Trek Checkpoint Tire Clearance Debacle - The Checkpoint is Dead?!
 

In case you haven't been following it . . . Trek's 2019 Checkpoint was advertised as having clearance for 45mm tires. Then . . . quietly . . . the website reduced the spec to 38mm . . . to 35mm . . . back to 38mm . . . then to 40mm IF you use a Bontrager spec tire. The 2020 Checkpoint is exactly the same. All of this without any notice to existing owners. (Without measuring, it appears that the front derailleur may interfere with 45mm wide tires when the axle is adjusted on the forward end of its travel.) The only indication of any problem came for those of us who checked the website. NOW THERE'S BEEN ANOTHER CHANGE AT TREKBIKES.COM!

I just checked to see if there had been yet another tire clearance change for the Checkpoint on the Trekbikes.com website. And I found that . . . THE CHECKPOINT HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF THE SITE. When you do a search for gravel bikes, you get Crocket and Boone. No Checkpoints! When using the regular BIKES tab and GRAVEL or CHECKPOINT, nothing comes up for the Checkpoint. The CHECKPOINT tab is dead.

Sadly, the plot thickens. And no communication to existing owners.

Another follow up: I just spoke with Trek Customer Service. Because there isn't a safety issue with the STOCK TIRES on the Checkpoint, they won't be issuing a recall. If you bought thinking you had 45mm of tire capacity? It appears, at this point, that we're out of luck. I hope that's not ultimately true. I'm already a very unhappy customer. They can't imagine the furor if their only response to the victims of their deceptive advertising is "buyer beware."

Oh . . . and you can't find the Checkpoint using the search function on Trekbikes.com anymore.

I hate that manufacturers delete pages for old models. It's useful reference information!

Hmm changing the spec of something after the fact and telling people to pound sand falls under false advertisement. Also they are in violation of CPSC because the original item had specific specs when purchased and now those specs are deemed unsafe.

Old models? These were the 2019 and 2020 models! They were up yesterday.

I meant anything retired. That is, it annoys me that catalog pages ever get taken down. Even when archive pages exist, they're often missing a lot of useful information.

The Checkpoint is Dead
 

Actually, you may be right. The Checkpoint may set the record for the shortest run in mass-produced bike history!

OEMs and storefronts stealth-editing pages like this is just plain unethical. Shimano did the same thing with their "C40" and "C60" wheels this year.

Maybe it is because they are being made in Waterloo, Wisconsin, and they forgot to put "Made in the USA" on the frames.


:roflmao2:

I just search Trek's website and the Checkpoint is up on the site.

That's pretty narrow clearance for an "all road" bike, as it clears the same as my Ritchey (38mm with mud clearance,) which is a full-on CX frame built to run a 33-35 tire.

Also interesting that the aluminum clears 38 but the crabon 40. When Trek says "tire size + 4mm" do they mean 4mm total, or 4mm per side? One would think 4mm per side, but as they've changed the listed clearance a couple of times, I can't be sure.

It was gone 2 or 3 hours ago, now it is back. They are messing with it for some reason.

It currently says

I would interpret this as having 4mm of clearance at its most narrow point, with 40mm (not c, WTF?) tires. That means you could cram 45mm tires in there and have more room than I have on my bike.

On my wife's bike, there is one point where the 38mm Compass tire gets within a distance of the chainstay that is so narrow I can't get a credit card in there.

You guys need to relax. This can handle plenty fat tires.

You must never ride in muddy conditions. 1.5mm is NOT plenty of distance in a muddy gravel race. 4mm is too tight for peanut butter mud.

It is back! And with the 40c Bontrager tire spec (so long as you still get 4mm of clearance with that tire).

I think the 45mm spec must have been measured from the frame -- and the 38/40mm spec is being measured from a front derailleur. It would stink to have your mud-caked rear tire rip your front derailleur mount off the frame.

I try not to ride through mud, mainly so as not to damage trails. But the chain stays will scrape stuff off, too. It isn't the end of the world.

Erm. Why dont you measure your frame, instead of relying on Trek to tell you how much space is in there? I'm a bit confused.

I understand that a lot of people who buy gravel bikes will never ride them anywhere but paved roads. That's fine. But that's not why I bought a gravel bike. I've got another bike for pavement and smooth dirt roads. You've clearly never attempted one of the big gravel races -- DK, LandRun, etc. That's what this bike was for. If you've never attempted a muddy gravel race, you won't get it. If your bike can't handle mud at DK or LandRun, you're carrying your bike for miles through ankle-deep mud. That's no fun. This IS a big deal for those who use gravel bikes for . . . gravel.

I don't understand. Checkpoints are on the Trek site.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...kpoint/f/F224/


-Tim-

As mentioned above, they put them back up sometime after 5:30 p.m. CST this evening. Apparently the same specs as yesterday. RIF

I think the most absurd part of all this may be that its 6 weeks into 2019 and they have 2020 models up.

as for the tire clearance issue- that's lame and I would be ticked if I owned one. I can put this down as reason 433 why I have no interest in owning a big3 bike.

Who are the big3? Spez, Trek and ?

Giant?

I still dont understand what the tire clearance issue IS...

I'm a little confused too. The Checkpoint has the same clearance as any other gravel bike on the market.

Yes.
it was mostly just a joke. Mostly. Kinda.

They revised their web page by taking it off line for 2 hours and then they put it back.

Since I never have ridden on gravel, I don't get how this is the biggest cover-up since the faked Kennedy assassination.