System comparison: two World Cup bikes, one with a high-pivot rear end, the other with a mullet structure. One made of aluminium, the other of carbon. Obvious differences, and yet the characters of the bikes are very close to each other. So close, in fact, that the testers were at odds and had to reel off many runs. Trek sent us the Session in the smallest frame size R1. The Americans specify a reach of 440 millimetres for riders between 1.61 and 1.75 metres tall. This is short, but manageable for us (all 1.79 metres). The surprise in the lab: the laser measuring stand shows just 422 millimetres. And that is definitely too small, even if the short reach makes the Session extremely manoeuvrable.
We pushed both big bikes over the downhill track in Serfaus and the Crankworx track in Innsbruck, where they had to eat roots from morning till night.
You can download the entire test article about the "Trek Session 9 vs Propain Rage" duel from FREERIDE 3/2021 as a PDF below the article. The test costs 1.49 euros.
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