Since the late 90’s, Trek has been a proponent of women’s specific designs with purpose built bicycles. Trek WSD as they were called would typically feature specific geometry that was tailored towards women’s fits often with shorter top tubes and reach. Recently though, we’ve seen a trend away from women’s specific geometries towards a standard geometry for both men and women. However, women’s models still exist in the form of frames with the same geometry but gender specific touch points and often smaller sizes available.
That is the direction that Trek is heading for with an all new Domane Women’s line. According to Trek, their current take on the matter is that “a women’s bike is any bike that a woman rides.” To go along with that, the new bikes have the exact same geometry as the Domane Men’s but include details like different saddles, narrower handlebars, shorter stems, and (sometimes) shorter cranks. You’ll also find smaller sizes depending on the model with some like the Domane ALR 4 Disc Women’s starting out at a tiny 44cm frame while the same bike in a Men’s version starts at 50cm.
Trek indicates that the new women’s bikes will have the “same high performance designs” as its mens’ or unisex counterparts, but will still benefit from WSD technology. They also acknowledge that these touch points aren’t for every woman out there, but for many women they will offer a better fit out of the box.
By eliminating the Silque and Lexa models and moving to the Domane, Emonda, and Madone Women’s, Trek hopes that there will be less confusion for women shopping for a new bike since the women’s models now have the same name as the men’s. Trek points out that the Domane Women’s line has the same stack and reach measurements as the Silque line before it and that the new options only increase the number of choices women will have for their most popular models.
Along with the changes in touchpoints, most Women’s models will also more color options that are more subdued than the past WSD paint schemes.
Moving forward, the Domane Women’s line will include four carbon and three aluminum models including the SLR 6 Disc, SL 7, SL 6 Disc, and SL 5 Disc in carbon, plus the ALR 4 Disc, Al 3, and AL 2 in aluminum. Additional women’s models include the Madone 9.5 and the Emonda SL 5, with the Domane SLR 6 Disc and Madone 9.5 both available for customization through Project One.
For more details and pricing on individual models, check out the full line at Trekbikes.com.
