Trek’s line of Domane road bikes hits the sweet spot for a lot of road cyclists, who want a fast, efficient ride that's comfortable as well. Trek has steadily brought the the lineup down in price, and with two new men’s and women’s models, cracks the $1,000 barrier for a versatile bike that works for light touring, all-surface road riding, and commuting in any weather.
The Domane AL 2 and AL 3 are available as men’s and women’s models, and feature the same IsoSpeed carbon fork as the higher-end aluminum ALR models. But a simpler aluminum frame without the seat tube decoupler shaves hundreds off the price between models of similar spec.
Men’s and women’s models have the same geometry in identical sizes. What’s different are the touch points like saddle, stem, handlebars, and cranksets. Other differences include paint, and a size run that for women goes from 44-56cm and from 47-62cm in the men’s version. Given that, you can probably think of the “men’s” model as unisex (a Trek dealer will likely swap seats or handlebars for you if, for example, you’re a tall woman who needs a 58cm frame). And the attractive paint jobs are in hues that don’t scream “I’m a women’s bike” if you’re a particularly short guy.
Under $1,000, you don’t get the full Domane experience. These bikes feature a pretty straightforward aluminum frame with a carbon fiber fork. You don’t get the rear decoupler from the ALR or carbon models or the front decoupler found on the more expensive Domane SL or Silque SLR women’s models in carbon fiber (but those models start at $3,500).
You do get the Domane geometry, the carbon fiber fork with extra compliance, clearance for 28mm tires, and integrated rack and fender mounts. The Bontrager Elite stem features Blendr mounts to easily attach accessories like lights and computers, and the chainstay has a slot for Bontrager’s DuoTrap integrated wireless speed and cadence sensor.
The Domane AL3 and AL3 Women’s use Shimano’s 9-speed Sora drivetrains; the AL2 and AL2 Women’s come with Shimano Claris drivetrains. Both use Bontrager tubeless-ready rims. The AL3 is $930. Pricing on the AL2 was not immediately available but should be slightly less. The bikes are available now through Trek and dealers.
Joe Lindsey is a longtime freelance journalist who writes about sports and outdoors, health and fitness, and science and tech, especially where the three elements in that Venn diagram overlap.