Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 review | Budget Road Bike of the Year winner

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The Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 is the cheapest model in the brand's new range.

On paper, it has a very similar specification to the very closely priced Specialized Allez and Cube Attain Pro, but the Domane AL focuses more on an endurance-type ride position and handling characteristics.

The bike even has one eye on traversing light gravel and comes with a full suite of fittings for the commuters and bikepackers among us.

The specification is on a par with the competition, and judicious upgrades (or spending a bit more from the outset) would extract more from the very capable frameset, just like those rivals.

All-in, though, the Domane AL 2 Gen 4 does just enough to claim the 2024 Bike of the Year budget bike award by a whisker.

Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 frame

The Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 frame (in Trek’s naming protocol, the ‘2’ refers to the component spec level – see below for details on that) is the latest aluminium representation of the brand’s endurance road bike platform.

The frame is made using Trek's 100 Series Alpha aluminium, paired with a full-carbon fork.

This latest, fourth-generation frameset ensemble is said to weigh around 225g less than the previous-generation Domane AL.

Trek is guarded when it comes to exact claimed frame weights, but it’s fair to say that when the whole bike weighs 10.6kg, a few grams here or there isn’t the be-all and end-all – especially on a bike designed for cost-effective endurance road and light gravel riding duties.

The frame’s sloping top tube design, with slim seatstays, hints towards providing good levels of comfort, but the head tube is notable for its ‘muscular’ profile, which should promote good front-end stiffness and sharp handling.

The frame is certainly kitted out for long days in the saddle – it has mounts for full mudguards (including a removable seatstay bridge) and a pannier rack, plus Bento box mounting points on the top tube.

Tyre clearance is wide at 38mm (without mudguards), scratching the lower end of typical gravel tyre sizes.

Trek is notorious for its conservative tyre clearance estimates, and to my eyes there’s probably enough space for 40mm-wide rubber. That said, it’s worth sticking within the 38mm limit to preserve the bike’s warranty.

The frameset features full internal cable routing, and – impressively at this price point – features entry points at the headset, rather than where they’re commonly situated at the down tube and fork shoulder.

This creates a sleeker overall look to the frame, although it inevitably makes a mechanic’s job a little more complicated – and therefore potentially more costly – to perform maintenance.

The rear dropout and axle is compatible with SRAM’s Universal Derailleur Hanger standard, and the bottom bracket is designed around a BSA threaded design.

The frame accommodates a round 27.2mm seatpost.

Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 geometry

The Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4’s geometry comes out of the endurance bike playbook.

On my size-58cm test bike, the 72-degree head tube angle is a degree slacker than a Specialized Allez’s (which itself has been eased recently), promoting steadier steering responses.

The seat tube angle, at 73 degrees, should pitch you over the bottom bracket more, in theory helping deliver efficient power transfer.

The wheelbase is long at 1,022mm, but the 425mm chainstays are identical to the Allez, which suggests Trek isn’t putting all of its emphasis on the Domane AL performing away from smooth tarmac.

The 611mm stack and 380mm reach should help prevent riders feeling overly stretched out, while a whopping 40mm of spacers are supplied, enabling riders to jack up the front end even higher, should they need to.

Notably, the standover height is only 796mm – more than two centimetres lower than either the Allez or Cube Attain Pro – which could represent a nod to practicality when it comes to swinging a leg over the bike for a daily commute.

Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 build

The Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 sports a latest-generation eight-speed Shimano Claris R2000 drivetrain, with a Claris-level RS200 crankset.

Unlike Specialized’s Allez, Trek has gone the ‘whole hog’ and specced a Shimano cassette and chain.

That said, the HG31 cassette is ported over from the Altus MTB line of components (and visually striking thanks to its black colour). The HG71 chain comes from the brand’s Acera MTB line.

Needless to say, both are compatible with Claris derailleurs and levers, while it’s unlikely to result in noticeable performance differences compared to Claris-level components, or, indeed, Specialized’s chosen SunRace and KMC swap-ins.

The 50/34T compact crankset and 11-32t cassette should offer all the gear range many will need on the road, albeit with a minimum of two-teeth jumps between sprockets (11-13-15-18-21-24-28-32) – the same as the Allez.

Trek has also specced Tektro C550 mechanical disc brakes, which feature two-piston actuation – closing the pads on the rotor on both sides simultaneously.

Properly set up and maintained, this should result in increased power, and more even wear compared to single-piston systems (which push one pad against the rotor and a static pad).

160mm Tektro 6-bolt rotors are used, attaching to Bontrager Paradigm SL wheels, which are tubeless-ready.

The rims are 21mm wide internally – equal to the latest alloy disc brake wheels, and ideal for supporting wider road or even gravel bike tyres.

Trek has specced 700x32c Bontrager R1 Hardcase Lite tyres, looking to extract the known benefits of wider tyres from the get-go (increased volume enables you to run lower pressures, increasing ride comfort and grip). I measured them at 33.2mm at 80psi (5.5 BAR).

These tyres aren’t tubeless-compatible, though, so to run a tubeless setup, a tyre upgrade will be required.

The finishing kit is all Trek or Bontrager (Trek’s sibling components brand), with an alloy stem, handlebar and seatpost.

The Bontrager Verse Short saddle is shorter and wider than average at this price, following the trend for short-nosed saddles on pricier road bikes.

At £1,050 / $1,199.99 / €1,199 / AU$1,999.99, the Domane AL 2 Gen 4 is priced on a par with the Specialized Allez in the US and Europe, but is £50 / AU$200 dearer in the UK and Australia, respectively.

The specs of both bikes are near enough identical on paper, so it’s hard to call a winner on spec alone.

The Cube Attain Pro costs only slightly more, but packs in a 9-speed Shimano Sora R3000 drivetrain, and snazzier-looking (albeit functionally identical) TRP brakes.

That said, the Cube’s smaller tyre clearance and narrower wheelset could be considered more limiting, to a degree.

Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 ride impressions

The Domane AL 2 Gen 4 is the smoothest-riding contender of the 2024 Bike of the Year budget bike cohort, by a noticeable margin.

No doubt, much of this is down to the 32mm-wide tyres mounted to the 21mm-wide (internal) rims, but the frame also feels extremely composed when traversing broken tarmac.

As a bike to simply hop on and ride, it’s very forgiving, and didn’t require much adaptation of my riding style for me to feel confident pushing the limits of my modest talent when cornering.

The steering responses are stable, rather than sharp, but that’s more than likely a welcome thing if you’re looking for your first road bike, an easy-going commuter bike or a steady winter mile muncher.

Despite the relatively docile handling, I was impressed by how readily the Domane AL would accelerate when I put the effort in.

The geometry may be more endurance-focused than either the Specialized Allez or Cube Attain Pro, which meant I tended to spend more time anchored in the saddle. However, when I did rise up to give it the beans (or got in the drops and pushed the pedals harder), the reaction was surprising – grin-inducing, even.

This may come as a surprise to those who already own a bike with a higher-tier groupset, but Shimano Claris, while relatively gappy compared to groupsets with more gears, feels very efficient when clean and indexed properly. It's probably smoother than either of my own two bikes with slightly worn, dirty drivetrains (Shimano 105 R7100 Di2 and Dura-Ace R9100, for the record).

The downside with Claris is you’re locked into using mechanical disc brakes, or a hybrid system. With the benefit of having tested four mechanically equipped bikes with slightly differing cable routing here, they're a long way from offering the type of performance you expect from hydraulic brakes.

At this price point, such a specification is to be expected, though, and shouldn’t concern those not willing to spend significantly more money, or if you’re starting from ‘zero’ and just want to get going with road cycling.

As installed on the Domane AL, the Tektro C550 brakes performed slightly better here than on the Allez and Attain, which ostensibly have the same calipers.

This might be an indication of improved cable routing, but without being able to draw an average conclusion across multiple controlled installations, it’s impossible to be sure.

The frame can also route hydraulic hoses (as demonstrated by the £1,700 Domane AL 4 Gen 4, which has a 10-speed Tiagra 4700 groupset with hydraulic brakes). So this is a viable upgrade path if you’re willing to swap to a drivetrain with hydraulic-compatible levers.

This kind of upgrade would be worthwhile for many, in my view, because the frameset’s overall behaviour would indicate there’s plenty of potential to unlock.

Likewise, investing more from the get-go on the Domane AL 4 or 105 R7100-equipped AL 5 (£2,000) would also be sound decisions, if you have the cash.

In testing, the only mechanical issue I came across was uneven spoke tension in the front wheel – three spokes were less taut than the rest, resulting in a clearly audible ‘click’ sound, which occurred at the same point in the wheel’s rotation when in contact with the ground.

I still couldn’t produce any noticeable flex, though, unlike the similarly specced Specialized Allez rival’s wheels.

This was solved with some attention by a qualified mechanic, and didn’t rear its head again. Although never something you want to encounter, it isn’t necessarily a sign of a bigger problem with all Bontrager Paradigm SL wheels.

The finishing kit proved capable and adequate for the build, although the saddle surface material (as I also found on the Trek Emonda SL 5 Disc in 2022) wouldn’t always anchor me in place properly.

This brought about an odd (and annoying) ‘chattering’ sensation as it lost and gained grip under my weight on the outer fabric of my bib tights.

Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 bottom line

The Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 could be many people’s ideal first road bike – easy to ride, with no notable performance issues for the £1,050 asking price.

Additionally, its practicality is undoubted, while easy-going handling and wide tyre clearance make it far more than a one-trick pony. There’s plenty of capacity for upgrading further down the line, too.

As it is, the need to swap the entire drivetrain to upgrade to a full hydraulic disc brake system is a potential problem further down the line. However, this is a criticism levelled equally at almost every budget road bike at this price point.

Leaving the small spoke tension and saddle niggles aside, however, the Domane AL 2 Gen 4, is an impressive entry-level performance road bike.

Bearing in mind its easy-going nature and modern ‘all-road’ design, it’s arguably the best option among a competitive field for newcomers to road cycling and plenty of others besides.

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