Is the Domane that good?
 

Is the Trek Domane really that good? I've seen where it is advertise for riding the cobble stones of Belgium but does it make that much of a difference on the majority of roads in the US? Has anybody had any problems with the decoupler especially over the course of a couple of years? I'm seriously considering buying a Domane but I wanted to know if there have been any problems with the system.

No cobbles in my hood but plenty of buckled asphalt, cracks, gravel, and dirt stretches. The Domane dishes out confidence. The system works. I haven't had any problems with mine, nor have I heard of any. Test ride several bikes, including a Domane, and compare the ride for yourself. I rented a 5 series for a few days ( loved it) and ended up buying a 6 series with Di2 (really love it).

I test rode a 6 series Domane. Amazing ride quality for a road bike on 23mm tires. As amazing as it rides you can get similar ride quality by running wider (32mm+) tires at lower pressures if your frame will fit them. It's just that most roadies scoff at the idea of running wide tires.

What tires do you run on your Roubaix?


S

I've had the same questions about the domane's durability also.

Every frame flexes to some degree obviously, and there is a possibility of frame failure even with conventional frames if subjected to too high of a load. But the domane flexes far more than a conventional frame and I think a reasonable person would ask how that affects the useful life of the frame.

I suppose one could simply assume that trek has tested the frame sufficiently prior to putting it on the market. But I would love to see some evidence of such testing myself.

The fact of the matter is, every frame has a finite useful life and I doubt the domane is any different in that regard. There are a lot of unanswered questions, and I suppose only time will tell.

I think some of us should email trek and ask them about their testing procedures for these frames. Who knows, they might even gift us with a response. :)

23f/25r GP4000s although I plan to switch to 25f/28r when they wear out. I have a cheap aluminum BD errand running bike with 35mm Vittoria Voyager tires at 50-60psi and the ride quality is pure bliss.

As far as the flex on the Domane there's a promotional Trek video where you can see the seat tube flexing quite a bit. It does make you wonder how it will hold up long term. Although carbon fiber can handle quite a bit of flex without cracking.

I'm sure trek has done fatigue testing on both the alu and carbon frames. The question I have is, are they willing to make those test results public?

Isospeed is in it's 2nd year of production (with a somewhat modified, ie lighter design), so that's a good sign. I am reasonably confident in the design, but there are still unanswered questions about this new design approach.

The Roubaix is basically a similar design in term of flex. Between the number of bikes Trek and Specialized sell if there was a problem, the internet would be full of broken carbon endurance frames. There's plenty of pictures of crashed frames, but nothing that I would remotely term a fatigue failure.

I tested several bikes; Defy Advanced, Scott CR1 and all three Domane's 4,5,6. (only 'cause they had them at a Demo Day...definitely not in my budget).

For me, coming from a 10 year old Giant OCR2, the Domane was the best fit. I purchased a 4.3 last month and swapped out the wheels for my William's 30's.

It's a great bike. It climbs a billion times better than my Giant, is somewhat lighter, and the 105 group is fine. It's smooth on the good roads and decent on worst ones. Do keep in mind that I came from an alum frame so everything feels improved anyhow.

I'm not worried about the pivot point breaking. I'm confident Trek over-engineered the part.

Trek certainly did put a lot of testing into the Domane frame. You can find the development story in the videos that Trek posted on YouTube, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB8jJH-mumY

As for stiffness, a little more digging will yield more info that the Domane is 9% stiffer in the head tube and 6% stiffer overall in the frame than the Madone. There's a very good review citing those stats here: FEATURES: FIRST RIDE: TREK'S RADICAL DOMANE So don't worry about the Domane's frame "flexing" too much.

The pivoting area of the Domane is where the seat tube appears to join the top tube and seat stays. In fact, the seat tube pivots on an axle and some bearings and doesn't physically join the other tubes. Should those Isopseed items wear out, they can be replaced as there is a cover over the bearings that allows access. But I've not heard of anyone needing to replace those parts due to wear or any other reason.

I rode a Madone for a few years before getting my Project One Domane this past January. I will say that the ride quality of the Domane is quite smooth - bumpy roads that my friends complain about feel considerably less so to me on the Domane. The frame's stiffness means that the Domane accelerates very well. And when I compare my ride records between the Domane and the Madone, I see no difference in terms of speed.

The handling of the Domane is very stable. The longer wheelbase and other geometry changes between the two models would indicate that the Madone should handle "faster" or be "more twitchy", depending on one's point of view. I would say that the Madone does feel a little more responsive but for all about top-tier racers, I don't think most people would notice or mind over the course of a long ride, being pleased with the Domane's handling and overall ride quality.

I recently rode several bikes for the "endurance" category, including the Domane (4.7) and the Roubaix (expert). Not a fair comparison as the Roubaix is the upper tier carbon whereas the Domane 4.7 is their lowest tier in that model. I rode them on the same 2 mile test ride loop around the LBS, which included all combinations of the flat and hills, smooth and rough pavement and the Roubaix really stood out to me...which is why I ordered one yesterday.

I worked with two different sales guys at the LBS. One of them was in the "The Domane is the Roubaix killer!" camp, while the other was in the "The Domane is flying out the door but I don't get why" camp.

My gf just bought a Domane 5.2 (Ultegra 11 sp) and loves it. She is also significantly faster climbing and on the flats then she was on her Fuji Team Sport. One warning.....because hers is a smaller size the TT slopes enough that she can't use larger water bottles.

The Domane was only introduced in 2012--it's too early to say whether the system will last for years and years. With that said, I have a buddy who works for Trek travel and rides a Domane all day every day. He really likes it.

I am scheduled to rent a Domane in the next couple of weeks to try it out, and I plan to rent a Roubaix for a group ride in July. I will let you know how I like them then. Those two are near the top of my list for when I buy a new bike in the next 3-6 months.

I love my Domane 5.2 (ultegra 6800 11spd). I ride a lot on bumpy, "noisy" roads in the country and the ride is smoother with the Domane over my aluminum Orbea. Less road buzz. A subtle thing but something I notice after long rides. It climbs better than the Orbea. Descending is great; I know where the bike is going and the new ultegra brakes are awesome.

I really like the Bontrager tires. I haven't hesitated to take the bike on gravel roads. I was thinking of going tubeless but I probably will wait until I need to replace the tires.

If you get a Domane, be sure and get the Trek Care plan. It will more than pay for itself because it covers replacement parts like chains, cassettes, etc.

What is it about the Domane that make it climb so much better? (I don't have enough experience with different bikes to make any judgments myself, so this can be educational for me.) 'Sides, I really want a Domane since I learned how to pronounce it.

Count me in as another Domane convert. I test rode a bunch of bikes, but felt best on the domane. I, too, was very surprised at the comfort offered and couldn't believe I was rolling on thinner tires. The ride quality didn't feel too far off to my steel touring bike with 32mm tires. I'm picking the domane up next weekend; very excited.

The Domane isospeed mast is pretty unique. It's nothing like the Roubaix which is a normal endurance frame with Zertz inserts and optional CG-R seat post. Here is the Trek video where you can see the see tube flexing as the seat post rocks back.

Trek Domane: IsoSpeed Technology - YouTube

Oh wow, thanks so much for the video find! I really appreciate your review as well. Cheers!

I'd be more impressed with that statement if he worked "for Specialized and rides a Domane all day every day."

:p

I'm sure it doesn't hurt that it's the bike he's paid to ride.

From all that I've read, isospeed is a superior design compared to zertz.

I think the next step, if possible, is to increase front end comfort. I know they've taken steps in that direction: carbon bars and a new fork design. But from what I've read, they could still take another step in improving front end comfort. Let's see what their engineers can cook up.

FWIW the owners of my LBS (husband & wife) both ride Domanes. They sell quite a few different brands and can have any bike they like. They are both really happy with their Domanes. The husband gets a new bike every two years just as a business practice and he said this is the first time he doesn't want to give up a bike.

Does anyone have any comparisons between the ride quality of a domane vs a titanium frame?

Titanium ranges from noodly as hell to rattle-your-fillings-out. Hard to compare the two effectively.