madone SLR vs SLR DIsc ?

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Calnago
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by Calnago

After having a 2018 Madone (model prior to the current version) around the house for awhile with the task of "fixing" the brakes, I can't believe what praise this bike has gotten on all fronts. The rim brakes on this bike, are to say the least, not very good. Of course, that's comparing with the likes of Campy SR and Dura Ace 9100, but still... they are very finicky to set up and maintain. In fact, this bike ended up at my house after the Trek Store built it up from scratch. Poor setup by the shop led to having to get a replacement "bolt kit" as the mechanic had stripped one of them trying to get the things properly centered. Anyway, even when set up correctly, I can only say they are "adequate" at best. If I was getting one of these bikes, and having worked and ridden one with the rim brakes, I seriously would have to consider going disc instead, and you know how I feel about discs on a road bike. This bike was not the most current version, and I'm not sure how they've changed the brakes, other than placement, on the latest version.

But it's a tougher decision when you say weight and ride feel are your biggest concerns. Discs are a negative on both those concerns, how much of a negative? ... well, I like good braking, and the rim version on this bike just isn't up to snuff in my mind. Tough call.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
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romanmoser
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by romanmoser

I've heard yes they changed placement and that they are more like regular brakes instead of the time trial brakes of the first version ....

I've tested the first version around namur and damn those are not brakes , they slow you down but they don't brake .

If rim brakes , regular cabling ( either regular or direct mount ) but not specific brakes with strange designs thanks

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tymon_tm
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by tymon_tm

...but it's about the SLR, which appears to have a lot better breaking (I can say this only after riding briefly the previous gen, as well as doing a 20km-long recon on my pal's SLR - mine's still waiting for spring to come out). I bought my rim SLR with intention to ride hills as well - and I'm intending to do so on stock XXX 4 TLRs clinchers
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Fisherfreerider
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by Fisherfreerider

I have built dozens of the 9 series Madones and I would say the braking is plenty on par with other high end rim brakes when they are properly setup. I have not worked on the new ones yet, nobody seems to want the rim brake version.

Noctiluxx
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by Noctiluxx

I have a 2019 Madone SLR rim brake. The brakes are vastly better than my buddies 2018 Madone 9. And both were set up by the same mechanic who's built more than a dozen Madone's.
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

romanmoser
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by romanmoser

on the 9 series even set up by trek mechanic and alloy surface braking carbon rims it was meh
flex , no modulation and no power ( compared to 9100 or ee breaks)

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Calnago
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by Calnago

^Agreed. My experience was with an SLR version as well. What’s so different about the latest iteration of rim brakes? Haven’t had a good look at them yet.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

packetloss
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by packetloss

romanmoser wrote:
Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:55 pm
on the 9 series even set up by trek mechanic and alloy surface braking carbon rims it was meh
flex , no modulation and no power ( compared to 9100 or ee breaks)
yeah, honestly, I'd go disc over the funky brakes.

bikepress
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by bikepress

Calnago wrote:
Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:43 pm
After having a 2018 Madone (model prior to the current version) around the house for awhile with the task of "fixing" the brakes, I can't believe what praise this bike has gotten on all fronts. The rim brakes on this bike, are to say the least, not very good. Of course, that's comparing with the likes of Campy SR and Dura Ace 9100, but still... they are very finicky to set up and maintain. In fact, this bike ended up at my house after the Trek Store built it up from scratch. Poor setup by the shop led to having to get a replacement "bolt kit" as the mechanic had stripped one of them trying to get the things properly centered. Anyway, even when set up correctly, I can only say they are "adequate" at best. If I was getting one of these bikes, and having worked and ridden one with the rim brakes, I seriously would have to consider going disc instead, and you know how I feel about discs on a road bike. This bike was not the most current version, and I'm not sure how they've changed the brakes, other than placement, on the latest version.

But it's a tougher decision when you say weight and ride feel are your biggest concerns. Discs are a negative on both those concerns, how much of a negative? ... well, I like good braking, and the rim version on this bike just isn't up to snuff in my mind. Tough call.
exactly the point!
the last time i have ridden 8kg bike was like around 2004 or so!
the emonda is very light, and the Bontraguer brakes are super light... but the breaking power could be better, the aren´t the most solide breaks in the world, and hard to have equal breaking in both sides!

so im a bit not so convinced about the rim break in the madone, but i can make a build close to 7kg or 7.20Kg

in the other hand the disk the bike can be solid... but will be a elefant, because i can´t afored the top spec one! and a 8kg bike I think will feel slow and not so resposiv!

any feelings on feel of the bike? how does she feel on the road?

Noctiluxx
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by Noctiluxx

Anyone in this thread own a 2019 Madone SLR rim brake? Anyone? Why are people assuming the 2019, completely redesigned, has the same inferior braking as the previous generation Madone? I own the 2019 Madone SLR (rim brake) and have at least 500 miles of rides on a 2018 Madone 9. The braking performance on the 2019 is far superior.
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

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Calnago
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by Calnago

You do, so I’ll ask the same question I already asked... what exactly are the differences besides placement etc? I don’t think anyone is automatically assuming the braking of the 2019 rim model is no better than it was, but I want to know what makes it better. It’s still got god awful cable routing etc. no trap doors thank god, but those weren’t directly affecting the braking performance of the prior version anyway. How many and where are the adjustment screws? Does it still rely on extremely precise cable length, and locking down the cable at exactly the right place. How about all the (no less than 4) screws to adjust one caliper, apart from the cable, which in itself is an integral part of the adjustment. Does each side of the caliper move precisely and smoothly towards the rim and contact both sides of the rim at exactly the same time, every time? How well are they made, the ones I worked on left a lot to be desired for precise and trouble free operation and one side’s spring (which rests on one of the adjustment screws) kept popping out and making it impossible to get the things perfectly centered, which I’m sure is the reason the Trek mechanic who set it up initially managed to strip the screw in the first place. These are the kinds of things that I’d like to know or see how they work, before passing judgement on the new brakes. Got some detailed pics etc? That would help. Here’s a pic of the brake bolt kit you will need to buy if one of the tiny adjustment screws does get stripped...
Image
I’ll give the whole thing another chance when all is perfectly set up once and for all, but I’m not expecting miracles.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

Noctiluxx
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by Noctiluxx

Calnago wrote:
Mon Feb 18, 2019 11:14 pm
^Agreed. My experience was with an SLR version as well. What’s so different about the latest iteration of rim brakes? Haven’t had a good look at them yet.
More power and torque compared to the previous generation.
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

matvalse
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Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:18 pm

by matvalse

Cemicar wrote:
Sun Feb 17, 2019 2:53 am
Trek has provided a great whitepaper for weight comparison.

http://trek.scene7.com/is/content/TrekB ... _EN-GB.pdf

It's 7087g vs 7405g. Note the framesets are without paint, which will add 200 grams or so.
Thank you!

ome rodriguez
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by ome rodriguez

Those weights are impossible.
My friend’s 2019 trek madone slr 8 disc size 54 is 8,2kg

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TobinHatesYou
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by TobinHatesYou

Impossible is a silly word. With the right wheels, lightweight TAs, a Bontrager XXX saddle, XG1190 cassette, etc. you could probably get a Madone SLR Disc to just under 7kg. And that’s purposely mentioning components that aren’t that exotic.

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