Trek Silque SLX women-specific road bike

Trek's new range of women specific bikes aim to combine performance and comfort, but can the Silque SLX really do both?

Having long forgone my race silks and the need to bang elbows in a pack, I've welcomed endurance bikes with comfortable frames, relaxed geometry and stable handling, but secretly I've missed the turn of speed you get powering out of a corner with your head down and lungs bursting. So when Trek sent me their all new WSD Silque SLX, I looked forward to putting it through its paces on nice long rides and a good thrash with the girls.

The Silque Women's range is completely new to Trek's line-up and fits between the Endurance Race and Performance Race Women Specific Design (WSD) ranges. Interestingly on Trek's website the Silque range features in both the Endurance and Performance Race sections, perhaps trying to appeal to both types of rider? Either way, the Silque's new geometry is built around a taller head tube, shorter top tube, shorter chain stays and a racier fork than the Domane, yet they still share the IsoSpeed decoupler technology and all the comfort that brings. There is no doubt the Silque firmly treads the ground between and also overlaps both race machine and comfy endurance bike genres.

The frame is beautifully made from Trek's high end OCLV 6 Series carbon and comes ready prepped for electronic gears, with ports for cable routing and internal battery position in the seat mast, perfect should you wish to upgrade later. The high-tech carbon composition gives the Silque a very different ride feel from the Domane. I found it more compliant and capable of handling rough roads better and yet surprisingly responsive when the road kicked up.

This is where the good stuff in combining endurance comfort and a snappier ride gets exciting. Even fitted with skinnier 23mm tyres, I felt there was hardly any road buzz or vibration up through the frame. Luckily I had both bikes on test at the same time, so comparisons between the Domane and Silque were duly noted, and although the geometry numbers speak volumes, it's how the ride feels that ultimately matters.

On first ride the steering felt a bit unsteady especially on slow corners but once we dropped the stem right down more controlled steering prevailed - with a taller head tube it was a pretty obvious adjustment to make. Out and out racers may not enjoy the taller front end position and may miss the control a more aggressive position offers, but the Madone is probably what they should be looking at in that case.

The Silque delivered well in terms of pedal power directly equating to speed and forward thrust, and with a light frame weight it sure likes to climb too. It was definitely a sporty ride and I enjoyed blasting down steep hills on the drops.

I'm a big fan of the IsoSpeed decoupler, the independent top-tube and seat-tube system that allows both tubes to move separately and acts as a form of suspension. Rough roads are soaked up and vertical compliance is greatly increased, meaning that over long distances body fatigue is definitely limited and my backache was reduced dramatically.

Sleek lines are maintained thanks to the internal cable routing and as we previously mentioned, should you wish to upgrade to electronic gearing it's ready and waiting. Further features include the 'seat mast', a system whereby the seat-post fits over the seat-tube rather than the traditional post inside the seat-tube scenario. This method uses less material and is therefore lighter, yet gives a stronger junction with up to 10cm of height adjustment - just don't forget to use the torque wrench provided.

The E2 head tube tapers from 1 1/2in lower bearing to 1 1/8in upper bearing and has an asymmetrical shape from side to side, while is claimed to provide extra stiffness under steering loads. The fork is another work of beauty and being full carbon from steerer to dropout, it's light and matches the quality of the frame perfectly.

More OCLV carbon forms the Bontrager Race X Lite IsoZone handlebar designed to accommodate female riders with a shallower drop and provides added comfort thanks to the sensibly positioned IsoZone pads. This all adds to the comfort and integrates well with the WSD geometry and fit philosophy – to ride smoother, ride longer, ride faster.

A full Shimano Ultegra group set provides fault free shifting and braking. My only criticism is aimed at the poor quality plastic screw used to adjust brake lever reach - an essential feature for small hands requiring a comfortable and safe ride.

Ultimately the Silque stands out as another commitment by Trek to provide women riders with more options in their high end bike range and prove they are leading the way once again. Plus in terms of value, you get loads of bike for your money.

Verdict

Compliant, versatile and light; could easily hold its own in a race or head out for a full day in the hills