Red7

I've been scouring the internet and calling shops and have located a 2017 Domane SL 6 disc for the advertised (same on all trek websites) discounted price of $3499 ($1000 below MSRP) and no one will go below that as it's a hot commodity. The 2017 Domane SLR 6 disc is showing $4999 on all websites ($1000 below MSRP) and no one would budge from that except one shop said, what if we sold it to you for $4200 ($1800 off MSRP). I tried for $3999 at which price I wouldn't hesitate but $4200 was the best he could do.

Right or wrong, here are some of my uneducated thoughts on this decision:

-From what I've heard where most people set their SLR adjustable isospeed is about where the SL fixed isospeed is
-The SLR isocore handlebars seem like a "nice to have option" but don't seem to make a huge difference in comfort
-The SL 6 comes with Vision Metron carbon wheels which though not light, supposedly are rather good wheels at this price point.
-Ultegra drivetrain seems identical as does the components except for seat
-I don't think the SLR is worth $1500 more than the SL but at $700, I'm very tempted as it is sort of my dream road bike right now.
-SLR is 1.5 lbs lighter than SL which isn't huge but that's a decent chunk.

Questions for the educated:

-Besides adjustable isospeed and isocore handlebars, what are the other benefits of the SLR?
-How do the SLR aluminum wheels compare to the Vision carbon ones since I will not be upgrading wheels on either bike any time soon!
-Same about 120 vs 60 tpi tires
-How much better/lighter is the 600 vs 500 series carbon?

I guess I'm probably leaning towards the SLR with the one question mark being the wheels. What do you guys think, for $700 is the SLR a no-brainer or is the SL 6 with carbon wheels the better option for someone who will likely "set it and forget it" regarding the rear isospeed? Thanks so much. I plan to pull the trigger on one of them this weekend.

SkepticalOne

The SL Pro comes with Vision wheels...not all SLs do. Also, the saddle on the SLR is absolute garbage btw.

The vision wheels aren't all that wide, and are therefore narrower than the 28c or 32c tires you would logically put on the domane, therefore impairing their implied aero performance... a bit of a fail IMO.

I've not messed too much with my adjustable Isospeed...I've actually stiffened it (somewhere near the middle) to avoid dynamic coupling between the resonance of my relatively low pressure tire setup and the seat tube.

I would weigh your colour preference over the difference between 500 and 600 series carbon.

Red7

Thanks, that's good to know. This SL 6 does come with the vision wheels.

Hmm, when I stated the SLR 6 weighed 1.5 lbs lighter I guess I was looking at the 2018. Per Trek's website the 2018 SLR 6 weighs 17 lbs, 2017 SLR 6 18.3 lbs and 2017 SL 6 weighs 18.5 lbs so only a .25 lb difference. That's kind of a bummer.

Shoot, the gap has closed on these 2 bikes as I thought I'd be getting more for the difference in price. I could use some opinions!

SkepticalOne

Vision wheels are only on SL 6 Pro and SL 6 Disc...I see you're eyeing the Disc - good choice.

Not sure where a >1lb weight difference between the 2017 and 2018 comes from...the frame has not changed...the only difference I can see is the grouppo.

Red7

Yes, I could have been more clear in the title but I'm looking at the disc version of both the SL 6 and SLR 6.

Skepticalone, your black on black color is by far my first choice but Trek doesn't have any of those in my size so it's down to matte blue/black, black/charcoal/yellow or silver/viper red. Have you guys seen these in person? I'd probably lean towards the blue bike but it would be nice to see in person. The glossy black with yellow looks like a bumble bee and I'm not sure about the silver with red either. In general blue is my favorite color so this matte blue could look really cool or it could look different than expected in person which is why I'd love to hear from someone who has seen it.

Thanks!

Dean V

I have the SL6 with Vision wheels and like it very much.
The wheels are not as wide as the tyre as has been pointed out but for the riding I do on it giving up a few watts in aero doesn't matter. I also do a fair bit of gravel on it so am going to 35mm tyres so even Enve 4.5AR wheels wouldn't be wide enough (and cost almost as much as the bike).
The adjustable isospeed is a non issue as the fixed setting is fine.
I swap out handlebars for my preferred width and shape anyway.
I much prefer the gloss metallic paint finish on the SL6. Looks better than the flat black (to me) and is easier to care for and clean which is important as I get it dirty often.

Red7

I haven't owned a matte colored bike so that's interesting to know. I rode a non-disc version of the SL 6 today with the glossy black finish with white highlights and it was nice looking. The SLR has a glossy black but TREK is bright yellow which kind of kills it for me or I'd go that route if it was white, black, blue, gray...

Red7

I've been reading every post I can find on various forums about the SLR and SL Domane's. Several people say that the SLR wheels are crap which is a bummer on a $6000 bike. From the sound of it, Trek gave the SL 6 better wheels than the SLR though I'm not sure if that's true or if the people who commented were used to buying high-end bike and if the Affinity comps are substandard for a $6000 bike but still nice wheels vs Vision Metron which are very nice wheels for a mid-level bike.

The difference is now $600 between the SL and SLR and the dealer selling the SLR is willing to knock another $100 off the otd price. He said that the 600 series frame is definitely a step up in quality/stiffness which seems to agree with the youtube and other reviews comparing the SL and SLR.

Red7

If you aren't aware of the colors options, here is a link to the 2017 SLR 6:

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b.../1477300-2017/

Dean V

You have more colour options than we do down here in New Zealand.
Really it comes down to the wheels.
If you are happy with the Vision wheels but would want to change the Affinity Comps that is another considerable chunk of money you need to factor in.
Any stiffness variation will be small and they are a very stiff frame anyway. Huge down tube.

tarmacgreg

I would suggest ride both, if you can't tell a difference, buy the cheaper one.

However, if the SLR is your dream, get that one. Money comes and goes but you might not find a sweet deal like that again until next year

Red7

Can anyone with experience on either the affinity or vision or both wheels chime in? I've ridden the SL 6 with rim brakes but only the disc comes with the vision wheels so I can't test them nor can I test a SLR as none of the shops around have a disc one in stock. It seems like every shop has rim brake Domane's but they can't keep the disc ones in stock.

Red7

Another question I have is how much shorter of a stem can you go down to before you start affecting the front isospeed? Some say 1cm, some say 2cm from the stock 100mm. I'm fairly sure I'm going to go with the SLR given that they are going to give me a precision fit for free which sweetens the deal even more. I'm fairly confident I'll need to drop to a 90mm stem because the reach on the 56cm Domane is about perfect but I max out the seat mast on the 56. The seat to bar drop is much better with less weight on my hands on the 58cm but the reach is a little too stretched. Obviously comfort is key even if it means the front isospeed will be less active but hopefully going from 100mm to 90mm won't affect it much. I believe the difference in reach between 56cm and 58cm is 1.5cm but think 1cm may be enough since the bars sit higher in relation to the seat.

SkepticalOne

My SLR came with Paradigm Comps. Much better than Affinity Comps. The Paradigm Comps are quite good honestly. Again they are narrower than most of the wider tires you might run...for this reason I bought he ENVE AR 4.5s and use the Paradigm Comps as a back up set.

Dean V

Is it the long seat post that is still too short with the 56? Trek make 2 different lengths.
If you max out the long one I would of thought you are tall enough for a 100mm plus stem on a 58. Unless you have quite long legs proportionally.

Red7

I had placed an order for Farsports carbon clinchers in a 28mm wide width but I placed that order on hold assuming whatever I got on the SLR or SL would have better wheels. Maybe the Farsports will still be an upgrade over the affinity. They are probably on par with the Vision Metrons but at half the price. It's mind boggling that they'd put the visions on the SL rather than SLR. Is there likely another decent wheelset that the Trek dealer (fairly large one) would have in stock? I'm wondering how much they'd credit me for the the Affinity wheels. Then again the Farsports are only $635 shipped so I'm not sure I'm going to find a better deal. I figured they were good for a lower-mid evel Domane but not worthy of something like a SLR. If the affinity wheels really are crap, that's a bummer on such a nice bike.

Red7

That was with the shorter seat mast. He said if I wanted to go with the 56cm they'd swap out the taller one but he said that's usually a good sign that a person should go up to the next size and I think he's probably right based upon my experience riding the 56cm where my legs feel slightly cramped in the cockpit. I've been in at least 8 stores and ridden quite a few Domanes in 56cm and 58cm and I truly am as in between these 2 sizes as you can be so I could go either way. More salesman (probably 2/3rd) have said the 58cm with a 90mm stem would be a better way to go than the 56cm with a really high seat. I know either could work but when riding my 56cm I do feel more weight on my hands than I'd like and have thought about going to a 17° stem to raise the bars so I do think I'd enjoy the slightly more upright positioning on the 58cm as long as it doesn't nullify the front isospeed.

Red7

I just confirmed with Trek that the SLR will come with Paradigm comps which sound better than Affinity. It's confusing because in the photo on the trek website it shows Paradigm but the writing under specs says Affinity comps. I tried to cancel my Farsport 28mm wide, 45mm deep carbon clinchers last night but they wouldn't cancel the order so I tried to see if the Trek store would keep the wheels and credit me but nice dice.

I went to bed about 95% sure I'd go with the SLR 6. I woke up this morning leaning towards the SL 6 IF I FOUND OUT FARSPORTS WOULD CANCEL AND REFUND THE MONEY ON THE WHEELS. Since that didn't happen, I'm going with the SLR 6 in the Project One matte blue/black. It's a whole lot of blue so I'm either going to love it, or it's going to be a little "over the top" but I wasn't a fan of either of the others. If it's true that it's darker in person than the bright photo on the web (which makes it look kind of baby blue), I think I'll be happy because I think I've seen a Project One MTB with that same P1 matte blue and it looked sweet....but I also tend to prefer the brighter colors on MTB more than road.

The SLR is $600 more but they are throwing in a full precision fit (and this shop is supposedly really good) and they are going to swap out the SS RD and 11-28 cassette for a GS derailleur and 11-32 cassette for free so I won't be dying in the mountains. I tried to get them to credit me back the Affinity Elite saddle but he agreed they were crap and it wasn't worth much. I guess I'll sell the brand new paradigm wheels and saddle on Ebay. All in all I'm pretty stoked to settle on the SLR though I would have been plenty happy with the SL 6 had they been willing to knock a few hundred more off.

I'm spending way more than I planned but at least I won't spend the next several years dreaming about a different bike. I splurged on my MTB and never regretted it so I won't here either. Thanks for your help as I over-analyzed this decision.

tarmacgreg

Be sure to post pictures when it arrives!

Dean V

What is the problem with the stock Affinity saddle?
Mine seems ok.

SkepticalOne

It has little to no relief in the centre channel to prevent undue pressure from chamois material...I've found it leads to numbness on long rides (>100km).

My switch to a Specialized Power Pro saddle was a dramatic improvement in overall comfort.

Another option at the point of sale would be to swap to the Montrose saddle which has similar profile with deep centre cutout.

If you haven't had such issues then you need not worry about upgrading.

PocketGroove

Over the past month I was also shopping for a road bike that could run larger tires. I was eyeing a Domane SL 6 Disc, but it was more than I was willing to spend. Well, this weekend I saw the price drop and, well...well...well, they have it in my size for 1000 bucks off MSRP.

I pulled the trigger and I'm glad I managed to snag one in the black/white config...since the 2018 colors are bland as hell. My guess is they made them boring so people will pay more for the Project One treatment! ...that Cafe Racer color scheme IS amazing though! ...also, Black Cheetah is pretty snazzy, in a 1970s blacksploitation pimp kinda way.

I was looking to get an Orbea Terra, but since I couldn't find a place to ride one and since I'm inbetween sizes, I didn't feel like risking it.
I figure the Trek is a better bike with better wheels for less money, and I know I can get fitted up right since the Trek store nearby is really great. The Terra can run 42mm tires, but the SL 6 Disc can go up to 38mm, which is probably plenty, since I'm not headed to the Dirty Kansa any time soon.

Should be able to pick it up in the next few days. Man, I'm really glad I waited for the 2018s to come out, so as to take advantage of the price drop. Normally I'm impulsive as hell. haha

Red7

It's funny you mention that. The store said that the Affinity is so bad that they can't credit me anything for it as they can't resell it. He said if it comes with the Montrose then he can credit me the value and apply it towards another seat. It is a little strange that they equipped the SLR with a couple of dud components. Oh well, it's going to be a sweet bike.

I've tried a couple saddles including Specialized Romin EVO and Selle SMP and both were painful but that funky looking SMP was so bad I was literally swearing every block from being in so much pain but I should have know just by looking at it that it would be a torture device. I hope there is such thing as a comfortable road saddle and that I eventually find one without spending $1000 experimenting.

Red7

Sweet! I test road the SL 6 but non-disc and it is a nice looking bike. Same $1000 off MSRP on the disc version so I went back and forth but in the end pulled the trigger on the SLR 6 since it's $1900 off of MSRP. I would have been happy on either bike and probably won't use the adjustable iso much so neither would have been a bad choice.

af2nr

Where did y'all find these? I've looked and had no luck other than one shop that has the SL6 non-disc, that appears to have been used as maybe a demo and they don't want to come off the reduced price...