2012 trek superfly 100 al blue book

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Trek Superfly AL

• AUS $ NZD $ USD $ CAD $ GBP £ EUR €

Colour / Metallic Black

Size / 15.5, 17.5, 19, 21, 23

At a glance

Where to buy.

Specifications

• Frame Alpha Platinum Aluminum
• Fork Fox Evolution Series 32 Float 29 RL, air spring, lockout, rebound, custom G2 Geometry, 51mm offset crown, 100mm travel, 100mm
• Hubs Bontrager 28-hole FCC alloy front hub, Shimano M525 32-hole alloy rear hub;
• Wheels Bontrager Mustang Disc 29 rims
• Tires Bontrager 29-1 Expert, 29x2.2"
• Chain 17.5, , 42/32/24
• Crank Shimano M552, 42/32/24
• Bottom Bracket 12.3, Press fit
• Front Derailleur Shimano Deore
• Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore XT M780 Shadow
• Shifters Shimano Deore M591, 10 speed
• Brakeset Avid Elixir 3 hydraulic disc brakes, Avid Elixir 3 hydraulic disc brakes
• Handlebar Bontrager Low Riser, 31.8mm, 5mm rise, 9 degree sweep
• Saddle Bontrager Evoke 2, chromoly rails
• Seatpost Bontrager Rhythm Elite, 27.2mm, zero offset, 27.2, , 27.2,
• Stem Bontrager Race Lite, 31.8mm
• Grips Bontrager Race Lite
• Headset FSA NO.57, E2, ACB sealed bearings

Q: How much is a 2012 Trek Superfly AL?

A 2012 Trek Superfly AL is typically priced around $1,870 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 2012 Trek Superfly AL?

The 2012 Trek Superfly AL may be purchased directly from Trek .

Q: What size 2012 Trek Superfly AL should I get?

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Trek superfly 100 al elite review.

Superb performance, decent value and build kit, and impressive speed, the entry-level Trek Superfly 100 packs a punch. It’s fast everywhere, the lively suspension tames rough trails and the handling is precise and predictable.

The Superfly 100 has a balanced and composed ride with extremely good handling that is easy to live with. The suspension provides speed, comfort and efficiency on the trails, with a playfulness that many cross-country bikes (and, dare I say it, some 29ers) fall short on. Not so with the Superfly 100 though.

The geometry has been honed over many years, Fisher have been doing big wheels a very long time, and the G2 geometry produces handling that is well-mannered and lacking the ‘wagon wheel’ complaints often levelled at 29ers. It’s also a playful bike, for one that is aimed clearly at cross-country, it’s easy to loft the front wheel and launch it into the air, place the tyres precisely where you want them, and makes light work of the most technical trails.

It’s clearly a cross-country bike and covers terrain with a ferocious appetite. Just point it where you want to go, stamp on the pedals and it launches forward. It climbs, descends and traverses rocks, roots and dirt with startling ability. The plush suspension copes with any situation you can put it in. It’s very active and copes with everything from small ripples to large drops.

The Superfly 100 gives you the confidence to rip up any trail at warp speed. It’s stable at high speeds and in the air, it’s precise and nimble at slower speeds through fiddly techy trails. The big wheels eat up the miles and give buckets of traction, and the 28lb weight, which some may see as a tad porky, wasn’t noticeable during riding.

You really can leap on the Superfly 100 and forget you’re on a 29er. So you can concentrate on enjoying the ride. The Superfly 100 rides extremely well. Can you tell I like it?

The Alpha Platinum Aluminium tubeset is manipulated into a smart looking frame with oversized profiles where it needs beefing up. The curved chunky downtube forms the basis for the frame, with a straight top tube under which the suspension linkage and Fox shock are mounted. There’s plenty of standover clearance on this 19in size.

So much centres on chainstay length with 29ers and the Superfly’s 452mm chainstays are a little on the stretched side, but certainly not by very much. The Specialized Camber I recently tested has only slightly shorter 447mm chainstays, but the Superfly boasts a shorter wheelbase, 1139mm compared to 1147mm.

The only hallmark of the Gary Fisher heritage in the Superfly, aside from the small signature on the top tube, is the G2 geometry. Fisher was an early advocate of larger wheels, and his approach to the geometry was a fork with an offset crown. This gives the fork a steeper angle without upsetting the head angle or wheelbase of the bike, and the head angle is 71.0°. It works too, producing precise handling with none of the vagueness and ‘slowness’ of some 29ers.

There’s loads of clearance around the rear triangle for mud to fall through, and it happily takes 2.3in tyres with space to spare. Trek employs the excellent ABP (Active Braking Point), which provides very active suspension even under braking.

Up front there’s a tapered head tube to stiffen the front end, and there’s a press fit bottom bracket, allowing the downtube to be very wide for a large weld junction, all ensuring the frame offers a decent level of stiffness. It isn’t the stiffest frame though, and compared to the Santa Cruz Tallboy it doesn’t feel as tight when the going gets fast and erratic. It’s not enough to deter from the ride performance though.

The Float Evolution CTD rear shock provides 110mm of travel and has a very active feel. The shock provides a wide range of damping options at the flick of a lever, from nearly locked out to fully open. For general riding the trail mode offered the best balance for 90% of situations, saving the descend mode for the longer descents. The suspension feels very active with a slight linear characteristic. Support in the mid-stroke is good, preventing wallow when loading up through bermed corners.

Setting the suspension is also straightforward with the clip-on sag clip, but Specialized’s Autosag is hard to beat for sheer simplicity.

The Fox 32 Float Evolution fork has 100mm of travel and shares the new CTD low-speed compression dial, I found the trail setting offered the best damping compromise for most riding. In descend mode it would blow through the travel too easily on rougher faster descents. The 15mm bolt-thru axle combines with the Convert quick-release rear axle, which can be switched to a 142x12mm setup.

The suspension really impressed. It’s controlled with good damping, the rear never kicks back under high loads, and it’s very efficient. There is stacks of grip on offer, particularly at the rear wheel, which makes even the loosest rockiest steep climbs scale-able. The fork was controlled and provided good support and paired well with the rear suspension.

At around £2,000 the AL Elite represents the entry point into the Superfly 100 range and is built up with hard-working kit that has sailed through the test period. Shimano SLX shifters, XT Shadow rear mech and a M552 triple chainset all worked brilliantly with no attention required. With the 11-36 cassette out back the triple provides a huge raft of ratios, but a 2×10 setup would suit this bike better. Shimano don’t do an affordable 2×10 chainset yet, but the next model up in the Superfly 100 range makes the switch. Triple chainsets just feel a bit dated in this day and age.

Shimano’s SLX brakes are excellent stoppers, really some of the best on the market for this bracket of bike right now in my opinion. The brake levers are a bit on the stubby side but there’s enough power for easy one-finger braking. The knurled dial makes easy lever reach adjustment on the fly. The brakes bedded in quickly and the pads are still showing good life in them yet, and never made a noise.

Bontrager’s Mustang 32-hole wheels are good rollers but I had to switch the Bontrager 29-1 Expert 2.2in tyres after the first ride. I replaced them with a pair of Continental Mountain King 2.2in tyres to provide the sort of traction that the stock tyres just can’t offer on anything but bone-dry trails, and those are rare in this country.

The fact this is a bike aimed at cross country shows in the speccing of a 105mm stem and 690mm bars. I switched them both out for a 60mm stem and 740mm bars, as much for personal preference as anything, but the shorter/wider cockpit really opened up the Superfly 100 on the more exciting trails, and livened up the handling as well.

Super quick and adept at tackling trails at blistering speed, the Superfly 100 lives up to the bill of being a rapid cross country bike. It belies its 28lb weight with decent speed on the climbs and the excellent suspension helps to cover ground fast. Gary Fisher has been designing 29ers longer than most and that shows in the Superfly 100, it’s a very accomplished bike. But it is its playfulness and handling that makes it a very adept and entertaining trail bike for those who just like to enjoy a weekend blast and want to have fun. It’s very similar in nature to the Specialized Camber, but the Superfly 100 just edges ahead.

Price: £2,200 More information: Trek Superfly 100 AL Elite

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2012 Trek Superfly 100 AL Elite

A 29″ aluminum frame full suspension crosscountry bike with high-end components. Compare the full range

For This Bike

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A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

Superfly 100 AL Elite

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Add custom gearing

On a long ride or during the wee small hours out on track at a 24hr race, it’s not unusual to get a song stuck in your head. Traditionally it’s something dire, like Peter Allen’s ‘Rio’. But on board this bike, the groove is strong; feel the soul, channel the year 1972. It’s Superfly. We …

A light, fun, fast cross country machine

Superbly relialbe

Clean looks

Not the plushest or stiffest of rides.

Read Review

Trek sought out to drop a full pound from their already lightweight Superfly 100. They wanted to maintain all stiffness numbers to build a worthy race bike. Did they succeed? - Mtbr.com

Feb 2012 · Seb Rogers

Everything’s in the right place but the frame finish isn’t quite up to the very high standard set by the competition

Nov 2011 · MBA Action

A Stealth Fighter on Singletrack: The Trek Superfly 100 Elite Still confusing to some riders, the "Fisher" brand was absorbed into its parent company,

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Last updated June 29 Not listed for 2,495 days

• Superfly 100 AL Pro

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Trek Superfly 100 Elite SL review

29er full-suspension race bike

James Huang/Future Publishing

James Huang

Trek set out on an aggressive weight-saving campaign for the latest Superfly 100, and by all accounts its engineering team was largely successful.

Even with a not-incredibly-light Shimano Deore XT group and mid-range wheels, our medium-size Superfly 100 Elite SL test bike weighs just 10.90kg (24.03lb) without pedals. The lack of mass is noticeable on the trail but, unfortunately, so is the lack of stiffness and so-so pedaling performance.

• Pros: Good high-speed geometry; lively rear suspension performance; light weight
• Cons: Not very efficient; not very stiff; very long wheelbase

Ride & handling: Lightweight with good suspension but lacking in efficiency

The revamped Superfly 100 platform feels right at home on fast and flowy trails with lots of wide open, high speed sections.

The long wheelbase and relatively low bottom bracket provide a very stable feel through sweeping corners. And even though it's lost 10mm of movement compared to its predecessor, the remaining 100mm of rear suspension is active and pleasantly progressive, impressively sucking up smaller trail chatter without bottoming out harshly on bigger impacts while maintaining a lively feel throughout.

The rear end offers a good amount of pop for leaping out of berms and dips. And, as we've noted in the past, Trek's G2 geometry, with its increased-offset fork crown, goes a long way towards neutralizing both the big feel of 29in wheels and its unusually long wheelbase.

Steering feels light and natural without requiring much in the way of excessive rider input, and it's usually only in very tight switchbacks that you notice the Superfly 100 Elite SL's considerable overall length.

Like the Giant Anthem X Advanced 29er we tested last year, though, the Superfly 100's chain stays are still a little long at 452mm. Therefore, it's not the most natural bike to manual or wheelie.

Carbon fiber seat stays but aluminum chain stays

Such handling traits would generally be no big deal in the Superfly 100's intended context of cross-country racing, where speeds are usually higher and there often aren't as many technical features as in general trail riding or enduro. However, the Superfly also doesn't pedal that efficiently, either.

Switching the Fox Float CTD rear shock to its middle Trail setting is a must nearly any time pedaling is required, and we frequently resorted to the firmest Climb position even on short sections of fireroad. We saved the fully open Descend setting for extended downhills only. Otherwise, there's far too much movement and a somewhat dull feel under power, particularly when you're hammering along in the big ring.

Nor did we find the Superfly 100 Elite SL's new carbon fiber frame particularly rigid. Front triangle stiffness is admittedly quite good, with the large diameter, nominally round main frame cross-sections and tapered head tube.

That's largely squandered out back, though, with an appreciable amount of out-of-plane flex, particularly in high-load situations such as bermed corners or excessively rough sections of trail. Here, instead of the rear wheel tracking precisely behind the front one, we repeatedly noticed the rear loading up – only to spring back when unloaded, which occasionally sent us off-line.

One simple test verified our suspicions, too: stand beside the Superfly 100 Elite SL with one hand atop the rear tire and the other on the saddle, push forward on one side while pulling back on the other, and you can see the top of the seat stays moving side to side relative to the seat tube more easily than one would expect from a bike of this caliber.

We should note that two BikeRadar testers independently came to identical conclusions on two separate test samples. Naturally, Trek has expressed concern over our findings.

"We're going to be testing that bike to evaluate stiffness testing," said Trek mountain bike brand manager Travis Ott. "I trust you felt what you experienced. Numerous sessions with pros and test riders haven’t exposed any weakness with the rear end stiffness.

"At this point, we’re concerned about repeating what you experienced so we can better figure it out. We’re also retesting stock frames currently. Point being, we take this seriously and when we get conflicting reports, we try and get to the bottom of it.

"As for the suspension spec and pedal bob, four out of five Trek Factory Racing riders also use the same rear shock tune. They wanted a very stiff lockout and we were able to achieve that with this tune. Thus far, the feedback and results from our pro riders have been exceptional. To date, we’ve been happy with the feedback on the bikes from our testers and pros."

Frame: Elegant lines and light weight but could use more brawn

The Superfly 100 Elite SL's performance is particularly disappointing given that the new frame is a gorgeous piece of hardware. The low-slung, molded carbon fiber front triangle features nominally round tubes devoid of superfluous kinks, bulges, or edges, while the one-piece molded carbon fiber seat stay assembly is similarly sleek and clean looking.

As opposed to the original Superfly 100 – or the current Superfly 100 Pro SL flagship model – this version uses TIG-welded aluminum chain stays, which adds some weight but should prove beneficial in terms of long-term durability.

Linking everything together up front is a miniscule swing link – molded from short-strand carbon fiber, of course – driving Fox's superb Float CTD rear shock.

The back end of the bike features Trek's ABP (Active Braking Pivot) concept, with suspension pivots situated concentrically about the rear axle to produce a pseudo-floating brake effect. Those ABP pivots are so cleanly integrated that you could be forgiven for thinking the rear end was one solid unit, although the axle path is strictly single pivot in nature.

The rear end is effectively a single pivot in terms of axle movement

The main pivot is situated inline with the curved seat tube, about halfway between the inner and outer chainrings in terms of height – about where we'd expect it to be. Moving it a touch higher, however, would make for more neutral pedaling performance in the big ring, and add more anti-squat when clawing up grades in the inner ring. Moreover, the Superfly 100 Elite SL's pedaling performance could further benefit from more aggressive compression tuning.

Other features include thru-axles front and rear, Trek's extra-wide BB95 bottom bracket with bearing seats molded directly into the shell, a tapered 1 1/8in to 1 1/2in head tube (again, with bearing seats directly molded in), a direct-mount front derailleur, post-mount rear brake caliper tabs (sized for 140mm rotors and up), and internal cable routing – including for the hydraulic rear brake.

The latter will be cumbersome if you ever decide to swap brake models (although we're not sure why you would – more on that below). Otherwise, though, Trek's internal routing solution is reasonably easy to service despite not being guided from end to end.

Exit ports are fairly large, the paths are clean and kink free, and the whole operation runs impressively quietly, thanks in part to clamps at either end of the brake hose to keep it from rattling around on the trail.

Tiny set screws secure the incoming lines to help reduce rattle

Further dulling sounds is the thick plastic guard on the underside of the down tube. Unfortunately (and rather inelegantly) it's held in place with a couple of giant o-rings.

Actual frame weight for our 17.5in sample is 2.13kg (4.7lb) including rear shock, seatpost collar, rear derailleur hanger, and water bottle bolts – slightly lighter than the previous edition, which is impressive considering the switch to aluminum chain stays. Riders who place a priority on weight will appreciate the lack of heft, but otherwise we'd rather Trek invested the mass currency on bolstering the chassis.

Equipment: Brilliant Deore XT components and Fox suspension plus solid Bontrager gear

There's little to fault when it comes to the Superfly 100 Elite SL's build kit, with Shimano's faultless Deore XT 2x10 transmission and brakes, a perfectly matched Fox 32 Float 100 CTD fork and Float CTD rear shock, and the remainder filled out with bits from Trek house brand Bontrager.

Shift performance is fantastic, with quick and precise chain movement, impressively hushed running, and excellent shifter ergonomics despite the I-Spec integrated clamps' lack of independent shifter angle or shift paddle adjustment. Gear ratios are smartly chosen, too, with versatile 26/38T chainrings up front and a wide-range 11-36T cassette that works well for both racing or general trail riding provided you've got a reasonable amount of fitness.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few years, it goes without saying that the matching hydraulic disc brakes are among the best on the market. Power is ample even with just 160mm rotors fitted front and rear, it's very easily controllable even in slippery conditions, and lever feel is arguably second to none.

Deore XT brakes provide heaps of stopping power

Riders in extremely mountainous regions might wish for Shimano's finned brake pads and their greater heat capacity, but we never noticed any fade even on longer descents in Colorado.

We were mostly pleased with the Bontrager cockpit components, too. The Race X Lite Carbon handlebar is suitably light and rigid, with just 5mm of rise to help keep the front end low. However, we would prefer something wider than 690mm for more leverage – it's easy to cut things down if need be but you generally can't make a narrow bar wider.

Ditto for the forged aluminum Race X Lite stem, which is always a solid performer, albeit one whose profile hasn't changed in ages and could stand a larger cross-section in this application.

Saddles are, of course, a personal issue. The Evoke 3 should suit most rear ends with its fairly flat profile and densely padded top with rounded rear corners that help boost maneuverability. We've no complaints on the Rhythm Elite aluminum seatpost, either, with its secure two-bolt head and what should be reliable forged construction.

The Bontrager Evoke 3 saddle is suitably firm and comfy for longer trail rides

Rolling stock is a little more of a mixed bag, though. The Bontrager Race Lite TLR Disc CL 29 wheels are fairly light (1,640g per pair, claimed), easy to set up tubeless (although Trek doesn't include the requisite rim strips and valves), reasonably stiff, and held up well during testing with no truing required. We feel the 19mm internal width is a touch narrow for general trail use, although most cross-country types probably won't mind much.

Bontrager wraps the otherwise-capable wheels with their rather narrowly focused 29-1 tires, though, which don't even measure 2in across and aren't designed to be run tubeless (although we managed the conversion anyway).

Rolling resistance is noticeably very low, but it comes at the price of traction in anything other than tacky dirt, what with its hard rubber compound and tightly spaced array of small knobs. We'd advise at least swapping out the front for something a little more secure and saving the extra one for a spare, fast-rolling rear.

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