Trek’s latest e-road bike is similar to its first Bosch mid-motor-equipped bike based around the Domane. Here, however, it has turned to an alternative German-made motor system. Out goes the heavyweight Bosch system and in comes the lightweight Fazua Evation, making this most modern of e-road bikes drop to just 13.8kg (58cm).
And that’s not the full tale: the Fazua system is removable, so if you shell out for the optional down-tube cover (around £70), you’re left with a ‘standard’ bike just shy of 11kg.
Trek Domane LT 7 spec
The Domane is the ideal choice for e-assistance because the chassis is highly versatile. Its on-road manners impress, while plush IsoSpeed front and rear design means it can hold its own with the best electric gravel bikes on light gravel. The big-volume tubeless tyres play their part, too.
As a reminder, IsoSpeed is essentially a pivot (or ‘decoupler’, as Trek terms it) that replaces a traditional join between top and seat tubes, and provides a suspension-like softness to the bike’s rear without compromising bottom-bracket stiffness.
Up front, the IsoSpeed takes a different form, where a traditional headset is replaced with a rocker cup. This design locks in the steerer tube laterally, but allows the steerer to flex fore-and-aft as you ride over bumps.
The LT 7 comes with the superb Ultegra Di2, featuring a gear range of 50/34, 11-34 that’ll suit most riders and ease you up any slope, even without the Fazua assistance.
Trek’s component partner, Bontrager, provides every other element of the bike. The Aeolus Pro 3V wheels have great build quality and an excellent modern shape, with a 25.2mm internal rim width that plumps up the tubeless 32c tyres to near 35mm.
Then there’s the slick cockpit that includes ‘Blendr’ accessories. We’re talking an integrated GPS/light mount with the carbon IsoCore drop bar that was designed for the Domane chassis and offers vibration-killing technology. Finally, there’s the slender but well-padded and comfortable Arvada saddle.
Trek Domane LT 7 geometry
| | 50 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 58 | 60 | 62 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat angle (degrees) | 74.6 | 74.2 | 73.7 | 73.3 | 73 | 72.8 | 72.5 |
| Head angle (degrees) | 71.1 | 71.3 | 71.3 | 71.9 | 72 | 72.1 | 72.1 |
| Chainstay (cm) | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42.5 | 42.5 | 42.5 |
| Seat tube (cm) | 45 | 47.5 | 50 | 52.5 | 54.8 | 56.7 | 58.6 |
| Top tube (cm) | 51.9 | 53 | 54.2 | 55.4 | 56.7 | 57.9 | 59.3 |
| Head tube (cm) | 13 | 14.5 | 16 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 22 | 24.5 |
| Fork offset (cm) | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Trail (cm) | 6 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Bottom bracket drop (cm) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 996 | 1,003 | 1,010 | 1,008 | 1,022 | 1,032 | 1,042 |
| Standover (cm) | 71.6 | 73.5 | 75.4 | 77.6 | 79.6 | 81.7 | 83.5 |
| Stack (cm) | 54.6 | 56.1 | 57.5 | 59.1 | 61.1 | 63.2 | 65.6 |
| Reach (cm) | 36.8 | 37.1 | 37.4 | 37.7 | 38 | 38.3 | 38.6 |
Trek Domane LT 7 motor assistance
Comfort is what the Domane is all about in its ‘standard’ trim and Trek has mirrored it here, even accounting for the extra 2.9kg of motor system.
You enjoy the same smooth ride over rougher surfaces, and same assured and swift cornering. Its rough-crushing abilities did result in me taking it beyond its edge, however; a 30 mph gravelly descent ended in a torn sidewall. So beware: if you take it way off the beaten track, you may want to beef up its boots.
As for assistance, the Evation system delivers a maximum of 250W (unboosted). You access this power via a neat control unit that’s flush-mounted into the top tube. It has an on/off switch, /- switches and five LED coloured lights to notify you of charge level.
With the Fazua software and app, you can switch modes between Eco, Moderate and Performance. In Moderate mode, the settings are green for low power (providing 100W and called ‘Breeze’ mode), blue puts in 210W (‘River’), and red 250W is ‘Rocket’. The Eco mode drops the power to extend the range, while Performance mode reaches a peak of 300W (Rocket/red).
The Fazua is a clever system, closely matching your pedalling input so that power delivery is a gently rising, unobtrusive assist rather than a big dump of torque-fuelled e-power.
It feels almost natural. Fazua claims a class-leading 60Nm of torque from the motor. I'm sceptical about that because it doesn’t feel as powerful as a system like the Bosch Active Line Plus, which I tested recently. Then again, maybe it’s because it’s so subtly delivered.
Trek Domane LT 7 ride impressions
I'm impressed with this system’s best range of 109.43km and 2,205m climbing. It compares well with the range-extending battery equipped to the S-Works Turbo Creo SL’s figures of 172.168km and 1,324m of ascent, and Cannondale’s SuperSix EVO Neo at 122km and 1,124m.
Obviously, your riding style and speed, weight, weather conditions, topography and how you use the system all have an impact. With the Fazua, I tended to use the system almost like gears.
On the flat, I had the system off (it stops assisting above 15.7mph); on climbs, I used it to get up to speed before stepping down to the most economic setting to extract the max out of the range.
This Domane LT 7 is another brilliant e-road bike that’s up there with the Scott Addict eRIDE, Cannondale’s SuperSix EVO Neo and the Specialized S-Works Creo SL.
It combines the smooth ride quality of the standard Domane with handling that’s the epitome of endurance stability and big-volume tyres that open up more than the road.
This latest, updated Fazua system works well and it’s simply an impressive bike. The downside is the price. If, like most of us, it’s prohibitive, I’d suggest you take a serious look at the lower models from Trek, such as the carbon Domane LT+ at £6,000 or the aluminium Domane+ ALR at £3,750 / $4,600 (prices correct at time of test).
Product
| Brand | trek |
| Price | 7999.00 EUR,7800.00 GBP,9200.00 USD |
| Weight | 13.8000, KILOGRAM (58cm) - |
Features
| Fork | Full carbon |
| br_stem | Bontrager Pro 100mm |
| br_chain | Shimano Ultegra |
| br_frame | 500 series OCLV carbon |
| br_motor | Fazua Evation 1.0 motor, 250Wh battery, Fazua touch remote, Fazua Evation charger |
| Tyres | Bontrager R3 Hard Case Lite 32c tubeless |
| br_brakes | Shimano Ultegra hydraulic disc |
| br_cranks | FSA Carbon for Fazua, 50/34 |
| br_saddle | Bontrager Arvada Elite |
| br_wheels | Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V tubeless ready |
| br_shifter | Shimano Ultegra Di2 |
| br_cassette | Shimano Ultegra Di2, 11-34 |
| br_handlebar | Bontrager Pro IsoCore VR-CF OCLV carbon |
| br_availableSizes | 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62cm |
| br_rearDerailleur | Shimano Ultegra Di2 |
| br_frontDerailleur | Shimano Ultegra Di2 |
