As we already knew, a new Trek Domane endurance bike is coming soon - and now we know what it's going to look like, with Elisa Longo Borghini riding it to a stunning victory in the Roubaix Velodrome this afternoon.
Before Borghini's win, we spotted the new bike in a video posted to Trek-Segafredo's social media pages; and in all the photos and footage we've seen, it seems like rather than expanding out the IsoSpeed compliance system as we predicted, the opposite could be true.
It doesn't look like there's any decoupling at the head tube junction, suggesting the front IsoSpeed has been removed altogether. At the rear, the seat cluster is a different shape and the distinctive Domane MK. III seatpost looks to have gone.
The ability for the user, or their mechanic, in this case, to adjust the amount of compliance in the rear end has been removed. Trek has already taken this step with the Checkpoint gravel bike, explaining that not many people were actually using it.
It would therefore make sense that this is the case for the Domane.
This 'MK. IV' etching on the left chainstay is perhaps the biggest giveaway that it's the new version. As mentioned before, the current model is the third iteration, with the first Domane originally launching back in 2012 when Fabian Cancellera rode it to victory at Strade Bianche that year.
A final observation from our tech editor Mat Brett is that the brake hoses enter the frame right at the front of the head tube, in front of the fork steerer. On the existing Domane, they enter the head tube behind the fork steerer.
While Roubaix's cobbles need a fair bit of compliance to make the rider as comfortable as possible, this is still a bike race and the frame needs to transfer some serious power. The Domane's bottom bracket is a chunky one.
Like Deignan last year, Longo Borghini was running a 1X drivetrain. Note the chain catcher in the image above.
We have our own Liam Cahill on the ground at Roubaix, who between beers will be reporting back with more news from the cobbles as he spots it on the site and over on our Instagram page.
What do you want to see from the new Domane? Let us know in the comments as always.
Add new comment
2 comments
You wrote down the wrong roman numeral. The article says 6 but the bike says 4
Did you find anything positive about the article?. Do you like the bike, the pictures, do you think it is a good move for Trek as a brand - or are you just a nit picker and sad?