trek farley 9.8

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TEST: FARLEY 9.8 CARBON FAT BIKE

Farley 9.8 carbon fat bike.

Fat-tire race rocket

Fat bikes have permeated the bike market, and if we were to hazard a guess, we’d say they’re here to stay; however, these tires, which look like they’re more capable of handling a moon landing than a trail ride, haven’t quite made it past the snow-covered tundra of the Midwest—that is, until recently. Tires, components and frame construction are quickly catching up with the growing demand for the mountain bike equivalent of a monster truck. The question most riders ask is, “What can I do with these huge tires?” Well, Trek set out to build a fat bike that could be versatile and surprisingly fast. Enter the Farley—the fat bike that showed us even a big fatty can be fast on the trail.

WHO IS IT MADE FOR?

The Farley 9.8 is the Ferrari of fat bikes, with its long list of carbon parts that contribute to its super-low weight. The Farley has a quick and nimble feel, but also sports larger-than-normal 27.5-inch fat tires. With its big tires and lightweight components, the Trek Farley 9.8 is a force to be reckoned with.

WHAT IS IT MADE FROM?

The Farley 9.8 build spares no expense and utilizes Trek’s OCLV (Optimized Compaction Low Void) carbon. Along with the carbon frame are internal cable and dropper post routing, a Stranglehold 197-millimeter adjustable thru-axle, and a carbon fork built around supporting the 27.5-inch fat tires. If for some reason you wish to run 26×5-inch-wide fat tires, then you are more than welcome to swap them out with no modifications.

WHICH COMPONENTS STAND OUT?

The Farley’s rims don’t have the cutouts we normally see on other fat bike wheels. This is because the rims use 80-millimeter carbon hoops that can easily be converted to tubeless. The other standout feature is on the rear end of the Farley’s frame. A sliding 197-millimeter rear axle allows the Farley to run 26×5-inch-wide tires, as well as the 27.5×3.8-inch tires already on the bike.

HOW DOES IT PERFORM?

Setup: The lack of suspension can make the Farley 9.8 a little harsh, but running the tires around 8 psi will take most of the small-bump hits out of the equation. The fat tires can be run tubeless to achieve lower pressures, but letting out too much air could cause the tire to roll around, resulting in slower handling.

Moving out: When we hopped aboard the Farley 9.8, we couldn’t help but notice the huge tires. We have tested other fat bikes before, but this was the first time we had ever ridden 27.5- inch fat tires. The ability to run things over like a monster truck brought a smile to our faces—and the fun didn’t stop there. The Farley showed us a playful side that validated it as a worthy trail- bike.

Climbing: The large footprint of the Bontrager Hodag tires loved to hug the dirt and propel us up the mountain. These tires main- tained traction well, and we were confident that we could conquer just about any trail condition we faced. The 30-tooth chainring and 10-42 rear cassette allowed us to sit down and spin the cranks uphill with ease. Super-fit cross-country riders can shift down a few gears, hop out of the saddle and lay down some serious power. The Farley’s stiff and lightweight platform will excel with any riding style.

Cornering: The Farley requires some body-weight shifting to get its large tires pointed in the desired direction, but after a few turns we found ourselves charging every corner at full speed. On days when the trails were loose and dusty, the Farley turned our sketchiest corners into “that was great; let’s do it again” sections.

Descending: The Trek Farley has a playful side but really loves chasing the fastest time down the mountain. The fully rigid chassis is a tad bit harsh on big hits; however, the large air-volume tires soak up the small hits with ease. Smooth singletrack trails are ideal for the Farley 9.8, but, if you are feeling tough, the Farley will happily take a gnarlier line.

Braking: SRAM Guide brakes coupled with loads of tire traction work wonders together. The Guide RS system keeps the wild side of the Farley tame, like a junkyard dog on a tight chain. When it’s time to stop, the Guides will slow you down fast. We were even a bit surprised, knowing the front and rear rotors were only 160 millimeters, but hey, why question what works well?

TRICKS, UPGRADES OR TIPS?

Setting the Trek Wampa carbon rims up tubeless was a smart upgrade. The tubeless setup allowed the Farley to run lower tire pressures, resulting in a smoother ride with more traction. Another upgrade we would highly recommend is a dropper seatpost. The Farley’s playful side really shined when the saddle height was lowered.

BUYING ADVICE

If you like the idea of riding a fat bike but don’t want your buddies blowing past you on the trails, then the Farley 9.8 could be a great option for you. This bike is just as light as a similar cross-country bike in its price range and sports tons of high-end carbon accessories. The Farley 9.8 is a seriously fast bike. Riders from cross-country or trail-riding backgrounds will love the smooth and fast-rolling 27.5-inch fat tires.

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2019 Trek Farley 9.8

A 27.5″ carbon frame rigid fat bike with high-end components. Compare the full range

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The Farley EX doesn't need your snow or your sand- but it'll handle it just fine - while being a dirt and rock shredder with little compromise...

Read Review

Jun 2017 · Russell Eich

The most mountain bike feeling fat bike yet. Buy if you want one bike for all seasons, or an extremely stable trail bike, and aren't concerned about pure dry trail performance

Impressive rear suspension, has a very mountain bike feeling, wheelies and manuals with ease

Bluto fork overworked, small tire knobs, busted rear rim

While the Farley EX 9.8 resides within Trek’s fat bike family, its capabilities reach far beyond winter thanks to a unique design. Check out the Mtbr long term review. - Mtbr.com

Mar 2017 · McCoy

Traction To The Max!

Last updated July 29 Not listed for 1,762 days

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Trek Farley 9.8 — The Winter Review

18 minutes away from my home trails of Cuyuna rests Lake Mille Lacs. It’s 20 miles long, and 26 miles wide. In the winter the lake provides a landscape that more resembles the North Pole than central Minnesota. For fat-bikes, an unmapped, untouched destination waiting to be discovered. Yet this month we’ll be crossing Mille Lacs on fat bikes. The Trek Farley 9.8 and Barbegazi tread are good allies to cover this land mass on frozen water.

Before we dive head first into this review, if you haven’t already, please read the  summer review  of the Trek Farley 9.8. For the purpose of time, this review will deal exclusively with the winter performance of the Farley 9.8 on snow.

Let’s not waste any time getting to the heart of the matter on this review. How did the Farley 9.8 perform on groomed single track, double track, and over the hills and through the frozen tundra woods?

27.5″ Wampa rims + Hodag tread on snow. This was a complete surprise to me. I seriously enjoyed the 27.5″ experience on snow. Right away in our winter season we received an ideal amount of snow to mechanically groom our single track. Our single track is 20″ wide, if you tread outside of that sweet spot you’ll get into loose snow that can take you over the bars without notice.

Throughout my experience of riding on our single track the rolling momentum of the 27.5″ wheel set on snow was very good. The Wampa carbon wheel set continued it’s fast rolling attitude that I enjoyed in the summer. The ride experience was held back slightly by the lack of carving ability, but I’d squarely focus that symptom on the Hodag sidewall tire tread. If a Hodag 2.0 existed with a serious sidewall tread, I think we’d be off and running (and carving) on the winter groomed single track.

Snow climbing performance. The good news for both the Hodag and Barbegazi tires is they both had zero problems in climbing any single track hills.

During the course of the past few months I also had an opportunity to ride the Farley 9.8 and the original Farley back to back on the same trail. This experience was essential to understand how far Trek has taken the new Farley 9.8 in terms of overall weight, responsiveness and climbing ability.

Upon saddling up the original Farley I was immediately aware of how heavy the rear end of that bike was in comparison to the Farley 9.8. I would equate the new 9.8 to what felt like a paperweight in comparison to the original Farley when climbing uphill. Keep in mind at the time (2013), the original Farley felt fast as could be! Kudos to Trek for that evolution. Having the ability to effortlessly climb hills was something I didn’t notice until I was on the original Farley. Sometimes you don’t know how good you have it, until it’s gone. This is a hallmark of what makes the 9.8 stand out.

The Trek Farley 9.8 rests amid a Lake Mille Lacs ice pressure ridge on it’s north coast. In the background rests a well known Minnesota winter activity – fishing on ice in what we call a shack.

The geometry and lines of the Farley 9.8. Stiff, stable, and ready to party.

Enter the 26″ x 4.7″ Barbegazi.

After riding the 27.5″ Wampa wheel set for about a month I changed everything out. Out with the 27.5,” on with the 26.” Time to roll a serious fatty.

Barbegazi is a great snow tire tread for double track trails. Trails like we have in Cuyuna such as the Cuyuna Lakes State Paved Trail (10′ wide) or the Sagamore Unit (4′ wide). In Wisconsin, I’d highlight the Fat Bike Birkie trails where the Babegazi would gobble up and destroy other tires. When I pedaled Barbegazi on the double track trails I instantly shot forward in the pack. The reduced tread provided reduced rolling resistance which allowed me to gain speed on other cyclists who were slowed by the more aggressive tread pattern designed for groomed single track. Take special note on this depending on your preferred riding trails and conditions and upcoming race courses!

On the groomed single track it was noticeable that the Barbegazi had difficulty carving into the firm groomed snow on the fast, bermed-up corners. Cornering was doable, but not as intuitive as I have become to enjoy with other tire treads. Turning, rolling, and flowing was natural for the Farley and Barbegazi in the flow sections of the single track trails, but in comparison to the cornering performance of a 45NRTH Beist or Van Helga tire, Barbegazi finished in second place. Again though, take those same three tires out on the double track and you’d be pleased as punch to be riding the Barbegazi. So, focus on your trail riding preferences, and you’ll unlock the keys to Farley 9.8’s success.

Here’s my thought. If I were to race/ride a fat-bike course that was mostly cross-country ski width trail, I’d mount the Barbegazi. The Farley 9.8 would roll as fast as the wind would blow and provide the necessary traction without adding any unnecessary rolling resistance. However, if racing a mostly single track race course, I’d proudly straddle the Farley 9.8 for it’s super fast climbing ability and rigid frame, and mount a 26″ x 4.7″ tire that provided a more aggressive sidewall tread. I believe the Farley 9.8 will reach it’s full potential when Bontrager releases the next tire that goes after an sidewall tread for ultimate single track carving.

Farley’s stranglehold dropout again changed the “default setting” of the fat-bike world providing the ability to switch between wheel sets.

Getting ahold of the Stranglehold dropout. When I wrote the review on the  original Farley , Trek mentioned at that time they designed the original 3.8″ Farley to harness the width of the 3.8″ or 4.0″ fat-bike tire. At that time (2013) Trek’s position for this decision was made to increase speed, and to minimize rolling resistance on groomed fat bike trails.

And, with Farley 9.8 you still have that option of riding a 27.5″ x 3.8″ or 26″ x 4.7″ or 29″ x 3.” I’m personally hoping for an opportunity to ride 3.0″ (29″ or 27.5″) tires on groomed single track in the near future. Providing grooming techniques provide a solid/compact groomed base and the 3″ tire has a purpose-built snow tread, I think we’d be walking into a new generation of cycling that will gain traction fast.

Thanks to the Stranglehold we have one bike that could do all of the above. It’s still a year or two ahead of it’s time, but, what a deal to actually have the opportunity to try on this many wheel sizes for different riding experiences on one bike. (Providing you have the cash for 3 wheel sets) Also, as a passing note, I placed the rear axle in many different places within the dropout with both wheel sets to see if I noticed a difference in steering, cornering, rigidity. After many test rides I conclude that I could not tell a performance difference in position.

That’s okay, quite OK. The main point is you as the rider have the ability to have it your way when it comes to wheel size. If the trails are super hard-pack groomed with very little loose snow, throw on the 27.5″ and let ‘er rip. If you just received fresh snow and the trail crew groomed last night, install the 26″ wheel set and enjoy the additional float in the loose snow that otherwise might take your tire for a wild ride. If your trails allow 3″ on the groomed single track, and the trails are super hard, and super strong, guess what, let the 3″ tire rip! Plenty of different flavors to enjoy when rolling this fatty.

Always in season the RaceFace Next SL cranks. The only thing I’d change within this photo is swapping out the front chain ring for an elliptical Wolftooth Components chainring. The elliptical ring from my winter flat pedal riding experience provides a nice improvement on pedaling energy ROI.

In closing buying advice. If you are looking for a lightweight, sharp-looking, well-equipped, easy to climb year-round fat-bike the 9.8 is a solid choice. I would suggest purchasing an additional 26″ tire set for groomed single track riding featuring an aggressive sidewall tread to increase the carvelicious factor. A summer consideration would be to install a suspension fork, the added weight wouldn’t be that great, but I think the ride quality would be amazing.

Future opportunities. Here’s my personal wish list for the ’17 Farley: • A 27.5″ x 4.0″ tire with aggressive sidewall tread for winter carving. I think there’s room to prove the 27.5″ rim is a groomed single track winter performer of choice, but a serious winter tire tread needs to come to the table first. • An IsoSpeed decoupler to reduce the rigid in the rear • Release the 9.9 with Di2 out of the box. Could be wonderful. • Orange is a nice color.

4 Responses to Trek Farley 9.8 — The Winter Review

Great review Aaron! Bill Fleming is currently racing the 9.8 on the ITI trail all the way to Nome.

just wondering……………the 26 & 27.5 OD would probably be similar but a 29+ OD is significantly larger. How would this be compensated?

How about a review on the 27.5 x 4.5 Barbegazi or Gnarwhal on the 2017 Farley. Could it be the goldilocks?

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Trek Farley 9.8

Farley 9.8 is the lightest fat bike we make. It has an OCLV Mountain Carbon frame, a carbon fork, carbon wheels, and a 1x12 SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain with the widest range of gears for varying terrain. This is a mountain bike with no compromises, and it's all about going as fast as possible in every season. It's right for you if... You don't like fat biking - you love it! You make the biggest investment in your fat bike because you have the best time riding it, and you're willing to shell out for the lightest, fastest, fat bike we make because you know there's a return in fun, speed, and adventure. The tech you get A lightweight OCLV Mountain Carbon frame with Stranglehold dropouts, a Bontrager Haru rigid carbon fork, a SRAM GX Eagle 1x12 drivetrain with an extra-wide gear range, and Tubeless Ready carbon Bontrager Wampa wheels paired with 27.5x4.5 Bontrager Barbegazi TLR tires. The final word It's the lightest fat bike we make. A carbon frame, carbon wheels, carbon fork, and top-shelf SRAM drivetrain come together in Farley 9.8 to make a high-performance ride that won't be slowed by foul weather, deep snow, or gnarly terrain. Why you'll love it 1 - This is a fat bike made without compromise: it's the lightest, fastest model we make 2 - It's a four-season freedom machine that lets you ride outside all year long 3 - The 27.5x4.5 tires deliver more speed and traction than their 26-inch counterparts 4 - It's easy to set up tubeless - and when you do, you'll save weight and your ride will get even faster

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Trek Farley EX 9.8 fat bike review

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Results have arrived, trek farley 9.8 mountain fat bike - 2019, 21.5", item #bmt12658, condition: pre-owned used condition with signs of use but functions as intended. backed by tpc's risk-free return policy..

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Trek Farley EX 9.8

• AUS $ NZD $ USD $ CAD $ GBP £ EUR €

Colour / Matte Trek Black

Size / 15.5 in, 17.5 in, 19.5 in, 21.5 in

Weight / 32 lb 4.8 oz (14,650 g)

At a glance

ABP (Active Braking Pivot), Full Floater, RE:aktiv, EVO link

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Specifications

• Frame OCLV Mountain Carbon main frame, alloy stays, Control Freak internal routing, Carbon Armor
• Fork RockShox Bluto RL, Solo Air, TurnKey lockout, E2 tapered steerer, 150x15mm Maxle Lite, 120mm
• Shock FOX Performance Float EVOL, RE:aktiv 3-position damper, tuned by Trek Suspension Lab, 7.25x1.875"
• Hubs Trek Wampa Carbon 80 SL wheels:, 150x15mm front, 197x12mm rear
• Wheels Trek Wampa Carbon 80 SL wheels: tubeless ready (tubeless strips included, valves sold separately)
• Spokes Trek Wampa Carbon 80 SL wheels
• Tires Bontrager Hodag, tubeless ready, Inner Strength sidewalls, aramid bead, 27.5"x3.80"
• Chain 443mm, N/A, 30 tooth direct mount narrow-wide, SRAM PC 1130
• Crank Race Face Next
• Bottom Bracket 352mm, PF121
• Front Derailleur N/A (not compatible)
• Rear Derailleur SRAM X01, Roller Bearing Clutch
• Shifters SRAM X1, 11-speed
• Brakeset SRAM Guide hydraulic disc, SRAM Guide
• Handlebar Bontrager Line Pro, OCLV Carbon, 35mm clamp, 15mm rise, 750mm width
• Saddle Bontrager Evoke 3, titanium rails
• Seatpost Bontrager Drop Line 125, under-bar remote lever, 2-bolt head, zero offset, internal routing, 31.6mm, Standard, single bolt, 31.6mm, Standard, single bolt
• Stem Bontrager Line, 35mm, 0°
• Grips Bontrager Race Lite, lock-on
• Headset Integrated, cartridge bearing, sealed, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Q: How much is a 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8?

A 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8 is typically priced around $5,500 USD when new. Be sure to shop around for the best price, and also look to the used market for a great deal.

Q: Where to buy a 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8?

The 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8 may be purchased directly from Trek .

Q: How much does a 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8 weigh?

A 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8 weights 32 lb 4.8 oz (14,650 g).

Q: What size 2017 Trek Farley EX 9.8 should I get?

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Trek Farley EX 9.8: fat with full suspension

Carbon and more carbon for this 27.5in fatty

Russell Eich / Immediate Media

Russell Eich

Full-suspension and fat tires are still a pretty rare pairing. The argument is that the big, mondo tires rolling single digit air pressures provide all the suspension you need.

The flip side to that argument is that full suspension allows some control to the cushion, thanks to a fork and shock's damping qualities.

Trek's full-suspension Farley EX 9.8 fat bike adds another twist to the conundrum, 27.5-inch wheels.

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Trek Farley EX 9.8 highlights

• OCLV Mountain carbon frame, aluminum stays
• 120mm rear travel with ABP and Full Floater suspension
• Fox Float RE:aktiv rear shock
• RockShox Bluto RL, 120mm
• Bontrager Wampa Carbon 80 SL rims, tubeless ready
• 150x15 front, 197x12 rear hubs
• Bontrager Hodag 27.5x3.8in tires
• SRAM X01 rear derailleur, X1 shifter
• Race Face Next carbon cranks, 30T narrow/wide ring
• SRAM Guide hydraulic discs
• Weighs 14.06kg / 31lbs, size 19.5in

Dialed chassis

As you can see from the highlights list above, the Farley EX 9.8 is pretty dialed stock. The nearly all-black build with little red pops of color make it a very attractive bike in my eyes.

There's a country mile of standover thanks to the swoopy top tube and Trek's designers have done a commendable job at keeping the rear suspension tidy and flowing smoothly from the front end to the back.

With fat bikes looking like this, it's easy to say that the days of hobbled together mystery machines is over.

Blurring the lines

In addition to this being one of only a few full-sus fat bikes, the Farley EX is also in the rare camp of having 27.5-inch wheeled fattys.

Along with the bigger hoops there are slightly narrower tires, Bontrager's Hodags at 3.8-inches.

This makes me wonder if the Farley will feel more like a mountain bike with playful manners and less plodding.

It also leaves me questioning if the lack of footprint will leave it wanting when traction and floatation are paramount.

Trek Farley EX 9.8 pricing and availability

Trek makes two versions: the alloy Farley EX 8 model comes with a modest spec at $3,499, while the carbon 9.8 version, which I have in on test, retails for $5,499. They are available now from Trek dealers and at trekbikes.com.

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