Used as a gravel-lite bike, it showcases the capability of today's crop of road bikes(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Shimano Ultegra Di2 is standard on the Emonda SLR 7, but Floren has swapped in a Quarq D Zero power meter chainset(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Onto which he's fitted 50/34 Shimano Ultegra chainrings, which are paired with an 11-28T cassette(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Disc brakes reign supreme when the road ends and Floren's bike is no different(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Curiously, Floren's not running tubeless tyres, although that could change come race day(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Ritchey's 120mm stem has been utilised(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
Floren's Garmin Edge 530 will be held in place using a K-Edge out-front mount(Image credit: Sandy Floren)
One of the hottest prospects in USA Cycling's mountain biking scene, Sandy Floren has embarked on his own alternative calendar in 2020, turning his hand to the ever-growing discipline of gravel racing. He might be more used to flat bars and chunky mountain bike tyres but the XC collegiate level national champion has already proven himself as no slouch in the drop-bar cockpit of the adventure racing scene.
We already covered the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX used by Stetina at Super Sweetwater, which was essentially Canyon's best lightweight road bike, adapted for gravel use with the addition of 28C tyres and a clutched rear derailleur. Floren took a similar approach, by adapting Trek's lightweight bike, the Emonda, into something that can handle a bit of rough and ready. However, the changes are minimal, and the bike would be just at home in the WorldTour peloton as the gravel bunch.
Our other pro-bike galleries of the Emonda might be more used to seeing 25C tubular tyres and a range-topping groupset, such as that used by Trek Segafredo's Richie Porte, but Floren's slightly-more-rugged version features a cheaper-to-replace-in-the-event-of-a-crash Shimano Ultegra groupset and wider than usual 28C tyres. More notably on that latter point, however, is the fact that Floren has foregone the option to run tubeless road tyres in favour of Bontrager's R3 Hard-Case Lite 28C clinchers, which are wrapped around the brand's Aeolus Pro 3 road wheels.
The rest of Floren's setup is just as road-focused as you'd find on a WorldTour bike, such as the carbon finishing kit, which also comes from Bontrager. Garmin supplies the data and directions courtesy of its Edge 530 cycling computer, which is held in place using an out-front mount from K-Edge.
Click through the gallery above for a closer look at Sandy Floren's gravel-adapted Trek Emonda SLR Disc.
Sandy Floren's Trek Emonda SLR Disc full bike specifications
Frameset: Trek Emonda SLR 7 Disc
Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8070
Front brake: Shimano Ultegra Hydraulic Disc
Rear brake: Shimano Ultegra Hydraulic Disc
Brake/shift levers: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8070 Hydraulic Disc Brake Dual Control Lever
Front derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8050
Rear derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8050
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra R8000, 11-28T, 11 speed
Chain: Shimano Ultegra R8000
Crankset: Quarq D-Zero Power Meter, 172.5mm length
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
