All-new platform features smooth-riding IsoSpeed decoupler design
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Trek unveiled the new Boone at the GP Sven Nys cyclocross race in Belgium(Image credit: Photopress.be)
The Trek Boone 7 (US$3,360) comes built with a SRAM Rival transmission, FSA Energy crankset, and Bontrager Race tubeless ready wheels(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
Disc-specific Trek Boone frames place the rear caliper on the chain stay, inside the rear triangle(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Katie Compton's new Trek Boone is covered in a red, white, and blue paint scheme to celebrate her status as current US national champion(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Katie Compton's new Trek Boone ready for action(Image credit: Mark Legg-Compton)
The IsoSpeed 'decoupler' places a mechanical pivot at the seat cluster that allows the seat tube to flex much more than usual (and yes, it really does work). The matching IsoSpeed fork uses a more traditional approach with more dramatically swept blades with rearward-reaching dropouts to maintain a conventional rake(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
Carbon dropouts help keep the weight low while the integrated rear brake housing stop on rim brake-equipped bikes should provide a solid platform and a firm lever feel(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
Top American female 'cross racer Katie Compton played a pivotal role in tweaking the geometry of the new Trek Boone(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The wide-set fork blades leave lots of room for mud and debris to pass through(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The Trek Boone 5 Disc (US$3,050) features a Shimano 105 and FSA Energy drivetrain, Avoid BB5 mechanical disc brakes, and Bontrager tubeless ready wheels(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The flagship model is the disc-specific Trek Boone 9 Disc (US$6,300), which will come with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic transmission, Shimano R785 hydraulic disc brakes, and HED Ardennes Plus tubeless-ready clincher wheels(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The lightest model is the rim brake-specific Trek Boone 9 (US$4,200), built with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 group, TRP RevoX cantilever brakes, and Bontrager Race Lite wheels(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The Trek Boone 5 (US$2,840) features the same frameset as the rest of the range, built with a Shimano 105/FSA Energy drivetrain and Bontrager Race tubeless-ready wheels(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
The rim brake-specific Trek Boone frameset gets a molded-in rear brake housing stop and a crown-mounted front braking housing stop that should keep chatter at bay(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
Trek has thrown a wealth of features at its new Boone cyclocross frame that should make it among the smoothest-riding chassis available. Shown here is the disc-specific version but rim brake-compatible variants will be offered as well(Image credit: Trek Bicycle Corporation)
Cyclocross superstar Sven Nys wasted little time putting his new Trek Boone to the test, earning a win at his namesake race on his first official day as a Trek-sponsored rider(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Trek have debuted an all-new carbon cyclo-cross bike called Boone for team riders Sven Vanthourenhout, Katie Compton and current world champion, Sven Nys in his home town of Baal, Belgium. While expectedly lighter and more efficient than the company's current aluminum Crockett, the addition of Trek's fantastic IsoSpeed seat tube 'decoupler' should make this bike remarkably smooth and comfortable, too.
Of all the features Trek has included on the new Boone, it's the IsoSpeed 'decoupler' at the seat cluster that is far and away the most significant. By allowing the seat tube and top tube to pivot relative to each other, the top of the seatpost is thus free to flex down and back far more than would normally be allowed with a more rigid connection.
It's dramatically effective on the Trek Domane endurance road bike and should pay even bigger dividends on a bumpy cyclo-cross course where the softer ride would allow riders to stay seated longer and continue to put down power while other riders might be forced to stand and coast.
Trek has also borrowed the Domane's fundamental fork design, which features more forward-swept blades than typical and dropouts that reach rearward to allow for more flex.
That last feature brings a pleasant surprise: a supposedly "weather sealed" frame that will presumably allow owners to power wash at will without having to worry about frame and cable contamination.
Meanwhile, dual bottle braze-ons and hidden fender mounts should prove handy for training rides while the molded-in rear housing stop and crown-mounted front housing stop on cantilever-equipped bikes should make for chatter-free braking.
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Geometry is carried over wholly intact from the aluminum Crockett down to the last millimeter, meaning bottom brackets that are substantially lower than Trek's aging Cronus platform (65-70mm of drop instead of 62-64mm) for a more stable feel, shorter chain stays, and – finally – true size-specific steering geometry to maintain consistent handling characteristics regardless of frame size.
Trek will build the new Boone using its 600-series OCLV carbon fiber tubing. Trek has yet to announce claimed frame weights but based on some feedback we received from company representatives, somewhere right around 1,000g is a safe bet – helped in part by new carbon fiber rear dropouts.
Trek will offer the new the Boone in five complete models in the US – three with cantilever brakes and two disc variants – with prices ranging from US$2,839.99 to US$6,299.99. Framesets will be available in both disc and rim brake-specific versions and will cost US$2,299.99.
UK customers, on the other hand, will only see the Boone 5 Disc (£2,400) and the rim brake-specific frameset (£1,750) for now.
