Trek Domane +HP 2021

SayHey said:
Thanks for all of your posts, reviews, and real time experiences. I’ve ordered a Domane+ HP7 and it‘s scheduled to arrive at the end of the year. I thought I was going to buy a Creo but ended up with the HP7 - all things considered a better fit for me. Thanks again as you all helped me clarify.
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After using the Creo, which is a nice bike in its own right, the Domane delivers a more complete and better overall rider experience, I look forward to hearing about your new ride .
 
Lefkop said:
Last Sunday I made the purchase of the Domane +HP as I wanted to pick up a e-road bike. I did try for a few days a Creo SL which was a nice bike but suffice to say it wasn't for me for several reasons. The moment I rode the Domane I could instantly feel how this bike differs from many others and why it makes sense for my intended usage. For those who are interested in this bike as there is almost nothing out there about it to read about, here goes some thoughts after riding it now for some 250 miles in less than 6 days.

The weight: yes it has a pedal assist motor and 500 watt hour battery there is wt involved and certainly not as light as a Creo (in comparison), however the weight distribution does feels better and the bike is certainly more planted. I often will pedal with the assist motor off or in eco mode (flats or down hills) and the rolling weight difference is really not an issue. With the Domane, I feel there better control of the bike and perhaps its because of the weight and the frame angles utilized - this is controversial for sure but without doing the science, Im attributing however incorrectly this to distributive forces of me on bike, bike on ground and ground reaction forces.

Pedal Assist Drive: This is the bosch Gen 4 speed performance device and works well. I also have an EMTB that is obviously tuned to higher initial torque and I tell you this because of the expectations of off the line torque coming from that ride to this one is completely different. This bike is made for sustained and higher road speeds, I have found that it is best from a standing start to run through your gears to pick up speed. This particular motor is tuned appropriately for its application but relying on the bike to instantly zoom you from zero to 15 miles an hour as you start out from a stop in a higher gear like a high torque EMTB can, you will have to change your thinking. Don't misunderstand the pedal assist is there, its just not a torquey jolt.

On hills the motor can provide you with all types of assist and you can vary your input to achieve the goal of the climb your looking for. Should you want to train the legs for more strength eco and touring, should you want to attempt a KOM than sport or turbo. What I really enjoy about this pedal assist drive over that of say the Creo SL or the Vado Sl (which I test rode for a few miles) is the ability to have these choices in assist level. Not to disparage the Specialized, its just bikes I some have experience with, the flexibility of the greater power in the assist drive is a greater benefit than the weight difference. The Domane can easily attain its 28 mph limit and help you to sustain in and around this range even in very hilly terrain, which is where I live.

The motor responds well to your input and doesn't surge your forward in anyway. As you apply torque you can feel a little extra push and when you stop it stops. When riding you really don't notice anything different than if you just rode an analogue bike, except your going faster or your not grinding out that hill in front of you (should you choose do that you can)

Battery life: Yes of my main concerns. I regularly ride 30 plus miles, pretty much daily. This is where this bike certainly shines. As an example 30 mile ride with 1722 feet of elevation change and 1 hour 32 min on the road, I returned home with about approximately 50% power. I rode the bike with intention maximizing the use of power but not throttling myself to the point of why did I buy an ebike in the first place. To use the power when I need it and not use it when I don't; at the end of this ride the data demonstrated an approximately 50/50 relationship between motor assist and myself as input with the the average speed is around 21 MPH.

Battery life trade offs are of course human input to electric assist, the more assist the less battery life. If you want to run on Turbo or Sport you will certainly increase your average speed and you will watch the battery drain quickly which is expected, but you'll get there quicker so for a commute this can be very effective. I have yet to try a full on turbo ride, I may do this for a calculation on percentage drain per minute - just for fun. Suffice to say, Bosch has battery estimator and it seems pretty much in the ballpark of what I am getting. I am also not a heavy rider about 158-160 lbs so the bike and me are under 200 lbs.

As an aside and In comparison to the Creo SL EVO that I had, I was able to get 33 miles before battery emptied and that was working with it in its eco and middle modes, not on turbo. To add a secondary battery it would be an additional 500 dollars, plus cable cost and water bottle holder cost. This add on option would bring the watt hours up to approximately equal with the Trek however with the Domane you can add on an additional 500 watt hours. I would presume that based on my initial findings the Creo would achieve near that same range as the Trek (with its single battery), but still would come up short by a few miles with the additional watt hours.

Bike Fit and Finish - yes this is high quality performance bike. Yes its been to the shop a couple of times now. A firmware update to the bike was done at the time of purchase and it did mess up the function of the lighting package and it needs to be sorted out. I am also having issues when I go over a bump heavily, the bike shuts off. I took the bike in last evening and it seems that battery alignment may be off and they need to adjust this. Finally off the showroom floor and onto the street, the rear derailleur was not adjusted correctly and the chain was slipping. I was able to perform an adjustment which by enlarge fixed the problem. The shop at the same time as fixing the lighting /software issue, also performed some adjustments to fix the chain slippage. I am happy about the service they provided but underwhelmed that the high dollar bike would be allowed to leave the shop without a full inspection to ensure everything was in top flight running order. Frame, Brakes and everything else is nice. If you want to get super OCD, the very bright front light has to cables that run in front of it, not centrally but to the sides... its not a practical issue just annoying as you would think it could be better.

The integrated lighting package is excellent btw and its absolutely necessary. In my Creo experience (again not to bash in anyway) I would have had to add on this feature.

Ride quality: Yes this bike is fantastic for ride quality. There is very low motor noise, of course its there but its not going to bother you should you desire total silence you can turn this feature off LOL, Road noise in minimal. Riding is fantastic as the bike / seat soaks up road vibration very well. No issues with wrists getting fatigued or hands becoming numb. Its a very comfortable experience. The bike also seems fast. In that just peddling the bike you achieve and maintain speed quickly.

Controller: I do very much like the layout overall the buttons are big an on the left hand side but I wish they had the ability to back light to see them at night. I also feel that perhaps a switch for power settings could be incorporated into the drop bar behind the brake which would make switching a whole lot better. Of course Bosch doesn't make the brake levers and Shimano doesn't make switches for Bosch .... so yeah aint gonna happen. Given the parameters of the bike, the controller does what is supposed to do, yes it could be more efficient. PS the walk button is activated but is placed in an impractical place to really access, unlike on my EMTB the walk function is easily activation and utilized. To be fair your in all likelihood never going to use this functionality and if you have to walk, its a pretty light bike anyway but it should have been better thought out to begin with.

Overall: TLDR. So far I am liking this bike a lot, I am not a "roadie" per say, I generally ride the trails. Its fundamentally a bike you have to learn. A ride or two will determine if it fits you well in terms of comfort and purpose, You then have to learn how to perform with this bike. Its forgiving in that you have the power when you want or need it but you still to pay attention to road and shift in accordance with terrain + cadence to get the most out of it. Test rides in parking lots on flats are helpful but this bike offers a lot of performance which you can't appreciate until you put some seat time in and that's hard decision to make when these bikes are ahemmm ... not cheap
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Lefkop, thank you for that review as I am considering this same bike and it is really hard to come by practical reviews. I may have missed it if you covered this, but I am left a little skeptical of a 46T chainring being able to efficiently produce the claimed upper max speeds should one want to achieve them. What was your experience please.
 
KCENDER said:
Lefkop, thank you for that review as I am considering this same bike and it is really hard to come by practical reviews. I may have missed it if you covered this, but I am left a little skeptical of a 46T chainring being able to efficiently produce the claimed upper max speeds should one want to achieve them. What was your experience please.
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KCENDER said:
Lefkop, thank you for that review as I am considering this same bike and it is really hard to come by practical reviews. I may have missed it if you covered this, but I am left a little skeptical of a 46T chainring being able to efficiently produce the claimed upper max speeds should one want to achieve them. What was your experience please.
Click to expand...

KCENDER, I have been riding a Domane+ HP bike for 6 weeks now. I plan to write up my own review soon. This bike really was the only one that fit all my criteria with 2 exceptions. It was crazy expensive, and I was looking for an electric gravel bike that I could tune as a road bike where this is an electric road bike that I am using also as a gravel bike. Off-road I have had no issue with power cutting out on very rough roads. I bought a second set of wheels (stronger 28 spoke 3-cross) to keep knobby gravel tires mounted, and put 32c road tires on the stock rims, both sets running tubeless. From the reviews I did find, it seemed people were happy except for the 46T chainring. I have seen posts saying that the computer would have to be tuned, but can't be tuned, to support a 50T chainring. I'm not an expert, but the computer doesn't know what gear you are in ... so this doesn't make sense to me and it seems putting a 50T wouldn't be an issue. Looking at the relation to the frame, there should be no mechanical clearance issue with a 50T. Keep in mind chainrings are special for 1x front so you aren't just buying any 50T ring. The reviews about 46T vs 50T had me concerned too, but I have to say for me, and my riding, 46T was an excellent choice. I was equally worried about the other end when climbing. If there were to be a criticism I would ask why they didn't go for a bigger spread in gears in the rear like recent mountain bikes. In this regard I also think the manufacturer's choice for the rear is fine. If you are a person who is buying an electric bike, the unpowered gearing isn't sufficient for steep hill climbing. This isn't the bike to buy if you plan to ride mostly unpowered. I guess for that buy a nice unpowered bike or the other brands and versions with the lesser weight and not this Bosch Gen 4 system. The reason to buy this bike is the Bosch Gen 4 system. With the electric assist, the gearing is fine, and I wouldn't switch from a 46T to a 50T. It hasn't limited me for top speeds that I want to achieve. The 28mph cutout is the dominant issue for top speed on flats and slight downhill, where steeper downhill the 28 electric cutout isn't an issue as gravity does its job. Because there is almost no resistance from the motor when it cuts out, along with the way Bosch did the design, when the motor does cut out it is quite smooth and not a hard cutoff. For battery range, my stamina on the bike so far has been the limitation not the battery range. My bike criteria required that I could add a second battery to ride a century instead of hiding one in a bush along the route. This bike you can add one (for another large chunk of money). For everyone who wants to say an e-bike is cheating ... I say sitting at home and not riding is cheating yourself and this bike gets me out riding. I can now set the assist level to get the workout that I want and that I can do. I can ride with my teenage sons who I could never keep up with otherwise. I can explore roads I wouldn't have before because I know I can get back up a hill I might not otherwise have chanced to ride down. If you like cycling, or used to like cycling before a health problem or old age, you will love this bike.
 
Tyson said:
KCENDER, I have been riding a Domane+ HP bike for 6 weeks now. I plan to write up my own review soon. This bike really was the only one that fit all my criteria with 2 exceptions. It was crazy expensive, and I was looking for an electric gravel bike that I could tune as a road bike where this is an electric road bike that I am using also as a gravel bike. Off-road I have had no issue with power cutting out on very rough roads. I bought a second set of wheels (stronger 28 spoke 3-cross) to keep knobby gravel tires mounted, and put 32c road tires on the stock rims, both sets running tubeless. From the reviews I did find, it seemed people were happy except for the 46T chainring. I have seen posts saying that the computer would have to be tuned, but can't be tuned, to support a 50T chainring. I'm not an expert, but the computer doesn't know what gear you are in ... so this doesn't make sense to me and it seems putting a 50T wouldn't be an issue. Looking at the relation to the frame, there should be no mechanical clearance issue with a 50T. Keep in mind chainrings are special for 1x front so you aren't just buying any 50T ring. The reviews about 46T vs 50T had me concerned too, but I have to say for me, and my riding, 46T was an excellent choice. I was equally worried about the other end when climbing. If there were to be a criticism I would ask why they didn't go for a bigger spread in gears in the rear like recent mountain bikes. In this regard I also think the manufacturer's choice for the rear is fine. If you are a person who is buying an electric bike, the unpowered gearing isn't sufficient for steep hill climbing. This isn't the bike to buy if you plan to ride mostly unpowered. I guess for that buy a nice unpowered bike or the other brands and versions with the lesser weight and not this Bosch Gen 4 system. The reason to buy this bike is the Bosch Gen 4 system. With the electric assist, the gearing is fine, and I wouldn't switch from a 46T to a 50T. It hasn't limited me for top speeds that I want to achieve. The 28mph cutout is the dominant issue for top speed on flats and slight downhill, where steeper downhill the 28 electric cutout isn't an issue as gravity does its job. Because there is almost no resistance from the motor when it cuts out, along with the way Bosch did the design, when the motor does cut out it is quite smooth and not a hard cutoff. For battery range, my stamina on the bike so far has been the limitation not the battery range. My bike criteria required that I could add a second battery to ride a century instead of hiding one in a bush along the route. This bike you can add one (for another large chunk of money). For everyone who wants to say an e-bike is cheating ... I say sitting at home and not riding is cheating yourself and this bike gets me out riding. I can now set the assist level to get the workout that I want and that I can do. I can ride with my teenage sons who I could never keep up with otherwise. I can explore roads I wouldn't have before because I know I can get back up a hill I might not otherwise have chanced to ride down. If you like cycling, or used to like cycling before a health problem or old age, you will love this bike.
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Tyson, I appreciate the perspective on this bike. Unfortunately I haven't been able to ride one yet so all this helps. Your point is well taken about it being a road bike first, gravel second. From my perspective, this bike may be compromised a bit too much for my needs. I currently ride a Domane (50/34--11/32), but I have owned a Trek DS that had a 46T ring and the 46 didn't suit my purposes very well. BTW, the DS was in a similar weight class as the HP. The reason for owning the DS in the first place, was that my riding partner only had a MTB at the time and I found myself having to coast constantly. He has since stepped up to a comparable bike and I sold the DS. Anyway, I will continue to read and listen and keep an open mind, but I have a feeling it may be a couple of years before Trek makes a more dedicated pave bike to suit my wants. Thanks!
 
KCENDER said:
Lefkop, thank you for that review as I am considering this same bike and it is really hard to come by practical reviews. I may have missed it if you covered this, but I am left a little skeptical of a 46T chainring being able to efficiently produce the claimed upper max speeds should one want to achieve them. What was your experience please.
Click to expand...
I’m so sorry for the delayed response. The 46T is something that I went back to Trek and asked about because after my first 1500 or so mile I was thinking should I bump that up a little. Well life is about trade offs, so you will loose some of your climbing ability on steeper hills. The bike has no problem hitting the the max speeds, on 3% grades you can get this, I have done It. I ride the Santa Monica Mountains frequently with the grades being in places 15-18%, I have never tried to hit max speed here because battery conservation is the greater goal. on this steepness its in touring and perhaps from time to time in sport mode. One of my rides is a 46 miler over the mountains with over 5000 feet of climbing, I can arrive home with about 28 percent left of charge. Its a mix of bike off, touring most of the way. In fact the last ride yesterday was 52% off, 37% eco, 11% tour with 40/60 ratio Of pedal assist/me. That 46 mile ride took 2hr 57 min.

The beauty of the pedal assist is it allows the bike to more flexible tool, you can ride it for speed and it will get you there but it does drain quicker, if you push it in speed or turbo mode over hills it will go, but the steepness matters, on lower grades you can easily get to the claimed speed, to be honest I have never opened it up on the steep stuff in the mountains because I want to to be able to make it home. I do have an order in for a second battery for longer than 55 mile rides.

Ok back to the question, with the 46T, with regards to speed here is the other thing, its about going downhill and yes I feel this is where I would want to up it a little, because I really cant get past 45 mph. So the question then becomes do I choose between greater ability to climb efficiently or the ability to have more speed in the downhill. With all that in mind, I have left the bike as is. I am at a place currently where I can say that if my average speed in 18-19 miles an hour for long rides (Rides longer than a 2 hours), its good enough.

I understand this is long winded, but you raised a great question because terrain, the ability for you to work with the bike and distances you would like to cover are important considerations. This bike on any typical terrain, meaning rolling hills, foothills, flats will get you to your max or near max speeds. On steep inclinés you will be able to get over hills but At max speed is definitely leSo, but my leg power is probably at best mediocre compared to others. To be sure this bike is not an electric moped guised as a bike, it feels and acts like a bike. FWIW I am loving it after now almost 2000 miles
 
Tyson said:
KCENDER, I have been riding a Domane+ HP bike for 6 weeks now. I plan to write up my own review soon. This bike really was the only one that fit all my criteria with 2 exceptions. It was crazy expensive, and I was looking for an electric gravel bike that I could tune as a road bike where this is an electric road bike that I am using also as a gravel bike. Off-road I have had no issue with power cutting out on very rough roads. I bought a second set of wheels (stronger 28 spoke 3-cross) to keep knobby gravel tires mounted, and put 32c road tires on the stock rims, both sets running tubeless. From the reviews I did find, it seemed people were happy except for the 46T chainring. I have seen posts saying that the computer would have to be tuned, but can't be tuned, to support a 50T chainring. I'm not an expert, but the computer doesn't know what gear you are in ... so this doesn't make sense to me and it seems putting a 50T wouldn't be an issue. Looking at the relation to the frame, there should be no mechanical clearance issue with a 50T. Keep in mind chainrings are special for 1x front so you aren't just buying any 50T ring. The reviews about 46T vs 50T had me concerned too, but I have to say for me, and my riding, 46T was an excellent choice. I was equally worried about the other end when climbing. If there were to be a criticism I would ask why they didn't go for a bigger spread in gears in the rear like recent mountain bikes. In this regard I also think the manufacturer's choice for the rear is fine. If you are a person who is buying an electric bike, the unpowered gearing isn't sufficient for steep hill climbing. This isn't the bike to buy if you plan to ride mostly unpowered. I guess for that buy a nice unpowered bike or the other brands and versions with the lesser weight and not this Bosch Gen 4 system. The reason to buy this bike is the Bosch Gen 4 system. With the electric assist, the gearing is fine, and I wouldn't switch from a 46T to a 50T. It hasn't limited me for top speeds that I want to achieve. The 28mph cutout is the dominant issue for top speed on flats and slight downhill, where steeper downhill the 28 electric cutout isn't an issue as gravity does its job. Because there is almost no resistance from the motor when it cuts out, along with the way Bosch did the design, when the motor does cut out it is quite smooth and not a hard cutoff. For battery range, my stamina on the bike so far has been the limitation not the battery range. My bike criteria required that I could add a second battery to ride a century instead of hiding one in a bush along the route. This bike you can add one (for another large chunk of money). For everyone who wants to say an e-bike is cheating ... I say sitting at home and not riding is cheating yourself and this bike gets me out riding. I can now set the assist level to get the workout that I want and that I can do. I can ride with my teenage sons who I could never keep up with otherwise. I can explore roads I wouldn't have before because I know I can get back up a hill I might not otherwise have chanced to ride down. If you like cycling, or used to like cycling before a health problem or old age, you will love this bike.
Click to expand...

With regards to the 46 vs 50T I totally agree. For the extra battery, I have on order a second one which I will carry on a rear rack when needed. I almost purchased the battery extension system, but so freakin ugly and will mess up the beautiful lines of this bike, I just could not do it. Its like a roof rack on a Ferrari.
 
Lefkop said:
With regards to the 46 vs 50T I totally agree. For the extra battery, I have on order a second one which I will carry on a rear rack when needed. I almost purchased the battery extension system, but so freakin ugly and will mess up the beautiful lines of this bike, I just could not do it. Its like a roof rack on a Ferrari.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the input and in fact I have re-read your comments a couple of times because it is so thorough and helpful. Viewers of this thread might assume that I am obsessed with going top speed on this bike. Well, not so much, but you have to admit that there is a reason they sell this bike w/ that spec. No matter; my LBS tells me that the HP+7 is 120 days out currently. Also, I want it in black and don't want to shell out $1k for that privilege. Life is full of compromise, but for $10k I am not feeling very charitable. My attitude at this point is good things come to those who wait, or not. Again, thanks to you and all who have guided my decision. Really outstanding input by everyone.
 
Akrotiri said:
Is that the stock kickstand ?
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No, the stock kickstand sits at to shallow an angle and makes the bike very tippy when resting on it. A slight shove forward and the kickstand collapses and the bike crashes. That one has a more forward leaning angle and is far more stable.
 
Alaskan said:
No, the stock kickstand sits at to shallow an angle and makes the bike very tippy when resting on it. A slight shove forward and the kickstand collapses and the bike crashes. That one has a more forward leaning angle and is far more stable.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a need one for my allant 8s.
What make and model is the kickstand you installed?
 
Tyson said:
. It was crazy expensive
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Agree, is the best road ebike as of today. I am waiting for the Di2 version to go on sale , maybe 6-7k in April ? At 10K now, it's an unobtainium price level. Another good one is BMC AMP ROAD ONE.
 
Alaskan said:
Other than recommending you use some Locktite blue thread sealant, the original bolts will work just fine
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Why would I have rattling because I’m not sure if my local lbs would have locktite

Did you use the original bolts ?
 
Akrotiri said:
Why would I have rattling because I’m not sure if my local lbs would have locktite

Did you use the original bolts ?
Click to expand...
yes, original bolts. You can get locktite and any auto parts store. Well most anyway, not sure about on an island in the Aegean.
 
Alaskan said:
yes, original bolts. You can get locktite and any auto parts store. Well most anyway, not sure about on an island in the Aegean.
Click to expand...
Ok great as long as the original bolts can be used.

Yep island on the Aegean on lockdown along with the rest of the country so I’ll have to wait on that locktite 🤨
 
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