Trek Domane + HP

 So I pulled the trigger on this beast last weekend and got it out for a ride today. This is one cool bike. Mine came setup up the opposite of how a $7500 dollar bike should as per the usual with bike techs that are making $12 an hour. I wouldn't call it a gravel bike off the showroom floor either. More an obese road bike as it comes standard.

So, I will start with the gripes as you can see. First, the bars and shifters were set at a wonky angle. I still don't have it perfect for me but at least I have the shifters moved to a decent position and the bars turned about where they need to be. My only other complaint is the paradigm 25 wheelset spec'd to the bike. They are 24 spoke which I think is stupid on a 37lb bike and they do not come tubeless. The later is not a huge deal but the rims and tires are tubless ready. I guess Trek couldn't spare the $40 of profit that would eat up. I do think the 24 spoke wheels is probably not safe. Definitely not for me as I am 6'2 and 250lbs. This led to another disappointment which is my 32 spoke 650b wheels with wtb horizons do not fit. I doubt I could get the electronics working right with that wheel size anyway so I digress. The bad news is 650b wheels will cause issues with the electronics reading correctly and the rear chainstay is to narrow to fit anything larger than 40c or so. If you did fit a tire and 650b wheel with a smaller tire then bottom bracket height will be an issue

Now the good.
Power and battery: The bike is fast. Scary fast. I rode mostly in eco today, but I did turbo it around the neighborhood a few laps and it gets up to the 28mph limit quickly in that mode. Much more so than any other ebike I have ridden that has that speed cap. I am not looking to run that fast normally but it was fun to try. On my ride today I rode a mix of modes with 70 percent eco, 20 percent tour, and 10 percent sport. I used 20 percent of the battery from 82 to 62 percent on a 10.5 mile loop averaging 17 mph. I figure that I could ride 50 miles like that on a single charge so I am pretty happy with that since all of my rides range from 10 to 35 miles. I rode 16 miles yesterday and burned 50 percent of the battery from 100 because I was in sport most of the time chasing my wife because she only knows max speed at all times on her ebike. I didn't keep stats for that ride because of that but we were pinned for the whole 16. All rides so far have been on asphalt. 

Comfort: I have my bike set up pretty relaxed. Aero is a non factor for this bike. The seat is pretty good for me. The handle bars have thick tape and some foam cushion underneath that makes the bar feel supple. The shock system in the frame seems to smooth out bumps as well. I would say the ride is comparable to my giant revolt advanced with the wtb horizons as far as ride quality goes which is pretty dang decent.

Gravel potential: I think this bike would be okay on gravel. Not great, but ok. If speed and comfort on gravel is your aim, then it will be amazing. If you want to ride chunkier stuff like single track (even gentle single track) I would look elsewhere. The bike is just too heavy and built for straight line speed to be a candidate for that. It would be great as an all arounder that can handle some dirt but still allow you to cruise along on a group ride like your a pro. Mine will live in this state serving to chase the wife around the beach and climb the nasty canyon pavement grades near my home when I am solo.

Edit:
The WTB horizons do fit. Albeit a very snug fit. There is about a 2mm gap on both sides of the rear chainstay and it is a squeeze to get them in. You do have to use the included brake disc's as they contain the magnet for the cadence sensor. The bottom bracket sits a little lower but not nearly as bad as I originally thought. I don't plan on riding chunky stuff so I don't think pedal strikes will be an issue. The speed displayed does seem to be about 1 mph off even though I changed the tire circumference in the Kiox display. Speed was measured using the kiox and my Garmin. I think I can live with the reading being off a bit as the ride is super plush. I can see myself going on long rides with a mix of road and some detours through hard pack desert trails with no issues with this setup.

Cool, thanks for the write up.  I build up a bike like this about 10 years ago (shortly before the first big name ebike came out).

My goal was 25mph * 25 miles * 25lbs.     As I started out with a 10lb battery in the old days, it was kind of a hot mess.  But, technology quickly got better, and using a 3lb battery made it beautiful.  Unfortunately back in those days, gravel wasn't a thing.  I did eventually put a CX/Gravel front fork on the thing so I can put decent sized tires on it.

It is a total ball.   I don't use it much because I am typically in good shape.  But I did use it a bit for commuting (pre-covid), and its great in the winter when I'm not training regularly.    

Generally for gravel, I don't need the speed or extra power (my analog bike weighs 16-17lbs) or extra weight.  However its great for urban riding.  Seriously, 23mm tires at 25mph are just a disaster on these roads.  32-40mm is minimum (even without a motor).

My first ebike had a standard 200rpm motor.   Funny, it had near infinite range because at the speeds I commute at (18-21mph), I was going faster than the motor would, lol.

I do think of buying a bike  like yours (probably one of the canyons - I like the light fazua drive).  But so far I guess my legs are still strong enough that I don't use it that often.  

Funny story.  I came off a hard group training ride, and I was doing a cool down heading home.  A Trek pulled out in front of me and I decided to pace him to see what speed he was doing.  We were 27-28 mph into the wind.  I'm thinking - who the heck is this and how do I not know him (as I know most all of the people capable of doing that around here).  We get to a  stop light and he chuckles saying - bet you had a good workout doing that.  I'm on Trek's new (road) e-bike.   Heck if he hadn't of told me that I never would have known.   That explains the 28mph though. 

200 mile update. The 650b wheels have been good. My daily 12 mile ride up to the Calfornia aqueduct has been fun. I ride different routes with a mix of gravel and road depending on my mood. The ground is mostly hard pack with loose dusty top. Depending on how I'm feeling I use 10-20 percent of the battery. Anyone wandering if 650b will work on a domane frame, it will. The max tire you can fit will be 47mm and I mean just barely. Check the pics.