When rim brakes and mechanical shifting ruled Strade Bianche — Fabian Cancellara's Trek Domane that he rode to victory in 2016

With Strade Bianche, the second one-day race of the Spring Classics season, now behind us for another year, let's take a look back at the second-generation Trek Domane that Fabian Cancellara piloted to his third Strade Bianche victory in 2016. The Swiss legend's ride was unreleased at the time of the race, and featured Trek's new IsoSpeed Decoupler system, rim brakes and mechanical shifting.

Trek Domane 2016 - drive side- ©Paolo Ciaberta (credit: Paolo Ciaberta)

The Trek Domane made its debut in the spring of 2012, developed in collaboration with Fabian Cancellara to tackle the cobbled roads of the Spring Classics. Designed as an endurance bike, the Domane features wider tyre clearance, a more relaxed geometry, and enhanced stability compared to more aerodynamic race bikes.

One of its standout innovations is the IsoSpeed system, a "road-smoothing technology" that has been a defining feature of the Domane since its inception.

Trek says that IsoSpeed challenges other vibration-damping tech by maintaining the same diamond shape frame as traditional bikes but decoupling the seat tube from the frame. "This allows the bike to respond and manoeuvre just like a standard race bike, while the decoupled seat tube enables enough vertical flex to elevate comfort for every rider", Trek explains.

Trek Domane 2016 post-race close up - ©Paolo Ciaberta (credit: Paolo Ciaberta)

One notable thing about Cancellara is that he nearly always rode the Domane, whether he was riding typical roads, or the rougher stuff associated with Strade Bianche and the cobbled classics. 

He also had electronic shifting at his disposal, but still chose to stick with mechanical (cable-operated) shifting, on his drop bar bikes regardless of the road surface. By 2016 he was just about the only rider at the very top level of professional cycling still using mechanical shifting, apparently because he preferred the 'feel' of mechanical - when you're Spartacus, you don't really have to justify yourself though. 

Trek Domane 2016 - Fabian Cancellara Strade Bianche winning bike - ©Paolo Ciaberta (credit: Paolo Ciaberta)

> The bikes of the men's WorldTour

As mentioned above, stock Domane bikes come with what Trek calls its "endurance geometry", which is designed to be performance-focused and less aggressive and more stable than the brand's race-oriented geometry. 

However, the geometry of Cancellara's 2016 Domane wasn't the same as what you or I could get if we walked into a local Trek dealer. His bike was built with a long reach (the horizontal distance from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube) and a low stack height (the vertical distance between those two points) courtesy of a lengthy top tube and a short head tube. The result is a lower and more stretched riding position which was supposedly more efficient. 

Trek Domane 2016 top tube detail - ©Paolo Ciaberta (credit: Paolo Ciaberta)

The wheels used were Bontrager's own Aelous 5s with 50mm-deep carbon rims, and the groupset was Shimano's top-level Dura-Ace 9000 - the mechanical version, as mentioned above. Trek-sponsored WorldTour team Lidl-Trek continues to rely on Bontrager components, including the Aeolus wheel range.

The Swiss rider, like the majority of the WorldTour peloton in 2016, used rim brakes, and they were direct mount with each arm attached straight on to the frame/fork rather than via a central bolt. No Domane at the time took direct mount brakes, so this was a notable new feature.

The rim brake version of the Domane SLR had room for 28mm tyres, while a disc brake version was also available with tyre clearance of up to 32mm - positively roomy for bikes at the time. However, these days even aero road bikes often come with 32mm of clearance. 

Trek Domane 2016 de-coupler close up - ©Paolo Ciaberta (credit: Paolo Ciaberta)

The IsoSpeed Decoupler was also updated with the addition of a front IsoSpeed decoupler to further reduce vibrations. A slider had also been introduced on Domane SLR models that allowed riders to adjust the level of damping offered by the rear IsoSpeed.

We reviewed the Trek Domane SLR 6, and David Arthur said at the time: "The Domane just got even better. It's smoother and more comfortable than the original, and fast and fun as well". 

Trek Domane SLR 6 - riding 1.jpg (credit: road.cc)

The Domane still exists in Trek's range but we now see the pro riders of Lidl-Trek opting for the Trek Emonda SLR at these spring classics. 

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