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The perfect winter bike? Trek launches new 2021 alloy Domane with fender mounts and more

Practical Domane AL goes (more or less) disc-only

Trek Bikes

Published: July 10, 2020 at 10:01 am

Trek has launched a brand new Domane AL Disc, an aluminium version of its flagship endurance bike.

Unlike the current Domane AL, the new model is disc-only, although Trek appears to be keeping one rim brake model of the old bike at the entry-level.

The new Domane AL Disc’s frame is made from Trek’s 100 Series Alpha aluminium and it gets internal cable routing, with the rear brake and gear cables/hoses emerging at the bottom bracket.

The geometry is pure endurance, with a 54cm bike having 374mm of reach and 575mm of stack.

2021 Domane AL: lots of mounts, lots of clearance

The Domane AL Disc features thru-axles front and rear, and mounts for mudguards (fenders), front and rear racks, three bottle cages and a bento box on the top tube, plus Trek’s own Blendr stem that accepts various accessories.

With 32mm tyres as standard and official clearance for 35s, the bike looks to have great potential as a winter trainer, commuter, light gravel bike or touring machine.

The stock wheels are even tubeless-ready, although it looks like you’ll need to supply your own tubeless tyres.

The first generation alloy Domane, the Domane ALR, featured the same IsoSpeed seat tube decoupler technology as its carbon counterpart, but the latest bike (the third generation, by our reckoning) sticks with a conventional frame.

Trek does refer to the new Domane AL’s fork as ‘IsoSpeed’, but it doesn’t make use of any unconventional squishy technology to add comfort, it’s simply designed for compliance.

In any case, the new bike has a lot going for it and it's priced competitively, with builds starting at $1,049.99 / £800 for a Shimano Claris-equipped model.

Trek Domane AL 2021 specs and pricing

The Domane AL will be available in the near future in four models as follows:

Trek Domane AL 5 Disc

Trek Domane AL 5 Disc
The AL 5 Disc is the top of the range model with a full 105 hydraulic groupset. - Trek Bikes
  • $1,799.99 / £1,600
  • Shimano 105
  • Hydraulic disc brakes
  • Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset

Trek Domane AL 4 Disc

Trek Domane AL 4 Disc
The AL 4 Disc is the cheapest model with hydraulic discs brakes. - Trek Bikes
  • $1,599.99 / £1,350
  • Shimano Tiagra
  • Hydraulic disc brakes
  • Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset

Trek Domane AL 3 Disc

Trek Domane AL 3 Disc
The AL 3 Disc is available in this fetching white colour scheme. - Trek Bikes
  • $1,249.99 / £900
  • Shimano Sora
  • Cable disc brakes
  • Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset

Trek Domane AL 2 Disc

Trek Domane AL 2 Disc
The AL 2 Disc is the cheapest version of the new bike, although there's still an entry-level rim brake option. - Trek Bikes
  • $1,049.99 / £800
  • Shimano Claris
  • Cable disc brakes
  • Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset