This is a great time of year. Its hotter 'n hell, there's a fresh copy of the VeloNews Tour de France guide near my toilet and the big bike companies start previewing their new bits gearing up for Le Tour.
The latest to do so is Trek. VeloNews has just released some photos of the new Madone 7 at the Dauphine. From the author's comments and the photos, it sounds like Trek has intregrated some aero design into the new frame...Kamm tail foils, under BB rear brake, wide set fork legs, the whole aero nine yards. This makes an easy choice for those who want to ride Trek but have been wondering about all those other dudes and dudettes on slick Specialized Venge's and Scott Foil's. With the intro of the Domane, and now an aero Madone, Trek looks like they're serious about the most popular segments of the market.
We'll see how much of this pro version of the 7 comes to the public, but all in all, it looks promising. It makes me glad I've put off my new frame purchase a bit! We'll check in with my favorite shop once the new bike is available.
Showing posts with label Trek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trek. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Happy Friday!
If this doesn't make you want to ride, I don't know what will. And this is just the trailer!
Friday, April 6, 2012
Trek Domane
Trek is a great bicycle company. Though I've never owned one, I've always wanted to. My wife has a new Trek Lexa and we just got my sister on a fitness oriented Trek 700. On the race side though, if you wanted a Trek, the Madone is all you had to choose from. Other big companies have multiple road racing bike to choose from depending on your needs. Standard race, aero and "comfort" is what you see in other lines. The Madone is a great bike but the gap has been obvious. Until now.
Trek now has their "classics" oriented road bike ready, the Domane. Specialized developed their Roubaix with a lot of shaping and special elastomer inserts in the seat stays and fork. In the Domane, Trek has been creative with shaping and carbon layups as well, but they throw in a "decoupler" that actually looks more like a mini mtb rear suspension set up.
With Fabian Cancellara on hand to help develop the bike over the last few years I'm assuming there's some heavy data and input to back up the tech. Too bad we won't be seeing Spartucus using the Domane at Roubaix this weekend. The dude's out with a broken collar bone!
In other news, The Tour de Park City Early Bird regsitration special ends this Sunday! Sign up now to save $10! http://www.tourdeparkcity.com/
Trek now has their "classics" oriented road bike ready, the Domane. Specialized developed their Roubaix with a lot of shaping and special elastomer inserts in the seat stays and fork. In the Domane, Trek has been creative with shaping and carbon layups as well, but they throw in a "decoupler" that actually looks more like a mini mtb rear suspension set up.
With Fabian Cancellara on hand to help develop the bike over the last few years I'm assuming there's some heavy data and input to back up the tech. Too bad we won't be seeing Spartucus using the Domane at Roubaix this weekend. The dude's out with a broken collar bone!
In other news, The Tour de Park City Early Bird regsitration special ends this Sunday! Sign up now to save $10! http://www.tourdeparkcity.com/
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
2012 Trek Madone 5.2
I admit it. I'm a gear geek. One of the things I love about cycling is all the cool stuff involved. From magnesium shift levers to carbon fiber water bottle cages, I love all the technology involved. I once thought I loved the tech of bikes (and boats, too) so much that I majored in mechanical engineering for a while in college. Turns out I suck at math. I discovered a theorem in calculus that said as your GPA moves closer to zero, engineering majors become business students. I proved that theorem like nobody's business! Unfortunately that was the only one I could prove. Regardless, even though I can't prove with math why carbon fiber does what it does, I do appreciate and enjoy that there's a nerd out there somewhere who can. Its awesome that we to enjoy the fruits of their labors!
The latest bit of high tech kit I've been able to sample is the 2012 Trek Madone 5.2. Its the demo bike loaned to me from The Bike Shoppe while my steed gets some TLC at the shoppe. The 5.2 really is the best value in bikes today. It comes with a full Shimano Ultegra grouppo, Bontrager Race wheels and a Bontrager RXL and Race cockpit and retails for $3469. Throw a set of nice carbon wheels like the Mercury M5's and you've got a serious race rig for around $5500 that weighs around 15 lbs. For 2012, the 5 Series Madones are still made in Asia, but now feature Trek's propriatary OCLV build process, just like the top end 6.9 SSL. The only difference is the quality of carbon in the layup. The bike I'm on has an awesome paint job as well. The flat balck and clear coat carbon is muy sessy!
The ride
The bike is a killer value. But what about the ride? Trek Madones have a great reputation and have proved themselves under the butts of some great champions. Its a great all all around bike and does a lot of things well.
The first thing I noticed from my bike is the stiff front end. While some of this comes from the all aluminum cockpit, the head tube and fork steer tube seem to be making for some of the stiffness as well. In a sprint, I really felt connected to the road via the front end. Bottom bracket stiffness felt comparable to my bike and I didn't notice too many bumps coming up through the saddle. Out on the road my teeth get rattled a little from the from end, but on the crit course I really appreciated that stiffness.
The fit
Madone's have a slightly sloping top tube and I'm on a 56 cm frame. The head tube is a little tall for me, but I might be on the taller H3 frame. At the shoppe we rushed the fit and I don't think we got the front end quite where it needs to be. We should have spent more time on my fit, but its a temporary demo, so no biggie. Dropping the stem on the steer tube would help a ton. The 6 Series Madones are available in a really aggressive H1 geometry which drops your hands even more. For most riders, I assume the middle of the road H2 set up is sufficient.
The grouppo
I'm a big Sram fan but the Ultegra grouppo that comes standard on the 5.2 is light and functional. I had some issues shifting at Saturday's crit, but I think that was mostly attributed to not being used to Shimano vs. Sram. Shifting under load and in the sprint is no issue. Cranks felt really stiff and power transfer was great.
The value
Again, I really feel the 5.2 is the best value in cycling. For the serious racer an upgraded wheelset is needed but being able to save so much on the platform allows you to get into a decent wheelset.
While I'm not affiliated with Trek directly, The Bike Shoppe in Ogden is a Trek and Mercury dealer and the best shoppe around. And even though the 2012 5.2 is a killer deal, The Bike Shoppe is UNLOADING 2011 5.2's! $2500 out the door!!! The 2011 features the same geometry and spec as the 2012 but features the previous gen TCT carbon build, rather than OCLV. Again, slap some good wheels on there and you are racing for around $4500. You can't beat that!
The ride
The first thing I noticed from my bike is the stiff front end. While some of this comes from the all aluminum cockpit, the head tube and fork steer tube seem to be making for some of the stiffness as well. In a sprint, I really felt connected to the road via the front end. Bottom bracket stiffness felt comparable to my bike and I didn't notice too many bumps coming up through the saddle. Out on the road my teeth get rattled a little from the from end, but on the crit course I really appreciated that stiffness.
The fit
Madone's have a slightly sloping top tube and I'm on a 56 cm frame. The head tube is a little tall for me, but I might be on the taller H3 frame. At the shoppe we rushed the fit and I don't think we got the front end quite where it needs to be. We should have spent more time on my fit, but its a temporary demo, so no biggie. Dropping the stem on the steer tube would help a ton. The 6 Series Madones are available in a really aggressive H1 geometry which drops your hands even more. For most riders, I assume the middle of the road H2 set up is sufficient.
The grouppo
The value
Again, I really feel the 5.2 is the best value in cycling. For the serious racer an upgraded wheelset is needed but being able to save so much on the platform allows you to get into a decent wheelset.
While I'm not affiliated with Trek directly, The Bike Shoppe in Ogden is a Trek and Mercury dealer and the best shoppe around. And even though the 2012 5.2 is a killer deal, The Bike Shoppe is UNLOADING 2011 5.2's! $2500 out the door!!! The 2011 features the same geometry and spec as the 2012 but features the previous gen TCT carbon build, rather than OCLV. Again, slap some good wheels on there and you are racing for around $4500. You can't beat that!
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