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Nov 05, 2024

The Trek Checkpoint SL 7 AXS Gen 3 may be the perfect gravel bike - Ars Technica

Trek's updated adventure-focused gravel bike is fun no matter where you ride it. As I followed a friend down a flow-y, undulating single-track trail, I started laughing. Unlike my mountain bike-riding

Trek's updated adventure-focused gravel bike is fun no matter where you ride it.

As I followed a friend down a flow-y, undulating single-track trail, I started laughing. Unlike my mountain bike-riding companion, I was on a gravel bike, the new Trek Checkpoint SL 7 AXS Gen 3. You might be wondering why a review of a gravel bike is starting with such a ride. The answer is simple—the Checkpoint had excelled everywhere else I rode it, so I was curious to see how it would fare on a non-technical MTB track. Amazingly well, as it turns out.

Unlike every other bike Ars has reviewed to this point, the Checkpoint SL 7 Gen 3 has no battery and no motor—there's no e- in this bike. As is the case with our other bike reviews, sometimes we ask for a specific model, but manufacturers tend to contact us when we’ve already got a garage full of bikes we’ve not finished the reviews for (there are currently 12 bikes in my garage, some of which belong to other family members).

Launched in 2018, the Checkpoint is Trek's gravel-centric bike. For 2025, Trek has split its gravel lineup into the third-generation Checkpoint Trek and the Checkmate SLR 9 AXS. The latter features a lighter-weight frame, a power meter, and SRAM's new Red XPLR groupset. Selling for $11,999, the Checkmate is a gravel racer. Priced several thousand less at $5,699, the Checkpoint SL 7 AXS is now Trek's top gravel bike for those looking for a fun day out on the trails.

With the Gen 3 Checkpoint, Trek has added mounts all over the frame, tweaked the geometry to make it more comfortable for long rides, improved ride comfort by reworking the rear IsoSpeed decoupler (which softens the bumpiness from rough trails and pavement), and increased the tire clearance to 50 mm (42 mm with fenders). Trek uses three different types of carbon on its drop handlebar bikes. The top-of-the-line OCLV 900 shows up on the racing-focused Madone road bike, while the OCLV 800 is used in the Domane endurance bike lineup as well as the Checkmate. The SL 7 uses Trek's 500 Series OCLV carbon, and the bike weighs in at 19.85 lb (9.0 kg)—about 100 g heavier than the Gen 2. The drivetrain comes from SRAM, with a SRAM Force XPLR AXS D2 groupset.

Almost every gravel bike with an electronic groupset is going to have a single chainring at this point in time. The Checkpoint SL 7 is no exception, sporting a single 40T chainring. After my experience with the Specialized Turbo Creo SL Comp last fall and its 44T chainring, I wondered if I'd find myself running out of gears on the Checkpoint. I did occasionally, either on descents or on level terrain when I put the hammer down. But it happened less than I expected.

The 12-speed 10-42 cassette used in the Checkpoint pairs very nicely with the 40T chainring, offering a very workable range of gear ratios. Living in suburban Illinois results in a lack of serious climbing opportunities, but the cassette easily handled the modest climbs of central Illinois with aplomb. For the wheelset, Trek uses a pair of Bontrager Aeolus Elite carbon wheels with a sufficiently aero 35 mm rim depth.

The endurance geometry on the SL 7 Gen 3 is the real deal. Once I swapped out the default saddle (the 145 mm wide Verse Short Elite) for the saddle from my own gravel bike, the miles would just roll by. The handlebars—Trek's carbon GR Pro gravel handlebars—help, with their comfortable 15-degree flare.

Compliance is outstanding just about everywhere. I savored rough stretches of gravel, attacking rutted and rocky sections of trail with aplomb, knowing that the IsoSpeed and the tubeless 42 mm tires would reward the lines I took. If your rides take you over particularly challenging terrain with steep descents, the SL 7 can be outfitted with a suspension fork or dropper post. The Checkpoint also acquitted itself well on the road, with a complete lack of chatter on all types of pavement. I took it on one group ride, and the only time I really felt disadvantaged was on our sprint sections, where I just couldn't keep up with the dudes on their 28 mm tires.

While I did not have the chance to do any overnight trips, the Checkpoint is a fantastic choice for bikepacking. It's not just the compliance—there are mount points all over the place, including for a rear rack—something not seen on many carbon performance gravel bikes. There are also mounts on the front fork as well as both sides of the top tube. And the Checkpoint also has a storage compartment in the downtube, which is handy for storing an inner tube and everything else you need to deal with a flat out on the trail.

The only issue I had with the Checkpoint was when I picked it up. Riding around the parking lot, I noticed the brakes were not engaging enough. Swapping out the SRAM organic brake pads for a pair of sintered pads did the trick; another SL 7 Gen 3 I rode for a few miles did not have any braking problems.

Aside from that, my time with the SL 7 was rewarding. Trek has built an ideal gravel bike with the Gen 3 Checkpoint. Cleaving its gravel into race (Checkmate) and adventure (Checkpoint) segments is a canny move. Most riders won't miss the SRAM Red groupset, power meter, and other racing-focused features on the Checkmate. And it's much easier to justify spending $5,700 on a bike than $12,000.

Summer is by far my favorite time of year, but Midwestern autumns can be special. Although the usual autumnal crispness of the air has been scant in 2024 due to an abnormally long stretch of warm fall weather, the trees have been doing their usual thing. It's the time of the year when I'm happy to leave my road bike in the garage a couple of times a week so I can ride through the woods and enjoy the beauty. There's a feeling of oneness between rider, bicycle, and environment that can be fleeting, but with the Checkpoint, I could dial it up on demand. What more can one want from a bicycle?