2015 Trek Domane 4.5 Disc

bikingjohn

Got my brand new 2015 Trek Domane 4.5 Disc (size 50) two weeks ago.

The ride with this bike is really smooth. It's heavy and cruise through the imperfect road surface in Hong Kong.
The disc brake by Shimano is very solid and provide much better feeling than rim brakes.

Now I wish I could afford the time to ride more and more to break in the bike.



Disc brake with thru-axle


Tire clearance


Vanishing fender mounts


More photos here, thanks for reading.
http://chup.info/c/2015-trek-domane-4-5-disc/#jp-carousel-878

samsbike

Gorgeous bike, would love one, one day, enjoy

Paul 8v

Liking the look of this

mulletmaster

Not sure I'm down with the monster long cage rear mech and funny looking short seat post long seat pin geometry but the rest of it is surely how things are going to go, enjoy!

bikingjohn

Thank you gentlemen.

I confess that the sloping top tube and long rd cage are too MTBish -_-

I wanted to buy lighter wheelset right after my first ride. But I have changed my mind and would try to appreciate the Affinity Comp Disc. I guess it would be a robust enough to take much abuse. And I guess it's a properly designed disk brake specific wheelset (offset spoke bed, 23mm outer width, tubeless compatible, thru-axle and without rim brake track!).

homers_double

Looks good, I've been struggling to find a bike I like the look of and I think that one might have hit the spot!

MountainMonster

Lovely looking bike! It will be a revelation riding with disc brakes. I've just ordered a new bike with discs and I can't wait for it to arrive.

bikingjohn

MountainMonster wrote:

Lovely looking bike! It will be a revelation riding with disc brakes. I've just ordered a new bike with discs and I can't wait for it to arrive.

Yep, you will love it.
What's your new bike?

MountainMonster

bikingjohn wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

Lovely looking bike! It will be a revelation riding with disc brakes. I've just ordered a new bike with discs and I can't wait for it to arrive.

Yep, you will love it.
What's your new bike?

It's the London Road in my signature!

Tognetta

I have bought the exact same bike, and I am enjoying it a lot, despite my zero experience with road bikes. So far I have used it to train 2-3x during week days and sporadic urban trips.

Pros: very confortable geometry, powerfull brakes (also in the rain), beautiful color choice, confortable stock saddle, good tyre clearence (maybe you can fit a cyclocross tyre in there, if you plan to ride on dirt roads)

Cons: heavy (8,8kg without pedals), cable management a bit messy (specially the front brake, I would suggest Trek to go partially through the fork, simillar to what was done with the rear brake), paint gets dirty easy and it is harder to clean than regular paint jobs (glossy).

I was also considering to replace the wheelset due to its weight, but since I am not a pro, it will work for me until it wears out, maybe then road-disc-wheels will be available everywhere … New carbon bars, steam and crankset to save more weight only when I find a real good sale (60-70%)

bikingjohn

Tognetta wrote:

I have bought the exact same bike, and I am enjoying it a lot, despite my zero experience with road bikes. So far I have used it to train 2-3x during week days and sporadic urban trips.

Pros: very confortable geometry, powerfull brakes (also in the rain), beautiful color choice, confortable stock saddle, good tyre clearence (maybe you can fit a cyclocross tyre in there, if you plan to ride on dirt roads)

Cons: heavy (8,8kg without pedals), cable management a bit messy (specially the front brake, I would suggest Trek to go partially through the fork, simillar to what was done with the rear brake), paint gets dirty easy and it is harder to clean than regular paint jobs (glossy).

I strongly agree, especially the cons, and that's why...

I was also considering to replace the wheelset due to its weight, but since I am not a pro, it will work for me until it wears out, maybe then road-disc-wheels will be available everywhere … New carbon bars, steam and crankset to save more weight only when I find a real good sale (60-70%)

... I've done all the part changes that you mentioned above. I got SRAM Red crankset for the colour scheme, Easton EC70 handlebar, and cheap Taiwan carbon stem (for the 5-degree rise, but would have got other 5-degree stem had I found it on sale in CRC earilier...).

One thing I don't want to spend too much money on is the pedals. I'm using Shimano R550 pedals which are very cheap but solid.

onlybirdman

@bikingjohn

so with all the light weight parts, what final weight were you able to get the bike down to? I'm looking to buy the same bike, and just wondering what weight saving potentials are for this 4 series Domane disc.

bikingjohn

onlybirdman wrote:

@bikingjohn

so with all the light weight parts, what final weight were you able to get the bike down to? I'm looking to buy the same bike, and just wondering what weight saving potentials are for this 4 series Domane disc.

With the original wheel set, the bike weighed 9kg. I don't have a scale so I could only guess that my bike is around 8.4kg.

If you want a lighter bike (more specifically, lighter frame), look for other brands or go for the more expensive Domane Disc 6-series. For me, I have already got used to the relatively heavy weight, and enjoying the disc brake performance and the comfort provided by the frame set. Hope this help.

gethinceri

I rode one yesterday, albeit a frame one size too big, it was a very comfortable and responsive ride but it felt awkwardly balanced and certainly heavier than I expected.
Plus, noisy on the brakes!!! Not for me, thanks.

MountainMonster

Gethinceri wrote:

I rode one yesterday, albeit a frame one size too big, it was a very comfortable and responsive ride but it felt awkwardly balanced and certainly heavier than I expected.
Plus, noisy on the brakes!!! Not for me, thanks.

Sounds like the wrong size and poorly set up brakes.....

bikingjohn

The smaller sized frames come with shorter stem. It may contribute to a more sensitive steering than using longer stem.

For the brakes, yes they produce noise when not broken in.
After break in (e.g some heavy braking at high speed) they won't scream anymore.

One more thing I've noticed is that the brake disc would touch the pads when heated (braking before corner in fast descend). The disc returned normal and not touching the pads after cool down.

Hope this help.

mushroom_picker

I got one of these last Autumn and am pretty happy with my choice. I note a few people have criticised the bike for being heavy - I guess that depends on what you're comparing it with. I changed from a Specialized Tricross Comp, which I'd been riding for the past 6 years, the only upgrade being a lighter (1800g, so nothing special) pair of wheels for sportives. So compared to that, the Trek feels pretty nimble - I still don't float effortlessly up the hills, but I suspect that never happens?!

What I do notice is that I ride in the large chainring a lot more, even though the Trek's has 2 more teeth than the Specialized, so I'm hoping that means I'm doing more speed for the same effort or the same for less effort. I'm not a data nerd, so I guess I'll never know, but it certainly feels better.

The braking is now bedded in and is excellent. I've reached the point where I've got so used to the better performance that I'm taken aback how much longer it takes to stop when I get back on the Tricross.

The magic-carpet ride? Well, it's OK, but Merseyside's potholed roads mean you still get shaken about. I've changed the tyres to GP 4 Seasons and ride at 85-90 psi and that makes quite a difference.

My only niggles are:
- the handlebars offer virtually no wrist clearance when on the drops. That may just be a slight set-up issue - any suggestions? I have slim wrists and small hands for a bloke, so that's not the problem.
- the saddle and I don't seem to be getting on on longer rides - that's despite the iso decoupler. But saddles are very personal things. I might try the Charge Spoon, which I've heard a lot of good things about.

apreading

Do you like the saddle on your tricross? If so then I would get another one of those rather than try new brands - its very hit & miss...

Paul 8v

I run a Specialized saddle on my Domane. the one on there before was too squishy

fletch62

@bikingjohn: In the picture of your fork it appears that there may be some rotor rub on the inside leg. Have you noticed this? I have a 6.2 Domane disc and have recently found the front rotor has rubbed in 2 spots, on the inside leg of the fork. Trek spec a 160mm rotor on the Domane, but Shimano recomend a 140mm with their brakes. The clearance is minimal at best between the top of the rotor and fork. I'm am only 81kg, so not the biggest rider, but if i can get enough flex to rub a steel rotor onto carbon fibre, i hate to think what bigger riders may do. My bike is as stock apart from different stem & bars.
I have taken my bike back to the dealer, who has contacted Trek Australia, but have yet to hear back.

Tognetta

fletch62 wrote:

@bikingjohn: In the picture of your fork it appears that there may be some rotor rub on the inside leg. Have you noticed this? I have a 6.2 Domane disc and have recently found the front rotor has rubbed in 2 spots, on the inside leg of the fork. Trek spec a 160mm rotor on the Domane, but Shimano recomend a 140mm with their brakes. The clearance is minimal at best between the top of the rotor and fork. I'm am only 81kg, so not the biggest rider, but if i can get enough flex to rub a steel rotor onto carbon fibre, i hate to think what bigger riders may do. My bike is as stock apart from different stem & bars.
I have taken my bike back to the dealer, who has contacted Trek Australia, but have yet to hear back.

Hi Fletch, I have just removed the front wheel today, for cleaning purpouse, and I could see a small paint damage (really small, consideraing I have done close to 1000km with this bike), and I guess it was caused by something that probably got glued to the disk, but came off with the first hit. My father asked me if the disc was not rubbing against the fork, and I gave him the same answer as above. That all means, the rotor is not rubbing on the inside leg, at least for me ... still, it is very close to it .

The only "problem" is that this bike is TOO HEAVY for its price!
My wife just bought a Trek Madone 2.1 (aluminum frame, carbon fork, 105 groupset + with some sort of cheaper brakes) that weight 8.8kg without pedals. BTW, she is using a Shimano PD-M324 pedals to get used to clipless (they are REALLY heavy = 540g).

Why is that a carbon bike (with carbon seatpost and Ultegra group) that costs twice, weights the same as a lower spec aluminum frame?

onlybirdman

Just got my Domane 4.5 Disc frameset, here are the weights:

Frame 54cm: 1543g
- including: water bottle bolts, hangers for standard through axle, Duotrap dummy, cable stops, IsoSpeed decoupler
- excluding: heat set, bottom bracket, seat collar, bottom bracket cable guide, rear brake cable rubber boot X 2. chain guide

Fork, uncut: 536g
- uncut, 13.6 inches of aluminum steerer tube
- with standard through axle hardware

I'll be converting it to QR since all my wheels are QR. The convertibility is one of the main reason I got this bike. The conversion kit is on its way

I'll be building it up with:
- R685 shifters and brakes
- Ultegra 6800: front derailleur, rear GS derailleur, compact crank, SRAM 11-36
- Farsport 38 tubulars with Clement LAS (may not clear the rear...)
- Shimano RX31 with Michelin Pro4 Endurance 28c

bikingjohn

I've looked into the scratches on front fork. It seems that it's caused by scratching with improper front wheel installation. If you try to simulate a bad installation process by pressing the wheel deliberately against the fork, the brake disc would scratch the fork. Check out some photos here. http://chup.info/c/2015/06/scratches-on-front-fork-and-wheel-axle-maintenance/

bikingjohn

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19612033#p19612033]onlybirdman[/url] wrote:

Just got my Domane 4.5 Disc frameset, here are the weights:

Frame 54cm: 1543g
- including: water bottle bolts, hangers for standard through axle, Duotrap dummy, cable stops, IsoSpeed decoupler
- excluding: heat set, bottom bracket, seat collar, bottom bracket cable guide, rear brake cable rubber boot X 2. chain guide

Fork, uncut: 536g
- uncut, 13.6 inches of aluminum steerer tube
- with standard through axle hardware

I'll be converting it to QR since all my wheels are QR. The convertibility is one of the main reason I got this bike. The conversion kit is on its way

I'll be building it up with:
- R685 shifters and brakes
- Ultegra 6800: front derailleur, rear GS derailleur, compact crank, SRAM 11-36
- Farsport 38 tubulars with Clement LAS (may not clear the rear...)
- Shimano RX31 with Michelin Pro4 Endurance 28c

Congratulations! Where did you buy the QR conversion kit? Hopefully you could share with us the photos of the kit.