FAST BIKE FRIDAY – TREK PROCALIBER 9.5

It’s Fast Bike Friday again, and this week’s is an absolute beauty! Today we’re featuring a super-fast cross country hardtail mountain bike – the Trek Procaliber 9.5 and what a stunner it is! Before we start delving into all of the technical details that help make this a superb XC race bike let’s just take a minute to appreciate the fantastic flame-coloured paint job with an awesome fade from red through to orange and yellow. We’re very lucky to have a highly-skilled photographer at our disposal; James Vincent is our regular Fast Bike Friday photographer and all credit to him, he’s done a wonderful job of capturing the Procaliber 9.5 for us.

The Trek Procaliber 9.5 is stunning to look at…

You may already be familiar with the Procaliber model within Trek’s range of cross-country-focused mountain bikes, it’s a bike that has been around for a few years, however it’s important to point out that THIS is the all-new Trek Procaliber which features some really significant updates which we’ll get to in a minute; first a quick summary of Trek’s options when it comes to cross country race bikes…

A few seasons ago the Trek Cross Country Factory Racing team had a choice between two models – the full suspension Top Fuel for more technically demanding race courses or the Procaliber hardtail which was better suited to less technical race courses with considerably more climbing. Then in late 2019 along came the Trek Supercaliber which featured a very clever IsoStrut integrated shock providing 60mm of travel; this bike is a sort of ‘best of both worlds’ race bike that sits between the Top Fuel full suspension bike and the Procaliber hardtail. As a result of this new development Trek’s racers now favour the Supercaliber over both alternative options as it can handle the demands of almost all cross country race courses.

There’s a higher cost implication to the Trek Supercaliber model; it’s a very sophisticated piece of engineering, and Trek are very aware of the demand for more affordable options from us humble XC privateers who are racing on a regional level and riders with absolutely no interest in racing who are just looking for a really light and efficient carbon hard tail mountain bike. This is where the all-new Trek Procaliber comes into play – for 2021 Trek have created a small range of Procal’s to suit your riding aspirations AND budget.

The all-new Trek Procaliber…

So far we’ve been referring to the Procaliber as a hardtail, because, well it is! (when compared to a true full suspension bike or even Trek’s soft-tail Supercaliber bike) however it DOES feature Trek’s highly regarded Isospeed decoupler which provides some additional compliance to the carbon frame. This technology is a carry-over from the previous generation Procaliber; we’ll run through exactly how it works after we’ve taken a look at the significant changes that Trek have made to this new-generation Procaliber.

Trek took the opportunity to update the Procaliber’s geometry and include a number of different upgrades to make it more ‘trail-ready’ without sacrificing any of its cross country race speed which the original was so recognised for. Cross country riding and racing has definitely got more rowdy in recent years and Trek are keeping up with this evolution; the Procaliber’s geometry changes include a slightly slacker headtube angle and a longer reach for a more progressive geometry which is more comfortable and confidence inspiring at speed, particularly on descents. At 432mm the Procal’s chainstays have got shorter to help make the bike feel more agile and there’s also a steeper seat tube which helps to put you in a more efficient climbing position. Tyre clearance has increased too with the option to run tyres up to 2.40” wide, this is another welcome addition if you’re looking for a cross country bike that can be ridden a little harder.

Significant changes to the Procaliber’s geometry make the all-new version more ‘trail-ready’…

All Procalibers in the range including the Procaliber 9.5 which we’re looking at here, are constructed from Trek’s own OCLV Mountain Carbon. This rather unique carbon fibre features on mountain bikes way further up the food chain and it’s great to see it being utilised here. OCLV Mountain Carbon is tougher than standard carbon fibre, while it retains its lightweight, stiff properties it is significantly more durable than carbon fibre from other mountain bike brands. With clever material composition and sophisticated lay-up procedures OCLV Mountain Carbon has been proven during Trek’s stringent testing and easily matches the demands of today’s more aggressive riding styles.

Trek’s OCLV Mountain Carbon is lighter AND tougher than their previous generation carbon fibre…

The Procaliber 9.5 features Trek’s ‘Straight Shot’ downtube, a design that has been successful on other models in their mountain bike range. The previous Procaliber included a bend at the junction with the head tube which was mainly there to avoid any potential problems with fork crown clearance on tight turns and the potential for frame damage when the bars turn suddenly during crashes. For the new generation Procaliber Trek have used the Straight Shot principle to add extra frame stiffness and make steering more precise without adding extra weight. Gear cables and brake hoses are neatly routed through the frame using internal channels making home maintenance easier; as you’ll see in the image below, there’s also internal routing for a dropper seatpost, so if you want to you can run a dropper and get the saddle out of the way on steep descents.

Trek’s ‘Straight Shot’ downtube adds stiffness and enhances steering precision…

So if Trek have used their Straight Shot downtube surely there’s a potential for frame damage from the fork crown as we just highlighted above? Thankfully no; in unison with their Straight Shot downtube Trek have developed the ‘Knock Block’ a feature that’s seen on many of their mountain bikes, from full-on gravity-focused bikes to their lightweight cross country mountain bikes. The Knock Block is basically a steerer stop which prevents your handlebar controls from hitting the frame’s top tube in the event of a crash and also stops the bikes’ fork crown from hitting the Straight Shot downtube. The newest version of the Knock Block (as seen here on the Procaliber 9.5) features an increased turning radius so even the tightest, slow speed turns aren’t an issue.

Trek’s clever Knock Block configuration prevents the potential for crash damage to the carbon frame…

OK, so let’s now focus on the IsoSpeed decoupler, a carry-over from the original Procaliber and a very clever piece of engineering that’s well proven on a number of Trek’s bikes including a significant number of their road, gravel, cyclocross and mountain bikes. The IsoSpeed decoupler maintains the traditional diamond-shaped frame geometry but ‘decouples’ the seat tube from the top tube, allowing the seat tube to flex with the forces of the terrain while the rider is seated. This genius approach utilises the engineered flex of the carbon fibre making it easier to pedal through choppy terrain helping to save your energy for the climbs and sprints. With no loss of pedaling power the Procaliber remains really efficient while you stay fresher and less fatigued particularly over longer distances making this a perfect bike for mountain bike marathons.

The Procaliber’s IsoSpeed decoupler provides energy saving comfort…

The Trek Procaliber 9.5 is the most affordable model in the Procaliber range. At £1,775.00 Trek have put together a really competitively priced bike which features exactly the same OCLV Mountain Carbon frame as the Procal at the top of the range. To hit this price point Trek have had to be pretty savvy with component choices; one of the key benefits of being such a large global bike brand is that Trek have considerable buying power when it comes to sourcing components from brands such as Shimano and RockShox; along with their own Bontrager finishing kit Trek can spec their bikes to be genuinely race-ready straight out of the box, no upgrades required. Read on for a full run-down of the components spec’d on the Procaliber 9.5…

The Procaliber 9.5 features a RockShox Judy SL fork with a lightweight Solo Air spring providing 100mm of suspension travel, just enough to help you negotiate tough off-road terrain without making your ride feel sloppy and inefficient. If you’re the type of rider who tends to sprint uphill out of the saddle then you’ll appreciate the TurnKey lockout too. These Judy SL forks are Boost 110 for extra stiffness and steering precision and feature a Maxle Stealth thru axle for quick, easy wheel removal and installation.

When it comes to the drivetrain Trek have spec’d the Procaliber with a full compliment of Shimano components; there’s a 12-speed Shimano Deore M6100 long cage rear mech working in unison with a Deore 12-speed trigger shifter to provide light, crisp and predictable gear shifting every time you press the shifter. It doesn’t matter if you’re frantically changing up the block as you hit a short, steep technical climb or are changing down gears during a full on technical descent gear changes are always consistent. The long cage rear derailleur includes a clutch too which brings an extra level of security to your drivetrain and prevents the bike from unshipping its chain.

A Shimano Deore M6100 12-speed rear derailleur takes care of gear changing duties…

Modern 1X drivetrains (a single chainring combined with a wide-ratio cassette) are brilliantly simple and fantastically functional. To help ensure you’ve got every gear that you’ll ever need to meet the demands of modern cross country racing and general mountain biking Shimano have created this whopping 10-51T cassette – the smallest cog features just 10 teeth and the largest cog a massive 51 teeth. That 51T cog means you have a super-low gear ratio to be able to climb even the steepest tracks and trails.

Upfront there’s a light, stiff Shimano MT511 crankset fitted with a hardwearing 30T steel chainring. The chainring features a narrow / wide tooth profile which helps to keep the chain in place preventing it from unshipping from the chainring. Of course the addition of that clutch rear derailleur means that your drivetrain is doubly secure.

The drivetrain is completed with a Shimano MT511 crankset featuring a 30T chainring…

With a single chainring setup there’s only one gear shifter on the left, keeping the cockpit uncluttered…

To hit that all important price point Trek have substituted Shimano Deore hydraulic disc brake levers for less expensive Shimano BL-MT200 versions. These brakes work great though, as do all Shimano components; they’re a little larger than the Deore model, probably weigh a little more and are slightly less adjustable but they’re just as durable and reliable.

Shimano MT200 hydraulic brake levers are durable and reliable…

The Shimano BL-MT200 brake levers are married up to MT200 hydraulic brake calipers providing consistent, confidence-inspiring braking in all weather conditions and on all terrains. With a superlight carbon frame and fast-rolling 29er wheels you’ll quickly find yourself gaining speed, and when you suddenly need to scrub off speed going into a tight, technical section of the trail the MT200’s will do their job. On the rear of the Procaliber 9.5 Trek have spec’d a compact, lightweight 160mm diameter disc rotor; upfront there’s a larger 180mm diameter rotor to help you immediately slow down and stay in control.

A Shimano MT200 hydraulic brake caliper and 160mm rotor keep your braking system light but effective…

There’s a larger 180mm disc rotor up front to help scrub off speed and prevent overheating…

As you’d expect from Trek the Procaliber 9.5 comes spec’d with a pair of Bontrager wheels (the Bontrager components brand is owned by Trek). All size options for the Procal feature 29” diameter wheels; this has become the norm for cross-country-focused mountain bikes over the past few years. The benefits are clear – they’re fast rolling and help you hold your speed really well; you’ll float over obstacles more easily thanks to their larger circumference and traction is enhanced thanks to their larger tyre-to-ground contact patch.

The Bontrager Kovee wheels feature front and rear hubs that are sealed-bearing with thru-axles and Boost spacing; Boost has quickly become the standard hub width for modern mountain bikes, with the front width being 110mm and the rear being 148mm. The combination of wider hubs and thru-axles mean that your wheels stay securely seated within the frame and increase overall stiffness and steering precision while keeping the disc brake rotors perfectly aligned with the disc brake calipers.

Bontrager Kovee wheels feature sealed bearing thru-axle Boost hubs…

Boost hub spacing and thru axles help enhance steering precision…

Here’s a headliner for you – the Bontrager Kovee wheels are already set up tubeless! Yes, that’s right, instead of having the hassle of setting them up yourselves Trek have already done it at the factory, as both the rims and tyres are labelled ‘Tubeless Ready’ it’s a no-brainer really. Having the Procaliber 9.5 set up tubeless straight out of the box means you’ll immediately benefit from a lighter wheel that rolls faster and enables you to run lower tyre pressures for better tyre traction and greater control; tubeless tyres with sealant inside mean that punctures picked up from small thorns and the like are almost completely eliminated.

The Bontrager Kovee wheels come set up tubeless from the factory – brilliant!…

Trek have fitted the Procaliber 9.5 with a pair of fast-rolling Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tubeless tyres with a tread pattern that’s perfectly suited to the demands of a typical cross country race course. This tread features tyre knobs that won’t slow you down on faster off-road sections, rolling efficiently on harder packed surfaces but will still provide ample grip when surfaces become softer and more traction is required. If you find yourselves regularly riding more demanding rocky terrain (like here in the Lake District!) then don’t forget, as we mentioned earlier, there’s clearance between frame and tyre to run up 2.40” wide tyres should you want to upgrade your tyres.

Fast-rolling Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tubeless tyres strike a sensible balance between speed and traction…

Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tubeless tyres feature a typical cross-country-focused tread pattern…

Finishing kit – handlebars, stem, seatpost and saddle are all Bontrager branded parts. An alloy handlebar with a 31.8mm clamp width is 720mm wide with a 5mm rise on frames sized small, medium and medium/large and 750mm wide with a 15mm rise on frames sized large and extra-large, which are great dimensions for this lightweight race bike, giving plenty of leverage without being to over the top in terms of width. An alloy seatpost features a Bontrager Arvada saddle with steel rails and a 138mm width which will suit most cyclists; don’t forget if you want to upgrade eventually the Procaliber 9.5 features cable routing for a dropper seat post should you want to get a little more rowdy with your riding.

A Bontrager Arvada saddle with 138mm width should suit most riders…

Lock-on Bontrager grips are a nice addition…

So there you have it – the Trek Procaliber 9.5 with its stunning good looks and lightweight, race-ready pedigree. Initially it’s hard to look beyond that beautiful paint job, but when you do you quickly realise that this bike is packed full of innovation while benefiting from a rich racing heritage, sharing features that have been developed for a number of other bikes within Trek’s mountain bike range and beyond. The Procaliber has had a makeover and we approve! With its modern trail-ready geometry, lightweight race-ready carbon frame and that IsoSpeed Decoupler providing enhanced comfort in the saddle this cross-country bike can handle short track racing, traditional cross country races, mountain bike marathons and playful days on your local trails when you just want to ride fast and have fun thanks to that progressive geometry and the option of running wider tyres and a dropper seatpost.

The Procaliber 9.5 – lightweight, race ready AND fun for everyday trail riding too…

The Trek Procaliber 9.5 is available in-store and online now.

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by James Vincent

 

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