trek procaliber bikepacking

2023 Trek Procaliber 9.6 Review

Are you looking for a reliable, high-performance mountain bike? With the advances in technology, finding such a mountain bike can be difficult. However, the 2023 Trek Procaliber 9.6 might just be the answer to all your needs.

The world of mountain biking is changing with each passing year, as manufacturers are investing in innovative designs and technologies. 

The Procaliber 9.6 is one of the most hardtail mountain bikes currently available on the market and has some impressive features that make it stand out from other similar models.

In this review, we take an in-depth look into all aspects of the 2023 Trek Procaliber 9.6 and provide an honest assessment of its design, performance, durability, and price – to help guide you towards making an informed decision about whether this is the right bike for you!

The Trek Procaliber 9.6 was released in 2023 and quickly rose to the top of bike aficionados’ wish list. 

This carbon frame cross country hardtail packs a punch with its versatile geometry, comfortable ride, and lightweight frame. 

Whether you are a seasoned pro or an inexperienced cross country rider, the Procaliber 9.6 is sure to meet your needs.

The 2023 Trek Procaliber 9.6 is lightweight, fast and perfect for all your bikepacking adventures. It features a durable carbon frame with an advanced geometry design that provides stability and confidence when climbing or descending.

The Shimano XT 12-Speed drivetrain provides smooth shifting performance while the RockShox Recon Gold RL, DebonAir spring fork offers up to 100mm of plush travel to ensure maximum comfort while riding.

The tubeless-ready Bontrager Kovee wheels come equipped with Boost 110/148 thru-axles for increased stiffness and strength when hitting technical sections on the trail. Finally, powerful Shimano hydraulic disc brakes provide reliable stopping power in all conditions.

– Lightweight Trek OCLV Mountain Carbon frame featuring IsoSpeed

– Advanced geometry design for added stability and confidence

– RockShox Recon Gold RL fork with up to 100mm of plush travel

– Shimano XT 12-Speed drivetrain for smooth, reliable shifting performance

– Tubeless Ready Bontrager Kovee wheelset with boost 110/148 thru axles for increased stiffness

– Powerful Shimano hydraulic disc brakes for reliable stopping power in all conditions

Frame and Design

The Procaliber 9.6 features Trek’s OCLV Carbon frame which lets you charge anywhere with impeccable responsiveness and strength.

The tapered head tube increases front-end stiffness for snappier handling during sharp corners and the RockShox Recon Gold RL 100mm fork lockout keeps the ride smooth when climbing hills.

Adding to that, there’s Boost 148 rear spacing which adds stability while cornering or going downhill by shifting your weight over a longer wheelbase – making you ride faster with more control.

Built around a race-ready geometry, riders can expect a very direct feel as they pedal along with minimal feedback all throughout their ride experience, no matter how fast they go or how technical the terrain may be.

The 68.8° head tube angle provides ample stability at speed while keeping things lively enough for those tight cornering obstacles that come your way both up and downhills.

You won’t have to worry about any slipping or dive moments as you blast though these trails either – thanks to its 72.8° seat tube angle which locks riders’ hips perfectly in place letting them efficiently transfer every bit of pedaling power on every crank rotation into kinetic energy – gaining optimal traction across virtually any surface condition.

One of the major highlights of this bike is its 1×12 Shimano XT groupset which provides sleek shifting performance with precise gear changes – allowing you to tackle steep hills more easily than ever before!

With 12 speeds ranging from 51t for tackling those slow uphill grinds, up to 10t for ripping downhill, this group ensures that whatever terrain comes along your path will be conquered in no time at all!

In terms of components, Trek has gone above and beyond when it comes down outfitting this beast with just the right parts necessary too unlock pure riding bliss – including Bontrager Kovee wheelset clothed in Bontrager XR2 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready tires plus Bontrager stem / handlebar combination coupled together with their Arvada saddle ensuring riders are posed comfortably taking on rugged terrain like never before!

All things considered, Trek has yet again crafted an absolute masterpiece that truly excels amongst it’s peers within the Trek circle without compromising quality nor reliability whilst maintaining portability & versatility as it’s core pillars – making it one of best cross country bikes money can buy! Just make sure to not miss out on being part of this perfect equation asap!

Order online and have it shipped to your local dealer for final assembly!!

Related Posts

Trek Slash 9.9 XX1 AXS Review

2023 Nukeproof Scout 275 Elite Review

2023 Trek Dual Sport+ 2 Review

2024 Kona Rove DL Review

Trek Procaliber w/ IsoSpeed flex becomes a faster, nimbler race mountain bike

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Building on it’s IsoSpeed equipped predecessor’s comfort and the modern geometry of the short-travel Supercaliber, the all-new Trek Procaliber hardtail gets all the right updates. Modern geometry, cleaner cable routing, and improved steer-ability make it faster than ever.

What’s new about the 2021 Trek Procaliber?

The geometry’s the biggest change you’re likely to feel. Based almost exactly on the Supercaliber (which has 60mm of unique IsoStrut rear travel ), the new Procaliber has:

• 68.75º headtube (0.75º slacker)
• 8mm longer reach across all sizes
• 432mm chainstays (3mm shorter)
• 72.75º seat tube (1.65º steeper)

Here’s the full geometry chart:

And all six sizes, from Small through XXL roll on 29″ wheels now, so all sizes roll faster. And it gets a shorter offset fork to increase trail for more stability.

The cable routing runs everything through full length tubes, all through the downtube, and only has what you need: Rear derailleur, rear brake, and dropper seatpost.

The Knock Block headset now allows for a wider 62º turning radius per side (up from 58º). So, those slow speed maneuvers and tight, twisty corners will be easier to negotiate. Not only does this protect the controls or fork crown from cracking into the top and down tubes during a wreck, Trek says it also keeps the cable from getting yanked too hard.

Theoretically, we’re thinking this means you could run slightly shorter hoses and cables for a cleaner (lighter) look without needing all the extra to accommodate excess bar spin.

There’s also more tire clearance, fitting up to 29×2.4″ treads inside the frame. And those tires com setup tubeless out of the box with TLR strips, valves and sealant.

As for the IsoSpeed decoupler, it carries over unchanged. It creates a pivot point between the seat tube and top tube, with flex designed into the seat tube. This gives the rider more compliance when seated without giving up any lateral rigidity.

It means you lose any of that bump-damping comfort when you stand up, but at least you’ll be able to power through the rougher stuff in a more efficient position than on a standard hardtail.

2021 Trek Procaliber models and pricing

Starting with the most affordable model, the Procaliber 9.5 gets a Rockshox Judy air fork, Shimano Deore 12-speed group and MT200 brakes for just $2,099.99.

Next up is the Procaliber 9.6 with an SLX/XT mix, MT4100 brakes, Rockshox Recon Gold fork and upgraded Bontrager Kovee Comp wheels for $2,779.99.

The Procaliber 9.7 gets the latest SRAM GX Eagle group with Shimano MT501 brakes, a Rockshox Reba RL fork, and Kovee Elite Carbon wheels. Retail is $4,199.99

There’s carbon everywhere with the top model Procaliber 9.8 , from it’s Kovee Elite 30 carbon wheels to the e13 carbon cranks. The rest of the drivetrain and brakes are full Shimano XT 12-speed, and it gets a lightweight Fox 32 StepCast Performance fork.

Price is…well, it’s not available in North America. But in Europe it’s about €3,499-3,599 depending on the country. Or £3,100 in the UK.

Complete bikes and a frameset are available now at all Trek dealers and direct through their website. No word on alloy models yet, but if they follow the prior path , maybe look for those in a few months.

Learn more at TrekBikes.com .

Disclosure: Some of these links are affiliate links that may earn a small commission for Bikerumor if you click on them and buy something. This helps support our work here without costing you anything extra. You can learn more about how we make money here . Thanks!

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com . He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Is there/ will there be a frame only option? When will there be North American availability?

@Tyler Benedict Benedict, can Trek make their Logo any bigger on these frames???

Are these frames all the same or do the lower builds get correspondingly heavier carbon?

Sounds like all the same carbon

AKA unforgivably heavy at 1.6kg for an XC race frame. Isospeed and kockblock add lots of weight.

Yes, there will be. At least here in Germany, no idea if it’s the same everywhere else. It’s btw. the white/black/red frame of the 9.8.

Sad to see the 27.5” option for small frames disappear. Do riders on Small and Extra Small MTBs really need 29” wheels? Seems like a compromise where smaller riders lose out to accountants. I was considering this and the Orbea Oiz M10 27.5”. No longer considering either.

Follow Us On

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.

Trek ProCaliber 8 Hardtail Review

The Trek ProCaliber 8 features a Decoupler and Isospeed and those make this hardtail a ‘fully’. Riddles? Read the review and watch the video!

• Price: € 1799,00
• Weight:  11,98 kg
• Sizes  13,5″ t/m 23″

The Netherlands is a truly hardtail mountain bike country. Not so strange because until recently the mountain bike trails weren’t really a challenge for a fully. But that changes quickly: trails become more technical and certainly on the hard routes of, for example, the Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a little damping behind quite comfortable. The Trek ProCaliber 8 plays on it: it is a hardtail with a little suspension at the rear. How is possible ?  

The Trek ProCaliber series came in late 2016 for the first time on the market, but the technique behind the ‘ springy ‘ hardtail is already somewhat older. The idea – conceived by the engineers of trek in collaboration with the now retired cyclist Fabian Cancellara – dates from 2012 and came in that year for the first time on race bikes of trek. But what is the idea behind that ‘ sprung ‘ back?

Isopeed Decoupler Part I

The Isopeed Decoupler ‘ disconnects ‘ – hence the word Decoupler-the seat of the rest of the frame. Thanks to a piece of ‘ plastic ‘ the seat can move slightly and the vibrations are muted from the back of the frame. Now the seat of course is not completely loose; With a bolt the two are still connected because otherwise the stiffness would be compromised. The operation of the system is difficult to portray while cycling and also still the flex of the seat is barely visible. Trek has stopped the Isospeed decoupler a nice animation in a video on the ProCaliber. The video is at the bottom of this story. The animation starts at 33 seconds.

The Isopeed Decoupler on the tensile procaliber 8 ‘ decouples ‘ the seat from the rest of the frame.

Frame: Three Flavors

The frame of the Trek ProCaliber series is made in Korea – Frame Bouwland by Excellence! -and there is in three flavors. The ProCaliber 6 and the 8 (which I test here) have an aluminum frame. The bare frame weighs in the 17.5 “inch size 2 kg. The tensile ProCaliber 8, which I test, does not bring just 12 kg on the scale. The more expensive 9-series has a carbon frame and is about 500 grams lighter. From that carbon frame there is also another SL-variant: The superlight whose frame weighs a skinny 1.13 kg. of the 6 and 9 is also another ladies model with a frame with a lower entry level. A pity is that the real Middenmoter – the 8 – is not available as a ladies variant.

The frame of the tensile ProCaliber 8 is of aluminum weighs in the 17.5 “inch size 2 kg.

Draw ProCaliber 8 Cable guidance

The bulk of the cables on the pull ProCaliber 8 runs neatly through the frame to the spot of destination. The rear derailleur cable comes out below the bottom frame tube and runs under the rear bridge to the derailleur. The cable of the rear brake is the only one that runs completely reachable from. Or I like that mix nicely? It will be a result of not wanting to make too many holes in a frame because that could have consequences for the firmness. Well, however, there is still a hole in the seat to conduct a cable for a hydraulic seatpost. The frame has two places to screw a bottle cage.

The tensile ProCaliber 8 has a RockShox Reba RL fork. The fork has 100 mm of travel and underneath on the right fork leg is a large rotary knob with which you can set the rebound. The rebound controls the speed at which the fork responds to unevenness as it were. Too fast and you get a bouncy bike, too slow and you get a rocking fork that always responds too late to bumps. On top of the left fork is a valve with which you control the pressure in the fork. This pressure depends on your weight and your personal preference whether you prefer to have a slightly harder or softer fork.

On the right fork leg, the pull ProCaliber 8 has the lockout, on the left the valve for the air pressure.

On the right fork is the mechanism of the Lockout; The system that allows you to lock the fork, so that it drives as a bike without a suspension fork. This is pleasant when climbing or long stretches over tight terrain because you can deliver a lot of power without getting a ‘ heaving ‘ fork and thus wasting energy. About the operation of the fork nothing but praise. If properly adjusted, it smoothes unevenness. The control of the lockout is easily accessible on the handlebar next to the left handle.  The lockout is not 100% lockout; You always have something damping when you unexpectedly go into the lockout booth against a hard tree root.

The tensile ProCaliber 8 has a RockShox Reba RL fork with 100 mm of travel and a lockout.

Wheel Size: 27 ‘ 5 “or 29-er?

The Trek Pro caliber 8, which I test here, is a 29-er. Trek makes depending on the frame size the choice for you whether you get a 29-er or the smaller 27.5 “(650B) wheels. The frame sizes Ladies 13.5 “and men’s 15.5” have these “small” wheels. The frame sizes 17.5 “through 23”-have the big wheels. This choice is logical. As you get smaller, big wheels are a disadvantage rather than an advantage. The bike is not only disproportionately much heavier, but large wheels in a small frame make a mountain bike less manoeuvrable as well.

Rims and hubs

The rims and hubs come from Treks house brand Bontrager. The rims are Duster Elite 23 and they are tubeless Ready. For you can find a Bontrager boost 110 hub and behind a boost 148. And those numbers stand for the width of the hub. With the advent of 29-ers it was important that naven became wider to achieve a similar stiffness as with a 26 inch wheel. But that’s on the side.  The axle for is of course of Rockshox and is 15 mm and behind sits a 12 mm copy of Bontrager.

For the Trek ProCaliber 8 you can find a Bontrager boost 110 hub and behind a boost 148. The axles are 15 and 12 mm thick.

Pull always mounts tires from own home and with the tensile ProCaliber 8 that is no different: front and rear you will find Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tires in size 29 x 2.20. Also these are tubless Ready so you can drive without inner tubes and that saves weight again. Now I’m not always a fan of Bontrager’s ties. I often find them heavy and do not have enough grip on Dutch paths. With the XR2 Team Issue ties that is different. The weight is along (about 630 grams) and the tyres generally offer good grip. Also when I make a mistake, the front band is again biting into the sides of the trail. I do have the idea that the dots in the middle wear out reasonably quickly.

The Trek Pro caliber 8, which I test here, is a 29-er. Trek makes depending on the frame size the choice for you whether you get a 29-er or the smaller 27.5 “(650B) wheels.

Bontrager Assembly

The House brand Bontrager does not only find you back at the wheels. The saddle – a Bontrager Montrose Comp-, the carbon seatpost, the Bontrager Race Lite handlebar and the Elite stem are all from Bontrager. The stem has a length of 70 mm and makes an angle of 7 degrees. In my case, he stands down what a sportier is giving. If you want something more upright then you can turn it over.  The stem is also suitable for the Trek blender: a holder on which you can attach a cycling computer, your mobile, a headlight or a Garmin GPS.

The Trek ProCaliber 8 is a ‘ hardtail ‘ mountain bike with a little suspension at the rear.

Seating position and comfort

Behind is an 11 speed cassette where the smallest sprocket has 11 teeth and the largest 42 teeth. Now you might wonder why that big tooth blade is black and the rest pretty shiny steel. To save weight is that large sprocket made of aluminum. Yes, that is more wear-resistant but that large leaf use – if it is good – relatively little. The crankset comes from race face: The race face Next R. It is made of carbon and that gives the Trek something extra. The sheets for have 26 and 36 teeth. The combination of cover pages and cassette produces a resistance that is of course very useful in the Netherlands and in the mountains of the Ardennes and the hills of the Sauerland. Now you come with a 1 x 11-Speed also a very end. With the 2 x 11-speed of the Trek ProCaliber 8 You will also come a long way in the Alps.

The crankset is a Race face Next R. It is made of carbon and that gives the Trek ProCaliber 8 a little extra.

Shimano Switching system

The complete switching system comes from Shimano. For has a Shimano SLX derailleur mounted and behind a Shimano XT with Shadow Plus technique. On the arm of the derailleur there is a lever. Get it over and the derailleur is locked. As a result, it moves less during cycling and the chain tension is more constant. This prevents the chain from riding over bumps to go too much back and forth and flies off (and between your front blades and the frame comes). Loosening is really only necessary if you want to take the wheel out.

The rear derailleur on the tensile ProCaliber 8 is a Shimano XT with Shadow Plus technique.

The shifters are Shimano SLX-en. They are mounted on the fastening of the brake levers which gives you a nice clean handlebar. The shifters are equipped with a set knob to change the cable tension, should there be some adjustment on the road. It is also good that the position of the shifters relative to the handles can be adjusted. It is a matter of a inbusboutje loosening and you can steer the whole shifter direction or move the directional handles correctly. In short: good for small and large hands. The operation of the Shimano group is flawless.

The fastening of the brakes, shifters and lockout provides a clean handlebar for the tensile ProCaliber 8.

The tensile ProCaliber 8 features Shimano Deore MT500 hydraulic disc brakes and levers. The front disc has a diameter of 180 mm and behind it you find a disc with a diameter of 160 mm.  The calipers have a single piston and are mounted directly onto the frame and the front fork. Something we call in jargon. If you want to tinker with the brakes and pull the claws loose, turn them on with a torque wrench. If you do not do this then you have a chance of damaging the thread in frame and fork and then you are far from home.

The tensile ProCaliber 8 features Shimano Deore MT500 hydraulic disc brakes: For a 180 mm and rear 160 mm disc.

The brake levers have short grips that are very good in the fingers. The distance from the lever to the handlebar is with a inbusboutje to adjust. Handy, but not as handy as a rotary knob that you can just adjust with your fingers. And that Inbusboutje is size 2.5 and it doesn’t sit on every bike tool. Something to bear in mind.

The brake levers ProCaliber 8 have short grasps. The distance from the lever to the handlebar is with a inbusboutje to adjust.

The brakes are nice on average and in this case this is a pre. They intervene well, brake nicely and the delay is good to dispense. They are never too toxic so you suddenly get lost with a blocking front wheel.

Isopeed Decoupler Part II

Back to the right of the draw ProCaliber 8 and the whole series: the Isospeed decoupler story. Last year I tested all the ProCaliber 9.7 SL. A great bike that I couldn’t tell if the Isospeed system works. With the Trek ProCaliber 8 I have that feeling for sure. After two weeks of frolic – of which the necessary times on the hard route of Amer eyes – I feel I have less bounced off the bike step. Also the back feels ‘ quieter ‘ about washboards in my ‘ backside ‘. I also tried the system with hard-pumped tyres on cobblestones and that experiment confirms what I feel on the trails. Incidentally, I realize that I have now tested a totally different bike; Aluminium frame versus carbon, 17.7 “versus 15.5” then and so also 29-er versus 27.5 “.

With the ProCaliber 8 does pull in my eyes something very handsome. The bike performs well on Dutch singles rails and is fast enough to compete with them. The Isospeed comes right into the aluminium 17.5 “frame with its large 29” wheels. Although it is very difficult to measure, I feel that washboards and tree roots are really less hard to get through. Also the installation with a fine RockShox Reba RL Fork and the mix of Bontrager and Shimano parts fits the price of the ProCaliber 8. What does it cost? €1799.00 euro and that is a very neat price for an XC-mountain bike that, like a Korean Kia, drives a class richer. 9.6/10 points!  

Information: www.trekbikes.co m

• Down & Insulated
• Gloves and hats
• Hiking pants
• Hiking shoes
• Knives & Tools
• Rain jackets
• Roof top tents
• Sleeping bags
• Sleeping pads
• Trekking poles
• water bottles, flasks, jugs and mugs
• Accessories
• Bikepacking
• Hardtail Mountain Bikes
• Trekking bikes
• Expert Advice

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. I assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Trek Procaliber 9.7 review

• Alan Muldoon
• April 7, 2020

Crosses the finish line first because it’s the fastest bike. Simple.

Trek Procaliber 9.7 Credit: Future PLC

Product Overview

Overall rating:, trek procaliber 9.7.

• Speed with comfort
• No dropper post

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:, editor’s choice 2020.

Since the dawn of mountain biking, engineers and enthusiasts have been trying to make the humble hardtail more compliant. We’ve had suspension seatposts, soft-tails, flex stay, curved stays, mono-stays and box stays. You name it, someone has tried it. No approach however, has been as effective as Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler; first developed on its road bikes designed to race across the gruelling cobbles of Paris Roubaix.

And while the execution of the design is complex, like all good ideas, the concept is elegant in its simplicity. By decoupling the seat tube from the top tube, Trek is able to let the seat tube flex more easily, which in turn transmits less vibrabration to the rider. Or, to think about it another way, the seat stays run into the top-tube, instead of the back of the back seat tube.

Whatever way you slice it, Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler offers a noticeably smoother ride when seated. So even though the Procaliber 9.7 isn’t one of the new breed of progressive XC hardtails with slacker geometry, we were still able to ride it faster with less fatigue than any other XC hardtail in test. It’s incredible turn of speed enhanced further by the Bontrager Kovee Elite carbon rims. They also tipped the balance of the scales in Trek’s favour too, as the Procaliber 9.7 was also the lightest bike in our XC hardtail test.

The Trek Procaliber 9.7 crossed our finish line first because it’s the fastest bike on test. And in XC racing, that’s all that counts.

>>> MBR Trail Bike of the Year 2020

Modern XC race hardtails aren’t just designed to be ruthlessly efficient on the climbs. The best composite frames also use custom carbon layering, unique fibre alignments and sculpted tube profiles to engineer in compliance. And while the Procaliber 9.7 incorporates all of the above, Trek takes it one step further with its IsoSpeed technology.

First designed to improve the comfort of its road bikes, IsoSpeed decouples the seat tube from the top tube, which in turn allows the seat tube to flex more easily and transmit less trail buzz to the rider. The simple idea being, less systemic rider fatigue leaves more energy for turning pedals. Sounds great in theory, right? Well, the good news is, it’s even better in practice.

Yes, the extra tech involved in IsoSpeed adds a few grams to the frame weight, but Trek has still managed to produce the lightest bike in the test, even if it’s only 110g lighter than its closest rival, the Mondraker Chrono Carbon R. Most of the savings are rotational weight – the carbon Bontrager Kovee Elite wheels guaranteeing that the Trek is lightning fast off the start line.

IsoSpeed decoupler is a game-changer

In fact we were so surprised to see carbon hoops on the Procaliber 9.7, we actually double-checked that Trek hadn’t sent a more expensive model by mistake. As it turns out it couldn’t have, even if it had wanted to, as the Procaliber 9.7 at is actually the most expensive XC hardtail that Trek offers in the UK.

RockShox reba fork is responsive but also offers decent support

In the RockShox hierarchy, the 100mm-travel Reba on the Trek sits below the SID on the Mondraker but above the Judy on the Specialized Epic HT . It strikes a great balance in terms of performance too. On high-speed chatter it’s more forgiving on your hands than the SID, but it still offers more support for cornering and cranking hard than the Judy.

And if you really want to tighten up the response of the suspension fork for a spot of black-top blasting, the RockShox under-bar remote lockout is always within easy reach. It feels plastic-y compared to the remote on the Scott Scale 920, but thanks to the super-light cable action it’s effortless in use. And, because the release lever sits proud of the lockout lever, you always open up the fork when you reach for it in a moment of panic.

Silicone grips save weight as well as your hands

Have we mentioned the Trek’s lightweight carbon wheels? Well, we should also highlight that they were the only wheels in the test to come set up tubeless. All you have to do is add sealant, which Trek kindly provides.

The contact points on the Procaliber are sorted too, and we particularly liked the ESI Chunky silicone grips . Granted the 12-Speed Eagle drivetrain with its 11-50t cassette doesn’t give you as wide a gear range as the Scott, but the SRAM XG-1230 cassette still offers a marked improvement in shifting performance over the Specialized.

Performance

When we first set eyes on the Trek, it wasn’t love at first sight. If anything, we thought the size large bike looked a little ungainly with its inverted 95mm stem and taller top tube. We even went as far as to peg it ‘the roadie’s mountain bike’.

Then we rode it. From the first pedal stroke the Procaliber took the lead in this test and never faltered. We were instantly won over by its effortless turn of speed, in part thanks to the carbon wheels, but it’s also about the more forgiving ride quality of the frame. Bumps just didn’t chip away at our speed as much as they did on the other bikes on test. And even when we were out of the saddle, the Procaliber was still the smoothest bike here. So much so, that the real limiting factor on rougher more technical terrain is saddle height. So while the weight savings of the OCLV carbon seatpost aren’t to be sniffed at, we’d swap it for a short-travel dropper in a heartbeat.

Stablemates

Trek procaliber 6, £1,400.

This is the entry-level bike in the Procaliber range. It gets an Alpha Platinum aluminium frame rather than carbon, but it still sports the IsoSpeed design that decouples the top tube from the seat tube to offer a smoother, faster ride. The geometry and sizing also mirror our test winner, so handing should be on point too.

Trek Supercaliber 9.7, £4,000

If you want the look of a hardtail but an even more forgiving ride than the Procaliber 9.7, how about the new Supercaliber? With its IsoStrut design delivering 60mm of travel, it could well be the perfect balance between hardtail efficiency and weight saving, with full-suspension comfort and control.

What’s new for 2021?

Depending on personal preference and course conditions, Trek wanted to make it easier for riders or races to swap between the Procaliber hardtail and the Supercalibrer suspension bike. So for 2021 the sizing and geometry of the Procaliber has been brought inline with the 60mm travel Supercaliber. The end result is that the Procaliber gets a half a degree slacker head angle for improved steering stability. The reach measurement has also increased by 10mm, while the stem shortens by the same amount so the fit remains the same. All positive changes, that should guarantee the 2021 Procaliber retains its winning performance.

Trek Procaliber 9.6 Review

by Ben Haworth June 11, 2023 0

Sure, you can ride the Trek Procaliber 9.6 whenever and wherever you like but the raison d’être of the Trek Procaliber is to perform between the race tape.

• Brand : Trek
• Product : Procaliber 9.6
• Price : £2,550.00
• From : trekbikes.com
• Tested by : Benji for Singletrackworld Magazine Issue 149

The other two hardtails in our ‘ Double Yer Money Hardtails ‘ test are all-rounder Traily McTrailface mountain bikes. This Trek Procaliber is decidedly not an all-rounder.

Rather than include a £2,400+ all-rounder trail hardtail, of which there are legion, we think it’s more illuminating and useful to go niche. To highlight the option of buying a very specific tool-for-the-job type of mountain bike.

The job for this Procaliber tool is cross-country racing. This is the sort of machine where the rides that aren’t actual races are called ‘training rides’.

The USP of the Trek Procaliber 9.6 is Trek’s IsoSpeed feature. First seen on Trek’s road racing bikes designed for the cobbled ways of Flanders, IsoSpeed basically detaches the seat tube from the top tube, allowing it to flex fore-aft. It’s a very modern take on ye olde soft-tail designs that did the rounds in the nineties and noughties.

Whereas those older designs typically had some sort of spring placed inside a wishbone seat stay arrangement, the Trek Procaliber has a fixing placed just in front of the seat tube and below the top tube and a wedge of elastomery material in the join. I’ll get into how it feels on the trail shortly.

The frame is made from Trek’s OCLV Mountain grade of carbon and, quite frankly, it looks really rad. The waspish black and yellow colourway is particularly pleasing. The aesthetic helps offset the relatively unexciting build kit. The own-brand finishing kit, mid-tier Shimano stuff and fairly nondescript RockShox Recon fork are all fine but hardly set the pulse racing.

In some ways all these rather uninspiring black bits actually help the bike (frame) look as great as it does. The bars are suitably cross-country narrow. The stem is similarly cross-country-tastically lengthy (80mm). The Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tyres are thrillingly bald. The MT410 brakes and the Recon fork are the two main disappointing spec choices. It just looks a bit too cost-cutting on a bike that otherwise looks so fine.

Looking at the rest of the Procaliber range you’d have to spend £3,775 to get a spec that looks suitably snazzy (Procaliber 9.8 with Fox fork, carbon wheelset, Shimano XT and so on).

The geometry of the Procaliber is on the less progressive side of things, even for a cross-country bike: steep 68.8° head angle, short 450mm reach (Large), dinky 90mm head tube length (Large). Oh and no, there is no dropper seatpost.

It can be hard to explain what makes a bike good at cross-country. It’s not just about being light and stiff. For trail riders, the geometry of cross-country race bikes is often entirely baffling. Steep head angles? Long stems? Narrow bars? Haven’t we left all that sort of stuff behind us?

The thing is, such geometry is not meant to be all-round effective. Cross-country geometry is principally meant to feel fast on climbs (the key word there being ‘feel’; racing is almost as much a mental exercise as physical). The narrow bars are arguably mainly there for aerodynamic reasons as much as anything. And if you have narrow bars (with a steep head angle) you need a lengthy stem to keep the front end from flailing madly when you’re redline drooling.

Why not put a slacker head angle on to cure everything? It’s hard to explain. The best explanation I can say is that it’s about pumping the terrain for even more speed. Cross-country races are won on anything that isn’t a descent. Descending speed is very much not important. Being fast downhill doesn’t win you races really. You can certainly lose races by being poor downhill, but you can’t win ’em. As such, the steep head angle is there to keep the front tyre contact patch nearer to you (usually a Really Bad Idea for Normal MTBing) so you can work the terrain underneath it for increased momentum.

Cross-country races are won primarily on the climbs, but the flatter and contouring stuff also matters a lot. Cross-country race geometry is a very specific system and the Trek Procaliber is more specific than most. And the Trek Procaliber is fast AF where and when it has to be. Sure, the downhills are more an exercise of holding-on rather than grinning-through, but the Procaliber’s grins can be found on race day podiums or (whisper it) Strava leaderboards.

All the boring black bits bolted to the Trek Procaliber 9.6 work fine. The fork is surprisingly active and combined with the IsoSpeed ‘rear suspension’ (when seated) actually makes for a remarkably un-punishing ride feel. There’s a reason the Procaliber is used by a lot of marathon endurance racers instead of a full-suspension bike. Also, by judicious use of the fork lockout, the Procaliber does the whole stood-up stamp-attack mode thing very well too.

I did think overall it would be even better with a dropper seatpost. Just a little one. The IsoSpeed system seems serendipitously perfect for dropper posts; droppers have zero fore-aft flex to them (unlike static seatposts) so IsoSpeed means you can run a dropper and still have a flexy perch experience.

This Trek Procaliber 9.6 is a great example of how an increase in budget can gain you access to a world of specificity. I wouldn’t recommend the Procaliber for everyone. It’s not a bike I personally would have. But if anyone is looking for an effective weapon for cross-country racing (whether real world racing or imaginary online Strava racing) then this is very probably one of the best bikes for going as hard as possible for as long as possible on the tracks and terrain that the stopwatch unsparingly demands.

It is a bike that can attack tracks with the best of them, yet it is perfectly capable of having a recovery breather on when you need one. The active fork, supple tyres and undoubtedly the IsoSpeed ‘soft-tail’ feature afford you a pleasing respite from the sheer brutality of the bike’s out-of-the-saddle efficiency of propulsion. It’s something of a Lycra-clad Jekyll and Hyde creation. Sat down, it’s comfy and polite. Stood up, it’s a freaking monster.

• Frame // OCLV Mountain Carbon
• Fork // RockShox Recon Gold RL LockOut, 100mm
• Wheels // Bontrager Kovee Comp 23
• Front tyre // Bontrager XR2 Team Issue 29×2.2
• Rear tyre // Bontrager XR2 Team Issue 29×2.2
• Chainset // Shimano MT611, 30T, 175mm
• Drivetrain // Shimano SLX/XT, 12-speed, 10–51T
• Brakes // Shimano MT410, 180/160mm
• Stem // Bontrager Rhythm Comp, 80mm, 31.8mm
• Bars // Bontrager Rhythm Comp, 750 x 15mm, 31.8mm
• Grips // Bontrager XR Trail Comp Lock-on
• Seatpost // Bontrager Comp, 31.6mm
• Saddle // Bontrager Arvada
• BB // Shimano MT500 PF92
• Size tested // L
• Sizes available // S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL
• Head angle // 68.8°
• Effective seat angle // 73.8°
• Seat tube length // 470mm
• Head tube length // 90mm
• Effective top tube // 625mm
• BB height // 60mm BB drop
• Reach // 450mm
• Chainstay // 432mm
• Wheelbase // 1,133mm
• Weight // 11.7kg

More Reviews

Elite Struka Microadjust Bottle Cage review

Carry almost any bottle securely, and free it with one tiny click with the Elite Struka…

Orbea Occam LT M-Team review

The Orbea Occam LT is an engaging ride. It requires and rewards an accurate rider who…

Reverse Base flat pedal review

Reverse Base flat pedal vital stats: 116 x 104 x 20mm. Slightly concave shape with added…

Abus AirDrop MIPS helmet review

The Abus AirDrop MIPS is a well made and designed helmet that offers great levels of…

Review Info

Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

• This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 12 months ago by Ben Haworth .

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

• Cycling Magazine

Trek Procaliber focuses in on pure cross country racing

Pro-level performance at a wide range of pricepoints.

In redesigning its top-level hardtail, the Procaliber, Trek focused in on one thing: making a truly race-worthy hardtail.

The redesigned race bike, often seen under Emily Batty at World Cup’s and on racecourses around the globe, is more focused than ever on being a pure cross country race bike. Many of the updates follow Trek’s flagship full suspension XC bike, the Supercaliber . With the simplicity of a race hardtail, though, Trek is able to deliver the Procaliber’s international level performance at a price any aspiring racer will find reasonable. With the new Procaliber 9.5, a race-ready carbon fibre frame comes in at just $2,750.

2021 Trek Procaliber

What is new.

What’s new with Trek’s race hardtail? First off, every size of Procaliber now rolls on 29-inch wheels. As a purely XC race-focused frame, the efficiency of 29-ers is hard to argue against. With six sizes now in the Procaliber range, there’s a frame to fit anyrider.

Trek updates the geometry to be consistent with the full suspension Supercaliber. The bike is slacker, longer, and snappier for 2021. Head tube angles to go 68.75-degrees (from 69.5) while reach grows 8mm, with the seattube steepening to 72.75-degrees to keep the rider centered over the bike. Chainstays shrink by 3mm to 432mm, keeping the Procaliber snappy in tight turns and accelerating out of corners. In keeping with the modernization of the geometry, the Procaliber can now fit wider, high-volume 2.4″ tires.

There are more changes to the frame, including a straight downtube to add stiffness to the frame. This requires Trek to bring over its Knock Block system, which is updated with a wider turning range. The 2.0 Knock Block can rotate 62-degrees versus 58-degrees on earlier frames.

Trek’s new frame also adopts SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger standard. This should make it easier to find a replacement, no matter where you’ve travelled to race. Also making things easier are fully enclosed internal cable routing channels, so you can route drivetrain, rear brake and dropper posts hassle-free.

Straight downtube and new Knock Block, plus fully enclosed internal cable routing.

Trek's ISOSpeed decoupler

SRAM Universal derailleur.

Trek Kovee Elite 23 carbon fibre wheels for the 9.7 buildwheels

Room for two water bottles on any size Procaliber

What is back?

ISOSpeed returns to the Procaliber for 2021. The decoupler lets the seat tube flex, instead of the chainstays, smoothing out trail chatter and reducing fatigue, without sacrificing pedaling efficiency.

Every Procaliber frame is made from Trek’s OCLV Mountain Carbon fibre this year. Instead of offering aluminum versions of the XC race frame, Trek adds the budget-friendly Procaliber 9.5.

Trek’s Procaliber is designed around a 100-mm fork, with a frame maximum of 110-mm if you want to increase the travel. There’s room for two water bottles inside the frame, and the XC hardtail uses only 1x drivetrains.

Trek Procaliber 9.5

2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5

The mid-range Trek Procaliber 9.6

Trek Procaliber 9.6

Trek Procaliber frameset

2021 Trek Procaliber: pricing and availability

The 2021 Trek Procaliber is available now through Trek retailers. In Canada, the Procaliber will be available in three different builds, the 9.5, 9.6, and 9.7, as well as a frameset-only option.

These range from a Shimano Deore 12-speed and RockShox Judy-equipped Procaliber 9.5. At the other end, the 9.7 delivers carbon fibre Bontrager Kovee Elite 23 wheels, RockShox Reba RL 100-mm travel fork, and SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain.

Sizes: S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL

9.5 $2,750 9.6 $3,500 9.7 $5,300 Trek Procaliber Frameset $1,900

• Email address: *
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

• Register New User
• First Looks
• Friday Fails
• Community Blogs
• Fantasy League DH
• Places Directory

First Ride: Trek's New 2021 Procaliber

Cool Features

• Rocky Mountain
• Specialized
• YT Industries
• Allied Cycle Works
• Black Market
• DALLINGRIDGE
• Diamondback
• Early Rider
• EVO Bicycles
• Growler Bikes
• Guerrilla Gravity
• iGO Electric
• Intense 951
• Juiced Bikes
• View all brands
• Production Privee
• Rad Power Bikes
• Rambo Bikes
• Riese & Müller
• Soul Fast E Bikes
• Spark Cycleworks
• State Bicycle Co.
• Structure Cycleworks
• Surface 604
• Van Nicholas
• Vintage Electric
• We Are One Composites

• Cross Country

• All Mountain

Trek Procaliber 9.5

• AUS $ NZD $ USD $ CAD $ GBP £ EUR €

Weight / M - 11.81 kg / 26.04 lbs (with TLR sealant, no tubes)

At a glance

Where to buy.

Specifications

• Frame OCLV Mountain Carbon, IsoSpeed, tapered head tube, Knock Block, internal control routing, balanced post mount brake, Boost148
• Fork RockShox Judy SL, Solo Air spring, TurnKey lockout, tapered steerer, Boost110, 15mm Maxle Stealth, 100mm travel
• Wheel Size 29"
• Tires Bontrager XR2 Team Issue, Tubeless Ready, Inner Strength sidewall, aramid bead, 120 tpi, 29x2.20''
• Chain Shimano Deore M6100, 12 speed
• Crank Size: S Shimano MT511, 30T steel ring, Boost (52mm chainline), 170mm length Size: M, M/L, L, XL Shimano MT511, 30T steel ring, Boost (52mm chainline), 175mm length
• Shifters Shimano Deore M6100, 12 speed
• Brakeset Size: S, M, M/L, L, XL Shimano RT26, 160mm, 6-bolt Size: L, XL Shimano RT26, 180mm, 6-bolt
• Handlebar Size: S, M, M/L Bontrager Comp, alloy, 31.8mm, 5mm rise, 720mm width Size: L, XL Bontrager Comp, alloy, 31.8mm, 15mm rise, 750mm width
• Saddle Bontrager Arvada, steel rails, 138mm width
• Seatpost Size: S Bontrager alloy, 31.6mm, 12mm offset, 330mm length Size: M Bontrager alloy, 31.6mm, 12mm offset, 360mm length
• Stem Size: S Size: M, M/L
• Headset Knock Block Integrated, 62-degree radius, cartridge bearing, 1-1/8'' top, 1.5'' bottom

Q: Where to buy a 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5?

The 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 may be purchased directly from Trek .

Q: How much does a 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 weigh?

A 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 weights M - 11.81 kg / 26.04 lbs (with TLR sealant, no tubes).

Q: What size wheels does the 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 have?

The 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 has 29" wheels.

Q: What size 2021 Trek Procaliber 9.5 should I get?

No comments on this bike yet. Why not be the first?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want more MTB in your mailbox?

The latest on mountain bikes delivered straight to your mailbox.

More Bikes in Range View All

Trek Procaliber 9.6

Trek Procaliber 9.7

More Cross Country Bikes View All

Niner RKT 9 RDO RS - 3-STAR SRAM GX EAGLE

Megamo FACTORY 06

Rocky Mountain Trailhead 950

Deals view all, view all deals, recent posts view all.

Blackburn Honest Digital Pressure Gauge Review

It's 2020 people. The squeeze and bounce test doesn't cut it anymore (and this is…

Comparing Mountain Bikes

Mountain Bikes are complicated machines. They have parts from hundreds of different manufacturers, come in…

Undomestic Mountain Bikes: Here’s what we know

Update March 2020: Undomestic has announced that they are manufacturing frames "at this moment" and…

Send Feedback

Have a suggestion? Looking for a bike that's not on MTB Database? Or perhaps you've spotted an error?

We'd love to hear from you. Let us know with the form below.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience possible. Learn more.

About MTB Database

Explore, search and compare thousands of the world’s best mountain bikes here on Mountain Bike Database.

Compare prices, components, suspension, reviews, images and more on current and past MTB’s. You can even share reviews, comments and questions on mountain bikes. View and compare a huge selection of bikes from brands such as Trek , Specialized , Giant , Santa Cruz , Norco and more .

We strive to provide accurate and up-to-date information for mountain bikes on MTB Database. If you’ve spotted any issues, please let us know . We also include helpful tools, such as our frame size calculator, to assist you in choosing the right mountain bike. Bear in mind that these tools serve as a guide and simply provide a general indication. Refer to information provided by your bike manufacturer for the most applicable information for your bike.

Bikes By Brand

Bikes by year, bikes by riding style, bikes by wheel size, popular bikes.

• 2022 Specialized Epic EVO Comp
• 2022 Trek Marlin 6
• 2022 Specialized Enduro Comp
• 2022 Specialized S-Works Epic EVO
• 2022 Specialized Epic EVO Expert
• 2022 Giant Fathom 29 1
• 2022 Trek Marlin 7

Latest Bikes

• 2023 Commencal SUPREME DH V5 SIGNATURE 70'S
• 2023 Orange Phase 29 Factory
• 2022 Commencal META SX V4 TEAM Frame
• 2023 Commencal SUPREME DH V5 SIGNATURE LTD
• 2023 Commencal META SX V4 - Frame
• 2023 Riese & Müller Swing4 vario
• 2023 Riese & Müller Swing4 silent

SORT CONTENT BY LOCATION

CLICK TO DRILL DOWN BY COUNTRY/PROVINCE

Your browser is ancient! Upgrade to a different browser or install Google Chrome Frame to experience this site.

Inspiration

• Bikepacking 101
• Join/Support

• View Latest/All
• Bikepacking Videos
• Your Stories
• Rider's Lens
• Field Trips

Popular Tags

• #bikerafting
• #Tour-Divide
• #family-bikepacking
• #winter-bikepacking
• #1Q5V (1 Question 5 Voices)

Gear/Reviews

• Bikepacking Bags
• Camping Gear
• Accessories
• #Editors-Dozen (Our Favorite Gear)
• #Gear-of-the-Year
• #MYOBG (DIY)
• #Decade-in-Review (Best of All Time)

The Gear Index

Latest indexes.

• Mini Panniers
• Saddlebags & Top Openers
• Cargo Cages & Anything Bags
• Gravel Bars
• Drop Bar 29ers

Bikepacking Bikes

• Rigid & Plus Bikes
• Drop-bar & Gravel
• Full Suspension

Rigs & Roundups

• Rider & Rig
• Race/Event Rig Roundups
• Worthy Builds
• Handbuilt Bikes
• #29+ (29-plus)
• #vintage-mountain-bikes
• #cargo-bikes
• Readers' Rigs (Dispatch)
• New Bikes (Dispatch)

Plan Your Trip

• Bikepacking Guides
• Bikepacking Food
• Gear & Pack Lists
• Bike Photography

Essential Reading

• Leave No Trace (for Bikepackers)
• Guide To Bikepacking Bags
• Bikepacking Gear That Lasts
• #Bikepacking-Awards
• Power Of An Overnighter
• Advice For New Bikepackers
• Our Favorite Bikepacking Routes
•     

Where to Begin

We have over 300 original and curated bikepacking routes in our global network spanning nearly 50 countries.

Start at our worldwide routes map to dig into our detailed guides with GPS maps and inspiring photography.

By Location

• The United States
• Latin America
• Middle East

By Length (days)

• Overnighters & S24O
• Weekend Routes (2-4)
• Week-long Routes (5-10)
• Odyssey Routes (11-30)
• "Freakouts" (31+)

Local Overnighters

The Local Overnighters Project is a unified effort to document and map one-night bikepacking routes all over the world—by locals, in their own backyards.

The Bikepacking Journal is our biannual printed publication. Each issue features a collection of inspiring writing and beautiful photography. Find details on the three most recent issues below, join the Bikepacking Collective to get it in the mail (anywhere in the world), or click here to find a collection of selected stories in digital format.

The special edition 10th issue of The Bikepacking Journal is one you won’t want to miss! It features 25% more pages with extra stories, bonus art and maps, and much more...

Issue 09 takes readers on trips through time—one to the early days of bicycles—and offers several reminders to be grateful for supportive friends and family, and strangers we meet along the way...

For Issue 08, we invited several contributors to return and pick up where earlier trips and ideas left off and also feature a handful of first-timers whose perspectives we’ve long been eager to share...

2020 Trek Supercaliber “full” suspension with a Massive Frame Triangle

Previous Dispatch From Thu Sep 5, 2019

New Marin 2020 All-Road Bikes

The 2020 Trek Supercaliber offers full suspension plus a full frame triangle, making it an interesting option for rides like the Tour Divide. What do you think?

The 2020 Trek Supercaliber was no doubt developed for cross country racing. However, we’ve seen a few sprinkled in our Tour Divide Rig roundups, so folks are using them for ultra-endurance racing as well. The 2020 model features a new IsoStrut integrated rear shock, making it all the more interesting for bikepacking—think full-suspension with a full-sized frame bag. The Supercaliber is built around an ultra-lightweight, full OCLV Mountain Carbon frame with pivotless seat stays and Trek’s exclusive IsoStrut Fox Performance shock to offer 60mm of travel. It also has dual remote suspension lockout is equipped with a lightweight Fox 100mm fork.

Trek offers several models ranging from $4,800 to $11,000. The mid-range $5,900 Trek Supercaliber 9.8 shown here is trimmed out with a 29 x 2.20″ tires, SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain, carbon cranks, wider Bontrager Kovee Elite 30 carbon wheels, a Bontrager carbon seatpost and handlebar, and a 54T quick engagement Rapid Drive rear hub. Learn more about the 2020 Trek Supercaliber in the launch video below, and over at TrekBikes.com .

FILED IN (CATEGORIES & TAGS)

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.

Rad Companies that Support Bikepacking

You need to be logged in to use these features. Click here to login , or start an account if you’re not yet a member of the Bikepacking Collective…

• Crosscountry
• Rider Notes

2022 Trek Procaliber 9.6

A 29″ carbon frame hardtail crosscountry bike with upper mid-range components. Compare the full range

Manufacturer Price

For This Bike

View more similar bikes →

Based on frame geometry and build specs.

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.

Procaliber 9.6

Similar Bikes

(descending)

Add custom gearing

Based on build material and quality level of the frame, fork, wheelset, groupset, suspension system, and more.

Compare the full Procaliber model range

153cm – 167cm

161cm – 172cm

165cm – 179cm

177cm – 188cm

186cm – 197cm

Do you have this bike? Help other riders make a decision about which size will work for them by sharing your own size and fit notes. Report your fit

Jun 2023 · Ben Haworth

Sure, you can ride the Trek Procaliber 9.6 whenever and wherever you like but the raison d’être of this bike is to perform between race tape.

Read Review

Building on it’s IsoSpeed equipped predecessor’s comfort and the modern geometry of the short-travel Supercaliber, the all-new Trek Procaliber hardtail gets all the right updates. Modern geometry, cleaner cable routing, and improved steer-ability make it faster than ever. What’s new about the 2021 Trek Procaliber? The geometry’s the biggest change you’re likely to feel. Based […]

Apr 2020 · Alan Muldoon

The Trek Procaliber 9.7 crossed our finish line first because it’s the fastest bike on test. And in XC racing, that’s all that counts.

Speed with comfort

No dropper post

This hardtail is a lightweight and dependable mountain bike with a carbon frame and wheels.

Bontrager Kovee Elite 23 Carbon, tubeless-ready wheels

Lightweight carbon frame with IsoSpeed decoupler

100mm RockShox Reba RL fork with remote lockout

Handlebar is on the narrow side

Mar 2019 · Guy Kesteven

Accurate, versatile frame with a great spec, but bar and IsoSpeed bounce won’t suit everyone

Stiff, accurate frame

Dropper and bigger-tyre friendly

Judy fork and Eagle gears

Shock-shrugging IsoSpeed

IsoSpeed takes a wallop to start moving and then a while to stop

Backswept bar and seat tube won’t suit all

Surprisingly slow tyres

Last updated 15 August Not listed for 657 days

Trek's Procaliber 'softail' gains a geo update

Trek's innovative Procaliber has some frame changes for the 2021 model year

Trek has upgraded its IsoSpeed-enabled Procaliber MTB range, a bike that has long been considered one of the best hardtail mountain bikes around.

Essentially the hardtail version of Trek’s Supercaliber dual-suspension XC race bike, the Procaliber features improved geometry and some industrial design changes. 

The entire Procaliber range now roll 29er wheels, even on the smaller frame sizes, which had previously offered 27.5-inch wheels. Balancing the big wheels are more progressive geometry numbers, with a slightly slacker head angle and stretched reach.

Design engineers at Trek have managed to slacken the Procaliber’s head angle from 69.5- to 68.75-degrees, allowing for better rider weight distribution during technical descents.

• Best hardtail mountain bikes
• Best lightweight mountain bikes under 10kg

Leveraging that more relaxed head angle are 100mm forks, featuring a 42mm offset for all frame sizes. Riders who wish to slightly overfork their Procaliber will note that the frame’s head tube is now rated for up to 110mm of front suspension travel.

The 2021 model year Procaliber might be more confidence inspiring on technical descents, thanks to its combination of slacker head angle and greater reach (up by 10mm on a size large), but its climbing geometry has not been sacrificed. With a 73.75-degree seat angle, which is nearly a degree steeper, riders will be perched in a position best suited to attacking those steep off-road climbs.

Better agility

One of the design objectives for this new Procaliber was improved agility, especially when navigating tight singletrack. To achieve this, Trek’s product team settled compact 432mm chainstays, giving the bike a compact and responsive rear end that will accommodate a 29x2.4in size tyre.

Steering responsiveness is also enhanced, thanks to a more generous angle of possible handlebar leverage. The Knock Block headset, which prevents handlebar over-rotation and potential frame damage during a crash, has seen its arc of limitation increase by 4°. This should greatly improve the Procaliber’s handling in extremely slow and technical terrain.

A valued design feature of the Procaliber which remains unchanged from the 2020 model year bike, is Trek’s Isospeed decoupling pivot. Located at the juncture between seat and top tube, this frame design detail allows for excellent pedalling efficiency and the quality of terrain compliance that would be impossible with a conventional rigid rear triangle hardtail.

• Best mountain bike tyres : all the top mountain bike tyres reviewed
• Best XC and marathon helmets : how to choose the best XC helmet for you

Trek is marketing its 2021 model year Procaliber in four build options. The entry-level Procaliber 9.5 retails for $2,000 and runs a 12-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain and RockShox Judy fork.

At $2,650 the Procaliber 9.6 upgrades to a combination Shimano SLX/XT drivetrain, Rockshox Recon Gold fork and Bontrager Kovee wheels.

Procaliber 9.7 is a significant jump in price, to $4,000. It is specced with SRAM’s GX Eagle 12-sped drivetrain, Rockshox’s Reba SL fork and Bontranger’s Kovee Elite 23 carbon wheels.

Trek’s 2021 Procaliber range peaks with the 9.8 derivative, which will only be available to European riders for the time being.

Retailing for £3,100, the 9.8 shifts via a Shimano XT 12-speed drivetrain receiving pedalling input from e*Thirteen carbon cranks, whilst up front there is a Fox 32 Stepcast Performance fork. The 9.8 also rolls Bontrager’s wider Kovee Elite carbon 30 wheels and decelerates courtesy of Shimano’s latest XT brakes.

All Trek’s 2021 model year Procalibers run 29x2.2in tyres and all but the 9.5 have remote fork lockouts. There is a frame only option too, priced at $1,499.

Lance Branquinho is a Namibian-born journalist who graduated to mountain biking after injuries curtailed his trail running. He has a weakness for British steel hardtails, especially those which only run a single gear. As well as Bike Perfect , Lance has written for MBR.com , Off-Road.cc and Cycling News.

Yeti SB140 LR T3 X0 Turq review – pricey and lacking a host of modern features, but it still quietly rips like nothing else

Santa Cruz Tallboy GX AXS RSV review – rapid trail bike with a reputation for extra DH capability

Ridley Kanzo Adventure review – a versatile, fast gravel bike with exceptional off-road handling

Most Popular

All-new Procaliber Alloy

• filter controls Items 24 24 48 72 filter controls Sort by Relevance Relevance A-Z Z-A Price Low-High Price High-Low