Is a new Top Fuel on the way? Evie Richards competed with this prototype in Leogang with a new suspension system

Last weekend in Leogang there was a lot of movement in terms of equipment, and something slipped past us, until now. The Trek Factory Racing team was competing with a prototype of the Top Fuel that radically changes its rear suspension system.

Trek tests a prototype of Top Fuel with a new rear suspension system in Leogang

Since Trek presented its latest version of the Top Fuel in 2024, we have seen several members of the Trek Factory Racing team using this model for various tests in the XCO World Cup. It is a model with 120mm of travel at the rear and 130mm at the front, classified by the brand as Trail or Downcountry, but in the team, some modifications were made to adapt it to cross-country circuits.

But now things have gone much further and it is no longer just a mere configuration. In the bike that Evie Richards and Gwen Gibson competed on in the last Leogang World Cup, the rear triangle was completely new and the rear suspension system as well.

In the image, it can be seen that the rear triangle no longer has the pivot point at the connection of the stays and seatstays, which Trek calls the Active Braking Pivot (ABP) system, and now opts for another system that must make use of the carbon's own flexion, as most manufacturers do in their XCO models.

RECOMENDADO

The Tour de France is cutting its prize money in 2026: here's how the 2.3 million euros will be distributed

The UCI uses this index to determine when the heat is dangerous for cyclists

Impossible challenges and cycling legends: The 10 toughest mountain passes on the planet

Counter-steering, braking, and tracing: the basics for improving your curve handling

Does the current UCI limit for bicycle weight make sense?

Why short cranks are trending?

With this change, a significant weight saving is achieved in the assembly and a completely XCO-oriented approach, but we will still have to wait to confirm if it is a final model or just a prototype still in testing.