Musings On The Checkout

Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles

 During the latest "Guitar Ted Podcast", N.Y. Roll and I got into a discussion about the new Trek Checkout full suspension gravel bike. He gave a good, valid reasoning why someone would want a bicycle like this. Then I countered with a few points of my own. You can click the hyperlink above if you want to listen in to what we had to say, which is about 3/4's of the way into the episode. 

I'm going to share my thoughts here. So, let's dig in....

I'm going to cut right to the chase here and say the Trek Checkout is a compromised full suspension 29"er mountain bike. Yes.....it has drop bars, but it doesn't take much imagination to see this bicycle with a flat bar installed. And when you do "see it" , it is very difficult to "unsee it". 

I already went into fine detail concerning this opinion of mine in a post last September HERE.  

Secondly, I shared in the podcast we may not be wanting, or needing, a "Trek Checkout" if standard steel frames weren't so overbuilt. Now, it may be hard for younger riders to relate to this, but the seasoned riders amongst us probably will understand where I am coming from quite easily. See, steel frames and forks don't ride like they used to. 

I know this sounds like some "Unc", Boomer thing to say, but hear me out. There are reasons behind this opinion which, when you know what has happened to steel frames, may help you see the wisdom in the statement. 

A 2007 Salsa El Mariachi

 The steel frames of 20 years ago weren't held to the same testing standards as steel, aluminum, and carbon frames are held to now. I'm going to limit my comments to the steel frames and forks, but it is obvious the testing standards have affected other materials as well. 

Steel frames could be made to have flex/compliance in ways which are impossible to do today due to testing standards. Standards which must be met in order for frames and forks to be sold internationally. My opinion is that today's steel frames are so stiff, as is also the case with other frames in other materials, that the idea of suspension is now valid in a way it wasn't decades ago. 

My Honeman Flyer was built without regard to testing standards for sale internationally. So, the builder could use whatever he felt would provide me with the best ride balancing out with intentions for use and my size. 

Since this was the case, the Honeman Flyer rides like those older 2000's steel frames. It is smooth, but not flexy, which you really have to watch on a single speed. This comfortable ride comes despite the fact I am using a Thomson seat post, which is not a paragon of flex by any stretch of the imagination. Had this been a frame built for a major brand?

Ha! Forget about the ultra-smooth ride this bicycle has. It would be a much stiffer, much less forgiving ride. My point here is that IF we could have those older standards in play for steel bicycles in 2025, maybe we wouldn't be thinking a Trek Checkout would be necessary. 

And this goes for the carbon and aluminum materials as well. Take my Salsa Cycles Waxwing fork, a stiff board of a fork which makes me run the ShockStop stem to keep my hands, arms, and shoulders from getting jackhammered. 

Of course, all this is a pipe dream for a company like Trek. They have to have their frames manufactured in a way which will pass the tests for certification. It is an advantage to their bottom line as this testing helps to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, frame and fork breakages, the resulting recalls, and potential lawsuits.  So, on one hand I understand, but there is another way, and maybe we don't really need the complexity, cost, maintenance schedules, and proprietary parts this sort of full suspension "gravel bike" engenders.