2015 Trek Slash 7 27.5 Bike

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I've had this bike since March and I have ridden cross country, enduro and a small amount of downhill at Plattekill mountain. I ride at least 2-3 times a week so I feel like I've ridden this bike quite a bit. It handles well and feels good. I've jumped things, gone down chutes and done some small drops and it does well. The rear shock does not have a compression adjustment which is a bummer though. It only has a rebound adjustment. I might upgrade to the next step up monarch shock int he future but for now I don't think that I have hit it's limits yet. I did add some internal spacers to cut down the internal volume though (this was surprisingly easy to do) which definitely helps to prevent bottoming out. I have been really pleased with the bike's weight (36 pounds the way I have it setup). This makes it easier to do climbs so I actually use this bike for cross country as well as enduro. I feel like it is a well rounded bike and other than gnarlier downhill stuff this bike has fared well. The stock tires feels good and haven't let me down yet. I mostly ride dirt trail with lots of roots and these haven't let me down yet.

I upgraded to a stealth reverb dropper. This bike comes with the stealth routing which is sweet and made installing the new post really easy. I also switched to a 1 x 10 using an e13 lg1 chainguide and a renthal 36t ring. If you decide to do this your chainline might be a bit crooked in the lowest gear (largest rear cog). This could make your chain wear out quicker. This is how mine is and I wasn't able to make it better but it runs just fine and I have not had any issues with it yet. I also setup the tires to be tubeless. This was easily done at my bikeshop. I did have to purchase the valve stems, silicone fluid and rimstrips though.

Bottom line: I think this is a great all mountain bike. The name is fitting; it does everything pretty well. If you're going to race it though, enduro is where it shines. I think that the 1x10 and the dropper are must haves; they make riding the thing such a blast, especially if you have alot of ups and downs on your local trails. For this reason you might want to consider the slash 8 which already comes with these options. In my case it was much cheaper to buy the 7 and upgrade since I was able to get some parts secondhand at much lower prices than retail. I would recommend this bike; part of the reason why I ride so much is because the slash is such a blast to ride. 4/5 because it is a a wonderful bike but a bit pricey.