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I have a 2018 Domane SL5. I would love to get into bike touring and I love this bike. It is very comfy to ride and I can imagine that it would be great for the distances I'm planning to cover on my tour.

The bike seems to have mounting points on the rear for panniers. Trek sells panniers, but I've been unable to figure out if they are for the Domane.

Does anyone know if you can fit standard panniers or a rack on there? It would be for carrying a tent/sleeping bag/etc.

What would the max weight be that it could carry?

Has anyone done this on a Domane?

Thanks.

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    The Trek site says the SL 5 has "hidden fender mounts", is that what you're seeing? If they're only intended for fenders, I might be a bit leery of mounting a rack with heavy panniers at those points on a carbon frame.
    – DavidW
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 4:38
  • This question seems really similar to bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/63599/… - as far as I understand it, both bikes have mounting points for fenders which can easily be mistaken for rack mounts.
    – anderas
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 8:36

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I think the mounting points are for fenders only.

If you have the rim brake version you could use a pannier rack with Quick Release Axle adapter. For example this one directly from Trek or this adapter from Tubus with a Tubus Fly Classic rack.

Considering the relatively lightweight wheels, the road rim brakes, the carbon frame and the frame geometry I’d try to keep the weight low. More than 12kg of luggage (including panniers) is probably a bad idea.

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    On the subject of geometry, road bikes tend to have quite short chainstays, which means that your heels are likely to strike panniers.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 12:52
  • Came here to say what Michael said. These racks will set the rack farther back to avoid heel-strike, which can be a problem, as David Richerby points out. You'll also need to get some P-clamps to affix the upper rack stays. If you've got disc brakes with through axles, there are custom through axles you can get that have rack supports built-in. Either way, flats become hugely inconvenient because you need to remove the rack when you remove the rear wheel.
    – Adam Rice
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 16:19
  • I have good experiences with the Tubus adapter and a Bianchi 928 road bike. For heel clearance the Tubus adapter is angled backwards and there is lots of room on the Tubus Fly rack to move the panniers backwards as well. Removing the rear wheel is not that hard. The real disadvantage is that the center of gravity is behind the rear axle.
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 19:06
  • @AdamRice: Looks like the Trek rack also ships with a seatstay bridge attachment which should work with a rear rim brake without any clamps. The Tubus Fly comes with it by default.
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 20, 2019 at 5:36
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This webpage for a Bontrager Pannier rack states that it CANNOT be used with carbon seat stays. As Bontrager designs and equipment are heavily used on Trek (not sure of the ownership but it's likely Trek owns Bontrager), it doesn't look favorable for using any Pannier rack on carbon frames. I certainly would be leery of mounting much of anything on a carbon frame.

I would suggest talking to a couple of Trek dealers to get their opinion and emailing Trek via customer service to see if it's possible and if so, recommend specific products and any installation tips.

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  • The page states “Do not use with carbon dropouts”. They also state this in the FAQ for the 2017 which probably applies to the 2018 model as well: “Will the Bontrager backRack Lightweight work with The Trek Domane SL5 2017 model[?] The BackRack Lightweight could work with the Domane SL 5 since it uses an alloy dropout and not a carbon dropout. But you would need to use a Brake Caliper Plate to mount the upper connection which is part number 431021. ”
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 12:35
  • Yes, Bontrager was bought by Trek in 1995.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Aug 19, 2019 at 12:51
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I own a Domane.... I used the Robert Axle project (changed my axle). My rack is mounted directly on the axle so changing tires can be annoying. But I’m okay with it since I haven’t had any flats yet. Make sure to keep your load weight to a minimum per Trek Domane max total weight including passenger is about 225 pounds. use light & ultra light camping gear

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  • @Rag - Using the Robert Axle Project axle, how did you attach the top of the rack? Did you use a P-clamp to a seat stay?
    – Gooded
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 13:53
  • Welcome to Stackexchange! Looking at Jeff's answer below, there is still the concern that if you mount a rack to the seat stays via p-clamps, that could damage the seat stays. They are getting compressed in a way that they're not reinforced for. Also, as you hit bumps, the mount could fret against the seatstay, thus abrading it and damaging it. Had you considered that? Or are you using a different solution for the upper mount on the rack?
    – Weiwen Ng
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 14:48

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