trek session precio

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Trek Session 8 29 GX

• AUS $ NZD $ USD $ CAD $ GBP £ EUR €

Colour / Satin Trek Black

Size / R1 (High, Low), R2 (High, Low), R3 (High, Low)

Weight / 38 lb 15.6 oz (17,680 g)

At a glance

- High-pivot suspension design

- ABP (Active Braking Pivot)

- Geometry adjustable via Mino Link flip chip in rear rocker link pivot

- Suspension progressivity adjustable (20% or 25%) via flip chip at lower shock mount

- Compatible with mixed (“Mullet”) setups: 29″ front wheel, 27.5″ rear wheel

- Internal or external cable routing

- Weight given for size R2 set up tubeless

Where To Buy

Specifications

• Frame Alpha Platinum Aluminum, magnesium rocker link, molded chainstay and down tube protection
• Fork RockShox BoXXer Select, DebonAir spring, Charger RC damper, 46mm offset, 20x110mm Boost thru axle, 200mm
• Shock FOX VAN Performance Coil, 250mm x 72.5mm, Spring rate: 400lbs (R1), 450lbs (R2), 500lbs (R3)
• Hubs Bontrager Line DH 30 wheelset, 110x20mm Boost front, 157x12mm rear with Rapid Drive 108 freehub
• Wheels Bontrager Line DH 30, tubeless ready
• Wheel Size 29"
• Spokes Bontrager Line DH 30 wheelset
• Tires Bontrager G5 Team Issue, wire bead, 2-ply, 60 TPI, 29" x 2.5"
• Chain 435mm, 439mm, 441mm, 445mm, 448mm, 452mm, Integrated upper idler pulley guide, lower pulley with bashguard, Truvativ Descendant DH, 34 tooth, steel, SRAM PC-1110, 11-speed
• Crank Truvativ Descendant DH DUB, 165mm length
• Bottom Bracket 359mm (12mm drop), 350mm (21mm drop), SRAM DUB, 83mm English/BSA threaded
• Rear Derailleur SRAM GX DH, 7-speed, medium cage
• Shifters SRAM GX DH, 7-speed
• Brakeset SRAM Guide R, 4-piston, SRAM CenterLine 6-bolt round-edge rotors (200mm front, 180mm rear), SRAM Guide R
• Handlebar Bontrager Line, alloy, 780mm width, 27.5mm rise, 35mm clamp diameter
• Saddle Bontrager Arvada, hollow chromoly rails, 138mm width
• Seatpost Bontrager Rhythm Elite, zero offset, 330mm length, 31.6mm, Single bolt, 31.6mm, Single bolt
• Stem Bontrager Line Pro, direct mount, 50mm length, 35mm bar clamp
• Grips Bontrager XR Trail Elite, nylon lock-on

Q: How much is a 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX?

A 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX is typically priced around $5,000 USD when new. Be sure to shop around for the best price, and also look to the used market for a great deal.

Q: How much does a 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX weigh?

A 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX weights 38 lb 15.6 oz (17,680 g).

Q: What size wheels does the 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX have?

The 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX has 29" wheels.

Q: What size 2022 Trek Session 8 29 GX should I get?

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2022 TREK SESSION

The return of the high pivot.

Words by Drew Rohde | Photos by Dusten Ryen Video by Brian Niles/Treeline Cinematics

SPONSORED CONTENT

In the latest episode of our Dissected Series, we build and take a detailed look at the new 2022 Trek Session downhill bike. The Trek Session is a bike we have been very familiar with over the last decade or so as we have personally bought and owned them, tested them, and even won a few DH races aboard them. There is no denying we like the Session and have reviewed them on this site in the past, but this new Dissected feature is intended to share the new features and design elements of this new bike in a factual and unbiased manner.

Back in 2005 aggressive mountain bikers were witness to the first Trek Session, a long travel freeride bike that could pedal gnarly stuff on the shore or shred a bike park. At the time the Trek Session seemed to be the evolution from Trek’s early high pivot, idler pulley-equipped Diesel DH bike. As bikes, freeriding and downhill racing progressed, the Session evolved into a more downhill race machine and departed from being a dedicated freeride hucker to what we know it as today. The high pivot, idler design returned and made some waves under professional racers as the bike continued to evolve under Tracey Mosely and then coming into its glory years under Aaron Gwin, Rachel Atherton, and a few other Trek Factory Racing athletes. One may think with so many World Cup wins, the Trek Session is a one-trick pony, but several top-step showings from the Trek C3 team have shown the Session is equally at home winning gold medals at the Red Bull Rampage as it is on the world racing stage.

WHY GO BACK?

For some it may be hard to imagine why Trek would be going back to a system they used on the Session 10 so many years ago. According to Trek Bicycles Advanced Concepts Engineer Dylan Howes, when Trek moved to the Session 8 from the 10, it was more about taking advantage of the brand’s latest technologies like Advanced Braking Pivot, Full Floater, EVO Link and applied them to dual suspension bikes no matter the discipline. Along with these new suspension technologies, Trek made the Session 8 much lighter, had a different stiffness and completely different ride experience.

As technology progressed, shock technology, rider preference and so many other factors have evolved, Trek decided that they wanted to revisit some of the major aspects that made the Trek Session 10, and high pivot bikes in general, a valid platform. High pivot bikes offer great impact absorption, roll-over speed and traction.

HIGH PIVOT 101

As you move the pivot that the wheel moves around higher, it allows the wheel to move rearward and upward as it encounters obstacles. By letting the wheel move in a larger arc, it gives the rear end more time to react and get out of the way. In a sense it is cushioning that impact or obstacle more than just relying on a straight vertical path and shock damping. The goal is to keep the bike feeling smoother, reduce deceleration from square-edge impacts and reduce fatigue to the rider on extended sections of rough terrain.

Now, if you are a realist, you will know that nothing comes for free, and moving a pivot to a location that allows for better impact absorption is certainly going to have a drawback. To combat the chain growth from the lengthening wheelbase of a high pivot bike the idler pulley becomes a crucial component. As the rear wheel moves up and back it moves further away from the bottom bracket. Since a chain cannot stretch, that energy gets transferred to the next weakest link. Those weak links are your feet/legs and the suspension. What that translates to on the trail is pedal kickback and decreased sensitivity of the rear shock. The cranks want to back-pedal as the wheel moves through the travel, which forces your leg muscles and feet to push back against the pedals to keep them even while standing on the pedals. This wears the rider out and stiffens up the rear end because of counteracting forces. The 2018 Trek Session had 15-27 degrees of pedal kickback depending on the scenario, and the 2022 Trek Session reduces that to 5-8 degrees. The idler pulley isolates the chain growth and by reducing pedal kickback, the rider can be stronger, longer and enjoy a more sensitive and composed bike that rolls over obstacles faster.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Adjustable Leverage Ratio – In previous years Trek Factory Racing athletes benefitted from having the race shop make them custom links for different tracks and rider preference. Wanting to add the benefits and tunability to the general public, the shock Mino Chip takes the bike from 20% to 25%. Both settings offer more progression than the preceding Trek Session but make this bike ready for even more aggressive riding and just about any rear shock you can find.

Aluminum Only – In a move that stunned the development team and engineers, all the athletes involved proclaimed that they were so pleased with that initial aluminum prototype, they did not want a carbon version. Trek engineer Dylan Howes said that the athlete feedback on the benefits of the aluminum frame caused a major reworking of the Session project as the plan had been to move to carbon after initial testing was complete. Major benefits included a slightly more composed bike due to a little bit more weight, a more comfortable feel and a nice snappy feel out of hard corners and big G-inducing berms. Another benefit that riders like Reece Wilson and Charlie Harrison appreciated out of the new Session frame is a muted feel. The material and suspension design work in unison to give a very calming and settled feel.

The benefit to end users? A more affordable bike and frameset for downhillers looking to spend more on riding than buying.

ADJUSTABLE WHEEL SIZE – With so many riders wanting different things out of their bikes, the new Trek Session aims to please everyone from clock-chasing DH racers to Red Bull Rampage hopefuls and park rats. One frame does it all and can quickly be converted to run 29-inch front and back, Mullet (mixed) or full 27.5-inch wheels. The Trek Session frame comes with the EXT headset cup, required for running a 27.5” front wheel, but is sold separately for those buying a complete bike. In its default packaging, the new 2022 Trek Session ships with 29-inch wheels front and rear. With this setup riders can choose between a high or low geometry setting via the Mino Link. If you want to run a mullet/mixed wheel set up, simply put the bike in the High position and change out the rear wheel to a 27.5 and you are ready to rock. If you are a freeride, park rat and want to run full 27.5, you have to install a lower headset cup to maintain geo and ride height. That is it. Simple, quick changes that give you three different bikes.

UPDATED SIZING AND GEO – Trek has ditched the traditional sizing structure and are now using reach-based sizing. Three sizes of the Trek Session are available; R1, R2, R3 and cover the same range of rider heights as seat tubes have shortened and reach becomes the deciding factor. Across the board, all the new Session frames have lengthened up front to keep in tune with modern geometry demands. Something else that has changed is the addition of size-specific chainstays.

THE WOLF’S FIRST IMPRESSION

After our brief riding sessions to collect footage for this feature, it is very apparent that Trek has created a solid downhill bike. We are very excited to put this bike to the test against some of the best we have ridden and are counting down the days until the chairlifts start spinning. The versatility to run the new Trek Session in three different wheel configurations is a definite strength, and we hope to try out the Mullet setup this summer. Another strength we see is the solid value for privateers and cost-conscious downhillers.

In terms of performance, it is still much too early, and we have not yet put the bike through enough scenarios to learn it inside and out but there are some readily apparent improvements. The progressivity at the rear end is noticeably improved and when we charged into hard compressions, the bike kept up with the terrain and has not hung up yet. We really like the suppleness off the top and feel that it is going to do a good job for riders who like to charge full speed. The added length will take a little getting used to on some of our tighter, slower DH trails with switchbacks as the longer reach, lengthening wheelbase and 29-inch rear wheel had us feeling a bit slower in the tightest stuff. Certainly, there is a learning curve to each bike and with some more tuning and practice we are confident the Session will get even better. If we had to break down our initial impressions of the new Trek Session it would be that it is a fast, versatile, confidence inspiring downhill bike that will let you push harder, and ride faster than you thought you could.

Stay tuned for a long-term review to see if we can work out the little kinks and get this bike to do exactly what we want.

Price: $6,999 (Session 9) Weight: 37lbs Website: Trekbikes.com

TREK SESSION 8

Price: $4,999

Frame: Alpha Platinum Aluminum | high main pivot | idler pulley | integrated frame protection | 200mm Fork: RockShox Boxxer Select | 200mm Shock: Fox VAN Performance

Handlebar: Bontrager Line | Alloy | 780mm – 27.5mm Rise Stem: Bontrager Line Pro | 50mm Shifters: SRAM GX DH, 7-Speed Brakes: SRAM Code R Saddle: Bontrager Arvada Seatpost: Bontrager Rhythm Elite

Wheels: Bontrager Line DH 30 Tires: Bontrager G5 Team Issue | 29×2.5″

Bottom Bracket: SRAM DUB Derailleur: SRAM GX DH Crankset: Truvativ Descendant DH | 34t | 165mm Cassette: SRAM PG-720 | 11-25 | 7-Speed Chain: SRAM PC-1110

TREK SESSION 9

Price: $6,999

Frame: Alpha Platinum Aluminum | high main pivot | idler pulley | integrated frame protection | 200mm Fork: RockShox Boxxer Ultimate | 200mm Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH

Handlebar: Bontrager Line Pro | OCLV Carbon | 820mm – 15mm Rise Stem: Bontrager Line Pro | 50mm Shifters: SRAM X01 DH, 7-Speed Brakes: SRAM Code RSC Saddle: Bontrager Arvada Seatpost: Bontrager Rhythm Elite

Bottom Bracket: SRAM DUB Derailleur: SRAM X01 DH Crankset: SRAM X01 DH | 34t | 165mm Cassette: SRAM PG-720 | 11-25 | 7-Speed Chain: SRAM PC-1110

2021 Trek Session 8 27.5 Bike (discontinued)

• Write Review

Specifications

Sizes and geometry.

trekbikes.com

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• Mountain Bikes
• Trek Mountain Bikes
• Trek Session
• 2021 Trek Session

Most Popular

2022 Trek Session

Test Location: Washington

Test Duration: ~4 months

Wheel Size: 29’’ (27.5’’ and mixed 29’’/27.5’’ compatible)

Travel: 200 mm rear / 200 mm front

Frame Material: Aluminum

Blister’s Measured Weight  (Session 9; Size R3; w/o pedals) : 37.2 lb / 16.9 kg 

Build Overview (Session 9, as tested)

• Fork: RockShox Boxxer Ultimate
• Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate DH
• Drivetrain: SRAM X01 DH
• Brakes: SRAM Code RSC
• Wheels: Bontrager Line DH 30
• Session Frameset: $2,999 [includes Fox DHX Performance shock]
• Session 8: $4,999
• Session 9 (tested): $6,999

Reece Wilson won the 2020 UCI Downhill World Championship on board the Trek Session, but that success didn’t stop them from making some big changes to the bike for 2021. Gone is the carbon fiber frame of old, and in its place is an all new, aluminum, high-pivot bike. As we talked about in Episode 54 of Bikes and Big Ideas , Trek’s roster of downhill athletes is ridiculously stacked, and now it’s time to check out the bike they’ll all be piloting this season. I’ve spent the past few months on the new Session, and long story short, it’s impressive.

Despite the changes in frame material and suspension layout, the overall silhouette is still recognizably a Session. The biggest change is in the chainstays, which are now elevated to reach the much higher main pivot, and the drive-side houses an idler pulley to redirect the chain up and over the stay.

Trek’s familiar ABP suspension layout — essentially a four-bar arrangement, with a pivot concentric to the dropout and a vertically oriented shock, driven by a rocker link — is still here. But in a major change for the Session, it’s now configured as a high-pivot design with an idler pulley.

Or, more accurately, it’s a change from recent Sessions — the Session 10, from way back in 2006, also featured a high-pivot layout. It’s been a long time since we saw a Session with such a configuration, though, and it’s interesting to see it return. High-pivot bikes are having a bit of a moment again, no doubt inspired in part by the success of the Commencal Supreme on the World Cup Downhill circuit, and it’s interesting to see a manufacturer as big as Trek joining the fray, especially combined with their newly-loaded DH roster.

Trek’s claims about the new high-pivot layout are pretty standard for these types of designs, and make a lot of sense on paper. The two main benefits that they tout are improved absorption of square-edged bumps, due to the more rearward axle path, and reduced pedal kickback, due to the reduction of chain growth from the idler pulley. Both should help the new bike carry speed and smooth out rough terrain better. Trek says the prior-generation Session had 15–27° of pedal kickback (depending on gear), whereas the new one has just 5–8°. The axle path of the new bike is stated to be 12–25 mm more rearward as well.

Unlike the prior-generation Session, the new bike is only available in aluminum. And while the outgoing model offered separate versions of the frame for 27.5’’ and 29’’ wheels, the 2021 Session is designed to accommodate both wheel sizes, as well as a mullet 29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear combination with a single frame.

Complete bikes come in 29’’ only, and feature a flip chip (Trek calls it a “Mino Link”) at the seatstay / rocker link pivot to toggle between two geometry settings, which we’ll outline below. The Session can also be run in a mullet (29’’ front / 27.5’’ rear wheel) configuration in the high geometry setting, as well as a full 27.5’’ setup with the high geometry setting and an external lower headset cup, which is included with the frame kit, and available separately for complete bikes. Rear tire clearance is stated at 2.6’’ for both 27.5’’ and 29’’ wheels.

A second Mino Link at the lower shock mount toggles between two leverage curve settings for the rear suspension, which offer 20% and 25% of total progression. These settings are independent of the geometry Mino Link options, and both settings can be used in any of the wheel size configurations.

The 2021 Session also offers an unusual degree of flexibility when it comes to cable routing. Complete bikes will ship with both the brake and derailleur cables routed through the top tube, but a set of bolt-on cable guides are included if you’d prefer to run them externally, underneath the top tube. A threaded bottom bracket shell is another welcome, mechanic-friendly feature, and the lower two bosses of a standard set of ISCG ‘05 tabs are included — with the idler pulley, an upper chainguide won’t fit. The idler does include its own, integrated chain guide, and removable dual-density rubber guards are included on the chainstay and downtube as well. The rear brake mount features post-mount tabs for a 180 mm rotor, and can be adapted up to a 220 mm option.

Trek is offering the Session in two different build specs, the Session 8 and Session 9. The overview of both is as follows:

Session 8 ($4,999):

• Fork: RockShox Boxxer Select
• Shock: Fox VAN Performance
• Drivetrain: SRAM GX DH
• Brakes: SRAM Code R

Session 9 ($6,999):

Despite all the wheel size flexibility offered on the Session, both complete bikes come as full 29ers only. If you’re interested in a mullet or full 27.5’’ spec, you’ll need to swap some parts out, or start from the frame-only option.

Fit and Geometry

Trek has moved to what they’re calling “reach based sizing” on the new Session. In short, that means that they’ve decided to keep the seat mast short and the stack height consistent across the size range, and simply let riders pick how long they want the bike to be. There are three sizes on offer, labeled R1, R2, and R3, with 440, 465, and 493 mm reach numbers, respectively (29’’ wheel configuration, low geometry position).

With the new Session, Trek has also chosen to join the growing ranks of brands that vary chainstay length by size. Again with the 29’’ wheel, low-geometry setting, they range from 439 to 452 mm across the sizes, with the R2 getting 445 mm stays. The chainstay and seatstay parts themselves are the same for all three sizes, with the chainstay length variation coming by moving the bottom bracket shell relative to the pivot points on the front triangle. All three sizes get a 63° headtube angle and 22.5 mm bottom bracket drop in the low position. The high position steepens the headtube to 63.6°, and reduces the bottom bracket drop to 13.6–13.9 mm (varies slightly by size). The full geometry charts for the 29’’, mullet, and 27.5’’ configurations are all shown below.

The geometry of the mullet and 27.5’’ configurations is quite close to that of the 29er setup, in the low position. Chainstay lengths shrink by a few mm, and headtube angle varies by a few tenths of a degree, but overall they’re quite close. All of that adds up to wheelbases ranging from an already fairly long 1255 mm on the smallest R1 size, through a massive 1321 mm on the R3 (29’’, low for both).

For the most part, this is all pretty standard for a modern Downhill bike — nothing jumps out as being far outside of the norms. The reach has grown by about 30 mm in a given size, compared to the outgoing bike, and the headtube angle is actually slightly steeper . Though reaches have trended somewhat longer, overall, DH bike geometry has been more stable in recent years than that of Trail and Enduro bikes, and Trek has stuck with the established recipe for a World-Cup-ready race bike.

Flash Review

Blister Members can read our  Flash Review of the new Session  for our initial on-snow impressions.  Become a Blister member  now to check out this and  all of our Flash Reviews , plus get personalized gear recommendations from us, and discounts and deals on gear.

Full Review

I’ve now spent quite a few days on the new high-pivot Trek Session, and have come away very impressed by what Trek has done with their DH race bike. But who exactly is it for, and where does it most strongly excel? Let’s dig in.

Going into the test, I was honestly a bit unsure about the sizing of the Session. As we mentioned above, Trek moved away from the traditional Small / Medium / Large sizing paradigm, into what they call “reach based sizing.” The idea is that, especially on a downhill bike where a seated pedalling position is irrelevant, they can leave the seat and headtube fairly short and let riders pick what size they want largely on the basis of reach. At 6’ / 183 cm tall, I’m a little short of Trek’s recommended size range for the largest R3 Session, but they also acknowledge that there’s a good deal of room for personal preference to factor in here, too. And having now spent a lot of time on that big R3, I think that it is the size I’d go with for how I like to ride.

Now, I definitely could ride the R2 as well — and indeed, that’s the size that Trek athletes Charlie Harrison and Reece Wilson both opt for (both of whom are listed at 5’11’’ / 180 cm). While I’m only slightly taller than those two, I’m happy on the R3 for the following reasons:

(1) I tend to like long bikes in general. For one thing, I’ve got pretty long arms and a long torso for my height, with somewhat shorter legs. And on top of that (or probably more accurately, in part because of my shorter legs), I also like to run my bars a bit on the lower side of average. That decreases the distance between the cranks and bars, making me somewhat less stretched out on longer bikes than I might be if I wanted the bars higher.

(2) I’m a lot more interested in going fast on more raw, technical terrain than hitting jump lines and trying to look good in the air. Now, granted, that’s obviously also true of Reece and Charlie, and they’re both a whole lot better at it than I am (to put it lightly). But more to the point, I’m just more interested in aiming for stability and a planted feel in a DH bike, rather than a more nimble feel and a whole lot of ability to throw the bike around in the air easily.

If I was looking for a more playful park bike, I’d be a lot more inclined to size down to the R2, but I’d also probably be looking at a different bike entirely. As we’ll get into more below, the Session feels like it’s much more interested in being a game-on DH race bike than a super flickable freeride one.

Getting my fit dialed on the Session was fairly straightforward. As I mentioned in my Flash Review, the first order of business was trimming the bars from their gargantuan initial 820 mm width to my preferred 790 mm. With them at full width, the bike felt awfully locked in and hard to turn — my arms were just stretched so wide that I was struggling to move around freely on the bike. No complaints on that spec choice though — I’d much rather see bars too wide than too narrow, since the former is a whole lot easier to address. I also shuffled some headset spacers to drop the bars a little lower than the bike shipped with, fiddled with the bar roll a little, and then I was all set. And while the R3 Session is an undeniably big bike, with a 493 mm reach, 452 mm chainstays, and 1,312 mm wheelbase (low position), it hasn’t felt ponderous or hard to muscle around. It’s just a well dialed, nicely balanced DH bike.

I started my testing with the geometry flip chip in the low setting and never saw any need to deviate from that position. I could see the high position being useful for facilitating a mixed-wheel configuration (which I unfortunately haven’t been able to try on the Session), but as a full 29er, I was never tempted to take the bike out of low. Trek also offers a set of +/- 1° headset cups for the Session (sold separately) and if anything, I could see putting that in at -1° for especially steep tracks.

Build and Spec

I’ve been riding the higher-end of the two builds that Trek offers for the Session, the $7,000 Session 9. As you’d hope for from the top-tier option, it hasn’t given me a whole lot to complain about. The RockShox Boxxer Ultimate fork is excellent, and the 46 mm offset is welcome on a 29er DH fork. The Charger 2.1 damper has been around for a while now (and in a bunch of different forks) but it’s still excellent and easy to set up. Same for the Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock — it’s another long-standing option that still works really well. It lacks a few of the bells and whistles of some other high-end options, with just a single rebound and low-speed compression adjuster, but the tune feels well chosen for the Session and I didn’t feel myself wanting for more adjustability.

The SRAM X01 DH drivetrain also works great and I like the dedicated hub from Bontrager, which features a shortened freehub body to take advantage of the wider flange spacing and more even spoke angles that the narrower 7-speed cassette makes room for. If anything, I could go for even fewer gears with wider spacing on a DH bike, but this combo works really well. It is worth noting that Trek went with the GX-level 11-25t cassette, which uses a Hyperglide freehub body, rather than the X01 that goes on an XD driver. This allows the wider flange spacing on the hub that I mentioned earlier. It also means that there’s a frankly hilarious $256 savings when it comes time to replace the cassette ($32 MSRP vs $288). Trek made the right call there.

My biggest complaint with the spec is that I’d really like to see bigger rotors on the Session. The SRAM Code RSC brakes that come on the Session 9 I’ve been testing are good brakes, but aren’t the most powerful DH brakes on the market — both the Hayes Dominion A4 and Shimano Saint are notably stronger. Given that, I think the Code RSC brakes could use a little more help with power and heat management than the 200 mm front / 180 mm rear rotor combo can offer. If it were up to me, I’d just go straight to 220 mm at both ends, but buying a single 220 mm for the front and moving the stock 200 mm to the rear would be a more economical upgrade, given what Trek specs as standard.

It’s also worth noting that the Session comes with tubes installed — a bit disappointing from a high-end, modern mountain bike (though not totally out of the ordinary). The Bontrager Line DH 30 wheels do come with their excellent molded rubber tubeless rim strips installed, but they’re mounted with tubes. Converting to tubeless is just a matter of swapping the tubes for tubeless valves and adding some sealant, but it’d be nice to have the bike set up that way out of the box. Granted, Trek’s far from alone in sending bikes out the door with tubes installed, but it’s still something I’d love to see change — and given that Trek’s stated weight for the bike on their site specifically says “with TLR sealant, no tubes” I think I can be forgiven for thinking it would come that way.

[This particular spec choice bit me on a road trip in the middle of my testing. I’d spent several days on the bike already without incident, but then developed slow leaks in both tires on the same day. Assuming — incorrectly, as it turned out — that the bike would be set up tubeless, I bought all 8 oz of Stan’s sealant that the local bike shop had in stock, removed the valve cores, and dumped 4oz into each… tube. I also tightened the valve nuts slightly and actually got the rear tire to hold air, but the front remained leaky for the rest of the day. That night in the hotel parking lot I took the front tire off to investigate, and discovered that there was in fact a tube installed. With no sealant left and no tubeless valves on hand, I decided that my best move was to cut the badly pinch-flatted tubes up to get the sealant out, and fashion a pair of valve stems for myself. It turned out that the Bontrager rim strips and tires held air so well even without sealant that the rear tire held despite the tube being toast, and the front was close to holding on. That was a big part of why I assumed that the tires had to be set up tubeless — I figured that they’d be leaking a lot faster if there were tubes in there. Live and learn I guess.]

Setup aside, I also really like the Bontrager G5 tires that come on the Session. They look a bit like a mix between a Maxxis Minion DHF and DHRII (with a little Specialized Butcher thrown in on the side knobs). Their braking performance in particular is very, very good; they also corner well and predictably, though, like most tires with a big open channel between the center and side knobs, do require a fair bit of commitment to get over on edge for aggressive cornering. I tend to get along well with those sorts of designs, but riders who prefer more consistent grip across varied lean angles will probably have the same complaint here. For better or worse, I haven’t been able to test their wet-weather performance much (it’s been a really dry summer here) but their performance has been strong in conditions ranging from full-on hero dirt through loose and dusty, with a good bit of bike park hardpack and loose-over-hard thrown in.

Suspension Performance and Handling

While it’s got a high enough main pivot placement to require an idler pulley, the rear suspension on the Session could be described as something of a “mid-pivot” layout. The distinction I’m drawing here is that, unlike a lot of high-pivot bikes (including the Forbidden Dreadnought that I just reviewed), the Session’s axle path is only rearward for about the first half of the travel. The whole point of a high-pivot layout is that it helps the rear wheel travel up and away from bumps, with the goal of improving square-edged bump absorption and the ability to carry speed through rough sections. My time on the Dreadnought and several high-pivot DH bikes that I’ve ridden before has borne those benefits out, but I’ve also found that they come with tradeoffs when it comes to how a bike pumps through and pops off terrain features, and how much the rear-center length changes as the suspension cycles. And so I was very curious to see what kind of a balance the Session struck on those fronts.

[And for a whole lot more on high-pivot suspension designs, including why they require an idler pulley to work properly, check out the section of our Mountain Bike Buyer’s Guide on suspension kinematics, starting on page 74.]

In short, the Session really does feel like a middle ground between a fully-rearward high-pivot design and a more conventional suspension layout — but in a way that feels like an excellent compromise, especially for a DH bike. To start, the Session mows down small to medium chop — think exposed roots or brake bumps — exceptionally well. It’s smooth, planted, and extremely composed when carrying way, way more speed than it seems like should be possible into rough sections and just letting the bike do its thing. But crucially, it also feels like the drawbacks of the high-pivot layout are a lot less pronounced on the Session than on other, fully-rearward bikes that I’ve ridden. The Session pumps through rollers just fine, pops off lips reasonably well, and doesn’t feel like it has some impossibly long rear end that’s hard to muscle around in tight spots (despite the very long 452 mm chainstays on our size R3 test bike). And the bit of extra drag from the idler, while still present, really isn’t a big deal on a DH bike, like it might be for some riders on a bike they’re planning to pedal back up to the top.

That’s not to say that the Session is some best-of-all-worlds magic machine, though — the Session feels like it’s very much meant to be a DH race bike first and foremost, and is definitely not what I’d choose if I was looking for a more playful park bike that was easy to throw around in the air. Sizing down to the R2 would probably help some, but I also think that would be trying to turn the Session into something that it isn’t. And it’s probably worth noting that some of Trek’s athletes, including Casey Brown and Kade Edwards have been riding a 27.5’’ wheeled “Session Park” without the high-pivot layout at freeride events, including Audi Nines. I really never felt like the R3 was too big for me, even on some flatter, tighter, more awkward trails where a DH bike might have been a bit overkill. It’s just a focused DH race bike that wants to be going fast first and foremost.

This was most apparent on flatter, tighter trails and bike park jump lines with steeper, lower-speed jumps. Even compared to many other DH bikes, the Session feels just a bit less engaging and slightly harder to muscle around in certain spots. And while I did just say that the Session pumps and pops off things “fine,” it really is only fine — a super poppy freeride / park bike this is not. The prior Session felt a bit more like an all-rounder DH race / park bike, but the new model feels much more focused on being the former. And I think that makes a lot of sense. For one, Trek has one of the most stacked team rosters in DH racing right now, and it’s no surprise that they wanted to have a bike to match all that talent. And on top of that, as Enduro bikes have gotten more and more capable over the years, more and more people are using them in the bike park as well, leaving room for the Session to move more specifically into the DH race role. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that we loved riding Trek’s latest Slash in the park…

The Session’s suspension also remains notably active under braking — which is one of the main benefits that Trek touts of their ABP layout. The lack of pedal kickback, due to the high pivot / idler arrangement is apparent too. There’s very little interaction between the suspension movement and the pedals, which both helps with the Session’s exceptional sensitivity on mid-sized chatter, and also seems to help a bit with keeping your feet planted when riding flat pedals.

I already mentioned this in the Flash Review, but it’s also worth pointing out again just how quiet the Session is. Trek did a really good job nailing their frame protection, and despite my general aversion to internal cable routing , I never noticed any noise from that, either. And while I’d prefer that the bike came with at least the brake hose routed via the external option, it’s nice that the frame has provisions for both. Good job, Trek.

Flip Chip Settings

I experimented a bit with both of the progression flip-chip settings, and while they make an appreciable difference, it’s a fairly subtle one. In the 20% setting, the rear suspension feels a touch more plush and planted; bumping the progression up to 25% adds a little bit of support and pop, but it’s by no means a dramatic change. Trek’s World Cup athletes are running a mix of air and coil rear shocks (albeit RockShox Blackbox ones that aren’t available to the public currently), but I suspect that I’d personally want a slightly more progressive leverage curve to run a coil shock on the Session. There’s definitely a degree of personal preference at play here — as evidenced by the lack of agreement within the Trek race team — but I mostly preferred the 25% setting with the Super Deluxe Air, and do wonder if I’d want more progression than I’d get with a coil. The shock shipped with two volume spacers installed, and that setup felt about right — I wasn’t inclined to change anything there.

As mentioned above, with the stock 29’’ wheels at both ends, I wasn’t tempted to deviate from the low geometry setting. With a 63° headtube angle in that setting, the Session isn’t crazy slack, nor is the bottom bracket particularly low. The high setting seems most useful for trying a mixed-wheel size configuration (which I unfortunately was not able to experiment with).

And finally, one note on the progression flip chips — they’re helpfully labeled with which side is positioned up for which setting… but if you swap the two chips from left to right on the bike, the settings end up labeled backward. The head of the lower shock bolt is supposed to be on the non-drive side to produce the correct labeling. Or, if you prefer, the rear hole yields 25% total progression, and the forward one is the 20% setting.

Who’s It For?

This one’s pretty straightforward: the new Session is a great option for riders either looking to race DH, or just to ride lift / shuttle-accessed trails as fast as possible — especially if those trails are on the steeper, rougher end of the spectrum. The Session can definitely also serve as a park bike for more flow trails and jump lines, but that’s not really where it excels. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that Trek stacked their roster of DH racers just in time to put them all on the most committed DH race bike that they’ve made in a while, and they’ve done a great job — both with the team signings and the bike.

Bottom Line

The latest Trek Session definitely wants to go fast, first and foremost, and it does a very impressive job of combining excellent bump absorption and stability with just enough maneuverability and pop to manage tighter spots when called upon. It’s a much more focused DH race bike than the previous iteration, but in the right terrain and with the right approach from the rider, it’s excellent.

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First Look - Trek Session 10 review

The Session 10 is the bike ridden by freeride star Andrew Shandro and it's one hell of a beast. We recently spent some time thrashing it around the freeride Mecca of Whistler, Canada.

The Session 10 is the bike ridden by freeride star Andrew Shandro and it's one hell of a beast.

We recently spent some time thrashing it around the freeride Mecca of Whistler, Canada. Here's the deal - rear suspension is provided by a 254mm (10in) travel Manitou Revox shock, a unit designed around this rig, and you get a 203mm (8in) travel Manitou Travis Triple fork with Intrinsic Damping.

The bike uses what is essentially a high single-pivot design with a rocker in the belly of the frame to drive the shock. The chain is routed over the high front pivot so it pedals like a low-pivot bike and the bottom bracket and head angle are adjustable. We also think the monocoque mainframe design looks cool. Buying the frame only will cost you £1,800.

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First Ride: 2022 Trek Session - Nope, Not Going to Say It

Cool Features

New Trek Session doesn’t look anything like the previous Session

• Alan Muldoon
• April 8, 2021

2021 Trek Session is a 200mm travel 29er downhill bike, with high pivot idler design, that can also be configured to run mullet or 27.5in wheels.

As downhill race bikes go, the Trek Session is easily one of the most decorated – racking up a whopping 38 world cup wins under the guidance of Aaron Gwin, Tracy Moseley and the Athertons. More recently Reece Wilson piloted the Session to its first male World Championship title at Leogang, Austria.

Read more: Best electric mountain bikes, E-Bike of the Year

Trek Session need to know

• New high pivot ABP suspension layout with an idler gives a more rearward axle path and reduced pedal kickback
• Alloy only frame construction
• New shock Mino Link offers adjustable progression rate
• R sizing is based on reach, not seat tube – three sizes available 440/465/495mm
• Size specific chainstay lengths 439mm R1, 445mm R2 and 452mm R3
• Full length bolt on down tube protection
• External cable routing option for ease of maintenance
• Two bolt ISCG mount with 32-38t chainring compatibility
• Two models: Session 9 £6,300, Session 8 £4,500, frame only £2,750

Leverage curve changes via lower flipchip

With such an impressive list of palmares, Trek could easily be forgiven for taking the “if it ain’t broken, why fix it?” approach. But at the performance end of downhill racing time rests for no one, so instead of polishing the brass in its sizeable trophy cabinet Trek is going after more titles.

And to do that it’s actually looking backwards. Backwards to the rearward axle path and idler design of the original Session 10 and the Diesel before that. In fact, the new Session is a hybrid of old and new, combining the current ABP suspension layout with the higher pivot and idler of old to produce a 200mm travel 29er downhill race bike that can also be adapted for events like Red Bull Rampage with a few tweaks that we’ll get to in just a minute.

Why introduce the additional complexity of an idler? Well, the science behind the more rearward axle path clearly shows that it reduces the peak vertical velocity of the rear wheel, or to put it another way, it gives the wheel more time to climb the bump. And unlike some idler designs, the main pivot piston on the new Session is not so high as to give a completely rearward axle path.

Geometry changes via MinoLink flipchip on rocker

The idler location plays a key part here too. It’s not concentric with the main pivot as Trek wanted to retain some chain tension, which in turn helps stabilize the suspension and make the bike pedal more efficiently for those all important finish line sprints. It’s a big departure though; compared to the old Session suspension design the new layout has a maximum pedal kickback of 8º vs 27º, which will allow the rear suspension to react more freely to impacts as it’s not fighting against the same degree of chain tension.

Chainstay protector follows modern Toblerone aesthetic

And unlike the single pivot idler designs used by the likes of Norco and Forbidden , Trek’s ABP design transforms the seat stays and rocker link into a floating brake mount which helps keep the anti-rise in check, so the rear suspension shouldn’t squat too much under heavy braking either. That’s the theory at least. We’ve not had the chance to ride the new Session yet, so it’s all we have to go on. Nonetheless, it’s interesting that it could be braking performance that really separates the raft of new idler designs.

External or internal cable routing – it’s your choice

New frame, new sizing

One criticism fairly leveled at the Session was that it was too short. Well, Trek has addressed that and gone a lot further with the latest design. It has now switched to what it’s calling R sizing. It’s based on the reach measurement rather than seat tube length and it’s a lot like Specialized’s S sizing. Trek offers the new Session in three frame sizes R1 (440mm), R2 (465mm) and R3 (493mm). It’s clear that reach measurements have been increased by about 30mm across the board, so there should be no need to upsize, even if Trek has actually made that easier thanks to the R2 and R3 sizes both sharing 450mm seat tubes. There’s currently no carbon frame option on the new Session and it’s hard to say if this is purely about economies of scale, but it certainly hasn’t stopped Commencal or Specialized racking up multiple world cup wins on aluminium bikes, so who knows.

ABP axle-concentric pivot

Size specific chain stays

To balance weight distribution across all three frame sizes, Trek has also introduced size specific chainstay lengths. Taking design cues from Owen Pemberton, formerly of Norco and now Forbidden, the rear ends on the Session don’t actually change. Instead, it is where they attach to the front triangle that gives the dedicated chainstay lengths. By simply moving the main and rocker link pivots backwards relative to the BB as the frame sizes increase, the chainstay lengths, or more accurately, the rear centre measurements grow from 439mm on the R1, to 445mm on the R2, than max out at 452mm on the R3. It’s a neat, cost efficient way to offer size specific chainstay lengths as the same rear end can still be maintained across all frame sizes.

That high pivot idler arrangement

Geometry adjustment

Trek’s trusty Mino Link offers two geometry settings on the Session. With the 29er configuration in the high position the claimed BB height is 358mm and the headangle is 63.6º. Dropping it into the low setting chips approximately 9mm off the BB height and slackens the head angle by 0.6º. But the Mino Link is not simply about offering two different ride charastices with one bike; combined with a headset extender cup, Trek can transform one frame from full 29in all the way to full 27.5in, for the likes of Brandon Semenuk , with the mullet setting slotting seamlessly in between. To correct the geometry Trek says the mullet configuration just requires a 27.5in rear wheel and the Mino Link in the high position, while the full 27.5in bike also needs the headset extender that’s supplied with the bike.

Coil or air shock? You choose.

Rather than striking a compromise between the most effective progression rate for either air or coil shocks , the new Trek Session has a second Mino Link in the lower shock mount that offers two distinct progression settings. In the forward position the Session has 20% total progression making it ideal for air-sprung shocks. Flip the shock Mino Link to the rearward setting and the total progression increases to 25% to better resist bottoming when used with a coil sprung shock.

So the new Trek Session is packed with innovative features and the alloy frame certainly keeps the pricing competitive with the top end Session 9 at £6,300 and the entry-level Session 8 at £4,500. If you want to go down the custom build route there’s also a frame only option for £2,750. The bike also appears to be every bit as customisable as it is capable and even though it looks very different to the previous Session it’s evident that it builds on the foundations laid down by over a decade of racing at the very highest level. All we need now is for the racing to start so we can see if Trek has maintained that winning pedigree.

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