels are easily repaired when you inevitably hit a bit hard now and again. The 2012 Session 8 runs a SRAM drive train and Elixir brakes that have a surprising amount of controlable power that should get you out of trouble when you need most. One aspect of this DH racing machine we like the most is that Trek haven't robbed Peter to pay Paul with parts, but rather selected a good mix of parts and a similar level everywhere. No flashy bits to attract your attention, just a great frame, good wheels, and solid parts mix on a fantastic race ready DH bike.