The Trek Checkpoint ALR5 came into my possession after Trek got wind that I'd had my bike stolen. A loaner for a few months while I worked out what my next bike would be and saved up for it. Several months on and even with the interruption of the well you know what, and I'm reluctant to be handing it back. The few rides I've had out on it since lockdown has been eased here in France has reminded me how much I enjoyed the pretty fancy-free bike.
This thing retails at US$2099 / Au$2999 / £1700, not megabucks when it comes to what you can pay for a gravel bike today. I'd safely say it's a budget banger, or "just easing out of the budget bracket banger". And shock horror it's made of aluminium, in this case, Treks Alpha 300 variant. The reason I bring this up is that I honestly think that a bike at this price, made of this material is pretty much anything anyone really needs. Or anything anyone who wants to start getting serious with the gravel scene really needs.
Sure this bike came with the not too ideal Shimano 105 groupset that isn't really suited to hitting the dirt, but it performed well enough for me over the few months I got out and played on it. The good news is that for 2021 the bike has been updated and that 105 has been swapped out for the Shimano GRX 11 speed mechanical groupset.
But as I said, I hadn't intended to review this bike, and that's why I won't go into a big deep dive here. But because quite a few people over on the KZitem channel asked for a look at the bike when it made a cameo in a recent video, I thought I better not disappoint. Much like the bike didn't.
So go on, click the play button.
Негізгі бет Спорт Alloy is the answer! Why you don't need to spend loads to hit the gravel: The Trek Checkpoint ALR5
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