Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Well, online options are certainly legitimate options, so sure they would be inlcluded.
As for specifics, no i dont want to pmay the game of compare the bikes and argue over their differences and why my examples are bad comps.
If that wasnt your intent, cool, still not interested.
I just dont see the value. I am not inspired or moved by that Trek. Part of it is probably that i have low standards and dont care if a frame is carbon, which is where a lot of the markup in this bike is.
Oh, and the totally unknown wheels(based on trek's site) doesnt make me think quality or value. It may be there, but they sure arent saying so.
I do like the red color WAY more than the gray and black.
And the downtube armor is funny, but probably helpful.
A carbon 105 bike for $2800...i guess its the norm for the bike brands.
No, I was genuinely interested. I've been shopping in the CF, hydro 105 realm for a couple years and, that I've seen, yeah, ~$2500 seems to be the entry point for skinny tires, with gravel commanding an additional premium. Even direct-to-consumer options, like DB or Canyon, are still pushing $2k on their road bikes and a little more for gravel/cx.
Back to the Checkpoint, in particular - clearance for 45 (and maybe more), the dropouts would allow you to run it as a single and/or effectively change your chainstay length, just about anyone that's ridden IsoSpeed thinks it's legit (though I would have liked to have seen it up front, too) and it seems to have a decent amount of flexibility for bikepacking and the like. This in addition to full 105 hydro. That's presenting value in my book. *shrug*