billridesbikes

Can the bike shop put some 42s on for you and then you can see if the toe overlap is a problem or not? Toe overlap is a low-speed problem of hitting the tire or fender with your toe when turning but usually not a huge problem and not an issue at all at normal speed (because the wheel turns less to make a turn than at low speed). Since this can make you fall over and crash I’m sure this is why Trek advises against it. [queue rant here] This is one of my pet peeves about the bike industry in general is that they tend to treat women as small men and don’t really design their bikes for smaller women, they just make the model smaller and if you can’t have the same tire width options as the other models, well you’re SOL. [end of rant]

dwmckee

Just me thinking out loud, but you have way too little tire underneath you. Can you go up to a 38 or 40?

stevel610 

Thanks for the concern.

Yes, its a touring bike which will fit 2.1 on the rear and 2.35 on the front. For Winter I have an old pair of 50x622 (2.00") Schwalbe Duremes it wears (really wish they still made them). But for commuting I put on the Gators, and if the weekend route takes us on gravel I don't bother changing them.

As you state, they aren't optimum, but they get it done. The paths I was mentioning are canal paths and paved or stone rail trails. For the most part pretty smooth, though the 32's get a little squirrelly on looser gravel.

Thanks again for your comment.

Chilepines

Bigger tires weigh more and are heavier tires are slower - no way around that. I ride a 38 front and 35 rear (on rims with 23 mm inner width) at 35 psi tubeless. Gravel roads to adventure rides that really should be ridden on a fat bike - and the tires are wide enough. My gravel ride today was about half pavement, so I was happy to NOT have a 42 mm tire!

IAGIRL

Thanks all! I appreciate all of the feedback and recommendations.
I feel better about the 40mm tires. Now I just need to decide whether to go with the Checkpoint or keep looking.

Dino_Sore

The ALR5 is a nicely spec'd bike for that price. I am actually trying to buy one as my second gravel bike (and double-duty winter bike), but my LBS can't get one until later in the year.

As others have pointed out, 40mm will be fine. In fact, for the types of surfaces you describe, a 35 would be fine. I use 35 and 40 on my bikes, and I ride everything from smooth bike paths to single-track trails. If I can't ride something on 40's, I want a mountain bike (not so much for the wider tires, but to get off the drop bars).

Cpn_Dunsel

The specs on the ALR5 are lower than average for that price point. In addition, Trek still running the very weak BB86 Press fit and their wheel sets and hubs are seriously below standard for a bike that costs over $2000.

Badger6

The reason why my last trek was a 2014 Madone 5 frame that I built into a bike. That said, and not scare anyone off...at least they are cheap AND easy to replace. If the ALR5 uses BB86, so what? It's far from the thing I'd be most worried about.

ericcox

I was trying to get a Jamis Renegade from my local shop in a 54 - they have two larger sizes (one S2 and one S3 if I remember the nomenclature right). They couldn't get me an estimate on when they could get a 54. I ended up getting a used Canyon CX bike for the time being. The Renegade is beautiful.

GrainBrain

I have decent toe overlap on my ride because of the fenders, never been a problem even riding single track. Once in a great while I'll do a 180 turn at zero speed and kind of brush the wheel.

If I were getting a bike that size I would definitely be considering 650b.

40mm is my favorite size for gravel now. The Maxxis Velocita that comes on the higher end revolt is my current favorite tire for gravel.

Cpn_Dunsel

The BB is only the single most important component on the bike.

Saying it is not a point of concern is like buying real estate and claiming one should not be concerned about easements on the property.

TREK is great at spending lots of money on marketing and advertising, building really good looking bikes and then completely overcharging for their middle market products which are riddled with compromises on their builds. They still don't really make a serious gravel bike to compete with the best in the industry and are just marketplace opportunists with their Checkpoint.

Badger6

C'mon man, have you ever changed the BB in a Trek bike with a BB86? I have a bunch, it took more time to take the crank off than it did to pop out the bearings and replace them. Now, I will admit, I was doing it every couple of months it seemed, and that was what eventually soured me. But, it wasn't hard, and I also didn't ever let them get to the point where they were grinding and seizing, so it never really caused me anything more than aggravation because I have OCD and I like my stuff to be perfect.

Badger6

I'm not defending the BB design. But, I'd also not go so far as to say that it's the single most important component on the bike. Because if we want to go down that road, I can make that argument for literally every part of the modern performance bicycle. Absurd.

But, back to the OP's topic, the Checkpoint is not a bad option to check the boxes she wants checked and it will likely serve her needs well.

pbass

This right here. I'm a smaller dude, around 5'6" and ride a couple of size 50 bikes. One is a Rove ST w 650B x 47 and the other bike has 700c x 40. I most definitely get toe overlap more frequently on the 700c rig.

Bomb Komodo

It sucks to wait, but the Warbird may be worth it. Comes with a nice set of 700c 42s and is made to accept up to 47s if you go to 650b later on.

I was between the Diverge and Warbird, the Warbird cost less and honestly, for me was the better bike. It rides super smooth and unlike some of these bikes, you can ride it stock without the urgent need for wheel and tire upgrades. I plan to ride the Warbird's stock tires for a while before moving to 650B.

Motorazr

I saw a YouTube bike reviewer yesterday saying pretty much the same thing in defending why his "best bikes" lists never include any Trek models.


Few big, international companies are flawless but also few big, international companies have a reputation so sullied as Trek in regards to what they did to Greg Lemond because he wouldn't shut up about teammate Lance Armstrong's doping. Trek deliberately and with malice screwed Lemond (who is a really good guy) every way imaginable while backing Armstrong as their marketing cash-cow. Ultimately, the truth came out about Armstrong (who did very nasty things to people in the sport who talked about what they saw and heard) yet there was no apology or amends to Lemond. Moreover, there was the way Trek screwed their Gary Fisher dealers when Trek merged the two brands into one (Gary Fisher dealers located too close to existing Trek dealers got shut down almost overnight). I'm not eager to support any company who plays so ruthless and dirty with their own people. Add to that, the issue of substandard specs and the fact that Trek bikes are just everywhere, most often ridden by people who didn't understand their buying options - they just went to the nearest big bike shop and pulled out a credit card; "THAT much money for a bike with sketchy components? Okay!"


I'm not saying that all Trek bikes are bad - it's just that I don't like the company and many of their products. If a part says "Bontrager" on it, then I don't want it.

IAGIRL

Update from OP -
I decided to pass on the Trek Checkpoint and continue my search. The standover height was marginal for me on the 49cm frame. I didn't notice the lack of clearance on my initial test ride of the SL5, but it stood out as an issue when I tried the ALR5, and was one too many compromises for me.

My local Salsa/Kona/Jamis dealer is now slated to get a Kona Rove and a Jamis Renegade in (hopefully) my size later this summer. So my search continues...

Thanks again for all the advice.

Motorazr

It’s a shame that the alloy Renegade A1 is their most entry-level model. I’m not a fan of skinny steel tubes on the ‘S’ models either but the Renegade C2 carbon at $2,600 ticks all the right boxes except for the bottom-bracket spec which is “Enduro EVO PressFit 30 with Wheels MFG EVO adaptors”. Not a deal-breaker, nor is the 23mm interior rim-width though I’d prefer 24-25mm personally.

The Kona Rove has skinny steel tubes too and Salsa Warbird Carbon GRX 600 is $3,200 (with a BB86 Pressfit bottom-bracket) while the Santa Cruz Stigmata price rises to $3,850 (Rival build) or $4,649 for the GRX-810/2x build - both builds with threaded BSA bottom-brackets.

Toadmeister

purely curious, why don’t you like skinny steel tubes?

unterhausen

None of those bikes have particularly skinny steel tubes. Maybe in comparison to aluminum.

Motorazr

While a steel-framed bicycle is much easier to modify or repair (carbon is difficult and aluminum is nearly impossible) I have a negative perception around the quality of steel. Coming from a motorcycling background, hydroformed aluminum is awesome while straight-gauge steel is always the cheaper, lower-performance option. The engineering and manufacturing technologies behind butted and hydroformed aluminum (in cars, motorcycles, bicycles) are impressive to me and hold an aura of quality that I don't get from looking at straight, steel tubes. My preference is a purely emotional bias then, I admit. Thanks for asking.

Meanwhile, the engineering and manufacturing of bottom-brackets press-fit vs threaded is a mixed bag. Press-fit is cheaper to make and while threaded is more tolerant of out-of-spec alignment (that's bad not good - Hambini has a good YouTube video on the subject), the bottom-line is that BB shell alignment is always critical. Like a lot of people, I prefer threaded bottom-brackets - in my case only for the ease of self-maintenance. I like it that I can quickly and easily remove and inspect a threaded BB without hammers and pressing tools. A well-made press-fit BB is better than a poorly-made threaded BB but I'm betting on threaded as the better option for me which, again, is mostly an emotionally-based decision.

Toadmeister

Cool, thanks for explaining. Not arguing your wrong.

I prefer the steel for 2 reasons, ride comfort (reduced road chatter) and higher fatigue life. I’ve had too many load-bearing aluminum components break on me over time and abuse.

zen_

Is the Revolt you looked at not available anymore?

I just can't imagine anyone being unhappy with that bike using a softer tire like a GravelKing or Terreno Dry.