chas58

Wow, the Domane gets more and more gravel oriented - long, low, (not so slack), with bigger tires - its getting more gravel than just endurance. Also a little heavier in order to make it more comfortable and useful (In frame storage, bigger tires, Isospeed).

Here is a good overview: https://cyclingtips.com/2019/07/2020...t-ride-review/

Some ride/handling comments:

mstateglfr 

Interesting. Its Trek, so I bet itll be popular. I also bet a lot of the claimed improvements are marketing over substance, but to each their own.

- The geometry doesnt seem really wild to me. In the largest size, its a 72.1HTA and 72.5STA. There is 59mm of trail and the BB drop is 75mm. All that seems pretty tame. I guess that isnt a lot of trail, but that doesnt seem too crazy at all.
- I like the color- black and burgundy marble swirl?- cool stuff right there. Get away from the murdered out look, please! And the article mentions a lot of color options which is neat.
- 38mm tire clearance would work for gravel in many places. I ride 40mm and though the difference is minimal to non-existent, its funny that I cant see myself going smaller...ever. There is a mental block on having a 3 to start the tire size, I guess. That alone would preclude me from considering this.
- Trek has changed the IsoSpeed and improved it, which means they recognize the flaw of the older design. So then they go ahead and offer the inferior design on what will be most new Domane bikes.
- The extended seat tube is fugly.
****- The down tube storage is...well it sure seems like a gimmick and just something to do to add a feature and match other brand's offerings. I cant imagine storing a snack in a place where I need a tool to access the food and i need to remove where my water bottle is. That just doesnt seem convenient in any way. Just attach a wedge bag that can hold tools and use a feed bag for easy and fast access to snacks. Or store in your jersey pockets for easy and fast access. Or store in a frame bag for easy and fast access. Or store in a bento box for easy and fast access. There is a theme here- lots of already easy and fast ways to store gear and food. But again, i am sure people will like that it has a little trunk or whatever and geek out over storing stuff they already carry in a different place than usual in a 'cleaner' looking way.****



"I wouldn’t describe the Domane SLR’s handling as 'nimble', but rather 'planted' and 'deliberate'. It’ll carve a tight line when needed, but you have to tell it to do so, not ask nicely."
"The Domane SLR is no crit racer, but it’s not exactly averse to carving a mean corner when you ask it to."

So the bike has to be angrily told to carve a tight line, but it isnt averse to caring a mean corner when asked?
Go figure.

TimothyH

Guys in the road forum are having multiple orgasms over it.

It's a strange world when the road forum gushes over a bike because it can take 35's.


-Tim-

HarborBandS

It can take 35's with fenders, or 38's with required clearance, or larger tires if you don't give a rip about ISO standard clearance.

For me, it's a better option for my riding than the Checkpoint or a gravel bike that is pushing closer to MTB (seems to be the trend), since my time in the saddle is still dominated by some very long road rides. But if you have to pull on a gravel shoulder or happen try a new paved path that suddenly changes to gravel (happens to me all of the time), the Domane can handle that, assuming you choose the proper tires.

Its geometry is a little more "roadie" than the Checkpoint, but still more about stability on a straight line over crit racing. Seems like a good fit for a lot of people, and that's what has made the Domane Trek's most popular road platform for quite a while now.

HarborBandS

From what I can discern, the major change in the IsoSpeed on the upper level SLR frame is that they moved the adjustment mechanism from the seat tube to the top tube. I think it is still functionally quite similar, though they claim it now has 20-something percent more compliance. Okay.

For the SL model that most people will buy, the IsoSpeed is pretty much unchanged. Meaning that it is still not adjustable. I don't consider this a flaw.

Think of your structural analysis or statics courses in college. The non-adjustable IsoSpeed is a sort of a pinned connection instead of a rigid one, so it doesn't resist moment forces at the connection of the seat tube/top tube/seat stay cluster, and it allows the seat tube to flex more throughout it's entire length down to the bottom bracket, which is still super stiff.

I don't think it's particularly ugly, but I'm not super excited about limiting my choices of seat post.

mstateglfr 

If they change an existing feature and only offer the changed festure to higher priced frames, then it's reasonable to view the change as being superior/improved. They wouldn't change their highest end products and make them(in their view) worse.

If the new isospeed allows for accurate tuning of the suspension depending on frame size, that's to me is a clear improvement. Riding the largest size frame is like a big loose leaf spring compared to the inherently stiffer smaller frames.
The new design allows frames to be equal in suspension effect which is good.

That's all I was saying. Just funny that they are going to effectively sell the same tech to most customers overall(due to bike prices).


As for the seat post mast thing- just never been a fan of that look.

HarborBandS

Yeah, maybe. I was never considering the SLR price range myself, and hardly notice the IsoSpeed in any test riding conditions I've been able to experience in a half hour in suburban Chicago. I still view it as a somewhat passive compliance feature. But I'm used to riding steel, so maybe I don't know the true stiffness possible in a carbon frame. The last carbon bike I owned was a 1995 model.

On the issue of geometry, one thing that baffles me a bit is the shorter top tube on the Domane. I am often between a 56 cm and 58 cm, but the Checkpoint I tested (size 56 cm) had a 56.6 cm effective top tube and 79.5 cm standover height. The 56 cm Domane (2020) has a 55.4 cm effective top tube and a 77.6 cm standover height. Why is the Checkpoint so much larger? The 58 cm Domane is roughly the size of the 56 cm Checkpoint. Weird.

Metieval

funny, but....

I'll admit that if Cannondale had given my a Synapse that fit 38's I''d have multiple orgasms too.

Bike manufactures have no clue how many of us there are running to 'gravel bikes' when all we want is a typical road endurance bike with room for 38/40c tires.

that 80mm BB drop is NOT what I want in a road + bike though.


I actually hate Trek, but I'll admit that I have been looking at the Crockett I am torn though do I want Stranglehold Dropout (2019) for maybe making it into a SS, or do i want a (2020) for the purpose of fenders. While I don't mind getting dirty, I hate getting covered in horse/cow/hog poop, amongst all of the other modern day third world type pollution on the roads, pesticide/herbicides spills, puke, piss, people leaving grey water valves open etc...


Bottom line, Just another bike that misses the mark!

Chi_Z

something about the 2020 frame makes it look alot worst then the older domane, my guess is the increase curved at seat stay and top tube junction. The bike now looks a lot more feminine

chas58

Very true!
(I wrote it off years ago because it had a 75mm drop, then it went lower)


In my experience – a “stable” bike has to be pushed harder into a turn (and often can’t do really tight turns), but is stable once in the corner (if it isn’t to tight) – especially if it is wide sweeping corner.

An agile bike can change lanes or direction with little effort – really without thinking about it once you get dialed into the bike you can steer with your hips. But in long sweeping turns it may take subtle steering corrections – kind of a scalloping if you will – if I did not initiate the turn properly.


Yeah, I love how they “improved” the isospeed. No one mentions the “flaw” until it gets fixed, and then all the sudden that hot new feature wasn’t so great after all…

TimothyH

Someone in another forum said the funky seatpost/seatmast thing is very stiff.

Maybe they don't need compliance in the seatpost/mast with isospeed? I'm completely ignorant of what isospeed is or does.


-Tim-

RocThrower

I love the my Domane with f/r ISO, and don't mind the lack of adjustability at all. I'm more excited that Trek is moving to T47 BB instead of BB90, which admittedly I've never had issues with.

gus6464

This is one giant meh. of a bike and people are all losing their minds over it. Go figure...

Noctilux.95

The new Domane is a good bike for people who want to dip their toes in gravel riding but still be primarily a roadie. No different than a gravel bike with a second set of wheels with road tires. BTW does the Domane have any bottom tube protection for gravel rides?

skipm

No bottom tube protection on the SL models and I would assume the same for the SLR but I haven't seen one of those in person.

-Skip

HarborBandS

Exactly!

Nope, nothing. But you'll see a lot of Checkpoints with paint knicks everywhere but the bottom of the down tube, so perhaps they need to harden their coating a bit. Seems like the forks are chipping like crazy. I think gravel bikes just get paint damage.

HarborBandS

Disagree. Here's why it's not.

1. The older Domane was a bike that a lot of people loved, and it hit a sweet spot for a comfortable endurance ride. Any incremental improvement to this popular bike will garner attention. If you're a crit racer it will never appeal to you, but the Domane works well for the vast majority of road cyclists out there.

2. Name another current model CF endurance bike that can take 700x38c tires with 4mm of clearance, or 35mm tires with fenders. I love the Cannondale Synapse, but it can barely fit 32's. I've heard that the Giant Defy can take some pretty big tires, but not 38's with 4mm of room.

3. The bike's appearance is stunning and the array of paint options is appealing through nearly ever price point. I know this is subjective and some will hate it, but it is certainly drawing in fans. Unfortunately it's a bit heavier than the outgoing model, but they seem to have traded some aero tube shaping for weight savings. I guess we can wait and see how the market responds.

gus6464

Just wrap the whole thing with 3M helicopter tape and mastic tape. Cheap...

Metieval

Umm Gravel is why I had my rocker panels sprayed with Line-X instead of the actual truck bed. Now yeah there is a bit of difference between 60 mph and 20 mph. but over time rocks do damage!

Caliper

I'm assuming 4mm is the ISO standard clearance (web search is failing me) 4mm on each side? That makes me think that my 40mm Maxxis Ramblers would be a nice fit.




The geo and specs look good to me. I'm glad I got last years model of Warbird, but if this were out in 2018 when I was shopping for a bike, it would definitely be high on my list. I tried the Diverge and loved the ride of the low BB, but the unadjustable and undamped isospeed on a size 58 frame was a recipe for pedal bob. Seems like they've fixed all that according to the article.


As the gravel market seems to be moving more toward being drop bar MTB's, I'm encouraged that this seems to be filling in the gap that has been developing for those of us who ride dirt and gravel roads and want a fat tire road bike.

chas58

6mm for most bikes. its a bit tighter (4mm) on skinny tired dedicated race bikes.
(I put 38mm ramblers in the back of my old cross bike, and 40mm out front - cause the 40mm didn't quite fit in the back).

Personally I don't like the long low slack MTB style. But if you are bombing down some steep fast descents, or need something for an all day audax - its the way to go.

Caliper

Sure, if you're playing MTB on your gravel bike then MTB geo works. I've got a drop bar 29er when I want to ride MTB stuff. It feels nothing like my Warbird, nor I assume, the Domane

But, I'm far more into riding gravel roads than singletrack. Around here, I'm pedaling down descents in search of top speed. I mean, it's dirt roads, cars drive them, they're really not *that* sketchy in most cases (I see you're from MI, I'm riding mainly in Genessee county). I don't want to go too slack because I like the responsive road bike feel and I really don't have an interest in the tall BB's and 1x-only frames that are out there for the same reason. I'm just glad that this new Domane is giving riders like myself a good option in what seems to have been a neglected part of the gravel segment recently.

HarborBandS

You know, I've never actually seen a good reference for this other than reading it on this forum or on YouTube videos, but this is what I've seen on the interwebs. And Trek seemed to make a big deal about "4mm clearance" on their marketing for the new Domane.

I recently saw a photo on a Trek Domane Facebook group of a guy with 700x43c Panaracer Gravel King SK tires on his 2020 Domane. They definitely fit. There are probably bikes being sold as dedicated "gravel bikes" with lower tire clearance than the new Domane.

HarborBandS

I agree. Most of my riding is in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, and singletrack is rarely something I entertain.

I find myself riding a lot of crushed limestone trails and well-traveled gravel roads, and I still like a road bike feel on those surfaces. And I like the flexibility of a mixed-surface ride, where I can use the gravel trail system to get out of the busier parts of Chicagoland and then hop on to paved roads further out from the city.

I've also had many close calls on my road bike lately where my route took me on some pretty sketchy chunky asphalt, or where paved roads in Wisconsin had gravel spread over them for some reason (surprise!). My racier road bike with 25's is getting less use.

chas58

I know, if I say it enough here, and get people repeat it, it becomes bf "fact." LOL.

For details on the 6mm requirement, look up the ISO-4210 standard.