Trek have created the CheckOUT – a full suspension gravel bike – as the search for fresh ground and fresh buyers continues.

Before I get into what the Trek CheckOUT is, I should say that Trek in general don’t really do bad bikes. Several Moles ride quite sporty Treks, with XC and trail models often showing up on our rides. They are – according to their long term riders – excellent machines.

So I am going to be cautious with what I say later in this discussion; to be clear, I haven’t ridden a Trek CheckOUT.

Checkout the CheckOUT

First, lets understand what the Trek CheckOUT is. I suspect for Trek the name means ‘Check. It. Out!’

The CheckOUT is a full suspension gravel bike. With a hideous paintjob.

It has 55mm of rear travel and 60mm at the front thanks to a newly developed RockShox Rudy fork and will take up to 56mm tyres.

Call it Phat Gravel.

A carbon only frame comes with a tiny swing link under the top tube to the rear shock and uses a single pivot with some built in flex in the chainstays.

In many ways, it takes some inspiration from XC MTBs with this kind of suspension – its light and forgiving and relatively low maintenance. At 69°, head tube angles are noticeably slacker than the gravel norm. The Reach is long and stems are short – essentially this is an MTB approach to frame design.

Even so, despite long 442mm chainstays (compared to 430mm for my Cannondale Topstone), the wheelbase is actually quite short. A medium-long size is just 1117mm versus my 1160mm large Cannondale.

It’s all too easy to say the Trek CheckOUT is an MTB with drop bars. Perhaps MarkC hit the nail on the head when he quipped that the CheckOUT looks a lot like a bitsa bike us Moles might cobble together from spare parts.

Regardless, you still have a very short travel frame with a circa 70mm bottom bracket drop, and no way that’s an MTB!

What’s it for?

My initial thought was the bike is focussed toward some of the rougher gravel races with the suspension there to help rapid progress over harsh surfaces. At the same time, riding in a gravel pack brings lots of dust and no clear sight lines, so suspension clearly helps deal with the stuff that you aren’t able to (or simply see too late).

In complete contrast, you can also buy a rear rack and full frame bag for the CheckOUT, hinting more at off-grid bike-packing demands than racing.

It’s a compromise for sure. If you ride Mid West US gravel I can’t see where the benefit is; if you ride in more mountainous landscapes, I can’t really see where the benefit is. If you ride certain gravel races… perhaps.

What are we really dealing with here?

I’m going to say, nice as Trek bikes are and however racy or XC capable this gravel bike may or not be, it’s a sign of a cynical – and faintly desperate – attempt by the industry to open up a new way to sell similar bikes to the same people.

And that sort of approach doesn’t always result in better bikes or bring in new customers.

If you stand back you can see how the CheckOUT is yet another example of gravel bikes heading toward XC MTB territory. At the same time, the big push in XC MTB is for 32 inch wheels, an obvious attempt to differentiate XC MTBs from ‘MTB-lite’ gravel bikes.

It makes your head hurt when you recognise this is all part of a plan, but at this time I can’t really see the economics are there. The XC MTB market is just too small these days and 32 inch wheels don’t suit everyone.

In the recent past, the 27.5 vs. 29er debate was settled in part because 29ers were outright better than 27.5. But it was also because stocking just one wheel size had economic benefits. Why open that issue up all over again with 32 inch wheels (unless you think the entire industry can move to 32ers, which might be a step too far)?

Similarly, MTB-lite gravel bikes in general are in some ways pretty compromised gravel bikes, as we’ve seen above.

Large, fat tyres on gravel bikes are all very well but there’s a reason we don’t ride and race rigid MTBs these days.

This explains why the CheckOUT has suspension at all, but as I’ve often claimed, 100mm travel is a minimum amount of travel in the Surrey Hills (based on my old 26 inch On-one Inbred!). Sure, more is nice, and 120-130mm is ideal depending on your riding, but less than 100mm in the Surrey Hills doesn’t really work.

This puts the 55/60mm CheckOUT into context. It’s going to be comfortable over rough ground. It’s going to be fast on the right course and it could even be fun. But it won’t hold a candle to a modern XC MTB.

Traditional MTB is dying

From what I can see, human powered MTB is pretty much dying at the moment. The Muddymoles are simply anachronistic in continuing to proudly ride without batteries.

Which is very much a shame.

With that in mind, gravel has been a gateway drug for many road riders to switch to trails. That process is bringing women as well as men over, which is very welcome. Ultimately these are the only people (or at least a subset of them) who will keep non-electric trail riding alive as they move on to XC MTBs and maybe beyond.

In that sense, XC MTB is a critical segment in keeping pedal powered riding alive and you can have a LOT of fun on an XC MTB with 100-120mm of travel.

So the question is, will the CheckOUT help the gravel to XC pathway, or will many people find themselves on no man’s land? We’ll see, but I reckon 80mm forks are not far away.

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.