Trek Checkpoint SL 7 Gen 3 first ride review - Fast, refined and comfortable

Updated with tweaked geometry and more storage capacity, we deliver our first impressions on the new Trek Checkpoint.

Liam Mercer

Aug 15 2024

Trek’s previous Checkpoint was a gravel bike with a racing pedigree, but wasstill up for multi-day bikepacking jaunts or general off-road jollies. Now in its third generation, the Checkpoint still carries the torch as a versatile, do-it-all machine but ups the comfort through subtle geometry tweaks and its continuation of Trek’s tried and tested IsoSpeed technology. We managed to squeeze in some time on the Checkpoint SL7 Gen 3 ahead of launch, and here are our first impressions.

For the latest version of the Checkpoint, Trek has built the bike for riders who want one bike to do a bit of everything, much like the old bike. It’s a machine that’s designed to provide comfort, speed and top performance but in an accessible package.

This iteration introduces what Trek calls its new ‘Gravel Endurance Geo’, which welcomes a taller frame stack but interestingly, a shorter reach figure and effective top tube. An ML 56cm Gen 3 bike gets a 397mm reach and a 576mm effective top tube. The old bike has a 407mm reach and a 584mm effective top tube.

The idea behind this is inspired by endurance road bikes to put the rider more upright, thus a more relaxed position over the bike. Doing so should make the bike more comfortable and fit for big expeditions out in the hills.

Other geo figures feature a very slightly slacker head tube at 72-degrees on this bike as opposed to the 72.2-degree measurement of the previous generation. The chainstay is 5mm shorter at 430mm as is the wheelbase, now at 1042mm that's been shrunk by 6mm.

And to make those big bikepacking epics even more possible is the array of mounting points built into the Checkpoint. It’s brimming with mounts running along the length of the top of the down tube, mounts along each fork leg and that’s merely scratching the surface. Trek has even increased the bike’s standover to create more space inside the front triangle, to allow room for frame bags and a pair of water bottles – if you play your cards right.

The brand has tweaked its in-frame storage to provide more room. The section inside the frame for storage is larger, as is the door and, as expected, it comes with a neat little bag complete with elastic holders to keep things like tyre levers, a CO2 canister and an inflater safe and rattle-free.

Built into the 500 Series OCLV Carbon frame is Trek’s IsoSpeed technology that was adopted first on the brand’s road bikes. IsoSpeed almost decouples the seat tube from the top tube by employing an elastomer that sits in between the two. Combined with a flexy carbon seatpost, the technology is built to absorb high-frequency and low-level vibrations, to improve comfort.

Where the Gen 3 Checkpoint begins to set itself from previous generations is its compatibility with dropper posts and suspension forks. With that, it can run up to 40mm of suspension at the front and has internal routing to run a dropper. And although the bike comes with 42mm tyres as standard, we’re told it can fit up to 50mm rubber. Of course, this bike runs on 700c wheels.

To learn a little more about what's going on under the Checkpoint's hood, as well as a look at the aero-race bike, the Checkmate, click here for more.

Trek Checkpoint SL 7 Gen 3 - Componentry

Pictured here is the Checkpoint in its SL 7 build, which is the top-of-the-range specification that comes in at £6,350. Trek’s treating us very well here, giving us a bike graced with SRAM’s Force AXS 12-speed groupset. Why the very latest Red XPLR AXS isn’t included, we’re not too sure, but imagine the price increase was the prime consideration here.

The Checkpoint SL 7 rocks Trek’s full carbon fork and the bike rolls on a pair of Bontrager’s Aeolus Elite 35 OCLV carbon hoops, which are technically road wheels with an aero balance. On this particular bike, they’re wrapped with Pirelli’s Cinturato Gravel H tyres, rather than the Bontrager Girona RSLs the spec sheet suggests. Both are designed for similar uses, but the Bontrager has an almost slick centre tread for extra speed over hard surfaces.

There’s a respectfully wide 46cm Bontrager Pro Gravel bar. Trek’s in-house components brand also handles the handlebar tape and carbon seatpost.

Trek Checkpoint SL 7 Gen 3 - First impressions

After prying the top-end Checkpoint out of the office, I headed out to my go-to 50-odd-kilometre loop that takes in most gravel riding scenarios. Whether that’s beautifully smooth gravel paths or neat, fast, and loamy winding tracks through wooded sections, it’s all there with a hint of technical climbing and brief road excursions thrown in for good measure.

Over vast stretches of gravel-coated fire roads, the bike flexes some pretty large muscles in the pedalling department. Of course, aided by the mega low-profile Pirelli rubber, it makes fantastic use of every pedal stroke, where power transfer feels immediate and extra effort is greatly rewarded with a heft of speed.

The Checkpoint's ability to translate pedal movement into forward momentum is useful in more ways than one, notably when tackling root-addled climbs.

Although I’ve heard mixed reviews of IsoSpeed, I was very impressed. Over the fast but lumpier sections of my loop, it did an exceptional job of taking the sting out of the vibrations. So much so that I could get in the drops, stay in the saddle, and simply put the power down without worrying about the unforgiving battering I’ve become accustomed to with other gravel bikes with fixed seatposts.

Trek’s geometry decisions to make the Checkpoint more comfortable are fairly interesting. It’s not every day we see a bike get shorter and taller but with the new Checkmate now handling the specific gravel/race duties, Trek has pointed the Checkpoint more towards comfort. The taller stack is an arguable point in that there’s a fair bit of adjustment on offer here, lent by plenty of free steerer tube poking from the headset. But if you’re set on slamming your stem for maximum aero gains, you’ll find it’s slightly taller than before – we’re talking only a few millimetres here.

Where the difference is really made, especially in terms of the bike’s ride is in its reach or effective top tube and its wheelbase. They’re all shorter than before and the head angle is only a bit slacker to compensate but the amalgamation of the three makes for a responsive bike. Yes, these measurements straighten the back and relax the rider’s position but has a knock-on effect with the quick front end making itself known when avoiding potholes and negotiating the aforementioned technical climbs.

This is where that wide bar comes into play. A responsive front end can quickly become twitchy at speed but the extra leverage of that 46mm bar helps to make light work of keeping the bike tracking straight, especially when hitting the 30mph mark.

Trek’s geometry choices regarding the shortening of the front centre aren’t all great though but that’s completely to be expected of a bike built to cover so many bases. Throughout my varied test loop, I was happy with the ride quality. It was only when the terrain steepened during descenting that things got particularly hair-raising.

The shorter reach front end places a lot of weight on the front wheel. Under heavy braking, especially, it took a lot of management of my weight distribution and braking modulation to keep the bike from spitting me over the bars. Even then, the responsive front end took a lot of concentration to keep controlled, as the front wheel wandered in its hunt for much-needed grip.

Despite Trek’s aims to build a do-it-all all machine, the Checkpoint Gen 3 combines racier facets that have become a Checkpoint hallmark but the minor tweaks introduce more comfort and a greater ability to cover more miles.

Present are wheels with an aero/strength/weight balance and some pretty slick tyres so there’s some reservation to push the bike further into a do-it-all guise. However, it’s a sensible choice for those who appreciate a fast, comfortable and performance-focused ride that’s more than capable of being loaded with almost anything imaginable. I reckon it’s a bike that fits very nicely into that self-supported, big-mile, multi-day genre of gravel, and will likely be spotted rolling up to the start line of the Traka 500 and the like.

www.trekbikes.com

Author block

Liam Mercer

Since beginning his mountain biking career while working as a resort photographer in Greece in 2014, Liam became a freelance contributor at off.road.cc in 2019. From there, he’s climbed the journalism job ladder from staff writer to deputy technical editor, now finding his place as technical editor.

Partial to the odd enduro race, heart rate-raising efforts on slim-tyred cross-country bikes, hell-for-leather e-MTB blasts or even casual gravel jaunts, there’s not a corner of off-road cycling where Liam fears to tread. With more than 40 bike reviews under his belt and hundreds more on MTB, e-MTB and gravel parts and accessories, Liam’s expertise continues to be cemented and respected by the industry.

1 comments

Wingguy 4 months 1 week ago

You've quoted the seattube angle as the headtube angle, and as a result a lot of what you've written about the geo changes is wrong. The HTA on the new bike is actually ever so slightly slacker than on the previous one.

With a slacker HTA and greater fork offset the Gen 3 front centre is approx 1mm shorter than the Gen 2. How much more is that really going to try and send you over the bars, honestly?