Dan McConnell might be ranked third in the world for cross-country mountain biking, but the Australian rider joined the Trek Factory Racing team at the 2015 Tour Down Under. It was his first WorldTour event, and although he insists mountain biking is his prime focus, we suspect he'll accompany the team in more events to come.
Most of the Trek Factory Team would normally ride the Emonda or Madone road bikes, but Trek Australia told BikeRadar that the majority of the team rode the Domane at the Tour Down Under, because of Australia’s generally poorly surfaced roads.
The Domane is best known for its seat tube that pivots within the top tube
However, this isn’t the usual upright and relaxed Domane endurance bike you’ll find at your local Trek dealer, but the recently released Domane Koppenberg. This special version combines the smooth riding IsoSpeed seat tube 'decoupler' with far racier geometry borrowed from the new Emonda range.
With a non-replaceable steel derailleur hanger and a limited size range of 56, 58 and 60 and 62cm, the Domane Koppenberg frameset is designed for the WorldTour team first, and consumer sales second.
We recently featured McConnell’s Trek Superfly FS 9.9 with prototype XTR Di2, which he rode at the 2014 mountain bike world championships. This Domane shares the same brand and colour, but it’s otherwise a very different beast.
Standing at 1.8m (5ft 11in), McConnell rides a slightly larger-than-expected 58cm frame size, with a relatively sensible 125mm length stem.
The Climber shifter pod is a common addition to many Trek Factory Racing bikes
As one of the first riders in the world to race Shimano’s XTR Di2, it's not surprising that McConnell’s road bike features Shimano Dura-Ace Di2. Something that we’ve seen quite often among Trek Factory riders in the past, McConnell uses a Climbers shifter for rear derailleur shifting control while his hands remain on the handlebar tops.
Longer cranks are common in mountain biking to help with leverage. Here, McConnell keeps his bike fit as close to that of his mountain bike as possible with a 175mm SRM Shimano crankset.
The Bontrager DuoTrap sensor usually offers both cadence and speed, although here it's only used for the latter
SRM states that ultimate data accuracy requires a wheel-based speed sensor and so Trek Factory Racing use the Bontrager ANT+ DuoTrap that sits integrated within the left chainstay of the frame.
As a Trek-owned company, Bontrager joins Shimano as another major component sponsor of the Trek Factory Racing team. For 2015, the team will use some Bontrager components with ‘team-issue’ graphics that make the brand more obvious – the red stem and wheels are clear examples of this.
McConnell’s choice in wheels doesn’t waver from the rest of the team, with 50mm deep Bontrager Aeolus 5 DR3 carbon tubulars shod with 24mm width rubber from VeloFlex.
A mountain bike saddle for the mountain biker
Other than the 11-speed chain and Di2 wiring, perhaps the only component that's the same as his mountain bike is the Bontrager Montrose Pro saddle in a middle width.
At 7.43kg (16.35lb) including a SRM head unit, the complete weight of McConnell’s ride is on the upper-end for WorldTour, with the extra weight coming from the Domane frame and SRM power meter.
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Trek Domane Koppenberg H1, 58cm
- Fork: Trek Domane Koppenberg, E2 asymmetric steerer
- Headset: CaneCreek tapered
- Stem: Bontrager XXX, 125mm x -7 degrees, team issue
- Handlebar: Bontrager Race VR-C, 42cm (c-c)
- Tape: Bontrager Cork
- Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9000
- Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-9000
- Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-9070
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-9070
- Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070 + Climber shifters
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-9000, 11-25T
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-9000
- Crankset: SRM Shimano 11-speed, 175mm, 53/39T
- Bottom bracket: Trek BB90
- Pedals: Shimano 9000 Dura-ace
- Wheelset: Bontrager Aeolus 5 DR3 tubular
- Front tyre: Veloflex Roubaix, 24mm
- Rear tyre: Veloflex Roubaix, 24mm
- Saddle: Bontrager Montrose Pro, 138mm width
- Seatpost: Bontrager carbon topper, straight
- Bottle cages: Bontrager Bat Cage (2)
- Computer: SRM Power Control 7, Bontrager DuoTrap ANT+ speed sensor
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.8m (5ft 11in)
- Rider's weight: 68kg (149.6lb)
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 751mm
- Saddle setback: 85mm
- Seat tube length (c-c): 485mm
- Tip of saddle to centre of bar: 590mm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 100mm
- Head tube length: 160mm
- Top tube length (effective): 573mm
- Total bicycle weight: 7.43kg (16.35lb), with SRM Power Control 7 head unit