Pretty exciting news from my garage today:  I just assembled and delivered 2 brand new 2009 Trek Top Fuels.  I'd seen the bikes before, first under Chris Eatough at the 24 Hour National Championships, and second under Travis Brown at the Fall Classic MTB race here in Colorado.  But, as I'm not the team mechanic anymore, I hadn't really tinkered or played with the bikes at all.

So it came as a pleasant surprise and a huge thrill when we got the green light to order up a couple of bikes for Brian and Jenny Smith.  They are our Xterra heros, and the biggest events of their season are right coming up.  What's cool about the Xterra events is the packaged TV production that airs in local markets for the duration of 2009.  Since these two regularly land on the podium, and are always featured in the pre-event TV interview, it made sense to get them some bikes.  Plus, they nearly always clock the fastest bike split of the event and in so doing, earn extra TV time.  With National Champs coming up in Lake Tahoe, and World Champs coming up in Maui, the cram to make some bikes happen was well worth it.

In building the bikes, the remarkable features stand out:  pivot bearings, headset bearings, and BB bearings rest directly into the carbon of the frame.  The carbon tubes seem just slightly fatter than before, adding stiffness (eg, the seatpost is now 34mm rather than 31.6).  All the hardware is smaller, lighter, and tighter than that found on previous bikes.  Every pivot rides on a bearing, so the suspension travel is smoother than ever.  Rear tire clearance seems to have improved by 20%.

Best of all?  Sensibly built, XTR bike with SID fork, XTR pedals and 2 bottle cages: 22.65 lbs.  We've been waiting for the sub-23 lb bike for years, and now it's here.  (curses for not photographing the scale!!).

But we can console with a pic of ecstatic Jenny Smith and new bikes.

THANKS TO RAY AT TREK, AND BRYAN AT SRAM, FOR LAST MINUTE DELIVERY OF FRAME/SHOCK HARDWARE.  THESE GUYS MOVE MOUNTAINS TO GET BIKES IN THE FIELD!  THANK YOU!