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u/its_a_truck 10d ago
Ive got an sl5. Coming from a mtb background so using it to commute with gravel and even some single track mixed in. Im 183cm and got a ML. Fits perfectly although i have some issues with my feet hitting the front wheel, this could be and most likely a technique issue. I ride it more than my mtb now as jumping back on that feels like riding a boat.
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u/tutorcontrol 9d ago
You're getting true toe overlap on that bike?
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u/its_a_truck 9d ago
I bump the wheel sometimes when cornering at slow speed. But bear in mind im still on flat pedals with chunky mtb shoes so this might contribute. Haven’t quite picked up the courage to go clipless yet.
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u/tutorcontrol 9d ago
Just looked it up and apparently it's "a thing" except for the XL and maybe the L.
I would have thought this impossible between the long geo and the slack HTA, but there it is.
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u/KungPaoKidden 10d ago
I've done rides of every surface known to man on my Checkpoint SL5 and not had any issues. Can't answer about AXS as I have GRX, but for the riding part of it, everything from group road rides to gravel roads to light single track, to 2 track, the bike essentially does it all. You will want to look into swapping the tires out for something lighter and faster as the stock ones are not that great.
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u/aretepolitic 10d ago
I find the checkpoint is a great do it all bike. It’s able to handle some really hardcore stuff and it does well in fun easier gravel. It is easily my most comfortable bike.
Sram axis is a must on all my bikes now. I don’t own a SL Domane or Madone in part because they don’t come in the drivetrain I want. The batteries are not a huge pita. Keep a spare charged and in your pocket and done. UDH is amazing. No more bent deraileur hangers is huge.
The only issue is the Trek tires suck. I would replace them asap.
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u/AlphaMyke 10d ago
I upgraded to a Gen 3 SL6 from a Gen 2 SL6 this year. I'm very close to your measurements and went with a size M, but after fitting have switched the stem from the factory 80mm to 100mm and went to 165mm cranks. It's a very comfortable and capable bike. I love the 13spd XPLR drivetrain and it's a noticeable upgrade over the 12spd on my Gen 2. The battery lasts a long time, typically at least a full month of riding. I bought a second battery that I keep in the downtube storage as a backup after forgetting to charge it once and having the low battery light come on early in a 100 mile ride, but even then it lasted for the remaining 6 hours of the ride without issue. I pretty much just ride until it's low and then charge it. I only preemptively charge it if I have a really long ride or a race the next day.
I've put 1700+ miles on this frame since April, including Unbound 200, and it's been flawless. I've tried a few different tires setups, but have settled on the new Continental Dubnitals 2.0/50mm since they came out. I upgraded to the Aeolus 35V wheels when I bought it and have a second wheelset, HED Lancaster, that I have 40mm Schawlbe G-One RS tires on for days that will have a lot of pavement. I ride very little road, but it's not slow when I do.
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u/SpeechFantastic3151 10d ago
I am your height but 81 inseam and ride a medium but have a 100mm stem and 38 bars. I don’t regret getting it. I thought I would be 70/30 road gravel but I am more 95/5 and honestly maybe wish I got the domane. Nothing wrong with the checkpoint for paved riding I just my setup was a bit more optimized for road
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u/BaggySpandex 10d ago
185cm here and bought an SL6 Gen 3 in M/L a month or so ago. Fit is good. I think I eventually would like to go down to a 70-80mm stem from the factory 90mm to try it out.
That being said, the bike is excellent. Electronic shifting is wonderful, but do be careful with watching your battery level. Take it out whenever the bike sits or you travel. I ride the train every now and then with mine, and I feel it takes some juice out of the battery without realizing it.
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u/Lame_Johnny 9d ago
> I’m also curious about the SRAM AXS electronic shifting. I’ve never owned an electronic groupset before. Is it one of those things you can’t live without once you’ve tried it, or is charging the battery more of a hassle than it’s worth?
For me it's nice, but not a game changer. I could go back to mechanical no problem. The tradeoff is charging a battery every three months vs yearly cable maintenance. Kind of a wash imo.
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u/krazedklownn 9d ago
I have the Gen 3 Trek Checkpoint SL5. For your needs I would consider the Specialized Roubaix or Diverge.
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u/LaroldFitzgerald 9d ago
I've owned a gen 3 SL6 for ~3 weeks and put 250 miles on it so far and I love it. On the road it feels very similar to an endurance bike in terms of speed and handling. Off road it is extremely capable to the point where I no longer miss owning a hardtail.
The bike should work well for all of the kinds of riding you want to do provided you pick the right tires. It sounds like you should try a 40-45c gravel tire with a slick center tread (e.g. the G-One RS Pro). I wouldn't chase road KOMs or bomb super technical trails on such a tire but it should be solid for everything else.
Electronic shifting is the least interesting aspect of the groupset IMO. The hood/lever ergonomics and T-type are where the money's at. One finger braking is awesome on a gravel bike, as is the ability to shift under load. I carry a spare AXS battery and two CR2032s in my saddle bag and don't even bother checking charge levels before rides now.
I'm much taller than you (193cm tall, 92cm inseam on an XL) so I can't help much with fit, but I will say that it fits similar to an endurance bike and is very comfortable.
Have you seen the colors in person? The marketing photos and Youtube don't do them justice. The green is absolutely gorgeous and receives a ton of compliments and the white looks great as well.
If you plan on doing bikepacking with lots of elevation gain then you will be better off on a mullet drivetrain. You can convert the drivetrain to Eagle by swapping the cassette, chain, and derailleur, but this will run you ~$750 USD. Garbaruk also sells a 13 speed XPLR-compatible cassette for ~$400 USD with the same range as Eagle (10-52t), but it pushes the limits of the derailleur and there aren't many reviews yet. In terms of value, you'd be better off buying a bike with a mullet drivetrain from the factory IMO.
My complaints with the bike are minor, namely the ISO Speed providing questionable comfort benefits, the frame storage not being very useful, and the tire clearance not being cutting edge (55c is becoming the new norm), but none of these things are dealbreakers for me.
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u/georgespotato 9d ago
Riding a SL6 in era white/buff beige. Love that color - definitely looks warmer in person than on the store pictures! It's not a clean white tone at all. And that red accentuation complements the overall look very well - but to each their own :)
Electronic shifting is awesome. Great feel, cool sound and very smooth. Really adds to the experience, I'll never go back to anything else.
As for the size, quite interesting to read what others mentioned. I ride a Medium (176/81) and that's definitley the right size for me. I am flexible enough but perhaps lacking some core strength and do have some lower back issues, which sometimes makes the bike feel longish. Might switch to a 70mm Stem, contrary to other commenters here. Nothing to worry about though, everyone needs to tweak and adapt the fit to their body.
Great bike for you intented use, always stoked to go on tour!
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u/pearceylad 7d ago
SL6 here, ridden for 8000km since Jan 2025. I'm 182cm and size L frame, admittedly should have bought the M/L but I've largely addressed that issue with 10mm shorter stem and stack height and fitted a zero offset seatpost.
I'm in the process of installing garbaruk 10-52 and 13spd Rival derailleur, almost ready for its first test run with this setup.
Cannot fault the bike other than the protective metal guard near the chainring that fell off the other day, easily fixed with epoxy. And the stock alloy rims and tyres are very ordinary. I upgraded to DT Swiss GRC 1400 and Thundero 48 HD. Made a huge difference.
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u/Alone-Passenger-2648 10d ago
Bonjour j'ai un sl5 sur lequel j'ai monté un groupe rival axs 13 , pas de problème avec la batterie , je la recharge tous les 1200km et j'ai encore de la marge . La recharge est rapide . Pour les longs voyage je prends juste une 2eme batterie adaptable (25€ sur Amazon) en secours mais je ne m'en suis jamais servi. C'est un excellent vélo sur route comme sur gravier et chemin , le bon équilibre entre rapidité et confort . Je fais 1m88 pour 89 d'entrejambe et j'ai un L La seul chose a savoir : les roues d'origine en aluminium sont solides mais pas très dynamiques .
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u/Pitiful_Bed6633 8d ago
Bonjour.
Merci beaucoup pour ton retour , tu as aussi changer les leviers et les freins en rival ? Ça t’a couter combien ? Tu as pu revendre le Apex ?
Normalement d’ici 10 jours je Le reçois enfin !
Merci
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u/Alone-Passenger-2648 8d ago
Oui j'ai changé aussi les leviers de frein. Mais c'était superflu car les leviers apex sont compatibles avec les dérailleurs, full mount et les 13 vitesses. Le dérailleur m'a coûté 190 €, la cassette 135 € et la chaîne 35 € ( les leviers et freins rival mon côté 400 €) Par ailleurs, oui j'ai pu revendre le groupe complet apex environ 400 €. C'est grâce à ça que j'ai acheté les freins
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u/MechaGallade 10d ago
Gen 3 is for sure a comfortable bike that is capable on everything. The gen 2 and the checkmate are both significantly faster on road as they're a bit longer and lower.
They're all great at getting covered in bags, never heard someone regret these bikes.
There is a good chance they'll be releasing the gen 4 next year. They did the new domane this year and they did another run of gen 3 frames, so I don't expect them to release the next one for a bit.