jaxgtr

So.......

Did you ever have something just drop in your lap and not know what to do, but you know, you can't pass it up?

It was a short engagement. There is a bike shop on the westside of town getting sucked up by Trek Crop, and they are having a massive sale to unload inventory. My normal Trek dealer was given the heads up this was going down, so he decided to have a special sale that matched the percentage off. I got an email about the sale on Thursday. So I went by the shop today after my 75 mile ride, and as I walked in the door, there sitting up front, staring me in the face, was a 54cm Trek Domane SLR 7 eTap. I am not a fan of the mat paint schemes in general, but when the owner saw me walk in, he just smiled, told me it was 30% off and said, isn't the 54 your size? I just looked at him, and said he was an evil man. He told me this bike was not a new order, it was to cover a bike he ordered 2 years ago. Let that sink in, 2 years ago. There are only 3 SLR 7 eTap's in the city, and this was the only size 54. The other 2 are a 58 and he has one of the 58's. He told me that you still can't order these in the system yet, in bike form or frame form.

I took a test ride on an SL in a 54 the a couple of weeks ago from the corp store at the beach, and it was a very smooth riding bike. They really have improved the ride quality of the bike. I had to go get my dog from the vet, so I told him I needed to think about it... knowing all the time, that I was probably going to buy it, I just needed to convince myself more. I drop my dog off, was telling my wife about the situation, and she said, why did you leave without it. She is the best, . So just for the record, I picked up this $9700 bike for $6700 and will be selling my 2020 Domane to offset the cost even more.

Again, ever have something just drop in your lap and not know what to do, but you know, you can't pass it up? Yes, yes I have. I am one giddy SOB right now.

Meet the 2023 Trek Domane SLR 7 eTap Gen 4. Weighs right at 18 with the power meter. Just giddy I tell you, giddy. I just need to make some adjustment, setup the power meter, put my saddle, pedals, wheels, bottle cages, and tires.

raqball

Congrats on the score.. Nice bike, great price!

Seattle Forrest

More photos please when you get the pedals, cages etc on it! What wheels will it use?

Troul 

Congrats! on not only the new bicycle, but for also having a cool wife!

thin_concrete

Very nice! Congrats!

jaxgtr

LOL... She the best. Been putting up with me for 35 years

jaxgtr

Yea I will take one tomorrow. I have Bontrager Aeolus Pro51's with Pirelli P Zero Race TLR's in a 30mm and really like them. Very easy to mount TLR tires. The best part of this deal with the wheels is that since both the 51's and 37's both use the same hub, I can just swap the hub bodies and don't have to order a new one.

robbyville

Deservedly giddy indeed, great looking bike congratulations!

ride safe!

Dancing Skeleton

The new Domane SLR looks great!
How does the ride compare to that of the Gen3 Domane SLR?
I've got one of those, and although I like it quite a bit, it's a bit heavy.
The reviews indicate that it's at least a pound lighter and is more responsive and "racier".

I'm trying to decide if I should swap out frames.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks,

Peter

jaxgtr

So 99.99% of my riding is on very good condition asphalt in Florida. For me, I find the front IsoSpeed pointless, and on the rear, the adjustability is great, but once set it initially, I have never touched it again. If I was riding on sketchy roads or harsh surfaces on a regular basis, I can see where the front and adjustable rear would be a benefit. So the ride quality on my existing bike is fantastic, its just seems a little dulled out based on my road conditions. However, I am never feeling beat up or anything after a long ride, so that is awesome. Now, I have ridden of some crappy harsh surface roads and having the IsoSpeed in the front was very welcomed it really helped eliminate the harshness.

Since the Gen 4 did away with the front and made the rear non adjustable, I found the ride on my road surface conditions so much less dull, and I feel the road better if that make sense, not meaning it is harsh, but it just gave me a better response. As far as it being snappy and all of that, the geometry of the two models are exactly the same between Gen 3 and Gen 4, unless you opt for the SRL model which the race team uses, that one is slight more aero and lighter. Saying that, I did not thing the steering was more or less better, it is just gives me a little more feeling of what is under me.

It is lighter than my 2020 model around 1.5 to 1.8 lbs based on what wheels and tire setup I use. Being in Florida, I deal with the wind a lot, so I like running the 50mm depth rims, so they are a little heavier. My 2020 Domane weighs in right around 19.7 with my pedals, Time ATAC, and Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51's. When I weighed the gen 4 bike at the shop without my pedals and bottle cages and deeper wheels, it was 17.94, so basically 18 lbs. It will probably end up around 18.5 or 18.6 with my pedals and bottle cages. Wheel weight between the Pro37 and Pro51's are very nominal so wont be a huge impact. I also run 30mm Pirelli's P Zero Race TLR's, and they are light by a few grams of the Bontrager R3's by 20 or 30 grams , but not a big deal. So at the end of the day, will probably net out about 1.25 to 1.5 over all reduction in weight, not a massive deal to me as I live in flat land of Florida, so I am not climbing any more than a bridge that is about 100 ft over a river or intercoastal water way. If I was going to be climbing, I would probably go with an Emonda.

As far as ordering, I also wanted to just move my Di2 over to the new frame, but, they are not even in the system to order, so no telling how long it would take for that to even be available or how long it will take to show up. The situation for bikes is still so screwed up if you are looking for higher end road bikes. The shop has a lot of stock, but only had 4 road racing styled bikes, these 2 Domanes, a Connondale Synapse, and a Cannondale SuperSix. He just got the Cannondales in yesterday.

For me, it was a no brainer to buy the whole bike. The framesets are going to run at 4k and for 3k more, I could get the complete bike and not have to wait for the new stem types and new seat post type to be available to order, neither of which is. If you are planning the long game to wait it out, then you should be in good shape, it you are looking to do this quickly, I do not think its going to happen for you.

I just lucked into mine and there is no other way to say it. It was pure luck.

Caliwild

Congrats! Nice bike, great story, and it's always fun to get a deal... Very clean looking bike! Would have given the new Domane a lot of consideration but there weren't any in my size nearby. Enjoy the heck out of it!

jaxgtr

Updated Pic...

jaxgtr

Oh hey, don't you still have a Domane on order? If so, possible you could end up with one these frames.

Dancing Skeleton

Thanks,

I'm in MA and I rode on a lot of crappy roads.
There aren't many flat rides, but the Domane SLR goes on the rides with rollers. I've got a rim-brake Emonda SLR that weighs 13.5 lbs.for anything with significant climbs.
The Domane soaks up the ruts in t he road nicely and is pretty fast, but I don't adjust the rear Isospeed & don't notice the front one.
I had a 2014 Project One Domane, (but that's gone after I was hot by a car) and this one feels much different than the 2014 did.
I've got Pro51 wheels on this bike, but I'm getting RSL37's soon, with that & a Sram Red cassette I'll drop at least a pound off this bike.

One thing that I can't figure out, is the Gen4 SLR frame 300g or 700g lighter than the Gen3?

Getting a Gen4 depends on availability, how much lighter it will be and how much of a hit I'll take in the wallet.

Troul 

I do, & I was contemplating contacting that LBS on the next day they are open. I think they are closed tomorrow, usually all Federal holidays they are closed.
I would be really happy if I end up in your boat!

jaxgtr

This is straight from the Trek website in the service FAQ...

How much lighter are the new bikes?
Complete bike weights are significantly lighter: 300g on both SLR and SL builds.

Yea my Emonda ALR from 2016 floats in just under 16 lbs.

jaxgtr

So since I was off today, I took the bike for a long ride. Did 60.... in a word: Awesome. Will take a little getting used to the changes in the gearing since I have always been a Shimano user. The 46\30 - 10\33, forces me out of the love affair I have with the 50-16 combo.

eduskator

Sweet looking bike! Any plans on slamming the stem down to the ground?

Been waiting for a ''valid'' reason to swap my 2-year-old TCR for a brand new Teammachine, but there are simply no deals since 2020

jaxgtr

Thanks and no not at the moment, I'm old, so not positive if my back would be able to handle that.

jaxgtr

By the way, if you have Robert Axle Project axles, Trek decided to recess the axle heads on the Gen 4 making the axle heads flush with the surface. I reached out to Robert Axle and sent them some pictures. The threads stick out beyond frame and fork. They are sending me some nylon washers which should eliminate the this issue as they advised that while it is probably ok, it does go beyond their tolerances. I am just going to stick with the stock axles for now. They were concerned that they might not have enough threads to torque correctly.

Troul 

looks like the wait is going to payoff.
ETA of the new arrival is December of this year.

Rdmonster69

ongrats !! Nice bike !!

I bought a 2022 SLR6 last summer and its the bees knees if you ask me. Its nice they found a way to make it lighter and like you I can't imagine fiddling around with the rear iso speed much. They are certainly smooth riding machines though.

I put Continental GP 5k tubeless tires on it and that improved the ride even more. Looks like I have the last of the Dura Ace mechanical (on a Litespeed I built last winter) as well as the last of the Ultegra mechanical. Hard to believe that cables are on the way out on high end bikes !!

jaxgtr

Sweet. Well you know you wont get the old frame as they do not have any Gen 3 frames except for some random large size frames. I was told today when I stopped by the LBS during my ride, I forgot my tools needed to adjust my saddle a little, that a guy that had a frame warranty was getting the Gen 4 frame. The 58cm version they had in the shop was sold yesterday.

Troul 

Hopefully i will not need to warranty it & it's a N+1

jaxgtr

I doubt it, this guy just happened to be warranting a frame. The seat mast had a crack in it.