# 2010 Trek Scratch 7



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

Replaced my SX Trail with Trek's new Scratch. Awesome bike. Climbs well and handles freeride situations very well.










As delivered. Medium frame.










Took off the Fox 36R and mounted the Totem coil off of my Session 88 FR.




























Fox DHX 4.0 with 450 lb. spring.










Adjustable geometry.










Airing it out.

**Update with full review**

Changes from stock. Redrilled the rims to accept Schraeder valves. I'm not a fan of Prestas, no offense to those who are. I replaced the Fox Van 36R with a Rock Shox Totem Coil. I replaced the handlebar with a 2" rise Answer ProTaper with Lizard Skin Peaty lock-ons. The stock Bontrager bar was a low rise version. I replaced the stock seatpost with a Crank Brothers Joplin unit because the stock one wouldn't tilt back far enough for my comfort and I love the on the fly adjustability. I have a 40mm Truvativ Holtzfeller stem to replace the 50mm Bontrager Rhythm unit. I replaced the stock Wellgo pedals with Bontrager Big Earls.

The bike pedals very efficiently for a 36/24, now 36/22 with the Saint cranks (front) and 11-34 (rear) gear combo. It climbs better than my old SX Trail. I don't usually climb though. The Mino link is set on the 66 degree head angle setting. I like to go downhill and this is where this bike really excels. I feel almost as confident on this bike as I do on my Session 88. The rear ABP suspension is very compliant and plush. I take it off 5-8 ft. drops routinely and it handles them fine. It jumps well and is very flickable, balanced, and nimble in the air. The Avid brakes provide all the stopping power needed once broken in. The chainguide keeps the chain where it needs to be. I never had any shifting issues yet. The all new 142mm rear hub makes wheel removal and installation a snap. Adapters are included if you prefer to use a standard 135mm rear hub. All-in-all I like this bike better than my old '06 SX Trail. I have no complaints about this bike so far.

*1 problem after about a month of riding.* The Raceface Ride cranks come loose every ride even with Loctite. Replacing them with Saint M810s.

**Saint cranks installed.* Scroll down for pic.*


----------



## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

Very sick bike!
How does it handle with the 180mm fork, feel taller or about the same?
Also how does the downtube thickness sound, as in when you tap it does it sound really thin or has trek made the tubes of their bikes thicker?
Reason i ask is because i am weighing up the decision to buy a 2010 trek scratch 9 frame and would like to know if the thickness if the frame will prevent it from getting dents and such (i like my bikes to last for a few years)
Cheers!


----------



## Karve (Mar 31, 2006)

V V nice - no idea why those bikes dont come with a 180 fork to start with.


----------



## Quarashi (Aug 23, 2006)

Because Fox doesn't have one.


----------



## 08nwsula (Oct 19, 2005)

she's purdy

can I have your old fork?


----------



## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

very nice.....congrats:thumbsup:


----------



## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

Big dog?

Love the bike!


----------



## droptopchevy (Sep 3, 2008)

I have been looking at getting the Trek Scratch 7. Let us know how it rides.


----------



## davec113 (May 31, 2006)

Quarashi said:


> Because Fox doesn't have one.


Yup, I hear the 36 was the preferred fork. You might want to try it out vs. the Totem.


----------



## berzerker (Mar 7, 2007)

Sweet ride!! I need one to fill in the void between my Remedy (6") and my Session 88 (8")
 :thumbsup:


----------



## rep_1969 (Mar 25, 2004)

Sweet!!


----------



## Karve (Mar 31, 2006)

Quarashi said:


> Because Fox doesn't have one.


I guess but Trek have rockshox on other bikes (session) so nothing would have stopped them specing it on the scratch.. although they are fox focussed for sure.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

Nick_M2R said:


> Very sick bike!
> How does it handle with the 180mm fork, feel taller or about the same?
> Also how does the downtube thickness sound, as in when you tap it does it sound really thin or has trek made the tubes of their bikes thicker?
> Reason i ask is because i am weighing up the decision to buy a 2010 trek scratch 9 frame and would like to know if the thickness if the frame will prevent it from getting dents and such (i like my bikes to last for a few years)
> Cheers!


I like the 7" of travel in the front. Feels a tad taller and slacks the geometry a little more. Not sure about the downtube thickness. I don't know what the old Treks "sounded" like. Frame seems beefy. Just as beefy as my Session 88. The other thing that I'm going to change is add a DH riser bar. The stock bar only has about a 1" rise and the riding position is a little low in the front going down the steeps. It's just my personal preference though. It's very nimble and balanced in the air and handles drops well.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

davec113 said:


> Yup, I hear the 36 was the preferred fork. You might want to try it out vs. the Totem.


I need a little more than 6.3" of travel for the stuff I ride and the fork that came with the bike is a Fox 36R. No compression adjustment. Just preload and rebound. Nice fork though. Selling it to a friend of mine.


----------



## PNW Freeride (May 12, 2009)

That looks really good!
Those RF Ride Cranks look really good.
Im wondering how the Big Earl wheelsets going to hold up?


----------



## bunnyhopbikes (Sep 2, 2009)

Regarding those Earl wheels; dollar for dollar, best wheelset IMO. I have raced all season on on pair with no issues. Never trued them either. East coast rocks and roots riding on schwalbes with pressures in the low 20's. Liked them so much, bought a set of King Earls for my shorter travel fr bike. Been using earl rims on my urban jibbing bike for 3 years, no dents or dings, just a very infrequent true do to rider error on landings:madman: Great rims, great wheelsets!:thumbsup:


----------



## davec113 (May 31, 2006)

rat7761 said:


> No compression adjustment.


Yeah, that's no good.

I'm kinda frustrated with the Mission Control on my Lyric though, there's not a ton of low speed compression even with it set at max. It's ok at speed, but not as good as it could be on steeps and rollers. It's going to need moar shimz... and it was my Fox 40 that demonstrated just how bad my Lyric is in comparison.


----------



## Cable0guy (Jun 19, 2007)

Nice.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

Aired it out today.


----------



## AndyD (May 24, 2009)

How tall are you and what size did you go with?


----------



## CharacterZero (May 19, 2004)

Very nice, love that ****


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> How tall are you and what size did you go with?


I'm about 5'7". The frame is a medium. Fits me well but I put on a ProTaper with a 2" rise to make it more comfortable for me. I felt like I was reaching too much going down the steeps.


----------



## AndyD (May 24, 2009)

Sweet, thanks for the feed back


----------



## Steve.E (Apr 10, 2009)

Nice bike, I like the colour scheme..


----------



## William42 (Oct 29, 2006)

wow you like your geometry very different then mine. Put a fork thats got an extra 30-40mm A2C height, plus higher rise bars. Super high front end it sounds like. 

But glad you're enjoying it, sounds sick.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

William42 said:


> wow you like your geometry very different then mine. Put a fork thats got an extra 30-40mm A2C height, plus higher rise bars. Super high front end it sounds like.
> 
> But glad you're enjoying it, sounds sick.


I guess I'm used to DH geometry so I feel most comfortable replicating it on my Scratch.


----------



## sanjosedre (Oct 11, 2004)

Could you be a king & measure the bb height? I really like what I'm hearing on this rig but the listed bb height is a bit tall. 

Thanks,
Dre


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

sanjosedre said:


> Could you be a king & measure the bb height? I really like what I'm hearing on this rig but the listed bb height is a bit tall.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dre


All specs are posted on www.trekbikes.com

Bottom bracket height in inches:

Small: 14.2" 14.4"
Medium: 14.2" 14.5"
Large: 14.2" 14.5"
XLarge: 14.2" 14.5"

The 1st number is with a 66.0 degree head angle and the 2nd number is with a 66.5 degree head angle. I'm not going to try and measure mine because I can't be accurate with a tape measure. Plus I have the 180mm Totem on it so it'll be even taller than the specs listed..


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

**Update* * I've been having problems with the Raceface Ride cranks coming loose every ride even with Blue Loctite. It's pretty irritating so I have a set of Saint M810s on order.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

A must have. Crank Brothers Joplin R. Just don't pick up the bike by the seat unless you raise it all the way up. If you don't raise it all the way up and pick the bike up, air can get in and it'll raise up on its own. To purge the air you'll need to loosen the top cap, push the seat back down, and retighten the cap.


----------



## Karve (Mar 31, 2006)

rat7761 said:


> **Update* * I've been having problems with the Raceface Ride cranks coming loose every ride even with Blue Loctite. It's pretty irritating so I have a set of Saint M810s on order.


Have you tried taking them off the bike and tightening the crank all the way down to the end stop then refitting them?


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

Karve said:


> Have you tried taking them off the bike and tightening the crank all the way down to the end stop then refitting them?


I didn't take the cranks off, but I do feel them positively bottoming out when I tighten them down. I heard a lot of people have similar problems with this type of Raceface cranks coming loose. I like the way the Saints are designed a lot better anyway. I've never had any issues with Saint cranks.


----------



## GearTech (Mar 3, 2009)

It's weird, the Session 88 just doesn't excite me but the Scratch series does. I really want to give one a spin in the near future.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

Got the new Saints mounted. Problem solved.

Had to use about a 4mm spacer on the drive side bottom bracket bearing shell. With one 2.5mm spacer, the small ring would rub the chain guide mount. With two 2.5mm spacers, the crank assembly would be too far outboard.

Note: The bottom bracket on the Scratch is *73mm*.


----------



## Demodude (Jan 27, 2007)

Liking that bike!


----------



## mtnryder56 (Sep 13, 2008)

Francois, you got that chick off of here yet? Sucks that MTBR is starting to get targeted. That means MTBR is big time though!


----------



## Datalogger (Jul 5, 2008)

Nice looking bike, those Joplins really increase the versatility of a bike!


----------



## tmarkos (Jan 18, 2008)

very cool looking. Congrats! 
Just can't understand why this frame is 1k more than an SXT or bottle rocket.


----------



## PNW Freeride (May 12, 2009)

tmarkos said:


> Just can't understand why this frame is 1k more than an SXT or bottle rocket.


Were did you find the price of frame only?
Nice bit of upgrades, Saint and Joplin


----------



## tmarkos (Jan 18, 2008)

PNW Freeride said:


> Were did you find the price of frame only?
> Nice bit of upgrades, Saint and Joplin


Honestly don't remember, maybe a buyers guide.


----------



## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

nice congrats:thumbsup:


----------



## marbru (Jun 28, 2010)

cool bike. I have the same scratch 7 and I'd like to ask you about the fork: I don't like having only 160 mm on the front and I want to change it for the new 180 mm fox, but i'm not totally sure. my question is: how does it feel with 180 mm? is it still so well balanced? another question: have you ever reached its limit, thinking "ops, I gonna breaking this bike"? thank you!


----------



## eruizela (Apr 27, 2009)

2010 trek scratch 7

does it void the warranty if a 180mm fork is used?


----------



## marbru (Jun 28, 2010)

eruizela said:


> 2010 trek scratch 7
> 
> does it void the warranty if a 180mm fork is used?


yes. I have sent a mail to trek not to know if it voided the warranty but to know if the frame could support the 180 mm fork, and yes, they have answered that it would void the warranty (I still have the mail if you want to read it)


----------



## eruizela (Apr 27, 2009)

marbru said:


> yes. I have sent a mail to trek not to know if it voided the warranty but to know if the frame could support the 180 mm fork, and yes, they have answered that it would void the warranty (I still have the mail if you want to read it)


Cool, send it.

BTW, Ill post my new 2010 Scratch 7 after I make a few tweaks.


----------



## marbru (Jun 28, 2010)

eruizela said:


> Cool, send it.
> 
> BTW, Ill post my new 2010 Scratch 7 after I make a few tweaks.


this is the mail:

"Hello Marco,
Thanks for writing. Unfortunately, it would void the warranty. The bike
you have was never tested with a 180mm fork, so we are unable to say
what would happen to it with this longer fork on it. It would throw off
the handling that the bike was designed for. Obviously the bike is
yours, so you can do what you want with it, but our official response it
that it is not recommended. It is a great bike though, a good friend of
mine has one and loves it."

anyway, more than one person has changed the fork for a totem or a 180 mm new fox and none claims it has negatively affected the frame or the bike balance. moreover the new 2011 trek scratch(es) (first pics out these days) include one with the 180 mm fox fork...


----------



## waterdogs (Jun 18, 2010)

Great looking bike, I love the green accents and have always like what Trek did with the graphics on the Scratches.


----------



## rat7761 (Apr 20, 2008)

marbru said:


> cool bike. I have the same scratch 7 and I'd like to ask you about the fork: I don't like having only 160 mm on the front and I want to change it for the new 180 mm fox, but i'm not totally sure. my question is: how does it feel with 180 mm? is it still so well balanced? another question: have you ever reached its limit, thinking "ops, I gonna breaking this bike"? thank you!


I can't compare how it rode with the 160mm Fox Van R because I swapped the forks before I ever rode it. I also ride a Session 88 with a Marzocchi 888 RC3 EVO fork and I feel that the rear suspension on the Scratch is actually better than the Session's. The rear suspension on the Scratch is plusher and takes the big hits just as well as the Session. I needed to up the rear spring rate on the Session to a 500 lb. spring but the Scratch still has the stock 450 lb. spring. The bike feels balanced with the Totem and handles everything I throw at it. I feel more confident on the Session at speed but overall I like the Scratch the best.


----------



## michaeldorian (Nov 17, 2006)

*About the warranty.*

The new 2011 Scratch 9 now comes with a 2011 Fox VAN 180MM. It appears to be the exact same frame as the 2011 models.

180MM seems perfectly fine on this bike. Especially now that Trek is using this setup from the factory.


----------

