One for all: New Trek Madone combines lightweight construction with aerodynamics

Take a new racing bike, label it with the model names of both competition bikes in the range and you have the desired effect: the trade press such as TOUR pounce on it and puzzle over which bike will get an update. This is what happened with the Dauphine, when Trek equipped the World Tour pros around Mads Pedersen with a new bikewith a sticker on the top tube bearing the model names of the Madone and Émonda.

Shortly before the Grand Depart of this year's Tour of France, the US manufacturer has come up with the facts. The new racing machine is a further development of the Madone, which in its eighth generation has emancipated itself into a prototypical racing all-rounder for many route profiles by combining lightweight construction and aerodynamics. The days of the Émonda are now numbered. The lightweight model, which has been seen less and less in the peloton anyway, will in future only be available as an aluminium version like the Émonda ALR 5 available.

Trek Madone: The most important facts

• Weight of complete wheel (SLR): 7.0 to 7.4 kilograms (size ML)
• Weight of complete wheel (SL): 7.9 to 8.7 kilograms (size ML)
• Weight frame/fork (SLR): 796/350 grams (size ML)
• Weight frame/fork (SL): 1054/363 grams (size ML)
• Aerodynamics: According to Trek like Madone Gen 7 (207 watts in the TOUR test)
• Stack/Reach/STR: 562/389 millimetres/1.44 (size ML)
• Frame sizes: XS, S, M, ML, L, XL
• Prices (SLR): 8999 to 13999 Euro
• Prices (SL): 3499 to 6499 Euro

The technical figures for the new Madone SLR are impressive. According to the manufacturer, the frameset is on a par with the Émonda SLR and should save 320 grams compared to its predecessor. For the frame in the new ML size - more on this later - Trek quotes a weight of 796 grams, the fork weighs 350 grams. In total, SLR complete bikes weighing between 7.0 and 7.4 kilograms are possible. In the TOUR test we had for the SLR 9 AXS (size 56) measured a frame weight of 1158, with the fork weighing in at almost 500 grams. Overall, at 7.5 kilograms, the bike was one of the heavier aero bikes. According to Trek, the simpler SL versions, whose frame is around 250 grams heavier, weigh between 7.9 and 8.7 kilograms.

The weight tuning is based on a "more efficient moulding" of the frameset and a new carbon quality (900 OCLV). The tube profiles have also been modified. While the old Madone was a futuristic aero racing bike with flat tube shapes, the new design is more minimalist. One exception is the junction between the top tube and seat tube, known as the "Isoflow", which the new model adopts from its predecessor in a modified form and is intended to benefit aerodynamically, among other things.

Overall, the aero performance should remain unchanged compared to the old model, as Trek's own measurements as a complete system consisting of road bike, rider and bottles have shown. To achieve this, the US company relies on special airfoil profiles that extend from the steering head to the rear triangle and can also be found on the Flare cockpit. Special aero bottles and mounts, which are included with the SLR models, should also have a positive effect on aerodynamics. We have not yet been able to determine how fast the new Madone really is in the GST wind tunnel. The SLR 9 AXS needed 207 watts to overcome its own air resistance at 45 km/h.

But what does that mean in the wild? According to Trek, the Madone SLR Gen 8 is faster than its predecessor and the Émonda SLR in both sprints and uphill sections: when attacking on a ten per cent climb, the new race all-rounder needs one second less than the Émonda; in a flat sprint, the advantage, expressed in a wheel length, should be slightly greater than on the old Madone.

The brand from Waterloo, Wisconsin, also promises a quantum leap in riding comfort. The revised "Isoflow" construction should not only improve aerodynamics and weight, but also be "80 per cent more compliant" than the old version. Even compared to the Émonda SLR, which impressed with very good comfort in the TOUR test, improves the suspension of the Madone SLR by 24 per cent.

Trek Madone: Equipment and prices

Trek is launching a total of eight equipment variants: four SLR and four SL models. The size specifications are new. Like many of its competitors, the US company will now specify frame sizes in ready-to-wear sizes (XS to XL). Instead of the previous eight, there are now only six frame sizes. Trek has also dispensed with its own categorisation of geometry (H1.5 or H2). The new range offers less overlap between neighbouring frame sizes, which should make it easier to choose the right bike. Trek also wants to reach particularly small and tall riders with the XS and XL frame sizes. Whether 56 or ML: the geometry remains race-orientated, with the STR at 1.44 in the medium frame size.

Although the prices have fallen slightly compared to the predecessor, you still have to dig deep into your pockets for the top models. The Madone SLR with drivetrains from Shimano (Dura-Ace Di2, Ultegra Di2) or SRAM (Red AXS, Force AXS) and carbon wheels from Trek's own brand Bontrager (Aeolus RSL 51, Aeolus Pro 51) costs between € 8999 and € 13999. Trek charges between 3499 and 6499 euros for the Madone SL. The US manufacturer is one of the few high-end brands to offer a mechanical version: The basic model shifts with Shimano's twelve-speed 105 and is the only model to roll on aluminium wheels.

Madone SLR 9 AXS

• Drive/gear shift: SRAM Red AXS (2x12; 48/35, 10-33 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 7.0 kg
• Price: 13999 Euro or 16399 Euro (special paint finish/see photo) >> e.g. available here*

Madone SLR 9

• Drive/gear shift: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (2x12; 52/36, 11-30 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 7.1 kg
• Price: 13499 Euro

Madone SLR 7 AXS

• Drive/gear shift: SRAM Force AXS (2x12; 48/35, 10-33 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 7.4 kg
• Price: 9499 Euro

Madone SLR 7

• Drive/gear shift: Shimano Ultegra Di2 (2x12; 52/36, 11-30 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero Race (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 7.3 kg
• Price: 8999 Euro

Madone SL 7

• Drive/gear shift: Shimano Ultegra Di2 (2x12; 50/34, 11-34 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51
• Tyres: Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 7.9 kg
• Price: 6499 Euro

Madone SL 6 AXS

• Drive/gear shift: SRAM Rival AXS (2x12; 48/35, 10-36 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus Elite 35
• Tyres: Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 8.4 kg
• Price: 5499 Euro

Madone SL 6

• Drive/gear shift: Shimano 105 Di2 (2x12; 50/34, 11-34 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Aeolus Elite 35
• Tyres: Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite (28 mm, tubeless)
• Weight: 8.2 kg
• Price: 4999 Euro

Madone SL 5

• Drive/gear shift: Shimano 105 (2x12; 50/34, 11-34 t.)
• Impellers: Bontrager Paradigm SL
• Tyres: Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite (28 mm)
• Weight: 8.7 kg
• Price: 3499 Euro