Trek Emonda ALR 5 Disc

The Trek Emonda ALR 5 Disc is an aluminium road bike that offers a great ride and good value. Equipped with a Shimano 105 groupset, including hydraulic disc brakes, it's a lot of bike for your money.

• Pros: Great ride quality, Shimano 105 hydraulic disc brakes
• Cons: Some won't want aluminium frame or H2 fit

Despite Trek wanting to talk about how light and responsive its Emonda bikes are, the standout quality of the ALR 5 Disc is the ride quality. This is one of those bikes that's never flustered. It handles rough roads without any drama – which is just as well because there are plenty of 'em round our way – and stays fully planted on sketchy corners.

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You'll still get people telling you that an aluminium frame is harsh, you're going to get beaten up in the saddle, and all the rest of it. Forget all that. This bike is in no way uncomfortable, even if you're riding for several hours at a stretch. Okay, it doesn't mollycoddle you but there's a good amount of damping via the skinny, bridge-less seatstays and the arcing top tube means that you'll almost certainly have a lot of the slim (27.2mm diameter) seatpost extending out of the frame, allowing some flex over any bumps that come your way.

If anything, Bontrager's Montrose Comp saddle is a little too soft and flexible for my taste, especially through the cutaway central section – when it comes to squidginess, I'd prefer a scoop less – but as ever with saddles, that comes down to a matter of taste.

If you want more comfort you can always swap the Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite 25mm tyres for 28s – there's easily enough clearance from the frame and fork.

The disc brake-specific Bontrager Affinity rims are tubeless-ready if you wanted to run lower pressures for a more cosseted feel, although the tyres aren't tubeless so they'd need changing.

Full 105 groupset

The Emonda ALR 5 Disc comes equipped with a full Shimano 105 groupset and it performs exactly as you'd want it to. As you probably know, 105 is Shimano's third tier road groupset, and it's hard to beat in terms of value. It just works really, really well. I've been riding this bike every day for several weeks and the only tweak I've had to make is the usual turn of the rear derailleur barrel adjuster to sort out the indexing after a few rides.

I won't go into every aspect of 105's performance here, but the shifting is reliable, the hydraulic disc brakes are superb whatever the conditions, and the shape of the dual control levers is almost as good as that of the mechanical/rim brake version, with just a small bulge where the hose exits. That's positioned in such a way that it's unlikely you'll ever feel it.

Some people might quibble with the choice of compact 50/34-tooth chainsets throughout the Emonda range (unless you go for a Project One version of a carbon fibre Emonda, in which case you can spec what you like), but you could always ask the dealer if they'd be kind enough to swap over to standard chainrings if you'd prefer (it would be down to the discretion of the individual dealer).

All round, 105 is lovely stuff, only really suffering in comparison to more expensive Ultegra and Dura-Ace when it comes to weight.

Frame and weight

I don't like to go on about weight too much because it really isn't as big a deal as some people would have you believe, but Trek markets the Emonda as its lightweight road bike – as opposed to the Madone that's designed for aerodynamics and the Domane that's designed for comfort and endurance – so we need to cover it.

Trek hydroforms the aluminium tubing – the process of injecting fluid into a cylindrical frame tube and stretching it to its capacity. This allows complex shapes to be formed in order to tune the ride and keep the weight low. Trek also says that hydroforming allows it to produce tubes that fit together perfectly, reducing the amount of weld material. This, it says, allows for larger continuous surface areas on the frame, which increases strength and cuts weight.

Trek claims that the rim brake version of the Emonda ALR frame weighs 1,112g (56cm model) while the disc brake version is just 19g heavier at 1,131g. Of course, when you factor in the brakes themselves (the callipers, rotors, shifters, hoses and brake fluid), the weight difference is greater, our complete 58cm Emonda ALR Disc bike coming in at 9.16kg (20lb 3oz).

That's a fair chunk heavier than the rim brake Trek Emonda ALR 6 we reviewed last year. That bike, equipped with a Shimano Ultegra groupset – a level higher than the 105 on the Emonda ALR 5 Disc – was 7.89kg. We're not comparing apples with apples there; disc brake bikes are always heavier than rim brake bikes of a similar (ish) standard.

Does 1.27kg (under 3lb) make any difference out on the road? Not much. The bike feels a little less chuckable and physics says that accelerating and climbing is slightly dulled, but we're talking about marginal differences. All other things being equal, you'd rather have the lighter weight, but all other things aren't equal – the flip side is that you're getting the added performance of disc brakes. It's up to you if you think it's worth it, of course.

Geometry

All of the Emonda ALR bikes are built to Trek's H2 geometry, which is a little less low and stretched than its H1 or H1.5 setups but still focused on speed. If you want an Emonda in anything other than an H2 fit, you need to go through its Project One customisation system (the carbon fibre Emonda SLR 6 is the cheapest option, currently priced from £3,450). Trek is really dedicated to H2 these days and I guess it knows what its customers want.

"It's the perfect fit for most road riders because it's not overly aggressive but still puts you in the right position for power," says Trek.

To put some figures on it, we have the 58cm frame here with a 53.3cm seat tube, 57.3cm effective top tube, 19cm head tube and 73.8-degree head and 73-degree seat angles. The stack is 596mm and the reach is 391mm (giving a stack/reach ratio of 1.52).

For comparison, Trek's Madone SLR Disc in an H1.5 fit has a stack of 581mm and a reach of 396mm (giving a stack/reach of 1.47). Don't get the wrong idea, the riding position isn't nearly as upright as that of an endurance bike. Trek's Domane ALR Disc frame, for example, has a higher stack (611mm on the 58cm model) and a shorter reach (380mm on the 58cm model). The stack/reach ratio on the 58cm model is 1.61.

In other words, the H2 geometry splits the difference between an aggressive road bike and an endurance bike, and that's how it feels when you're in the saddle.

If you're used to a traditional race setup there's the possibility that you'll find the H2 geometry a bit too upright. I was happy with the position once I'd shifted the stem as low as it could go on the steerer, but we're all different. I did find myself down on the drops in search of efficiency a little more than normal, but that's not a bad thing. A lot of people buy a super-aggressive road bike, slam the stem and then never move their hands off the hoods, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Rivals

Of the bikes that we've reviewed on road.cc recently, the £1,400 Pearson Allmodcons is vaguely similar to the Trek Emonda ALR 5 Disc in that it is built around an aluminium frame and has a Shimano 105-based spec, although one big difference is the use of TRP Spyre C cable-operated disc brakes.

As the name suggests, the Merlin Cordite 105 R7000 Disc Carbon is equipped with a Shimano 105 groupset too, although here you get a carbon fibre frame. That bike is discounted from £1,850 to £1,279 and Merlin tells us that it's a permanent reduction.

> Buyer's Guide: 16 of 2019’s hottest disc brake-equipped race bikes

The Trek does compare well with other big brand offerings. It's £50 more at rrp than Cannondale's aluminium CAAD12 Disc 105 at £1,700, while Specialized's Allez Sprint Comp Disc, which also comes with an aluminium frame and a Shimano 105 groupset, is more expensive at £1,900. BMC's Teammachine ALR Disc One is also £1,900, with an aluminium frame, carbon fork and Shimano 105 groupset including hydro disc brakes. And while Bianchi doesn't do an equivalent road bike, its Impulso Allroad also has an aluminium frame, carbon fork and 105 groupset, including hydro disc brakes, for £1,900.

Giant's Contend SL 1 Disc looks good value at £1,249. We reviewed the rim brake version last year. Bear in mind, though, that the fork is carbon/aluminium rather than full carbon and although most of the groupset is Shimano 105, the chainset is a downgrade. The disc brakes are Giant's Conducts which use a cable-actuated master cylinder rather than being a full hydraulic setup.

There isn't a carbon fibre Trek Emonda SL 5 Disc in the range, the closest carbon equivalent being the Emonda SL 6 Disc with an upgrade to a Shimano Ultegra groupset and Bontrager's Paradigm Disc wheels. This model is £2,700.

Conclusion

The Emonda ALR 5 Disc is one of those bikes that manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. Check out the spec sheet and everything says that it should be solid, but the ride quality is comfortably above that. If you're expecting a harsh ride you're in for a lovely surprise here.

Verdict

Disc brake equipped aluminium road bike that offers a great ride at a competitive price