Never change a winning team, thought the Americans with the best-selling Fuel EX. That's why you have to hold a ruler to distinguish the 2013 version from its predecessor. Because the ten millimetres more suspension travel on the fork and shock cannot be seen with the naked eye. There is not much reason for changes, as the sporty all-mountain bike has repeatedly scored top marks in BIKE tests since 2008. As a second minimally invasive intervention, Trek has fitted a Reverb Stealth telescopic seatpost to the Fuel EX. This makes the carbon touring bike even more variable on technical trails.
We were drawn to the Ötztal for a direct comparison of the two bikes. On the 800 metre trail, the Trek duo didn't have to hide from the competition with significantly more reserves and downhill genes. Despite the different frame heights (2012 in 19.5'', 2013 in 18.5''), we felt familiar with each other after just a few rides. We had to hold the handlebars firmly. The super-potent, drive-neutral DRCV suspension lays the foundation for this in both years. The new CTD elements, each with ten millimetres more travel, do nothing to change this. Only the new fork could do with a little more compression in Descend mode. We simply switched to the trail setup when the fork started to bottom out too much on steep climbs. In terms of handling, the Fuel EX is clearly one of the best all-mountain bikes around. This is what control looks like! The speed on bumpy, demanding trails is limited more by the travel than the handling on both Fuels. On undulating climbs and descents, however, the dropper post on the 2013 model shaves off a few seconds. This alone earns three points in the scoring system. The small increase in suspension travel knocks off the remaining three points, but you need a fine "popometer" to feel the seven millimetres more travel on the 2013 Fuel-EX in practice. There's no need to worry about the rest of the equipment: Both packages are well-rounded. Because bargains are rare, we tend to favour the 2013 model. However, if you can get the old one for significantly less, you should hunt down the bargain.
