Trek Bicycle today launched the all-new Checkout, a full suspension drop bar gravel bike it says it designed for "epic, off-the-beaten-path adventures". Designed to be faster than a mountain bike on paved roads and more capable than a rigid gravel bike on singletrack, it is, it says, "the ideal rig for road-to-gravel-to-singletrack adventures, ultra-endurance events, extended bikepacking trips, and more".
It certainly turned a few heads here at CW when the press release dropped. But with gravel now regularly flicking through MTB's catalogues for suitable tyres, MTB has been content with borrowing our drop bars, till now. Let's see what the MTB's say now their full suspension is moving over to gravel too.
The new Checkout isn't trying to enter any downhill comps anytime soon though, with just 55mm rear travel and a new 60mm Rudy XL suspension fork designed in collaboration with RockShox. The bike weighs 11.28kg in top spec, which isn't too flabby for a gravel bike, let alone one with a rear suspension linkage and shock installed.
Suspension forks are now commonplace in North American style gravel events, so this latest 'crossing of the streams' shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, and where MTB is concerned, the cross over has been more apparent for sometime, with riders like Dylan Johnson competing in races like Leadville 100 on full-suspended MTB set ups with drop bars.
Trek have pulled some data together for this launch which demonstrates the case for suspension, which is it says "is proven to decrease fatigue and increase comfort and control when compared to its rigid counterparts, leading to a 7.3% reduction in rider ventilation, a 41.5% reduction in fatiguing vibrational energy, and 23% less steering variation." That all makes perfect sense though, as comfort is a huge factor in endurance racing, especially off road. We have no idea what "rider ventilation" actually is however.
The Checkout's frame accommodates 56mm or 2.2" tyres, which should be plenty for the jump park, or more likely, the kind of bike packing adventure you're more likely to take this on.
The geometry is also way more off-road specific than a 'standard' gravel bike, with longer reach and higher stack, for more serious multi-day, adventure terrain.
What is pretty new and clearly very specific to gravel, definitely not MTB, is the inclusion of an integrated rear rack which is mounted on bushings so it can move with the suspension. It works with both the suspension and the bike's dropper post.
The Trek Checkout is available as a frameset for $3699 / £2999 or complete builds from $5999 USD / £4999 GBP up to $8999 / £6999 in AXS spec.
