Alright, so the title of this article is clearly intended to poke a bit of fun. Disc brakes are not simply a road bike fad that will fade. Road disc brakes are here to stay, and each year you shall see more and more disc brake options for road bikes. This is going to be the case particularly for high end road bikes. Fast descents, chicanes, and cornering from experienced cyclists are where the benefits of hydraulic disc brakes are most realized. Trek is on board, offering disc brake road bikes at multiple price points in their 2015 Domane line.
I know we have written about the Domane Disc before, but they are worth mentioning again, especially as there are many models at different price points. Of course, I can’t help but begin the discussion without speaking of the creme de la creme, the Trek Domane 6.9 Disc. Of course we shall continue the discussion with the Domane 4.5 Disc, and Domane 4.0 Disc which are both more practical price points; yet we can’t help but marvel at the engineering of the 6.9 a bit.
The Trek Domane 6.9 Disc (pictured above) comes equipped with the Shimano RS785 hydraulic disc brake system. Having ridden this system myself on a Specialized Tarmac Pro Race when I was in Morgan Hill, I can tell you that this brake system is pretty much totally awesome. A really good braking system is not only much more controlled in descents, but less than intuitive, it is actually much faster as well. When riding sketchy and winding descents and chicanes with this brake system, a rider has so more control to negotiate the turns with better precision. Smoothness and good lines are fast in descents and they allow the rider to hammer where necessary and still slow quickly when necessary.
Of course, I am a strong advocate that these benefits have to be ridden to be truly appreciated. I will admit myself that I knew they were the best braking system, but wasn’t a complete advocate of them myself, saying that great caliper brakes are good enough. This is true, road calipers are good enough, yet you ride with so much more control and confidence with hydraulic disc brakes, especially when you descending. Feel free to hammer whenever you want.
The Trek Domane 6.9 Disc also comes equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic drivetrain, and Bontrager Affinity Elite Tubeless Ready wheelset. Personally, I have never ridden Dura-Ace Di2, but I have ridden Ultegra Di2. The precision of shifting seems immaculate even when putting the hammer down, I can only imagine how nice it is with Dura-Ace Di2. A whole lot of bike in this endurance race model. Of course, it very well should be for $8,300. Yet you can still get the benefits of a full hydraulic disc brake system at just over the $3,000 price point.
The Trek Domane 4.5 Disc (pictured above) comes with the Shimano R685 hydraulic brake system. Though this disc brake system is a level down from that on the 6.9 Domane, the action of these brakes are still superb. They have received sterling reviews to date, especially when compared to traditional caliper road brakes. Standard on this bike is also the Shimano Ultegra 11-speed drivetrain. For cyclists looking to try out disc brake road bikes, and are shopping at this price point, the Trek Domane 4.5 Disc offers immense bang for buck and is sure to please the vast majority of recreational cyclists, and even many competitive cyclists.
And for those cyclists looking for a disc brake road bike on more of a budget, the Trek Domane 4.0 Disc (pictured above) comes with TRP HY/RD cable/hydro disc brakes, which is a hybrid system utilizing both mechanical and hydraulic. This system utilizes hydraulic mineral oil at the caliper, and mechanical cable throughout the rest of the system. This is a totally decent system and much of the stopping power of hydraulics is still realized.
There you have it, a full line of disc brake Domanes offered by Trek in 2015. As mentioned, expect to see more and more disc brake road bikes each year, from Trek and the other top competitors.
Fulton Bikes 