Madone 9 Custom Build (More Photos)

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da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

Finally dipped my toe in aero waters.

Madone9.jpg


Not possible to weenie this bike too much to be honest as so much is proprietary. Comes out at 6.75kg all in. Saddle will change to an Aspide Superleggera once I get hold of an oversize adapter clamp for the post, which will drop another 70g or so.

Apart from the obvious stuff, the build is:

Paint Job : Vapor Coat Colour
Wheels : ENVE 4.5 tubs on Tune hubs with Tune skewers
Tyres : Vittoria Corsa Graphene 25mm
Full Dura Ace group with sprint shifters and Stages power meter
Time Xpresso 15 pedals
Bottle Cages : Bontrager XXXL
Last edited by da123 on Fri Apr 15, 2016 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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welkman
Posts: 187
Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:47 am

by welkman

Lovely build. Was that through the project 1 ? Also what is the frame size and fit? Good weight as well.

da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

It was mostly through Project One, except:

- you can't choose anything other than Bonty wheels through P1, so my LBS just ordered the cheapest bonty wheels and credited me against the ENVEs. Ditto the saddle.
- similarly with the gearing - you can only get 50/34 and 11-28 via P1 on the H2 fit. My LBS swapped out for 52/36 and 11-25 and put the sprint shifters on.

The frame size is 52 in a H2 fit. If I'd gone H1, I'd have had to run spacers under the stem which I didn't want to do. It looks a lot better slammed.

R350
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2016 9:34 pm

by R350

Don't mean to hijack, that a sexual bike.

But thinkin of buying some vittoria tyres, what their advantages/disadvantages? OP, how do they feel?

spdntrxi
Posts: 5782
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

Secs!


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2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
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da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

R350 wrote:Don't mean to hijack, that a sexual bike.

But thinkin of buying some vittoria tyres, what their advantages/disadvantages? OP, how do they feel?


They are a good tyre so far. I've only put 200 miles on them so can't comment on longevity (which is supposed to be where these improve on the older Corsa's). They are a 25mm width and come out at 280 grams which is in line with what Vittoria claim. They seem to ride really nicely, but I haven't ridden any other tyres on this bike, so don't have a point of comparison.

da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

More Photos

Madone9Side.jpg


Madone9Front.jpg


Madone9Chainset.jpg


Madone9Bars2.jpg


Madone9Bars.jpg

MikeyBE
Posts: 244
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:59 pm

by MikeyBE

That is the nicest Madone I've seen so far.

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da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

MikeyBE wrote:That is the nicest Madone I've seen so far.

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Cheers!

Ride Report (2 rides and 160 miles in):

As pointed out in reviews elsewhere, this is a fast bike. This isn't scientific (well, other than riding my usual weekly 70 mile route and comparing the power numbers and average speed), but for me I reckon it is worth 25 or so watts against my Canyon with the same riding position.

It also delivers on the comfort front, which it manages to do in a balanced fashion without feeling 'soft' at the rear. I'd have to put a lot more miles in to know for sure, but I have felt fresher at the end of the riding I've done so far, and my other bikes are all pretty comfortable as well. I wouldn't go overboard on the comfort bit - its no miracle of comfort and you don't doubt you're on a lively race bike as it feels communicative and it is more than stiff enough for me around the head tube and the BB. Subjectively it actually feels stiffer than my Canyon, although the Tour numbers I've seen wouldn't agree with this. Bridging gaps and accelerating once at speed is as good as I've experienced. It doesn't have the effortless feel accelerating from a standing start that my Canyon does, but I suspect that is probably the wheels (Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayers on the Canyon vs. ENVE 4.5s on the Madone) more than anything else.

The bar / stem combo hasn't posed any practical issues, however I don't spend much time on the tops even when climbing, so I can't comment on how comfortable the uncovered flattened tops are vs a round and taped bar. I've seen a couple of reviews saying there is a bit of flex in the bars, but I've not noticed any (although at 67 kilos I'm probably too feeble to make them flex).

I've not had chance to throw it down any big descents, but it feels pretty planted so far. It's handling is closer to my Schmolke than my Canyon, which is a good thing, as I find the Canyon twitchy at times.

Climbing wise I'd say it gives nothing away to a superlight bike on gradients up to 8-10%. Past that, I'd rather be on the Canyon, which feels 'weightless' in comparison. This may again be the wheels more than anything else. Of course the Lightweights won't be as aero as the ENVEs, so its swings and roundabouts.

The ENVE wheels are impressive. They probably have the best 'balance' of characteristics of the wheels I have. They are clearly aero and maintain speed effortlessly, they're very good in wind (I was riding in 20 mph winds on Saturday, and didn't notice any wheel buffeting. My Lightweights would have provided some scary moments in the same conditions), they have strong, consistent and pulse free braking in wet and dry with the new brake track and they accelerate and climb well. On the flip side, I'd probably use my Lightweights if I was on a holiday in the mountains, and the Lightweights are stiffer, accelerate better from slow speeds and ride a touch better even with narrower tyres.

My first time with electronic on this bike, and I'm a convert. The sprinter shifters are fab, particularly if you spend a lot of time in the drops which I do.

The integrated brakes are easy to adjust and strong. Modulation is good. The spring appears to be very strong, so they do snap back quite noticeably when released, although this doesn't affect the actual modulation. They aren't a weenie item of course (almost 400g the pair), and there's nothing you can do to change them.

The only 'integration' issue I've had so far is cable rattle. The brake cable rattled against the top tube, and the Di2 cable rattled in the downtube. Rubbery sleeves are supplied by Trek, but my LBS has discovered there is quite a bit of trial and error in making these work. As of now it is silent, but I wouldn't want to be DIY-ing the cabling as the whole front end has to come off. If you've bought through a Trek dealer like I did, its not really an issue.

Overall, I'd basically agree with what the reviews have been saying so far. It is essentially a super-aero bike without the aero compromises. You don't notice you're riding anything other than a really great feeling race bike, except that you'll be going materially faster for the same effort. I guess the only significant 'compromise' is that you'll never get it down super-light. If I put my Lightweights on it and change the saddle it'll sit at around 6.3kg all in (and be less aero because of the wheels of course). I suppose you could swap the chainset for a Clavicula and put mechanical SRAM Red on it and it would maybe get to 6kg, but I wouldn't personally go to mechanical on a bike like this. There's nothing else you can really change that would make a noticeable difference.

spdntrxi
Posts: 5782
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

I have to start making friend with my trek dealer..


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2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
2018 BMC TImeMachine Road
2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
2023 Pivot E-Vault - completed project, full Xplr package

Canofale
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 7:33 pm
Location: UK North West

by Canofale

I'm sold, if that were mine I wouldn't change a thing, great colour choice and rides as good as it looks it would seem, excellent review.
2015 Caad10 Ultegra 7.1kg
2016 Giant TCR Advanced Pro 6.6kg

junchen
Posts: 348
Joined: Fri Jun 12, 2015 6:21 pm

by junchen

Was it a canyon ultimate or canyon aeroad? Which year are the canyons, please.?

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da123
Posts: 453
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:42 am

by da123

junchen wrote:Was it a canyon ultimate or canyon aeroad? Which year are the canyons, please.?

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Ultimate CF SLX 2015 frame. Lightweight Meilenstein Obermayer wheels, Dura Ace 9000, Schmolke bars and seatpost, San Marco Aspide superleggera saddle. 5.5 kilos.

I'm sure there probably isn't much difference aero wise between the Aeroad and the Madone, although I've never ridden one.

Cheers
Dave


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nickf
Posts: 1427
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:34 pm

by nickf

Nice looking setup. No love for bonty wheels? What did the enve setup weigh in at? Nice to see one properly setup though. Non of the ones that have gone out the door have ever had a spacer removed. Ruins the aesthetics of the bike.

by Weenie


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