Trek Roscoe 7 Gen 4 First Look and Ride Impressions

For those of us with long roots in the sport of mountain biking, we see bike prices creep up year on year and kind of accept it as a part of our fate as diehard fans. For those getting into the sport, though, those prices can be prohibitive. ‘What $9000 for an XT-equipped trail rig? I could buy a Hyundai Getz with low kilometers for the same dollaroos!’ Totally understandable.

Picking up the Trek Roscoe, it’s immediately apparent that it’s not that halo bike many established riders covet – but in a way that’s what makes it just so appealing. 

The Roscoe 7 Gen 4 is an aggressive hardtail, a 29”, 150mm travel trail-ready bike that is ready to rip on long adventures, on the jumps line, at the bike park and through chunky rock features. Essentially Trek have taken what many people will use as the entry point of the sport – an inexpensive hardtail – and made it a whole heap more fun. 

You may also like AMB’s Budget Hardtail Mountain Bike Group Test & Cross Country Tyre Group Test

After all, isn’t that what we are all in the sport for?

First Look at the Trek Roscoe 7

The Trek Roscoe 7 Gen 4 is an aggressive, category 3-rated 150mm hardtail rolling on 29” wheels (size small rolling on 27.5” hoops). The Roscoe is offered in 5 sizes, catering for riders from 155–195cm. Like the Merida Big Trail range of bikes, the Roscoe offers a more versatile entry point into mountain biking than traditional cross-country geometry hardtails.

The combination of 150mm travel with a trail-ready geometry takes what could be your first mountain bike from basic green trails, to slaying the local black runs. A 65º head tube angle married up with a 75º effective seat tube angle (with steepens up 2º on the larger sizes) and moderate 440mm reach promises to be a comfortable, upright ride for meandering through trails, with enough slack in the front end to feel capable when things get rough. 

The Alpha Platinum Aluminium frame and ever-reliable Shimano Cues 10-speed drivetrain also promise no-frills performance, with the frame featuring clearance for up to 29”x2.6” tyres. Shimano MT200 2-piston hydraulic brakes with Shimano 180mm rotors do the stopping, which for a trail-adjacent bike could feel a little under-powered – time on the bike will tell. It’s entirely possible that a rider will find their limit on a trail hardtail before these brakes do! After all, as a Category 3 rated bike, it’s intended for offroad trail and cross country use, but not rated for downhill use. 

The Trek Roscoe 7 is rolling on Bontrager Gunnison Pro XR Tyres aboard the Bontrager Line TLR 30 hoops. We have ridden the Gunnison Pro on a few bikes before, and found it to be a solid intermediate trail tyre – and while that’s probably enough for many riders, for those looking to push the limits on the Roscoe, some slightly more aggressive tyres could fit the bill. I’ve tested the Bontrager Line TLR 30 wheelsets on several bikes before and though they’re not super lightweight, they were more than adequate – and I would expect similar performance here.

User experience and longevity have been at the forefront of Trek’s mind with the Roscoe, with downtube protection guarding against inevitable hard knocks, and an integrated storage bag coming standard, and a tool mount on the underside of the top tube – all great touches for riders who prefer baggy trail kit and struggle with a place to stash their phone, tools, keys and mid-ride PB&J sandwich. 

As an aggressive hardtail, this bike isn’t one pegged for the front of the grid at your local cross country race – at 14.5kg (actual, no pedals) it provides some heft that is more aligned with trail riding and perhaps even dipping your toes into some bike park riding. For most riders, this is the perfect jumping in spot to explore some of the developing mountain biking landscape we have in Australia. 

We have spent several weeks on the Roscoe, and while initially I didn’t expect to choose the Roscoe over the star-studded whips in the garage, it quickly became a fun choice I reached for again and again. Check out the full review coming in issue 217 of AMB.