2014 Trek Madone

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djconnel
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by djconnel

I'm amazed I haven't seen a discussion yet of any of the 2014 bikes being revealed @ Tour time. I feel it's my civic duty to do something about it.

First, the Trek Madone.

BikeRadar "sneak peak" here.

First, I think Trek may be the only company on the planet still using Lance Armstrong to promote its product. Not directly, of course, but the Madone is named after an essential climb in the Armstrong mythology in which he showed how all the off-season spin work and food-weighing and bench-pressing in the winter when other riders got fat paid off. I would have thought they'd have wisely dumped the name several years ago. But not only did they stick with it, but they permuted the letters to Domane in their endurance bike. It was clever, but really they've got to dump the connection.

That said, this bike looks cool. I'm really glad to see them supporting more tire clearance. The pros have realized fatter tires are often a good idea, despite the added mass, so no reason to not support it for the common folk, even for the "pure racing" bike.

The seat stay design is interesting: obviously designed to enhance compliance, taking full advantage of the lack of need to support a brake up there. Instead, the brake is down near the bottom bracket, which should be stiff anyway. And it's interesting they're sticking with that brake position, since many predicted there'd be problems with maintainability with this location (it was abandoned on mountain bikes long ago).

It's a cool bike. But perception and image count for a lot, and the association with Armstrong is only a hinderance to Trek right now.

metanoize
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by metanoize

I wish I could dissociate LA from Trek, I dislike the brand! I ride with a couple who have the previous model. They say the caliper doesn't get any dirtier than the one on top.

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TrekUk
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by TrekUk

Very little change from the current Madone of 2013 just some very MINOR tweaks to the frame to make it "new"!!!

Im not a hater or a lover of Armstrong but I believe the Col De La Madone climb was used by many pros but made famous by Armstrong through his publicity. Armstrong had a big say in naming the bike the Madone, but when you see the videos it wasn't named because of Armstong but because of Col De La Madone and the climb behind it.

Take a good read of this article, it autally makes me want to go and ride the story behind the bike...

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/06/climb ... la-madone/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Safe to say i'll be sticking with my 2013 Madone 5 series which I feel gives the best performance weight compliance and cost over the 6 & 7s frames.
Madone Five Series 2013
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Mavic Cosmic SLE 2013

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TrekUk
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by TrekUk

metanoize wrote:I wish I could dissociate LA from Trek, I dislike the brand! I ride with a couple who have the previous model. They say the caliper doesn't get any dirtier than the one on top.


Alot of people dislike trek because of LA, but you need to realise everyone was doping and tarnished the sport, he was just had the best doping team and was the highest profile rider to get caught out.

Trek as also one of the biggest players in the game and do a bloody good job at what they do, this to attracts the haters as they want something unique and dont fully appreciate how good trek are or refuse to consider them.

Either way trek is a tarnished brand right now, but the whole LA fiasco did not prevent me from actually giving one a proper go and in the end I ended up with a trek as was superior to others id tried.

EDIT - reading that back makes me sound like I work for trek :shock:
Madone Five Series 2013
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Mavic Cosmic SLE 2013

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djconnel
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by djconnel

Well, the handle "TrekUK" doesn't help in that regard :).

I think wider tire clearance is a big deal, even if the rest of the frame is the same. Tire choice is a huge factor in ride feel. In a VeloNews test of Endurance frames in 2011 (IIRC) they looked at the effect of going from 23 mm to 25 mm tires at the same pressure and the effect on peak acceleration was profound. Add in lower pressure @ 25 mm than 23 mm, or even boost it up to 28 mm, and it's a big advantage for rough-road performance.

So this may be an example of a little change which is nevertheless valuable.

I agree it probably doesn't justify a new model name, though. The last chance for that was when they switched to the "Kamm tail".

On Madone: yes, others have ridden it, but when I hear it I immediately think of Armstrong riding the hill and Michele Ferrari standing there with a stopwatch, a needle to draw blood, and a blood lactate testing kit. 6.7 W/kg, baby.

justkeepedaling
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by justkeepedaling

I'm not sure I understand. The previous Madone couldn't handle 700x25? Or they just want more up to 28?

25 is the best compromise IMO. They have the Domane for the really rough stuff

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TrekUk
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by TrekUk

The current Madone handles 25s with ease, I think its just Treks marketing spin on things to make it "new"

I was looking at the dealers site today at work that has all the details on the new Madone and its near identical to the current Madone.
Madone Five Series 2013
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Mavic Cosmic SLE 2013

metanoize
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by metanoize

TrekUk is right, the penultimate model can handle 25mm with ease. I have seen it with challenge 25 strada tubular, those tires are fat.

spartan
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by spartan

trek claims a 56 with vapor coat paint weight 725gm..cervelo rca weighs less BUT if you run bb adapter for 24mm cranks the weight is equal. they also they claim the ride quality has improved vs 2013.

i like the new project one options...
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TrekUk
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by TrekUk

From whats going on behind the scenes and out of most of the public's eye, the big push from trek this year is project one.

In all honesty no human will tell the difference between the 2013 and 14s madones as there are so few differences, least I can keep my madone for at least another year :mrgreen:
Madone Five Series 2013
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Mavic Cosmic SLE 2013

spud
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by spud

re the rear brake placement, I'd offer a theory; the higher wheel speed on a road bike tends to fling materials off more quickly, before the wheel can come around to the chainstay, which is a over 270 degrees around. That, in conjunction with the fact that the materials on the tire tend to be less tacky than mud means the tire can clean itself relatively well before depositing material at the BB.

I think one other problem with BB mounted MTB brakes was that the area only needed a little bit of help to act as a shelf, which would then scrap more material off the tire, to the point where it completely packs up.

That's a theory, anyway. People seem have practical experience indicating it's not a problem.

One other point - Many people, including me, get brake rub with Zipp wheels etc. Assuming that a stiff rim pivots vertically around the axle, the points of greatest deflection are at the top and bottom of the wheel. If that assumption is valid, putting the brake on the chainstay means there is nearly no lateral deflection at that point of the rim, which should help the brake rub problem. But I'm not positive the wheel flexes only in one plane.

ultyguy
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by ultyguy

Interesting theory and I think u have something there. As a serial brake rubber, i'd like to know if anyone can verify the claim?


KWalker
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by KWalker

Almost had the 2013 as team bikes, but most of the riders didn't care for them over the Evo. Also, the stock Bontrager brakes aren't that great so it'd be a good idea not to run the OEM units. Two Livestrong riders I spoke to felt the same way. I was about ready to plop down some savings on a H1 7 series as I think they look pretty nice, but after hearing negative reports I went with the Evo.
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TrekUk
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by TrekUk

I'm yet to hear of any negatives from any of our customers, stock brakes have more than enough power, must be the way the mechanics have had them setup.
Madone Five Series 2013
Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
Mavic Cosmic SLE 2013

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