Earlier this year, we saw some leaked photos of what appeared to be a full-suspension Trek gravel bike. Or maybe it was a short-travel mountain bike with a drop bar. As the gap between mountain bikes and gravel bikes continues to narrow, it was honestly kinda hard to tell exactly what we were looking at. But with today’s launch of the All-new Trek CheckOUT, now we know.
Trek’s new CheckOUT is a full suspension gravel bike with 55 mm of rear travel paired with the brand new RockShox Rudy XL 60 mm fork. It’s got heaps of tire clearance, mountain bike-esque geometry, loads of frame mounts, and even comes with an integrated rear rack. Frankly, it looks like a super fun bike and a killer option for adventure riding, bikepacking, or anyone whose “gravel” rides end up being more like mountain bike rides. Can we just start calling it “grountain biking” yet?
According to Trek, “CheckOUT is a full suspension drop bar gravel bike like never before. Designed to be faster than a mountain bike on paved roads and more capable than a rigid gravel bike on singletrack, this is the ideal rig for epic off-the-beaten path adventures, conquering the Tour Divide, and everything in-between.” Let’s check out the new CheckOUT.
Trek CheckOUT Details
The new CheckOUT frame is made from Trek’s OCLV 500 carbon fiber. It has 55 mm of rear suspension with a single pivot flex stay design. That’s being paired with RockShox’s brand new- Rudy XL gravel fork with 60 mm of travel. Both the frame and fork have clearance for modern gravel tires up to 56 mm or 2.2 inches wide. The frame has a UDH, 12 x 142 mm axle spacing, and a threaded T47 bottom bracket.
Geometry
The new CheckOUT has a progressive gravel geometry that would make most mountain bikes from the mid-90s blush. It’s a bit longer and more relaxed than Trek’s versatile Checkpoint SL gravel bike, which makes sense given its full suspension and enhanced capability that comes with it. It’s not fully pushing into the mountain bike realm, but it appears to be a little closer than most dedicated gravel rigs.
The CheckOUT comes in five frame sizes between Small and XL, including Trek’s typical M/L. This size range is claimed to fit riders between 5’2” and 6’8”. Head tube angles vary slightly, steepening by a tiny bit as you go up the size run, but most land in the neighborhood of 69 degrees. Likewise, the seat tube angles slacken as sizes increase, but hover in the 74-degree range. The longer wheelbase, reach, and higher stack all contribute to the goal of increasing stability and comfort on long hauls and rough surfaces.
All the Mounts Plus a Rear Rack
There’s no denying the bikepacking and adventure riding focus of the new CheckOUT, and Trek decked it out with a total of 18 frame mounts (sizes M/L and up). Several of these are in the recessed channel running down the downtube, and Trek includes its new MultiMount brackets. There are more mounts on the seat tube and the underside of the downtube, plus a set on the top tube, so you’ve got plenty of options for mounting bottles, brackets, bags, or other accessories.
If that weren’t enough, the CheckOUT also comes with an integrated rear rack. This rack is intended to take bikepacking gear weight off of the saddle and/or seat tube, making for more secure loads while allowing for the use of dropper posts. The removable rack is attached to both the front and rear triangles, so it has its own linkage to move with the rear suspension as it goes through its travel. The rack itself has a wealth of additional gear mounts and lash points.
With the Checkpoint and Checkmate gravel bikes, Trek started making its own Adventure frame bags. For the CheckOUT, the brand partnered with Topo Designs to create a bike-specific frame bag. This bag is sold separately and only fits sizes M, M/L, and L, but it appears to fill the large, open front triangle of the bike perfectly.
Trek CheckOUT: Builds Options
The new CheckOUT is currently being offered in two complete builds or as a frame only. All of these options include the same OCLV 500 Series Carbon frame and come with the same RockShox SIDluxe Ultimate 3-position shock. The complete builds come with dropper posts and Trek’s own wide, flared gravel handlebars and short stems for confident handling.
CheckOUT SL Frameset: $3,700
The CheckOUT SL Frameset comes with the flashy Era White/Blue Sage paint job, but is otherwise a blank canvas to build up your perfect adventure bike. It weighs a claimed 5.3 pounds (2.4 kg) in size M/L
CheckOUT SL 5: $5,800
The SL 5 comes with the RockShox Rudy XL Ultimate fork. The hybrid drivetrain is a mix of Shimano GRX and Shimano XT M8200 12-speed. Bontrager’s alloy Paradigm Comp 25 wheels keep things rolling with Bontrager Betaaso RSL GX 700 x 50 mm tires. A 100 mm TranzX dropper post keeps the Bontrager Verse Short Comp saddle where you want it. The CheckOUT SL 5 comes in both a Dark Star/Dark Web paint job or the Era White/Blue Sage color and weighs in at a claimed 26.39 pounds (11.97 kg) in size M/L set up tubeless and without the rear rack.
CheckOUT SL 7 AXS: $9,000
The top-of-the-line SL 7 AXS build comes with the RockShox Rudy XL Ultimate fork. The drivetrain is a mix of SRAM Force AXS and SRAM XO AXS components. It rolls on Bontrager Aeolus Pro Carbon wheels wrapped in Bontrager Betasso RSL GX 700 x 50 mm tires. The 100 mm RockShox Reverb AXS is topped with a Bontrager Verse Short Elite saddle. It comes with the Era White/Blue Sage colorway, and has a claimed weight of 24.87 pounds (11.28 kg) in size M/L set up tubeless without the rear rack.
Trek CheckOUT: Availability
The new CheckOUT is available now. Head to the Trek website or your local Trek dealer to check out the CheckOUT or to purchase one for yourself.
