Just in: Trek Silque SLX

Last week Trek revealed the all-new Silque women’s endurance road bike, and now we have one in the office for testing. And here it is. This is the £3,000 SLX model with a full Shimano Ultegra 11-speed groupset, Bontrager components and weighing 7.32kg (16.13lb) on the road.cc scales.

The Silque range includes five models, prices start from £1,500 and rise to £4,700, and you can get one customised in Project One. This is the £3,000 SLX model which gets a full Shimano Ultegra 11-speed mechanical groupset with a 50/34 compact chainset and 11-28 cassette.

There’s a full complement of Bontrager parts, including the Race wheels which are tubeless-ready. They’re fitted with 23mm R3 Hard-Case Lite tyres. The saddle is an Affinity 2 WSD, the seatmast is ‘Ride Tuned Carbon’ with 20mm offset, handlebars are Race X Lite IsoZone with a shallow drop shape, and a Race X Lite stem completes the build.

The new Silque is a replacement for the previous Domane WSD and while the new frame still uses Trek's Isospeed decoupler, fit and geometry have been the main focus of the new bike.

The geometry changes include a shorter seat tube and more dropped top tube to produce more standover clearance, with a top tube that visibly slopes more, and increased stack so the front is a bit higher. These are changes that should offer a better fit throughout the six sizes (44 to 56cm). For reference, the bike pictured is a 52cm.

Trek have also adjusted the geometry to tune the ride and handling. The chainstays are shorter, which sees the Silque sitting between the Madone and Domane in terms of wheelbase length.

This is the Isospeed decoupler (above). The unique thing about it is the seat tube is only attached to the bottom bracket and isn’t fixed at the top tube, instead there is a bearing that allows the seat tube to move back and forth. The aim is to provide more comfort and a smoother ride when tackling rougher roads and cobbles.

The 600 Series OCLV carbon fibre frame features Trek’s E2 tapered head tube (1-1/8in -1.5in) and BB90 press-fit bottom bracket to stiffen the frame up. The fork is all-carbon including the steerer tube.

All cables are internally routed, and it’s compatible with electronic groupsets so no problems upgrading. Trek’s DuoTap lets you add ANT+ speed and cadence sensors.

A new feature is the S3 integrated chain guard. This is a small metal tab mounted between the front mech and seat tube, and is designed simply to prevent the chain skipping off the inner chainring and falling onto the bottom bracket shell.

So who is the Silque pitched at then? Well with the Madone the obvious choice for racing, the Silque, with its modified geometry and Isospeed decoupler, is clearly aimed at those who value a performance bike that can be ridden hard and fast all day if needs be, with the comfort offered by the frame and a stablilty from the geometry changes.

It's out on the road now being tested so watch out for a full review soon. More at www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/endurance_race/silque_womens