Hi all! I’ve finally broken down and decided to enter the world of biking! After a nasty running injury, biking is the only activity I can do outside that fills that void, but that’s a whole other story.
I think I’ve narrowed down my options to two bikes: Domane AL 4 and Checkpoint ALR 4
I guess I’m ultimately stuck on what way to hit full send? I like the ability to tackle a little more terrain with the Checkpoint (and have a pipe dream of bikepacking Europe)… but live in Washington D.C. so if I’m going for rides after work, it will be mostly paved or very light gravel. Is there something that’s so outstanding to either of these that have swayed you in decision making?
Ps. If you have any MUSTS for a new bike owner/outfitting a bike, I will take all advice!
by Sinnerbybirth
8 Comments
First thing, you should really go into a trek store and try both. Talk to the shop person and let them advise you. Trying both the bikes back to back will be more helpful than any comment you read on the internet in my opinion.
In terms of specs:
* Both the Checkpoint and Domane have rear eyelets for mounting a rack, so you can add luggage.
* The Domane has a 2×10 drivetrain and the Checkpoint has a 1×11.
* Both have mechanical disk brakes.
* The Domane has 32mm wide tires, the Checkpoint has 40mm wide tires.
Either will be a fantastic bike. However, I think you’ll get more out of the Domane unless you’re riding dirt roads every day.
They’re basically the same bike. If you’re doing 99% road and have a dream of maybe doing gravel at some point I would go with the road bike and then if turns out you do want to get more off road then just put different tires on it. But I think you shouldn’t buy for dreams and possibilities but what you’re actually going to ride. Adjustments can be made later. (This is assuming they’re the same price basically, they’re not that different so if one is substantially less than I would probably pick that one)
As far as musts especially riding road I would say a rear light/ radar like a garmin varia or the trek one just to help you feel more safe on the road
I was in a similar situation and was chosing between Domane and Checkpoint. If this is your only bike I would chose Checkpoint.
I already bought MTB so I decided on more road oriented bike. Although on Domane you can still put 38mm wide tyres so its ok for light gravel riding.
Also if you go with Domane try to get AL 5 since it has 105 groupset. It wasn’t really big price difference when I ordered
In 2022, I was deciding between the Domane AL5 and Checkpoint ALR5. I went with the Checkpoint. My use is similar to yours—mostly evening and weekend rides on paved roads and trails, with occasional light gravel (mostly when connecting to different paved roads/trails). At that time, the Checkpoint seemed like a more flexible option, as both had 2x drivetrain and the Checkpoint had more mounting points and ability to run wider tires.
Now, if I were in the same position, I’d probably buy the Domane for the 2x. It’s what I’m used to and I like having more gears. The 1x on the new Checkpoint seems limiting, but I haven’t ridden 1x for any extended period of time, so I guess I can’t say that with total certainty.
The must-have accessories for my Checkpoint are two bottle cages, a frame-mounted pump, seat bag (spare tubes and tools), top tube bag (phone, snacks, and keys), and bike computer.
Check out this shop in Bethesda:
griffincycle.com
They let me ride both bikes back to back several times through the neighborhood to get a real feel for the bikes.
I was in between the two bikes and went with the checkpoint. Mind you that I was a 54 in the domane and a 52 in the checkpoint. I ride from my house to the c&o path and wanted a more versatile bike. The checkpoint just felt a little more stable for some reason. I tossed on some pathfinder pro tires and it’s been a great bike.
I purchased a checkpoint, thought I needed a gravel bike but after spending 95% of my travels on pavement and Greenway I started to look at domanes. After more research I swapped it for the emonda
Most people would probably be better suited by the Checkpoint. The only reason to go Domane is if you NEED the bigger gearing for keeping up with fast group rides.
I literally just made this exact decision 2 weeks ago and went with the Domane because I do 90% road 10% gravel. The Domane can handle a little adventuring, and you can always put wider tires on it if you need it to do even more. I was initially leaning towards the Checkpoint because I was thinking “what if I want to tackle a harder trail” but I ultimately decided buying a bike for what I’m actually riding is better than trying to buy a bike for things I may or may not ride.