Trek’s Project One program had, since its inception, been mostly about looks. That changes now with the new Project One|MTB program from the Madison, Wisc. brand. What was mostly limited to a fancy paint program switches to a much more functional option. For mountain bikers, at least.

The new Project One|MTB still offers riders their choice of frame colours, but that’s now limited to one of four quite nice options. The real choice comes in what hangs off the frame.

Mechanical? Wireless? Your choice with Project One|MTB. Photo: Sterling Lorence
Get it right the first time, no take-offs

Where almost every brand dictates different price-point builds with specific parts, Trek is letting riders choose. Chose your frame material. Choose your paint. But, more importantly, choose your suspension brand and type. Choose your drivetrain. Choose your dropper post. Choose your wheels, tires and even bars. And mix-and-match between brands as much as you like. Shimano brakes with a SRAM drivetrain? That’s not a combo that you’re very likely to see on any other stock build. But with Project One|MTB, you can do that.

Trek’s shift in Project One’s direction is limited to mountain bikes, right now. While roadies seem to really like shiny colours, Trek found mountain bikers were far more opinionated about the parts on the bike than the colour of the frame. Which makes sense. We all have strong preferences for what we like. And maybe even stronger preferences for what we don’t like. After years of being forced to buy a bike just to haul off the brakes, or dropper post, or whatever, and try hawk them on Marketplace to pay for the replacement part that we really wanted from the start, Project One is letting riders set the bike up the way they want, from the start. No wasted money on replacement components and take-off tires. No wasted time worrying about compatibility. Just ride.

What bikes are Project One|MTB?

Project One|MTB launches initially with a limited range of bikes. The new Fuel Gen. 7, in alloy and carbon fibre frames, the Fuel+ eMTB (carbon fibre only), and Trek’s XC whip, the Supercaliber.

For the Fuel models, Project One also lets riders choose which of three versions of the Fuel they want. The adaptable frame comes stock as a Fuel EX for non-Project One models. But, for the P1 level, you can choose to set it up as a Fuel MX or long-travel Fuel LX.

Trek Fuel and Fuel+ launch with P1 options. Photo: Sterling Lorence
What’s on the menu?

Brands are somewhat limited at launch, but include the major players and a few other options.

Drivetrain options include Shimano and SRAM, with four options for each model. Fuel / Fuel+ can choose between Shimano XT, mechanical or the new Di2, or SRAM Eagle 90 mechanical or XO AXS wireless. Supercaliber riders get a choice between Shimano XT Di2 or XTR Di2, or SRAM XO AXS or XX AXS. I don’t entirely understand the decision not to allow Fuel riders to choose XTR, but that’s Trek’s choice.

For Suspension, riders can currently choose between Factory-level Fox parts or RockShox Ultimate suspension. Wheels are limited to Bontrager, but in either alloy or carbon. Bars are either Bontrager or Race Face. Dropper posts opens up a bit to Bontrager, Fox or SRAM.

Finally, Trek relents and allows riders a choice between Maxxis tires, Pirelli or Bontrager.

Project One|MTB customers can buy a Fuel MX or LX out of the box instead of just the Fuel EX. Photo: Sterling Lorence
What’s next for Project One

This new Project One|MTB program starts off with some significant choices, but is admittedly limited to bigger brands. When we talked to Trek for the Fuel and Fuel+ podcast, there’s already keen interest to expand to more boutique brands. That’s important, I think, as that’s what a lot of the buyers looking at bikes in this price range want when they look at upgrading their parts. Hope? Ohlins? EXT? OneUp? Goodyear? It’d be great to see some of these higher-end brands on the list. That significantly ups the complexity of making sure Trek always has enough parts ready for P1 builds, though, but that’s something it sounds like the brand is working through.