2016 Madone 9

[kookie]

Trek is selling the frames as a kit with the brakes but without the bar/stem. What use is this frame without the bar/stem since they are necessary to route the cables?

According to Cyclingtips, you can run a normal bar/stem with this frame if you'd like. It'd just look a little clumsy.

On the Trek website, looks like it comes with a stem. So I guess you can just install conventional handlebars.

Fork
Madone KVF full carbon, carbon E2 asymmetric steerer, carbon dropouts, integrated brake and stem

[rainerhq]

OK, lets be honest, Madone 9 is The Bike of 2016´. No Venge or Foil could beat it.

[seaneT1]

And why is that? we must wait for reviews and drag tests for all of them first...

[0psi]

Trek is selling the frames as a kit with the brakes but without the bar/stem. What use is this frame without the bar/stem since they are necessary to route the cables?

According to Cyclingtips, you can run a normal bar/stem with this frame if you'd like. It'd just look a little clumsy.

I'm not sure where Cyclingtips got that idea from but the official word from Trek is that you can't run normal bars. The steerer is round so yes a normal stem will fit on there but unless you want to run a pile of spacers under your stem you won't be able to route the cables.

I'm happy the framesets don't come with bars. I was going to get an off the shelf 9.5 but the bar stem combo on the 52 just wouldn't work for me so the option of buying frame and bars separately is great.

[AndreLM]

Maybe they will have a stem with holes for internal routing, but clamps for any traditional bar?

[0psi]

Maybe they will have a stem with holes for internal routing, but clamps for any traditional bar?

My rep seemed to suggest that lower model Madones would be coming at some point down the road so I wouldn't be surprised if they did something like that with those ones.

[grover]

Just thinking out loud. The steerer is tapered from 1-1/2" at the crown up to 1-3/8" at the top bearing/stem. So no normal stem won't work unless it's 1-3/8" steerer clamp (I'm not aware of any)

[albertop07]

According to Trek's website all models accept the H1 Race Shop Limited will come with a Compact 50/34 crankset. Does it make sense to sell an Aero Road Bike with compact cranks? At least mid-compact...

[djconnel]

According to Trek's website all models accept the H1 Race Shop Limited will come with a Compact 50/34 crankset. Does it make sense to sell an Aero Road Bike with compact cranks? At least mid-compact...

Yes -- 50/11 is a very big gear. Juniors are racing competitively with seniors with much smaller. If World Tour pros can get by with 53/11, for masters racers, who don't have the benefit of a Mark Renshaw leadout, 50/11 is fine.

The idea here is that the desire for aerodynamics is not strictly an elite matter.

[Calnago]

Thought this was supposed to be a no compromise all-in speed machine. And then they put a compact crank on it? Makes no sense to me. Sure, a 50/11 is a slightly higher gear than a 53/12, but nonetheless still lower than a 53/11. But much more of an issue is the 34 up there as the smaller ring? I don't get it. The only time I want a 34 up front is in the big mountains. Otherwise, the shifting between standard front rings is much smoother with far less jumping between chainrings. Nope, don't follow that logic at all, except for what is mentioned above, it's really for aero weenies that don't go all that fast.

[MRM]

Isn't it also highly dependent on how much you like to spin? Isn't there a certain shift in mindsets to use higher cadence now compared to 10 years ago?

The average cyclist is probably not really able to spin out of a compact crank and thus will simply get more use from one than going 53/39 (or maybe even 52/36).

[wingguy]

Given that all the bikes are species with 4 arm Shimano they may simply have decided to keep it simple with a view that whatever ratio you want you just need to swap the rings.

[Calnago]

Agreed, but I'm not talking about spinning out a compact crank... 50/11 is a perfectly high enough top gear. And yes, spinning at a reasonable cadence is good too. But still, a 34 up front? Even for far less than an "elite" level of rider, and I definitely fall into the "far less" category, a 50/34 combo would never be my choice on this bike. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's Treks method of unloading a bunch of compact (50/34) cranks they have in stock given that probably the go to most popular crank choice now for the masses is probably the 52/36 just for overall usability. Don't know for sure, but 50/34 sure seems like an odd default choice to me for this bike.

[Calnago]

@Winguy, yes. That certainly doesn't make it as painful if you want to change gearing, now that the four arm cranks can accept all combinations of gearing.

[MRM]

Would be sweet to have someone from Trek here to ask such questions, like we could to Chris Yu regarding the Venge ViAS.

Don't know if that was just marketing from Specialized, but I really enjoyed and appreciated it. I guess advertising and marketing does work... insidious basterds...