New 2017 Trek Domane SLR

Fabian Cancellara rode to victory last month at the Strade Bianche classic upon the brand new Trek Domane SLR and the full range has just been unveiled by Trek in timely fashion wedged between the Flanders and Roubaix Classic.

The new Domane features a number of innovative updates and Trek-firsts relating to their patent IsoSpeed ‘decoupler’ concept and comes as both caliper and disc-brake equipped.

The previous Domane model was praised for its plush rear end that offered comfort at no cost of performance but it was noted that it was so forgiving in the rear that the front end felt worlds apart. Trek have worked with these comments to create a race bike that performs at a world-class level but offers a more forgiving ride, perfect for the cobbled climbs of the Belgium Classics.

The IsoSpeed concept is simply two bearings integrated into the seat cluster where the top tube splits either side of the seat mast and seat tube where it is fixed with the bearings at the cross section, but new to the carbon frame design is a second ingenuitive split in the seat tube that anchors just above the bottom bracket which acts like an adjustable leaf spring to dampen road terrain as it is independent of the original seat tube.

Within the independent split in the seat tube is the adjustable spacer which allows a range of settings for different levels of seat tube deflection. Sliding the spacer upwards creates a shorter and stiffer spring rate with less room for deflection and sliding the spacer the other direction toward the bottom bracket offers the most compliant deflection setting, all adjustable with a 4mm Hex key and your hands in a few minutes.

Backed by figures from Trek’s lab testing and real-world instrumented riding tests that validated the adjustable compliance technology was performing as expected when the rider adjusts the compliance at the saddle. The new Domane SLR rear IsoSpeed mechanism is 14% more compliant than the previous model whilst at it’s stiffest setting it can be up to 25% more rigid than before.

Whilst updating the rear IsoSpeed compliance Trek have also managed to integrate their ‘decoupler’ bearings into the headset around the fork steerer to allow between 5 and 10% more vertical compliance than the previous model depending on stem length and hand position. The amplified compliance is complimented by a new Bontrager IsoCore handlebar that features a layer of rubber inside the carbon fiber lay-up to offer a vibration-dampening effect with no substantial weight deficit.

The Domane SLR is made of Trek’s OCLV 600-series carbon except for the Race Shop Limited frameset which is made of their 700-series carbon. All bikes feature a BB90 shell and direct press-fit bottom bracket for better power transfer and increased tyre clearance on both rim and disc brake models opening up to clear a 28mm tyre for the rim-braking version and up to 30mm tyres for the road-disc model.

It is road-disc compatable and the disc-brake models will come with a 12mm thru-axle and the easily servicable flat-mount caliper.

There are currently 4 models of the Domane SLR with AUD retail prices and the frameset is available on the Project One user-generated platform.