After it was spotted at several early-season European races, fuelling rumours that there might be a new Fuel in the works, Trek is finally pulling back the curtains on its Trek Unbroken’s new team-only bike.

This new team-only bike is different than last year’s team-only bike that what was then called Trek Factory Racing rode through the latter half of the 2025 season. I guess with the fresh name, Trek thought the team needed a fresh prototype to match.

Not a Supercal, but not yet a Top Fuel

The new prototype, which we’re going to nickname the Super Fuel for its position between the Supercaliber and Top Fuel, doesn’t really look like either design. The shock is mounted to the top tube, unlike the Top Fuel. But it’s a linkage-driven design, unlike the Supercal. Like many, many cross country bikes these days, it relies on a flex-pivot in the rear triangle instead of a pivot at the rear axle.

If you want a really long explanation of how Trek ditched the Supercaliber and Top Fuel to end up with something that looks, well, a lot like a lot of other cross country bikes do these days, the brand’s happily spilled a lot of digital ink on providing that explanation.

The short version is Trek couldn’t continue adding incrimentally more travel to the Supercaliber platform, which had already bumped up from an original 60mm to a whopping 80mm. At the same time, the Top Fuel’s 120mm travel was too much. (Trek doesn’t get too into the flex-Fuel prototype we spotted TFR racers on in 2025…).

The result is a linkage driven design connecting to a top-tube mounted shock. It’s a not just a different shock layout than the Top Fuel. Trek also ditches its ABP rear end for a flex stay desgin. After much testing (again, detailed in an incredibly long description of the prototype process), Trek landed on the ideal travel. Less than the Top Fuel by… a whole five milimetres. Yes, this new “Super Fuel” (Top Cailber?) has 115mm of rear wheel travel.

Not available any time soon

Before you get too excited about this new prototype, Trek mentions several times that this new team-issue prototype “may never hit shelves.”

Trek closes this non-product annoucement with this tease:

“You may not ride this bike, but rest assured that something even bigger and better is in the works.”

Given that almost every other story about cross country race bikes for the last six months has revolved around a new, even bigger wheel size, we can’t help but speculate that Trek’s being a bit tongue-in-cheek with that line. Especially considering how close to production-ready this prototype looks for using an all new frame.

Compared to the “not-quite-Top Fuels” the team raced last year, these purple prototypes look completely new. Last year’s bikes used a flex-pivot rear triangle with a closer-to-standard Top Fuel frame. While those bikes obviously went fast, Isabella Holmgren won a world championship on one, it didn’t look as polished as these do.

Not just a frame

The frame isn’t the only part of Trek Unbroken’s team-issue (yet-to-be-named)-Fuels, though. The Kovee rims are, like in 2025, laced in a way that is not available to any other rider, at least through Trek. Following the lead of Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, the team continues to use some sort of non-metal spoke.

That could be Berd’s Polylight spokes. Or it could be Pi Rope. It could be another newer brand. Or maybe something Trek’s developed in house. The bright white spokes are consistent with Berd spokes, though, for what that’s worth. Without getting a closer look at the hub, and how the spokes attach there, it’s hard to say too much more.