Long Term Review: 6 Months on the Trek Slash

Back in March, I published my full review of Trek’s newest Gen 6 Slash. I would characterize that review as fairly glowing—I got along really well with the Slash, so well in fact, that I took the necessary steps to keep the Slash in my garage after the initial review period ended.

Since then, I’ve put a bunch more miles on the Slash, mostly human-powered but with a sprinkling of chairlifts and shuttling in the mix. So it’s time for an update with more riding impressions and a durability and longevity check-in. I’ve stuck with the neutral headset position, 27.5” rear wheel, and the “less progressive” flip chip setting, so all of my comments here reflect that setup.

Long Term Riding Impressions

Looking back at the last half-year on the Slash, the biggest through-line with this bike has been that it bridges the gap between “Can I get away with this?” and “I’m confident and stoked to ride this!” And yes, some of that comes from the fact that after a year of living in the PNW, I’m starting to find my rhythm with its steeper trails and wetter conditions, but the Slash sure hasn’t hurt that progression either.

The Slash is still the bike I want to be on for big moves and unfamiliar trails. It balances safe, stable geometry and a traction-heavy rear end with a very useful level of maneuverability. It handles big hits and awkward compressions so well, but isn’t too much of a chore to wiggle through tighter lines or loft off smaller lips. From day one the Slash it felt very intuitive and easy to ride, and that sensation has only grown. Point the bike where you want to go, and then go there, obstacles be damned.

I’ve joked that the Slash is a bit of a security blanket to me, similar to Dumbo’s magic feather. If I’m on the Slash, I’m safe, I’ll ride that new move, commit to that chute. And then once I’ve ridden a new move on the Slash, I’m probably fine to ride it on any other bike, it’s just easier the first time on this bike that I know well and trust. All that to say, I really like this bike, but I’ve maybe become problematically dependent on it, and I’m actively working to break that habit.

That Weight Though

I mentioned it in my first review, but it bears repeating: This bike is chunky. It is not light. And I keep making it heavier. I’ve got a running joke with a riding buddy that if I tried I could probably get the Slash to 50lbs, without even making that silly of choices. It’s close to 44 lbs with an air shock, and DoubleDown tires without inserts. Add an Aenomaly Switch Grade, an Ochain, DH tires with CushCore, a coil out back, and a few other bits and bobs, and you could have a seriously heavy bike.

I stand by my assertion that this bike climbs much better than the scale suggests, though. I’ve done one 10k’ day and several 5-7k’ days, all 100% human-powered, on the Slash, and it’s been fine, as long as I’m on a good climbing trail or road. It’s not a fun bike to muscle up technical climbs though.

As the summer heats up, and I get sweatier and weaker, I’m less likely to take the Slash on big rides, just because conditions are more consistent and don’t quite require its descending prowess. I hate hot weather and will take every advantage I can get in the summer, vs winter riding where I feel strong and am happy to ride the chunkier Slash.

Component Selection and Longevity

I have been unkind to the Slash so far. Lots of big wet, mucky rides, not a ton of maintenance, plenty of crashes and unplanned bike/body separations. So first, an update on the stock parts, then an update on the parts I swapped in.

I swapped the stock Bontrager wheelset out after my initial review. Those wheels just didn’t want to stay straight, and I had a few carbon wheelsets that needed testing, so I’ve been very happy not running those stock wheels. They’re fine, as far as stock alloy wheels go, and my experience with them was entirely average.

I took the stock tires off with them, and have no intention of reinstalling them. The compound and casing of those Bontrager tires just didn’t cut it for me, and I’m excited to see Trek (hopefully) improve both.

SRAM’s Maven brakes are still my favorite, and I still enjoy the 180 mm Zeb Ultimate I swapped onto the front. I get along well with the stock Bontrager saddle, but appreciate the 240 mm OneUp V2 dropper I installed. This is a bike that benefits from that clearance.

I recently installed DVO’s Jade X Coil on the rear, so look for a full review of that soon.

I also pretty quickly swapped out the cockpit for a 50 mm rise Title bar, and later, a Funn Equalizer 10 mm rise stem. I’m here for the high-stack revolution.

In terms of stock components, I’ve had two issues: First, after a succession of really wet, gross rides this spring, the top idler pulley seized. I pulled it apart, popped the seals, cleaned and regreased it, and it’s been fine since. But, that idler was also pretty worn, so last week the nice folks at my local Trek shop set me up with a new upper idler. Thanks, Gabby!

I also pulled, cleaned, and lubed my lower idler at the same time, and it’s been just fine. Call me an anomaly, but I have yet to have any issues with dropped chains on this bike. It’s set up to Trek’s specs, and has been absolutely fine.

Last week I pulled all the pivot hardware to check my frame bearings, while they weren’t squeaky clean and brand new, none were too rough or notchy, so I just regreased everything and cinched it all back up. So far so good!

It’s worth noting that it’s fairly easy to access and check all those bolts, and all those pivots have stayed quiet so far. Similarly, the angle-adjust headset has stayed tight and quiet.

Rejecting the Binary: GX Transmission Issues

My one big component issue was with the SRAM Transmission derailleur. First though, two caveats: My Slash was damaged in shipping, in such a way that the derailleur got crunched, and needed the battery latch replaced before I even rode the bike. And second, I have been really hard on this drivetrain. I haven’t taken a selfie standing on the derailleur, but I have hit a few stumps, and several big rocks with it. I am 100% certain that at least three of the incidents I’ve had with this bike would have nuked a cable-actuated GX derailleur. 200 lbs of man meat, and 45 lbs of bike, stopped suddenly by only the derailleur will do that. This GX Transmission derailleur has seen some things.

But I was still quite bummed when it gave up the ghost at Silver Mountain earlier this spring. The derailleur just stopped working. No lights, no shifting, no nothing. I swapped batteries, hit the terminals with dielectric grease, tried to do a hard reset, tried to update the firmware, all with no success. I was stuck in that gear for the rest of the weekend.

When I got home, troubleshooting determined that the terminal pins in the derailleur were pushed back into the housing, such that they didn’t contact the battery consistently. I could pull them out with pliers, and the system would work briefly, but not consistently. So I followed SRAM’s warranty procedure, and took it in to the shop I’d bought it from (my local Trek dealer). They were happy to warranty it, and that process from bringing in my bike, to walking out with a freshly fixed drivetrain at absolutely no charge took from June 18-July 10. That’s not on the shop, that's how long it took to get the part in hand, thanks to the Juneteenth and the 4th of July holidays.

I’m still figuring out how this situation makes me feel about Transmission and electric drivetrains in general. I’m still quite enamored with the binary nature of Transmission. In my experience the shifting performance degrades much less over time than any other drivetrain I’ve used. I love knowing that it’s just going to work the exact same way, every time I push the button. The flip side is that when it stops working, it completely stops working. It doesn’t slow shift, or clunk and skip a little, it just straight up doesn’t shift. That’s pretty frustrating. Of course, the fact that my derailleur was warranty-able is quite nice, if I'd done the things I've done to this drivetrain to a mechanical GX one, I'm quite sure that I would have had to purchase at least two new derailleurs at this point.

So, one point for the luddites. If I’d been running a cable drivetrain, I would have just sucked it up and bought a new derailleur (or parts to make my derailleur good as new ), whereas with Transmission, I sucked it up and walked my bike up hills.

What’s next for the Slash?

I’m at a little bit of a decision point for the Slash. It’s bike park and shuttle season, and there’s a large part of me that wants to slap a 190 mm dual crown fork, and a 7 speed drivetrain on the Slash. I’m not pedaling it that much right now, and I’m sure it would be so much fun as a dedicated park crusher. But, Trek still doesn’t technically approve the Slash for a dual crown, they’d much rather I bought a Session. So for now, I’ll keep reaching for the Slash anytime I know I’m in for a rowdy day in the woods, human-powered, or not.