TESTED: 2005 Trek Liquid 55

WHAT: Trek Liquid 55 HOW MUCH: $2,970 WHERE: www.trekbikes.com BITS & PIECES:Manitou Swinger 3-way Air rear shock, Manitou Minute 2 fork, SRAM X-9 Trigger, Shimano XT cranks, Hayes HFX-Mag brakes Weight: 29 pounds

Trek’s Liquid 55 returned in 2005 with significant revisions of the right kind, firmly reserving it a spot as one of the best trail bikes on the market.

A new rear aluminum triangle replaces the carbon stays of 2004’s model, and beefier rocker links add a significant amount of lateral stability to the rear end. The ZR 9000 aluminum frame features the same geometry as last year, but now sports a seatpost gusset.

The bike is incredibly light for its class, weighing in at 29 pounds, due in part to carbon fiber handlebars and seat post, a feature that still freaks this cat out. Even though carbon rarely fails anymore, when things do break, it’s catastrophic. Another notable feature is an 8-inch front rotor and 6-inch rear. Hallelujah, I say. Every all-mountain bike should feature this braking system.

The bike is also available as the Liquid 25, which comes with less-expensive components and costs $2,199, and as the Liquid 65 freeride version that costs $3,190.