Out on a ride this morning


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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

How do you like the Trek vs. the Parlee?

@laxer29 - the Madone 5.9 is surprisingly good for being a mid level bike. A fairer comparison would be against a Madone Seven series.
In Australia the Madone 7 and Parlee Z5 frame sets are about the same price.
The 5.9 however has proved to be far better than I expected.
The Parlee is a lot lighter and has a smoother ride. In my opinion the a Parlee climbs better and would be more comfortable for long days in the saddle.
Handling is very similar, which is not surprising considering how similar their geometries are.

From a bang for your buck perspective, I reckon the Madone 5.9 is fantastic value for money. As a training bike or someone on a tighter budget looking for a capable race bike it's a good option. You are getting the same frame design and geo as the Seven series, just using cheaper carbon and obviously about 300g heavier than the Madone 7.

So far the only real negative with the 5.9 is the braking performance from the Bontrager brakes supplied with the frame. As the Trek only accepts direct mount brakes, currently only available from Bontrager or Shimano DA or Ultegra. It looks like EE Brakes will be releasing direct mount brakes soon. I will be experimenting with brake setup to see if I can improve the brake feel.


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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

Very nice build. I'm running the same Bontrager bars. How do you find them? I'm a fan especially for $65 AU

I have the carbon bars and paid a whole lot more.
I really like them, the flat top is nice, and they are a fairly shallow bar. Reach on the bar is similar to my Enve bars, so distance to hoods is the same as on my Parlee. Supposedly more aero than a standard bar, but I decided to put them on as I was building an " aero " road bike and weight wasn't my main priority. They are also compatible with clip on aero bars, so I might try it out for s few TT's, as I can't justify a dedicated TT bike at the moment. Bontrager reckons a 23 second saving over an hour compared to standard bars, but I'm sure this is hard to,quantify in real world conditions.
I have just taped them to the bend, so the tops aren't taped.

As this is weight weenies, and I just can't help myself I am sure I will cut weight where possible and experiment with a fee different components over the next year or two.
A few thoughts on weight reduction:
Ti spindles for Speedplay pedals
Lighter chain rings, but right now I'm evaluating the Rotor rings - can save about 14g if I go back to Praxis rings, not a big saving
Lighter saddle - considering a Bontrager RXXL Paradigm at 155g, a 24 g saving
Lighter stem - Can maybe save 20-25g
Lighter brakes - EE direct mount if they are released, would save about 150g and drastically improve braking performance
So overall approx 200-250 g saving is possible without spending too much. Right now brakes are my primary objective as I like better brake feel, and do a few fast descents on my longer rides.
As Red already uses mostly Ti bolts there's not much saving there.
i have replaced stem and seatpost bolts with Ti bolts, so all the easy weight is already saved.

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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

I might also swap to Attack/Force tyres once the GP4000S wear out and save about 25g

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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

Nice pic of the city along the river loop - Used to ride with SPR when I was studying over there for last year. My first encounter with the Madone at Bikeforce Subiaco, which happily ended up with me getting one in the end.

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Trek Mad-one 7 Series team colours http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=115500&start=15

Weird question Oz, can you tell me how tall the bottom cone spacer on your headset is? I'm looking at this frameset but no one has one in stock so I'd have to order it sight unseen and I'm trying to figure out the real stack height. Thanks

It is roughly 15mm, just a visual comparison to the spacers above it
You can get a "Slam Your Stem" spacer or a lower spacer if you need to

Further to the brake issue - I have adjusted the brakes, swapped pads, lubed the brake cables with Tri Flow dry Teflon lube, shortened a few cable outers and used an awl to make sure the cable housing ends are not crimped after cutting, and scrubbed my brake tracks with a scourer and dishwasher liquid, and there is a slight improvement in braking, however it is still worse than the braking on my sons Domane with Shimano 105 brakes and stock Shimano cables.

Hopefully EE will release their direct mount brakes soon.



One plus side is ample tyre clearance. I have 25mm Conti GP4000s tyre in the rear and it looks like there is plenty of space. The pic is not too good at showing it



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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

Bontrager Direct Mount Brake Issue Fixed -
I spent a bit of time fiddling with the brake setup. I lubed the cables with dry Teflon lube, shortened the cable housing under the BB by 1cm, and I set the brakes up on the Shimano setting to see if it would improve the braking. Obviously the 2010 SRAM Red has a similar pull ratio to Shimano, and the brakes work much better now. Not as good as my 2013 SRAM Red, but a massive improvement over the dead feel and poor stopping.
I am really relieved that I now have brakes that work.




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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

Some Upgrades

Frame - Trek Madone 5.9 2014
Fork - Trek
Headset - FSA
Seatmast - Bontrager
Stem - Bontrager 131g after replacing bolts with Ti
Handlebar - Bontrager XXX Aero 220g
Brake Calipers - Bontrager direct fit 158g front, 153g rear. (WAITING FOR EE DIRECT MOUNT APPROX 179g for set) -175g
Wheels - Zipp 404 clincher (2009) 1660g. Edge 1.38 Tubulars 1120g
Tyres - Conti GP4000S 23 front 25 rear
Tubes - Conti Race Light 74g and 76g
Skewers - KCNC Ti
Cranks - SRAM Red GXP with Rotor chain rings 669g (chainrings 39g and 68g)
BB -
Cassette - SRAM Force 1070 11-26 or SRAM Red
Chain - SRAM PC1091R
Front Derailleur - SRAM Force 87g
Rear Derailleur - SRAM Red
Bar tape - Fizik Microlight
Cables - Transfil Flying Snake
Pedals - Speedplay Zero Stainless 210g (WAITING FOR Ti SPINDLES) -50g
Saddle - San Marco Regale Carbon 179g (REPLACED WITH BONTRAGER RXXL PARADIGM 160g). -19g
Bottle cage - Zipp 26g incl bolts. (REPLACED WITH BONTRAGER XXX 19g each). -14g

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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing

I crashed in the rain about 4 weeks ago damaging the shifters and rear derailleur. The hanger snapped, saving damage to the frame.
Miraculously the bartape wasn't even scraped, and the only damage to the paint is where the chain caught between the frame and chainring on the down tube.

Anyway, as parts had to be replaced, I decided to swap out the damaged parts from my Parlee Z5 and upgrade this bike to new SRAM Red, although I will be using the Exogram chainrings on the older Red crank arms - and yes they do fit.
Within a few days I will know whether it all works.



Parlee Z5, Trek Madone, Colnago Dream,

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Ozrider - Western Australia
Parlee Z5 XL 2011 (6055g/13.32lbs) Raleigh RC Ltd 2008 (7.6kg) Reynolds 653 Custom 1990 (9.8kg, now 8.8kg)
The accumulation of marginal gains is what makes the difference between winning and losing