When I first heard about the Silque, I thought that Trek was on to something. I read reviews, positive and negative. I thought long and hard about why I thought this bike might just be for me, I researched (a lot), read every review I could find and I decided to wait and see. Thanks goodness I didn't wait too long. What follows is a lay persons research, and why I decided on the SSL model, and what follows beyond that, is how much I love this bike.
Sorry for such a long read but the bike geeks out there will get it. I am going to outline each of the features of this bike, and why I was researching them ad nauseum, and what they bring to me as a 5'10", 120 lb, elite cyclist.. oh wait, I mean an average, overweight, 60 year old cyclist.
The 600 series carbon: The 600 series OCLV (Optimum Compaction, Low Void) carbon makes this frame light. The difference in the 600 series carbon and 700 series carbon only shows a slight decrease in areal* weight, while the difference between the 400 series and 600 series is significant. Since Silque models are not offered in a 500 series (which is what I had on my Domani, it only made sense to go up to the 600 series OCLV carbon). What a bike geek I have become! If you don't want or need to know about your carbon, that is fine, but I wanted to make sure I researched it and decided what was right for me, balancing weight, stiffness and price. The 600 series carbon is well worth it. Another aspect of the 600 series carbon is the weight to stiffness ration. Again, from the charts I see that there isn't a whole lot of difference between the 500, 600, and 700 series carbon, but a significant difference between the 400 and 600, again, score one for the 600 series carbon. Another score for the 600 series is in vertical compliance, which translates to rider comfort. The overall frame weight is minimized in this bike by Treks exacting standards in manufacturing, and balancing the need for strength and performance. And this bike is light! So my score card pointed me in the direction of upgrading the carbon (do I have upgrade-itis?) If you can afford the upgrade in carbon and you spend a lot of time in the saddle, go for it.
What I notice in the ride: smoother thank my 500 series Domani, and much smoother than the 400 series I test rode, this frame makes me more confident on downhills based on the way it handles. I can feel a difference in my cornering, I have learned to lean rather than steer the bike and this frame has taught me that little lesson. It is very, very responsive, and I am getting better at making those quick maneuvers around pot holes (most days... sometimes I still don't see them soon enough to avoid!)
If you like data, see the charts below, taken from the Trek website (I like data).
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| Areal weight |
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| stiffness to weight ratio |
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| vertical compliance |
*areal weight: The weight of fiber per unit area (width times length) of tape or fabric. Term typically used in the composites industry.
WSD: Women are different than men. Who knew!!!! Thanks Trek for taking that into consideration. But not all women are built alike. I am 5'10 and 120 lbs. Ha! NOT!!!! I am 5'5" and chunky. I am not a flyweight, and I am 60 yrs old. My flexibility isn't what it used to be. I want comfort. I want to be able to fit to the bike, not have to move this, add that, change this to make the bike fit me. I want to be comfortable riding long distances. Would this frame deliver? Does this frame deliver??? Yessireeebub it does. From the test ride I felt like a part of this bike. Oh yeah, we needed to adjust the saddle height, and the for and aft a bit, but other than that, I feel just fine on the bike without an expensive fitting (and I am a HUGE supporter of getting that fitting to dial everything in, but I am not sure I am going to mess with this one!).
What I notice in the ride: I am riding a little more upright, but without feeling like I am sitting too much on the seat. Very comfortable and after 50 miles, I am sad to be getting off the bike, I feel like I could stay on it day in, day out. I am also much more comfortable in the drops and have been using the drops a little more than I used to because of this. I used to feel a little jiggy when I went in the drops and like I didn't have as much control. Now, I can ride in the drops just to change position a little, and going down hill in the drops, I feel much more confident and in control. (I actually exceeded my 40mph record on a familiar downhill recently!)
Isospeed Decoupler and Ride Tuned Seat Mast: These features may go overlooked. I was familiar with them on the Domani, and I know how much smoother the Domani was than my previous bike, so I was looking for these features, and once I knew they were continued in the Silque series, it was looking like this was going to be my bike.
What I notice in the ride: Holy Cow! Smooth as silk! (Hahahaha pun intended). Or, should I say, it is Silque-y Smooth?) Yes, you can feel the road but things just feel smoother, vibrations not so noticeable.
Bontrager RXL Isozone Bar: I thought handle bars were handle bars. Boy, was I wrong! The Silque SSL has one of these Isozone bars on it. (see photo below from the trek website). The bar has integrated isozone pads in the Race X lite carbon bar. These pads are made from a non water absorbing foam, and they are located in the top of the bar and in the drops. There is also a bit of a flare for greater control in the drops.
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| Isozone bar |
What I notice in the ride: Again, Holy Cow!!! Again, Smooth as silk! Again, pun intended! My hands fatigue much less than on my old bike without this handlebar. Road vibrations are absorbed. Trek says that these pads reduce vibration displacement by 20% while keeping the same profile, I have not done measurements to prove or disprove this, but have you every hit a rough patch of road or a pothole and had to shake out your hand because it hurt? I have run in to a couple of those with this bike and been surprised that my hands didn't take the brunt of that bump, I am finding much less hand fatigue at the end of 50 miles. And again, I am much more comfortable in the drops. So, I guess what Trek says must be true.
Wheelset: The SSL came with Bontrager Race Lite TLR wheelset. These are great wheels, but I had just bought new wheels for my Domani back in February, and they were a little bit better of a wheelset, so I had them transferred to the Silque. The nice lady that bought my Domani got a great set of brand new wheels!
Saddle: Oh dear! Was my quest for the perfect saddle going to continue? The Selle SMP has followed me over two bikes, and it just worked. The SSL was coming with the Ajna Pro saddle with carbon rails. I had to give it a chance. So, over the last month I have been working my way into getting used to this saddle which is flatter than the SMP and has much less padding. (see the comparison below). Once we got the tilt and fore and aft of the Ajna Pro adjusted correctly, I can happily say that my 50 miles yesterday were completed with no agony (or 'vagagony' as we have come to call it). I am looking forward to doing a Century in the next couple of weeks, that will be the true test... but I can honestly say, my last Century on the SMP was not entirely comfortable either! I will say that I feel like I have a much more stable platform under my a$$ with which to pedal from.
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| Ajna Pro WSD with carbon rails |
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| Selle SMP |
Other features: Other niceties which were good, but not the deciding factors in purchasing this model of the Silque were the cable routing, the duotrap compatibility and the 11 speed. All features that I had on my Domani and were great, but not as important to me as the ones above. While we are on the subject... the 11 speed cassette is an 11-28. I was riding a 12-30, 10 speed on my Domani. I felt like I needed the extra teeth to get my rear up the hills (since I am not really 5'10" and 120 lbs). So far, the hills I have done, I have not felt like I need to change out the cassette. Since my two upcoming centuries are flat-ish, I am going to go with what is on the bike and if I feel the need, I can swap it out before the next Angel Ride (which is not flat-ish).
The Color Purple: I was looking at the color and I did for a moment consider going Project One. But, for me, I don't mind paying for carbon, handlebars, wheel sets and the like, but paying to change the color to make it personal, not so much. So I went with the black/purple lotus. I was unsure of this and figured I would get used to it. Much to my surprise, I love the color. The black isn't really black as I thought, I got it into the sunlight and it is sprinkled with almost an understated 'glitter' look to it, like a sprinkling of magic fairy dust (dreaming of magic bike fairies and unicorns there for a minute)! The purple lotus in underneath the bar, and there are a few accents of it here and there as well as a couple of green accents here and there as well. The only thing that left me wondering a bit was why it came in with a white seat mast. I was told I could swap that out if it was a problem, but I am thinking I will leave it. It will help me find my bike in a sea of bikes at some of these lager rides, and besides I am getting really used to it.
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| My Silque SSL |
So, doing all this research, led me to pretty much figure I was going with the Silque SSL. I couldn't consider the Silque, Silque S or SL due to the 400 series carbon used. So really all I had to decide was whether or not to upgrade to the Di2 shifters. While I was on my way to Newington Bike, Domani in tow, I thought of a million reasons to not buy this bike. I really liked my Domani, really, really. But once at the shop, while Domani was getting a new bottom bracket, I decided to do a test ride.
The test ride was done on the lower 4 series carbon SL. I loved it. Plain and simple. The fit off the rack with nothing but a seat adjustment reminded me of the comfort I felt on a Specialized Ruby when I test rode one of those before I made the jump to the Domani. No pressure on my hands, a comfortable position that felt like it could be maintained for many miles, and what struck me first was the smoothness. Granted I was in a parking lot, but I sought out some patches of rough pavement, and a brick path to ride on, going over those everything felt, for lack of a better word, dampened. Then I test rode a bike (no brand mentioned) that had Di2 shifters*, just to see if the cost of adding those in was justified. Again, about 5 miles around the parking lot, and yes, I decided the Di2 shifters were definitely justified. That just left me to figure out the pricing with the bike shop and it was going to be mine!
**A note about the Shimano Ultegra Di2 shifters: Hell yeah! The touch of a shifter lever and the chain moves precisely to where you want it. I find myself tiring out less because I am shifting more and with greater control. You can read about the mechanics of them online if you want, but all I can say is smooth, quiet and precise. Charging my bike is a somewhat new concept, but it doesn't have to be done all that often, and it is worth it to me.
So, now I have had the bike a month, ridden approx. 400 miles, and am happy to say it has delivered. I am more comfortable, feel like I have a much smoother ride (even over the Domani), and I am a little faster. Developing great speed has never been high on my priority list (although it is fun to be able to keep up), but now that I am a bit faster I am finding that faster can be fun, although I do still like to lolly gag and look at the scenery, too.
Bottom line: For my purposes this bike hits the nail on the head. Endurance, yes!! Staying a little more upright, yes!! Going faster, yes!!! If I was into racing and wanted that lower, more aero position, this may not be the bike, but since I am not that gal, it truly is the bike for me. Loving it. Thank you, Trek!
PS Sorry guys, this is offered in WSD only.... don't know what Trek has in store for you gents, but it will be exciting to see what comes down the road next.
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