Looking for people's experience with using a Trek Boone on gravel. I currently use a Niner RLT steel and Trek Crockett for gravel. While, I really like the Niner, the fit is not spectacular for me. The Trek Crockett fits great, and I'm contemplating swapping the Niner for a Boone.
What specifically? I would expect it to handle similar to the Crocket, no? Generally CX bikes don't like fast loose turns (i.e. downhill) and have lower stack, but if that isn't a problem they are great on gravel.
Chas. Just asking for an overall opinion from anyone that uses a Boone on gravel. Yes, I agree the handling would be similar since the geometry is pretty much the same, as far as I know. I'm guessing the carbon frame along the front and rear Iso-speed would help smooth things out compared to the Crockett. Hoping to find a Boone locally, that I can demo.
I have a Boone 7 and have love it for racing and riding gravel. The carbon frame with Iso-speed and damping handle bars really help dampen the bumps. I run Maxis Rambler ( 38R/40F) and it flys on gravel and road surfaces. I just added some XXX2 carbon rims which really shaved some weight as well ( pretty darn light to begin with.....)
I've got a Boone 5 I bought used for cheap. It had SRAM Reds with bb5 brakes, carbon bars. The gearing was too narrow with 46/36 crank and 12/28 10 speed cassette so I bought an 11/34 deore cassette on sale and used a SRAM x9 derailleur I had, shifts really well with the reds. Factory wheels were garbage so I bought some Hunt 4 season gravels and put some Rambler exo 40s front and rear. Clearance is minimal so probably will put a 38 on the rear soon.
It's a 58cm and weighs just under 19lbs with sealant and cages. It is an older Trek that doesn't have front iso-speed but the Bontrager aero bars do a great job of damping vibrations. I ended up with about $1400 in it so more than I thought it would be but it performs and rides like a much more expensive bike.
It's a really nice bike to ride. I've got about 500 hundred miles on it and really love it. We have extensive gravel roads to ride right out my door, with some pretty brutal climbs and some beautiful scenery. Best part is, none of my riding buds can keep up.l, even with their bikes that cost 3x as much. 🙂
Another thing about Boone's, They had rear Iso speed in 2013 or 14 ( I think that's what mine is) and added front in 17. Rear iso is pretty wonderful, I'd look for a bike with it on both. They went with thru-axles in 17 too, I think.
Biggest drawback with most cx bikes on gravel is the gearing, unless you live in flat country. Gotta buy it right and plan on some drivetrain changes.
Griff wrote:Looking for people's experience with using a Trek Boone on gravel. I currently use a Niner RLT steel and Trek Crockett for gravel. While, I really like the Niner, the fit is not spectacular for me. The Trek Crockett fits great, and I'm contemplating swapping the Niner for a Boone.
Are you going CX racing? If not, why are you looking for a CX bike over a gravel bike for gravel?
Are you going CX racing? If not, why are you looking for a CX bike over a gravel bike for gravel?
In my case, CX was a lot more versatile, a lot more agile, accelerate better and are more like a road bike (i race crits on it sometimes). Modern CX bikes have gotten longer, more compliant, and can take bigger tires. That, and I want to be able to do single track or aggressive urban riding without worrying about pedal strike. I would choose gravel for touring or for fast loose downhills - but those are not on my priority list.
Hmmmm. I'm considering a NOS Boone frame. 2015 has Isospeed rear, although it has qr instead of thru-axles. No worries, though, as I have compatible wheels. I love racing cross, and while I do some gravel events, I'm thinking the Boone will be better on the gravel than my Willard is on a cross course. With some clearance Di2 stuff, older carbon mtb wheels and this frame, I think I'll have a pretty nice bike for 2 grand. I'll probably go XT rd as the climbs here can be savage. I'd like a little more clearance out back, but I've found the 40's on my Willard were fine, so dropping to 38s doesn't worry me.
GSPChilliwack wrote:Hmmmm. I'm considering a NOS Boone frame. 2015 has Isospeed rear, although it has qr instead of thru-axles. No worries, though, as I have compatible wheels. I love racing cross, and while I do some gravel events, I'm thinking the Boone will be better on the gravel than my Willard is on a cross course. With some clearance Di2 stuff, older carbon mtb wheels and this frame, I think I'll have a pretty nice bike for 2 grand. I'll probably go XT rd as the climbs here can be savage. I'd like a little more clearance out back, but I've found the 40's on my Willard were fine, so dropping to 38s doesn't worry me.
I've had a Crockett and now I have a Checkpoint SL (single Iso dohickie). I wouldn't go out of my way for the ISO thingie, as it do as much as a good seatpost would. I think the Boone takes a standard post, not a mast (which is a pain). It's also something to get dirty in or to lose the covers on. I haven't tried the 2x system, but I've heard those are prone to creaking. The downside of the Boone is 38mm(?) tire limit. My Crockett has the same limit, but I could wedge 42mm tires in there - I then found I wore the paint off the frame.
I trained for and rode DK200 this year exclusively on a 2019 Trek Boone. I bought a cross bike in lieu of a gravel bike because I also race cross. Bottom line, the bike did the job and handled the rough stuff well... but it came with compromises.
Cons:
Tire clearance is an issue. I would have ridden 40c tires if I could have. However, the rear triangle is very tight and I ended up riding Gravel King SK+ in 36 that measured 35. I finished and I got no flats riding at 32psi... but more volume would have been nice.
The bike handles rough stuff well but is understandably twitchy at speed and doesn't track well. For most gravel riding this is fine... but you need to assess the sorts of events you want to enter and the type of rider you are. The stress of keeping a bike in a straight line on 30+mph flint descents will wear you out over the course of a day. In the Bootlegger 100 I found myself unable to rail mountainside cambered corners without constant wiggling and correction. On big descents like that race has this equated to minutes lost over 100 miles.
The boone is a pure race bike and lacks the versatility something like your RLT steel offers. No rack mounts, no fender mounts, etc. This is great for cross... but limits the bike's utility as a quiver killer.
I rode a 1x11 all season with 40t up front and 11-42 in the back. This worked and gave me the granny gear I needed, but 2x would have been nice to find that sweet spot gear when my legs were dead.
Pros:
Lightweight. My Boone was around 19.5 lbs fully loaded for DK and is sub-18 in CX race mode. As I understand it, this is 1-2 lbs lighter than most gravel race bikes on the start line and is significantly lighter than your RLT Steel
Lively feel and handling. While I listed this as a con above... it can be a pro as well. Just depends.
ISO-speed decouplers are awesome. More than just gimicks. Love em.
Ironically I'm listing my 54cm boone for sale this weekend. I want to race gravel more in 2020 and will probably do DK200 again in 2021 depending on work/life. Moreover, I didn't enter a single cross race this season. While I grew attached to my Boone this year and enjoyed racing it... it doesn't make sense to keep a bike with so many gravel-specific limitations. Even other CX-specific bikes like the Crux have more clearance.
I have a used Litespeed Gravel on the way that I'm building up 2x11. The geo is not as slack/long as some gravel bikes but isn't quite CX either. I'm hoping its a good in between. Hope that helps!
I rode/raced a 2018 Boone for gravel (Crusher, BWR, DK200, Rock Cobbler, RPI). 2x on mine. Ran 36c IRC Boken but that's about the limit and even those were less than 4mm clearance per side. Geometry much better than most gravel bikes, with the exception of the high-ish BB. Most gravel bikes have HT too tall and TT too short for me. Boone is more race geometry, longer and lower. Would have kept it as a gravel bike but the limited tire clearance was a deal breaker. Saw that the new Domane had way more clearance but the geometry sucked. Then saw the Domane had optional "Pro" geometry if ordered through Trek's Project One custom program. Took a chance on it and so glad I did. It's a far better grave race bike than the Boone and blows away the Checkpoint. I've posted my bike in a few threads here as I think the new Domane will otherwise be overlooked as a gravel race bike.
