After the partial cancellation of the race schedule in the 2020 pandemic year, Trek launched a new version of the Boone Cyclocross Race bike, which coincides with the start of the 2021-2022 cycling cross-country season.
Trek Boone 6 Disc for 2022 © C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Unlike the new Specialized CruX we saw on the Sea Otter Classic in October, Trek kept the bike as a dedicated cross-country bike, with a "modern cross-country" geometry and minimal attachment points. The redesigned frame is 250 grams lighter than the previous model, and the shape borrows from Trek's flagship road bike Madone. 2022 Boone is smoother in the wind and includes a cleaner cable management system, which Trek calls Control Freak.
Trek's Control Freak cable management system is simple in appearance. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Treks began appearing regularly on the podium of international cross-country competitions in 2012. The aluminum frame prototype driven by Katie Compton, the 15-time US national champion, later evolved into Crockett.
Sven Nys is arguably the greatest off-road racer of all time. He started riding Trek Boone in 2014 until he retired at the end of the 2016 season. He continues to lead Beloise Trek Lions, a Belgian team sponsored by Trek. Lucinda Brand won her 2021 Dirt Bike World Championship jersey in the last iteration of Trek Boone. Recently, she and Lars Van der Haar won their respective races in the 2021 European Motocross Championship in the new 2022 Trek Boone.
There is no doubt that Nys, Brand, and Van der Haar provided input on Trek’s decision to keep Boone as a dedicated off-road bike, while other companies are making off-road models more suitable for gravel and targeting larger tires and long-distance comfort Perform geometric correction.
Boone is a 600 series carbon fiber, two levels lower than the top road racing models Madone and Emonda, and one level lower than Trek's Domane who participated in the one-day European Spring Classic. Trek Marketing Manager Anders Ahlberg told me: "The OCLV 600 was chosen to achieve the proper balance of performance to reduce weight, while considering that Boone 6 is now our single complete CX bike and remains cost-competitive. Every bike we make Carbon fiber bicycles contain a large number of different specific fibers that are used in different fields for different reasons. Think of higher grades as the use of fibers that contain a higher percentage and higher modulus."
The geometry of Trek Boone has not changed from the previous version. Our 56 cm evaluation sample has a 68 mm bottom bracket drop, a 72-degree head tube angle, and a 42.5 cm chainstay. For a 56 cm frame with an effective top tube of 55.8 cm, the reach and stack dimensions are 387 mm and 580 mm, respectively. The wheelbase is quite standard 102.0 cm. Using a fork offset of 45 mm, the calculated tail distance is 67 mm and the tire is 33 mm.
The overall frame aesthetics and head tube shape are more streamlined in appearance than before, with new cables running through the head tube and the IsoSpeed fork with a crown integrated with the down tube. 2022 Boone retains the rear IsoSpeed decoupler and an integrated seat mast with an external 135 mm long carbon fiber seat mast cover that secures the saddle and slides on the seat mast to provide some saddle high flexibility . The relative saddle height adjustment is limited to about 80mm, if you choose the correct frame size, it is enough. If you need a higher height, Trek does make a longer 175mm seat mast cover. The seat mast cover is also available with 5 mm or 20 mm retreat, and side-mounted saddle rail clamps are used.
The front fork is new and marked with IsoSpeed, which contributes to the integration, streamlined style and lighter weight of the new Boone. 2022 Boone does not have Domane's front IsoSpeed decoupler with the upper headphone cover of the rocker. According to Ahlberg, removing the front IsoSpeed decoupler on the previous version of the Boone is a significant part of reducing the weight of the frame.
For a more streamlined front end, the important thing is the control line into the head tube. Slightly simpler than the control wires running inside the handlebars and stems, Boone's control wires enter the upper earphone racing cover through the rubber boot port. This cover does not seal the headphone bearing, it is decorative and serves as the entry point for the control line. Easy to use electric washing machine! Trek refers to this as Control Freak. These lines then enter the big head tube that surrounds the normal circular cone-shaped front fork diverter, and find the internal destination through the down tube. This arrangement looks clean, but it is a bit more complicated than the normal internal control lines that enter the down tube. The front brake hose enters the left front fork leg directly in the head tube.
Trek's Control Freak cable management system is simple in appearance. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The 2022 Trek Boone uses 12mm through shafts (100mm at the front and 142mm at the rear), flat-mounted disc brake calipers, and follows the rest of Trek's product line, turning to the T-47 threaded inner bottom bracket. It has an 85.5 mm wide bottom bracket housing and an insert that is threaded to M47 X 1.0 mm. Based on Trek's experience with threaded BB inserts in the 90s, these new T47 inserts are slightly three-lobed, so they are keyed and have better resistance to rotation. The chainstay is asymmetrical and the drive side is narrow to reduce crank clearance. Both the front and rear through shafts have a 6 mm Allen key accessory. Trek includes a lever with a 6 mm head that can be snapped into the through shaft. Trek may have 2 axles with handles or no handles at all. This is a good solution: the appearance is clean, but there is always a way to remove the wheels, which is very convenient.
When the 2022 Boone was launched, Trek's industry insiders had a lot of discussion, and the press release incorrectly pointed out the maximum tire clearance of 33 mm. This is of course an endorsement of UCI's controversial tyre size limit for off-road races. In 2020, USAC ruled that non-UCI controversial cross-country races allow tire widths up to 38 mm. Using 40mm tires, we can achieve the industry standard 5mm tire-frame clearance on Boone. Trek's official position is that Boone's maximum tire width is 38 mm, and there is a gap of more than 6 mm around the tire. This is a generally accepted conservative recommendation. Therefore, 2022 Boone can ride on the largest tires in any USAC competition. Yes, it can handle many gravel relationships.
The new Trek Boone is shown with 33mm (measured) tires installed. Trek's 85.5 mm wide T47 threaded bottom bracket. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Trek Boone with 42mm (measured) tires. There is a 3 mm tire-frame clearance on the drive side. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The only accessory installation is for the two bottle cages in the usual positions of the down tube and seat tube. Our review Boone 6 has a nice paint job with a gradient from red to navy blue from top to bottom. I have received many praises from non-cyclists and cyclists on the aesthetics of the bicycle.
Trek Boone 6 comes with a complete Shimano GRX mechanical kit. The stock front chainring has 40 teeth, and the arm length varies with the frame size. The crank length of our 56 cm sample is 172.5 mm. Boone has a height-adjustable chain guide that is mounted directly on the frame to help maintain the chain when using a single chainring. The chain guide not only prevents the chain from falling into the inside, but there is also a guide on the top to prevent the chain from slipping off the top of the sprocket. If you want to use a double sprocket crank with a front derailleur, you will need Trek's special clip, because the seat tube is not round and there is no standard bolt-on front derailleur hanger provided. There is an interface on the back of the seat tube, which is used to control the wire, whether it is a wire shell or a wire. The flywheel is 11-34 11 speed. The 34t flywheel is unique in the Shimano road flywheel series because the 34-tooth gear is suspended on the gear bracket. This allows the flywheel to fit the old Shimano 8-9-10 speed flywheel body. On the 11-speed body, it requires an inner gasket. This is useful if you have old wheels around, but all these old wheels may be used for rim brakes with quick release hubs!
The cockpit is composed of Bontrager Elite IsoZone VR-CF (variable radius compact horn) aluminum rods. This should have an IsoZone pad, but I did not untie the strip to verify this particular fact. The stem is a Bontrager Pro aluminum model compatible with Blendr. Blendr is a set of accessory brackets integrated into the stem. I commented on this in an early review of Trek Crockett two years ago.
Paradigm Comp 25 wheels also come from Bontrager, Trek's parts brand. The inner width of the rim is 25mm and the outer width is 31mm. The aluminum rim has tubeless compatible profiles, but standard rim bars and tubes are installed. The tire is a Bontrager CX3, an all-round tread marked 32, but with a size of 33.5 on a wide rim. Nevertheless, this tire and rim combination has almost no rim protection. Although I used this original wheel set for a lot of riding, most of my riding reviews were done using familiar tire and wheel combinations, which is the WTB with WTB CZR i23 wheels I reviewed recently. Riddler 700 X 37 tires.
Bontrager CX3 32mm tires are mounted on Bontrager Paradigm Comp rims with an inner width of 25mm and a size of 33.5mm, but still provide the smallest rim protection 0n with an outer wide rim 0n. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The complete Boone 6 Disc weighs 18.4 pounds. The weight without wheels but with a through shaft is 11.1 lbs.
If you, like me, have ridden a lot of "cross-country bikes" over the years, the new Boone will immediately become familiar. In other words, every bike is nuanced, and this full carbon fiber racing geometry machine is no exception, especially considering Trek's experience in carbon fiber construction and IsoSpeed splitters and forks.
Boone's rear IsoSpeed decoupler is working fine. When the saddle bears a load, the seatmast is firmly bent backward from the pivot point, while the seat tube is reciprocatingly bent forward. The rear IsoSpeed decoupler depends on the weight of the rider who must be seated to activate the system. It also depends on the height of the saddle and retreat to take advantage of the seat mast. I weigh 155 pounds and the height of my saddle is 75 cm. This places the saddle about 25 cm above the IsoSpeed pivot and is only one cm higher than the minimum height of the 56 cm frame. You might argue that due to my weight and low saddle height relative to the available range, I am least likely to benefit from the IsoSpeed decoupler.
Having said that, Boone is definitely stable for rigid bikes, which is an interesting dichotomy. On rough terrain, I can stay in the seat and continue to apply power to the pedals-in many cases more efficient and less fatigued. I used Boone 6 to experience this on fast and flat sections on bumpy tracks, rocky trails, washboards and broken roads, when climbing on a saddle to maintain traction, or even when going downhill, if you need a saddle Weight on the rear wheel for traction. Riding is not soft, elastic or elastic. You will definitely notice the surface, but the vibration will be reduced, and the bumps will also be reduced. I can conclude that Trek uses the IsoSpeed decoupler to provide the ideal riding quality for Boone's saddle. The Aluminium Trek Crockett reviewed two years ago, like other bicycles, has a similar smooth ride without the rear IsoSpeed decoupler, so this quality can be designed in different ways.
The Trek Boone rear Isospeed decoupler allows the seat mast to bend to adapt to rough terrain. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Outside the seat, the rear IsoDecoupler has no effect on the ride quality-it depends on the frame design and carbon fiber laminate engineering. Boone is comparable to other high-end off-road bikes I remember, such as the last Cannondale Super-X. You jump on the pedals and the bicycle squirts out from under you. Throw it to a turning point, on the road or outside, and it will obey your orders. During the transition from road to soil, the front end will not waver. Without the IsoSpeed decoupler, pass a rocky path from the saddle that hiccups both tires, relying on the front fork to provide damping. It did a great job keeping the bike online and out of control, and my hands would not be released from the handlebars.
The new trek Boone has gotten up and set off! © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
For "cross racing", Boone has a fairly level top tube that is easy to grasp. It has a flat profile and can be comfortably placed on your shoulders when carrying. The Control Freak cable manager prevents interference on the control line, but does not restrict the direction of rotation at all. When washing the bicycle, the water absorbed in the bearing will not be more than normal. Any water along the control line will flow down the front fork legs or into the down tube like any other frame. The down tube is huge-it falls off a huge head tube and splays across the entire width of the bottom bracket. I can't put my medium-sized hand on the tube, so lifting from the down tube to the shoulder of the bike requires some adjustment. The big down tube also has thin walls, it will bend if you squeeze it, so don't hit it hard.
The Shimano GRX machine with a single chainring is a good choice for Boone 6, but it needs attention. 'U.S. off-road racers have long liked the single-loop setup. Since SRAM combines a wide and narrow sprockets and a clutch rear derailleur to make the setting more reliable, 1x has become the choice of many off-road riders. Shimano's single ring setup works fine, but using the GRX chain ring to move the chain line out of 2.5 mm means that there is a larger chain angle in the lower gear because the flywheel is in the same position. Boone does not need the extra clearance provided by the GRX crank. 2.5 mm does not seem to be much, but considering the distance between the 11-speed flywheel gears is 3.74 mm, this is almost a gear on the outside. I think the GRX is noisier at low gears. Compared to the Shimano road crank or SRAM setting, when the pedal is stepped backwards, the chain will climb off the big gear. "Stock" gears offer a low ratio of 1:1.18 or 31.8 gear inches, which is lower than the old standard 36 X 28 that produced 1:1.29 or 34.8 gear inches.
The included GRX rear derailleur is RD RX810 for 2X11, with a maximum gear capacity of 34T. I think this is a strange choice for a bike set to 1X. If you want a lower gear or a wider gear range than Boone 6, you will officially need GRX RD RX812 to use the 11-42 flywheel or add a pylon extension, or you can convert to a front wheel The setting of a derailleur with a double sprocket is quite expensive and complicated.
In the case of 2X conversion, you need an STI lever. Due to the 2.5mm outer spacing, the front derailleur must be GRX. You will need Trek Boone 2022 clamps, and Boone does not have a cable housing to stop, so luckily it is GRX FD RX810-F has a built-in housing stop. Shimano is conservative and has a designated rear derailleur capacity. For example, I have been using 32T gears and the old Shimano road derailleur designated as maximum 28T without any malfunction. In other words, the expansion of any Shimano derailleur beyond the prescribed capacity, whether using the available extension link or through experimentation, is at the user's risk. 11-36 should work fine, but pushing it to 11-40 or 11-42 would be risky, not to mention the potential difference in pitch.
This is a limitation that cannot be overstated. The transmission is great for flat courses for elite racers and the rest of us, but many potential retail paying customers will need more versatility. When not racing, they will ride on trails and gravel, and may need lower gears to take the steeper courses. Buyers beware, if 40×34 gears cannot meet your needs, you may have to pay for some transmission system costs. Whenever there is a climb on the menu, that high and low gear can keep the bike stable.
Trek Control Freak control line management system was unveiled. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
The included Bontrager Paradigm Comp 25 wheels are a reliable price point option, weighing more than 1700 grams. It is tubeless, but with a normal rim strip and inner tube inside the Bontrager CX 3 tires. Tires are a good all-round "cross-racing option". Converting wheels to tubeless requires Bontrager tubeless plastic strips, which have bead frame contours, valves and sealants. I replaced the Bontrager tubeless tape with tape, but it requires several layers to form a tight bead seal, so my recommendation is to use Bontrager tubeless tape. Although Paradigm Comp25 is a sturdy entry-level wheel set, Boone deserves a lighter and more lively wheel set.
Before gravel riding and racing became their own category, off-road racers used their "cross-country bikes" for off-season mixed terrain riding. The 2022 Trek Boone is an excellent cross-country bike, and it has a wide range of uses. It has a UCI-approved frame and geometry, which is suitable for the European cross-country course where it spends a lot of time, which is the root of its support for racing. I like its response to rider input and its operability in a fast, compact course. Trek's rear IsoSpeed decoupler adds to an excellent riding experience, making the rider's sitting posture more comfortable, power transmission and control stronger.
The new Trek Boone racing bike is very flexible. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
It is not suitable for riders who are interested in multi-day adventures or bicycle camping, because the only accessory holder is two bottles. The largest tire that can fit comfortably into the frame is 40mm, which meets the industry standard 5mm tire-frame gap, which is sufficient for most gravel competitions. Trek's Checkpoint has larger tire clearance, adjusted geometry and more attachment points to meet the needs of those who need it.
The Trek's top cover illustrates the purpose of this bike. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
You can own a bicycle to do all the work, please choose a checkpoint. If you like a lively bike that can ride on mixed terrain for a day in the off-season, then if you can afford some drivetrain modules, then Boone is a good choice. If your budget is tighter, but like the latter, Trek Crockett is a worthy one in the Trek family.
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: US$4,030 Frame: Carbon fiber monocoque front fork: Trek IsoSpeed Carbon fiber with carbon steerer: 1 ⅛” -1 ½” Weight: 18.4 pounds, tested without pedals; 11.1 pounds without wheels or pedals Gear lever: Shimano GRX mechanical 11-speed chain wheel: Shimano GRX 40T Single sprocket brake: Shimano GRX Shimano RT-800 rotor 160mm front, 160mm rear cockpit: Bontrager aluminum, 10 cm stem, 42 cm rod seat Pad: Treamtrak Bonk Verse Comp, Rail Wheel: Bontrager Paradigm, 25mm Inner Width Aluminum Tire: Bontrager CX3 Team Edition 700X33 Tubeless Tire Warranty: Lifetime, Frame and Front Fork (Original Owner) Country of Origin: Taiwan More Information: trekbikes.com
You must be logged in to leave a comment.
Enjoy our full coverage of every championship battle? Consider donating to support CXM. I will be a supporter