2012 Trek Session 9.9 Carbon
Exploding onto the DH sceene for 2012 the Trek Session 9.9 has created quite a stir for many reasons. Everyone has seen the rise and rise of the Trek Session on the world DH circuit and each year Trek continue to work closely with Fox to devolop better suspension for their cutting edge frame design.  The OCLV Mountain carbon frame forced Trek once again to push the boundaries of carbon construction to develop "InTension"; an extremely strong carbon lay-up that is used at the inside layer in areas they want the frame to be extremely strong.  Hand made in a dark secret place at Trek in the USA, the Session 9.9 has some very cool and functional features that are nothing short of ground-breaking. The MicroTruss cable mounts are virtually invisible and when we asked Jim (inventor of OCLV)  how it is done, he just smiled and re-directed the conversation. These stealth cable mounts are of course only there If you decide that you don't want to use the very slick internal routing that disapears into the frame on the front side of the intergrated bump stop. Basically the cable outer sits in an indent in the frame and you route the cable-tie in through the frame and out the other side - it's brilliant!
 
Trek also give you the ability to tweak the bikes geometry to suit your riding style with the Mino Link at the rear and a Cane Creek Angleset at the front. The Mino Link  gives you the option of steepening the head angle by 1/2 a degree which in turn raises the bottom bracket by  8mm. This is done very simply by turning the links around in the rear stay and takes just a few minutes to do.   The Cane Creek headset also adjusts the head tube angle by +1 or - 1 degree giving the rider a lot of scope to dial in the handling required for course conditions. These features coupled with the custom valved Fox dampers that were devolped between Fox & Trek at their Californian suspension centre add up to the most advanced DH bike ever created.
 
As you would expect with any Trek 9.9 model the engineers have cut loose to create something unbeatable. Taking a whole pound out of the frame is where they have started weight wise, but everywhere you look on the bike weight has been a major consideration in addition to function and performance. Weighing under 16Kg's out of the box will excite just about any DH rider who now appreciates the difference a lighter set-up can make.  As you would expect the build is high end everywhere, from the SRAM X0 to the DT Swiss wheels comprising of 240 hubs and FR 600 32-hole rims. We're big fans of DH wheels that use standard rims and spokes as we all know DH rims cop a real beating. It's pointless to go on about the balance of parts as every single one is the best of the best, but the heart of this world cup winning machine is where it is at and will no doubt see them sell out before they even land in Australia so get in quick. If you're looking for a bike that is a world cup winner and will give you an edge over your competition no matter what your level, the Trek Session 9.9 is where it's at.