We’ve spotted a new full-suspension Trek gravel bike being ridden by ultra-racer Justinas Leveika at this year’s Trans Balkans Race.
The unreleased bike uses a gravel suspension fork and a linkage-driven rear shock, and looks to have larger tyre clearances, in keeping with the emerging gravel trend.
Leveika, the Triple Crown record holder, annihilated the competition at this year’s race, crushing the gruelling 1,350km route in 4 days, 8 hours and 39 minutes.
A new model?
Trek currently has two gravel bikes in its range – the Checkmate and the Checkpoint.
The Checkmate is Trek’s first dedicated gravel race bike, taking many cues from the brand’s Madone, with clearance for 45mm tyres – relatively narrow compared to the competition.
The Checkpoint SL is a more versatile gravel bike for adventure riding, with integrated down tube storage and a more generous 50mm tyre clearance.
This new bike appears to be designed for even rowdier terrain, where it may still be advantageous to run a gravel bike rather than a mountain bike.
Since the Checkmate and latest Checkpoint were only announced in August 2024, we suspect this to be a new model rather than a revamped Checkpoint.
We contacted Trek for comment: “Trek is always in development with new products, and our professional riders are a huge part of our development process. When we have details to share with riders globally, we will be happy to share.”
Chunky tyres for rough terrain
The bike is built with a RockShox Rudy Ultimate XPLR fork. This is available in 30 or 40mm travel options.
The gravel suspension fork looks to be a current production model. If this is the case, the fork can accept up to a 700c x 50mm gravel bike tyre.
Leveika is running a Continental RaceKing tyre, which is available in 29x2.0 (50mm) or 29x2.2in (56mm) options.
We’re unsure which width he’s running from the image but, given he’s running them on Zipp 303 Firecrest wheels with a 25mm internal rim width, we suspect that even if he’s running the narrower 50mm tyre, it will likely inflate a little wider than measured.
We therefore suspect the rear triangle must have beefed-up clearance, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the bike has a tyre clearance of 57mm upwards, to match recent releases such as the 3T Extrema Italia, Allied Able and Argon 18 Dark Matter.
The short-stroke linkage-driven RockShox SIDLuxe shock is tucked under the top tube, near the seat tube junction. This is driven by a linkage connected to a one-piece flex-stay rear end.
Flex stays – which rely on the flex of the chain or seat stays to allow the suspension to move throughout its travel – are a common feature on the current crop of lightweight full-suspension cross-country bikes.
A mainstream gamble?
While we wouldn’t go as far as to use the word ‘troubled’, it’s fair to say full-suspension gravel bikes have never really taken off.
Niner’s MCR 9 RDO (Magic Carpet Ride) is perhaps the most notable example, and while it was in the brand’s catalogue for a number of the years, Niner has since reverted back to its rigid gravel models.
More recently, Lee Cougan launched its Innova Super Gravel with a whopping 100mm fork and clearances for 2.4in mountain bike tyres, although it’s shockless at the rear, relying on a soft-tail design.
The fact that Trek has gone for a pretty traditional shock layout is fascinating, and is certainly a bold move from the brand.
Even Specialized – as mainstream a manufacturer as Trek – has its Diverge STR, which also utilises front and rear suspension without a shock unit.
Either way, once we have more details from Trek when the bike is ready for production, we’ll be sure to share them.
