While first owning a 2005 Specialized Roubaix Elite in navy blue, I fell in love with the frame design and andromeda color of the first generation Trek Madones; watching the build up of majklnajt's Madone also helped! I patiently waited on eBay until a new, old stock frameset sized 56 cm showed up, and I bid to win. Over the course of 6-9 months, I purchased new or like new components individually to complete the build based on aesthetics and performance. Each component is essentially my favorite of that kind, but I did consider the aggregate when designing the bike. I did not intend to build a 2006 model year replica, but installing a Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 Series groupset surely made it look that way. It originally rolled on Bontrager Race X-Lite carbon wheels (44 mm depth), but after seeing Daddy yo yo's SSL, I finally realized that thin tubed bikes look best with shallow depth wheels. The C24 wheelset was the most recent and final piece of the build and helps keep the overall weight down. The actual weight is about 7.1 kg, and I contemplate changing components to achieve a weight of 6.8 kg. Maybe sometime down the road...
The bike is ridden quite a bit indoors on the rollers and then for my goal road races during the year. I have raced it in a criterium, but the poor pavement on most Texas courses does not bode well for a light bike. I will say that those C24s spin up fast out of corners!
- Brian
