Trek Speed Concept Review

I’ve been riding my Trek Speed Concept SLR 9 for a few months now since it was deliverd in February.

That is, because of the lousy weather and me not wanting it to get dirty on its maiden voyage, I didn’t actually ride on it before early March 😂

But since then, I’ve already taken it out for a spin more often than I ‘promised’ Paula – and myself, sorta – when I got it…

While I first blamed that on me having to fine-tune my Speed Concept, then practise a bit on it before the Tijdrit Almere, I have no other justification for that, other than that it’s so much ‘fun’ to ride it.

Well, not during the much anticipated ITT, as that was over before I was able to drop the hammer on my PR…

And ‘fun’ should not be taken literally, as riding in the time trial position is never much fun and takes getting used to.

So, if you’re new to time trialling or triathlons, don’t expect this fantastic beast to make that any easier.

But, you will probably go faster – apparently, the claimed improvements actually get better if you’re not world class and cannot ride an ITT at 50 kph.

If you’re on a budget, you might just as well go for the ‘cheaper’ Sram Rival AXS version of the Speed Concept, which basically gives you the same components, other than the group set.

Even that will set you back €9.600, so don’t overestimate cheap – the cheapest Shimano (Ultegra Di2) is roughly €600 less…

If you are a Tri-athlete, Trek’s IsoSpeed system, meaning top and seat tubes are further out to match a triathlete’s more aggressive position, is a huge 30% more compliant, which should leave you less fatigued for the run.

I’ll take their word for it…

Mounting an ITT/triathlon bike for the first time can be daunting, but as I’m already used to that, I didn’t have any problems.

On the contrary: the Speed Concept is a lot less ‘twitchy’ than the SpeedMax. I only had to make adjustments to fine-tune my position, i.e. pad width, extension length and the (stack)height between base bars and extensions.

If you’re not (yet) used to hydraulic disc brakes, the superior braking power of these will also boost your confidence.

I fitted my bike with Look Keo Blade Ceramic Ti pedals, which are a huge upgrade from the Favero Assioma pedals I had on the SpeedMax.

Not because the Assioma’s are not worth every penny, but if you want as little power loss on every stroke as possible, the Keo’s are far superior.

And looking at my power numbers over the past months, I consistently need to push less power to reach the same speed(s).

Some of the difference can be explained by the numbers from the Assioma’s being different from those I get from the Quarq chain ring PM, but they are equally accurate.

Which means it comes down to the superior aerodynamics of the Speed Concept, and the pedals.

At any rate, this doesn’t mean that I will go a lot faster, though.

In my experience, not backed by science, I need to push 10 to 15 Watts more for a mere 1 kph increase.

As my rides are more influenced by wind speeds than anything else, I should look at the long term average and that confirms I do need to generate less power than before…

One thing I’m always a bit weary about is the saddle, or rather: a saddle change.

However, the Bontrager Hilo saddle is almost comfy so I was very happy I could stick with that.

One upgrade I passed on was for the wheels: the Aeolus RSL 51 set has a lower rim than I was used to, but I will – probably – never go for closed wheels and the 58/82 mm rims on the SpeedMax were not very practical riding with tubes.

Which looks like no issue if you ride tubeless, until you get a flat in the middle of nowhere and need to put a tube in to be able to get home…

I did get the extra between-the-arms bottle on my Speed Concept, as that can be refilled from the (standard) down-tube bottle. However, I replaced both with ‘standard’ bottle cages within a week.

The ‘hidden’ down-tube storage is rather useless if you ever need anything from it fast, like during a race. It fits a tube, CO2 cartridge and multi-tool, but it’s a tight fit and I would prefer something that doesn’t require the removal of other parts to access.

The Bento box for storing gels or bars is not very useful either imho – unless you put your items in as advertised, nothing much fits and I for one, don’t like riding around with gels flapping.

Overall, the Speed Concept is easier to handle and faster than anything I’ve had before. The downside is that it’s also considerably more expensive than anything I’ve had before.

You will need to bring a lot of cash to table to get one, even in the lower range.

If money is not an issue and you can use all the ‘help’ you can get to achieve your triathlon goals, then this is probably one of the best bikes you can get.

And yes, I’m aware that I do not have any goals, I’m an old man and I (thus) should not be allowed to even consider buying one, but yet here we are…