2020 Trek CheckPoint ALR5 - 1000 Mile Review and Upgrades

2020 Trek Checkpoint ALR5 – 1000 Mile Review/Upgrades

As I used this forum heavily during my research into gravel biking, I decided to give a quick review of my Trek Checkpoint ALR 5 in the hopes that someone will find it useful.

For background, I have been a mountain biker all my life and only recently discovered “gravel grinding” while living in Geneva, Switzerland for work.  Geneva essentially sits in a bowl surrounded by mountains on all sides.  During normal times a quick car/train ride can bring you to some of the best downhill/XC single track in the world.  However, COVID-19 limited access to those locations so I was stuck with fire roads, gravel farm trails, and the occasional mud trail which led to my discovery of gravel riding.  I now live in Belgium and have loved every minute of the biking culture here (lots of gravel/mud).

I purchased the ALR5 after a bit of research as Trek retailers are typically found everywhere in Europe and I have never had an issue with their bikes/service in over 30 years of riding.  Although I looked at Niner, Specialized, Salsa, Mason, and Pivot (love the Vault), I went with the ALR5 as I found it on sale, it came with common/quality components, and was aluminum.  We can debate all day over carbon vs steel vs Ti vs aluminum but for what I needed and was willing to pay, the ALR5 was a good fit.

ACTUAL REVIEW:

2020 Trek Checkpoint ALR 5; Size 61; Grey/Black/Red

Total miles: 1,223

I purchased the bike for USD 1000 as it was a store demo and considered "used". The bike had no scratches and was basically in new condition but without the "new" price tag.  Time of purchase was everything as it was early in the COVID era and bike stores will still attempting push last years models out before the new ones came it.  Crazy to think how a few weeks later stores were essentially out of stock due to restrictions and a huge rush of new buyers wanting to "ride-out" the quarantine. 

The first 350 miles were flawless and I can’t say enough good things about the Shimano 105 group set.  It’s a workhorse, is easy to work on, and the 2x system worked well for the flat roads in and around Geneva.  Also, chain slap from the rear derailleur was minimal for the type of riding I was doing.  During this period, I stripped the bike down to a bare frame and discovered a few things.  The shop I purchased the bike from had used M5 bolts to hold the cables in place just underneath the bottom bracket.  The bolts they used were so long they drove into the bearings, essentially destroying the BB.  I highlight this as I can see how someone could make this mistake and wouldn’t want anyone else to do the same. No other issues worth noting.  As I am also a welder in a past life, I can attest to the quality of the aluminum frame.  My only complaint is that Trek is a bit sloppy in their welds.  Solid welds, but they need some finishing.  I will also add that the BB was within tolerances but by no means exact.  I think Pressfit becomes an issue when the manufacturer allows tolerances outside of what the Pressfit BB can handle.  At least that is what Hambini tells me!

Around the 500 mile mark, a close friend received the Shimano GRX 600 1x for demo and was allowed to keep it.  When he was done he gave it to me (free) so I threw it on the bike.  I immediately knew the type of riding I was doing was not a good fit for 1x.  I put back on the 105 crank/cassette/front derailleur, changed to a med cage GRX rear derailleur w/ clutch, and kept the GRX 600 shifters.  This combined the benefits of both groupsets into a durable 2x system.  I also swapped out the seat to a Selle Italia Gravel SLR which works well and was given a set of Mason Hunt 4 Season wheels which I ran WTB ByWays (700 x 40) and GravelKing SK Plus (700 x 43).  I had previously read that ALR5 topped out with a max tire clearance of 700x40 but this has not been my experience.  I have run 700-45 with a 2x drivetrain with no issue but admit this is likely do to the bikes large frame size and that I have the dropouts slide all the way back.

With regards to the dropouts, I would have preferred not to have them for no other reason than it’s a point of failure in my opinion and I don’t notice a huge difference in ride style/quality when they are shifted forward/backwards.  This is just my opinion, I understand their purpose, and will be the first to admit that I am not a good enough rider to appreciate their true value.

Two months ago I was provided (same friend) the GRX800 DI2 (FD, RD, and Shifters) free of charge.  I had debated the value of swapping out my mechanical to DI2 and ultimately decided I needed to try it as it only cost me time and a few (expensive) parts (battery, cables, wireless unit).  After a few YouTube videos, I found installation pretty straight forward and took about 4 hours out of my day for the install.  Due to the frame/components, I ended up with the junction box/battery in the seat tube as I did not want to drill any of the aluminum out of the frame near the BB to fit the junction box.  Additionally, I drilled two small holes in my drop bars to in order to hide the cables (thanks “Rides of Japan”).   After setup, I made a near fatal mistake as I attempted to update the firmware via the Etube application on my iPhone which bricked the system. I have since learned that this is a common issue.  I made several attempts to fix this (battery disconnect; all components disconnect) but nothing worked.  The internet recommendation was to reinstall all the firmware via the laptop version of etube.  As I run a MacBook and since Etube only runs on windows, I downloaded virtual windows machine and was eventually able to reboot the whole system. 

Although Di2 is not something I would likely pay for in the future I can say that it is an amazing product.  The shifts are flawless, precise, and can be accomplished under load without issue.  I’ve put about 700 miles on the groupset and have not experienced any issues and the battery still has a full charge despite my aggressive shifting.  Although I was initially reserved in my off-road riding in an effort to avoid damage to the components, that has since changed and the can say everything has held up nicely despite a few crashes.  With regards to cleaning, I have always used warm water, muc-off, and cleaner without issue and this setup is no different. 

Bottom line is this:  The bike fit my style, had/has quality components off the shelf, has stood up to some pretty rough riding, and fit my budget.  Most importantly it puts a smile on my face which for me makes the bike worth its weight in gold.