Introduction:
Bike evolution is a wonderful thing. Despite the conspiracy theories that bike manufacturers just try to pry your hard-earned dollars with useless gimmicks and new standards every year, progress is actually being made. Just five years ago, the Trek 8000 and the Gary Fisher Ferrous were the highlights of the Trek hardtail line at the $2500 price point. They were decent bikes but really more of a mid-level bikes that did not have a strong sense of purpose.
Enter the Trek Stache, the rally hardtail. It has the 29er wheel size and a bevy of at least twenty innovations of substance. But the real magic is this bike has a purpose which is to maximize your fun per dollar. 29ers now dominate the hardtail scene simply because they are more comfortable, are fast and can go long distances. But fun and agility were never their #1 attributes as those were still the domain of 26ers on full suspension platforms.
But here comes the Trek Stache with its short stays, slack head angle, dropper post eagerness and it is wagging its tail and ready to play. This is the fun hardtail 29er and it is ready to rally. It will climb, corner, drop and jump and do things beyond the traditional 29er hardtail comfort zone. It is agile, capable and it looks darn good too. And although some folks might think the pricing of $1760 for the Stache 7 and $2420 for the Stache 8 is a lot of money, I will make the argument that these bikes offer a heck of a deal.
The reason is these bikes are dialed! They have the latest technology with components that work perfectly together. CTD front fork, clutch type rear derailleur, tubeless ready, internal cable routing, ISCG chain guide mounts are just some of the features of the Stache 8. All your really need is to do is add the dropper post of your choice and some sealant for a tubeless conversion and you are ready to get rad with this hardtail.
The Basics
Price: Trek Stache 8 is $2420 and the Trek Stache 7 is $1760.
Weight: 25.8 lbs without pedals
It may be a great bike but it has NOT got short chainstays!! At 17.5″ they are nowhere near true trail/am 29ers like KOna Honzo, Canfield Yelli Screamy/Nimble 9 etc.
Great review. Thank goodness it has normal, or slightly short chainstays for balanced handling!
Page 2 Sentences 1&2
The Ride
The bike has a stiff bottom bracket area and the wheel is tucked underneath the rider with shortish stays of 17.5 inches. While not leading edge short for a hardtail, this translates to an agile and responsive climber.
Actually, the article very clearly states the stays are 17.5 inches on page 2. Some people just didn’t read the article.
I have an 8 with a stealth reverb lefty remote, RF atlas bar that matches crank, tubeless setup and saint pedals mated to 5-10s….never thought I’d ride a hardtail again but DAMN….what a fun bike. And those new clutch derailleurs are the bees knees! So quiet thru the rough w/ no chainslap… don’t get a crappy spec entry level full sus bike til you ride this sled or something similar….too much fun on the downs and climbs with authority!
I’ve got an 8 spec’d w/ a stealth reverb, 50mm stem, RF atlas bar, tubeless and some saint pedals mated to some 5-10s…the bike is crazy fun.
I’ve got a stable with a bike for just about every sub genre of mtb and the stache has been getting the most love lately for my local trails in the piedmont region of north carolina. Definitely worth a test ride if you’re in the market for high end hardtail or entry level full sus and like to shred hard…
Trying to decide, purpose-wise, which bike would be better for me…Superfly AL Elite hardtail or Stache 8. I see some of the differences on paper, but both bikes are at a similar price point and look to appeal to a similar audience. Anyone care to offer some clarity?
If I had a 26er that had that long of chainstays and that much bb drop (yes I know 29ers are just going to have more…) I would say it handled lazily and the front end was hard to get up BUT because it’s a 29er it now has magic powers to defy its geo and is suddenly “playful”. Like others have said, no thanks… I’ll look towards a honzo or nimle nine for this category of bike.
Dropper on a hardtail, is like putting road tires on a spesh DEMO. Makes no sense.
Two words: el mariachi.
I generally like FC’s reviews, but this isn’t one of them.
I have owned A Lot of bikes and ridden even more. I got a Stache 8 frameset prior to release and wasn’t going to put ANY $ into the build because I was a bit “unsure” of the claims With old worn out parts THIS BIKE RIPS! Nimble, fast, and begs to be pushed. Climbing, check, jumping, wait I hate to jump, to bad this bike floats. No one has ever ridden this bike and not come back smiling. And isn’t THAT what its all about.
This bike is super fun and way different than other g2 29erz.
I was sceptical at first too but it won me over.
Bike looks like a nice addition to the AM 29er HT lineup, but sounds like it’s missing a little compared to the others (Banshee Paradox, Canfield Yelli, Kona Honzo). Nobody is talking about the Titus Fireline Evo here. Sad they aren’t in AZ anymore but I just got a frame for 700 bucks (special edition). On a 120 mm fork h/t is 67.7. I put a 100 mm on and used a zero stack bottom headset cup to steepen the h/t angle. Maybe it’s 68.5 now? Either way, it’s a ti hardtail with slack h/t and shorter (17.1?) chainstays. For a sick, sick price. Fastest and most fun bike I’ve ridden. That said, the Stache or other more AM designed 29er HTs are a great place to be these days. Went from three bikes to one. If you’re thinking about getting a bike in this class please do. You’ll love it.
Man, lotta people drinkin the hater-aid in the comments talkin bout geo and chainstay length. Im guessing most of these armchair commenters haven’t even test rode the bike.
Full disclosure, I work at a trek dealer and I own a stache 8. The bike is one you should put on list for a test ride if you’re in the market for a quality hardtail. The bike has all the latest tech such as thru axles, tapered headtube, routing for a dropper, tubeless ready wheelset, shadow plus der. Etc…its good value for the $. I’ve got many bikes in the stable…a sc tallboy, intense ss, sc heckler, spech demo….and i’m going to this bike a lot.
All this talk about xcal similarities is rubbish…the bikes are completely different rides designed for different uses. They feel completely differnt out on the trail. Sure there are great options out there like the honzo, canfield etc but let a bunch of spec numbers make the call for you. Test ride the bikes and get an informed opinion.
this reply is coming from someone that has been totally anti-29er’s…. this is because I have ridden a few,,, HT and FS and never really had the thrash feel that I like…… however, after riding one that was lent to me I totally fell in love with it, the accelaration is immense, then it goes like a train,,,,, My local haunt is Harleston Firs, Northants and Woburn in Bucks, they have some really really tight tecky single track, but it turns through the trees and eats the trail up with such a speed that my 26″ wheel friends now having to try seriously hard to keep with me.
Great frame, breaks, float forks,,, and even the finishing kit is good… 26.4lbs too….
Bought mine from Ian at Leisura Lakes Daventry……
Ian, if you read this mate, get out from infront of me mate, your slowing me down
Since picking up my new Stache 8 last weekend, I’ve put 24 miles of single track on it. Coming from a 26er, I didn’t entirely know what to expect. The build quality and components are very good, and the bike looks awesome – but that never provides the whole story to a prospective buyer. So, as promised, I’m providing you some notes from my first couple of rides. Feel free to share.
Setting off, I quickly noticed the difference in wheel/tire size, finding myself steering the bike more than I would my Cannondale. Some of this I attribute to the wider handlebars but there is a purposeful style in the bike’s geometry. What it may lack in ‘twitchy’ (a trait I came to love on my 26er), the Stache makes up for by stabilizing the trail. Meaning, you can keep more momentum going in, through and over things. It’s fast and deceivingly maneuverable. In fact, by the second ride, I was making checkpoints in shorter time than I have on my 26er. The Fox fork does a fantastic job to further smooth things out; I used all three settings but kept it on ‘trail’ for 90% of the rides. The clutch on the rear derailleur is brilliant, taking chain slap out of the rider’s experience. The Stach 8 is confidence-inspiring on the downhills, which brings me to introduce my new best friends, the SLX brakes. As a 6’1″, 200 lb proponent of going fast, I’m grateful for good brakes and found myself literally riding with an index finger on each lever.
I didn’t demo a Stache 7 but I’d imagine the ride is very similar. I choose the Stache 8 because of the upgraded brakes and fork. Those items may not be worth the additional funds to everyone but they are to me. We’re still getting to know one-another but I’m pretty sure I’m going to love this bike. In my opinion, it’s perfect for the single-track fan who continues to embrace a hard-tail MTB.
Hi, how is this bike on casual roads. Since I will be riding a lot around my subarbun neighborhood and small parks? Does it hold up well, too tiring?