THE SECRET'S OUT- THE NEW MADONE IS HOT!

04/09/08- Save by buying a new '08 Madone!  Word on the street is that, when the new models hit, prices will be up 10-15% (primarily due to the effect of the weak US Dollar vs foreign currencies, and while the 5 & 6-series Madone frames are made in the US, most of the parts, as on all bikes, are imported). What this means is that the most-popular model, the 5.2 Triple, will run about $300 more than it currently does, with the same components. We're doing what we can to stock up on '08 bikes while we can still get them.

11/27/07- "We'd have to say TREK knocked this one out of the park" (From Cyclingnews.com in their follow-up long-term test report on the new Madone. Read all about it in the media's most comprehensive test-report to date. And below, read our behind-the-scenes report on what makes this bike so special... so light, so fast, so comfortable, and so different from everything else out there.  --Mike--

When John Burke, president of TREK, stated that "We didn't want incremental improvement; we wanted to leapfrog the competition," Velonews' Leonard Zinn responded "My first impression is that Trek accomplished that." Praise doesn't get much better.

Still, first-hand information is better yet, and I'm in a position to provide it, after having ridden a new, hot-off-the-press Madone 5.2 at the TREK 100 benefit ride on June 2nd. And I've concluded that the competition does, indeed, need to be scared. Very scared.

But other bike manufacturers aren't the only ones to be afraid of the new bike. As a long-time loyal TREK dealer, we have a large inventory of prior Madones in stock... many of which we've had to drastically reduce pricing on to sell. And, at the reduced prices, their values are so good they will sell. We've made sure of that!

But let's get to the details of what makes these new bikes different-

In a nutshell, TREK came up with a way to reduce the weight of their carbon fiber bikes without any reduction in strength. That's pretty much the holy grail- keeping strength up and weight down- and, until now, nobody has been able to do this. Every superlight frame on the market (those advertising frame weights below 850 grams) have had significant durability issues. Unavoidably so; as you make things thinner (using less carbon, even though the carbon you're using is higher strength), you make the frame far less resistant to incidental impact. Incidental? I'm talking about falling against the corner of a coffee table, or crashing and having the handlebar come around and smack the top tube, that sort of thing.

So how do you do it? How can you reduce weight and not strength?

You start with a clean slate. You look at where things interface with the frame, and consider that new ways of working with carbon fiber might allow things to be done differently than before. And the new Madone does three things very differently.

• Headset? Who needs it? Why not just drop the bearings directly into the frame? Well, in the old days, you couldn't do that. The frame materials weren't durable enough to handle the load, or couldn't be machined well enough to allow a proper fit when new and not wear out to too-loose a fit down the road. That was then, this is now. TREK engineers use a new method of molding carbon fiber that's so accurate, so durable, that what comes out of the mold allows you to use a simple drop-in bearing in the headtube, no headset required. Improvement? The weight of the headset cups (normally pressed into the frame)? Gone. Installation of bearings & fork? From 30 minutes to 5. Overall strength, with new 1.5" lower bearing? Dramatically improved.
  
  Check it out in the picture. Lots of headset pieces, normally used simply to interface the headset to the frame, simply disappear. No need for them, because now the bearing cartridges simply drop into the frame. Tough to imagine something simpler.
   
• Bottom Bracket? Again, who needs all that stuff you'd normally thread into one? All you care about are the bearings that the crank runs on, and with the new Madone, that's all you get. Just drop-in bearings, just like the headset. And changing the cranks and/or bearings becomes another 5-minute job, instead of 30. But that's not all. Because we no longer have to thread a bearing holder of some sort into the frame, the bottom bracket is no longer constrained to being a narrow 68mm. The new Madone goes to 90mm, allowing dramatic improvements in bottom bracket rigidity.
  
  The diagram to the left tells the story; all threaded pieces have been removed, leaving only the bearings and appropriate spacers for the particular crankset involved. Very slick, and one of those things you wonder why it hadn't been done before... and then you realize that material technology didn't exist to support it. Until now.
   
• Seatpost? Talk about "think different", this one's definitely outside the box. Instead of having a seatpost that slides into the frame, you have a seatpost that slides over it. The assembly is tightened on the seatpost itself, not the frame. This allowed for a significant weight reduction plus added comfort since the new assembly is designed to have about .7cm of flex when you encounter something nasty.

The result? A bike that immediately feels like the original Madone (one of the best-riding-bikes ever) only more so. Stomp as hard as you want on the pedals, and you're not going to flex the bottom bracket. And while the original Madone was phenomenal at dealing with road buzz, the new Madone takes it one step further and deals with things that go bump against your butt. All with a weight reduction of around 8-12 ounces, yet no reduction in strength.

I'll also point out that my 100k test ride in Wisconsin revealed another favorable characteristic of the new headset & bottom bracket bearings. About halfway through, we hit a mondo rainstorm. Rain so heavy you literally couldn't hear someone talking next to you. In the photo you can see that a group of us hid out in a flea market building while we waited for the rest of it to pass over. And then, 10 minutes later, it was gone. Everything quickly dried out and... my bike was still quiet. Normally, after a bike gets drenched and then dries out, things tend to get a bit creaky. Not this bike. It stayed nice & quiet. This event proved very much to be a real-life test of the new Madone's capabilities!

Is there a downside to the new bikes?

Change inevitably causes somebody grief, so here's the lowdown on the new Madones-

• No choice in seatposts but what TREK provides, at least for now. Not a huge deal, because they're light, they're strong, they come in two lengths and three offsets (5mm, 20mm and forward 10mm). And, since we're clamping carbon fiber, it's a good idea to be using a torque wrench.
   
• All modern "pipe-style axle" cranks will work great, including those from FSA, Shimano, TruVativ and Campagnolo. What will not work are old-style cranks that require either an Octalink, ISIS or square-taper axle. So the old stuff you've got lying around isn't going to cut it.
   
• Some people actually like a bit of lateral flex in a frame, believing it makes it feel more lively. The new Madone provides lots of comfort, but if you're looking for lateral flex, that springy feeling when you push on the pedal and it comes back at you a moment later, this isn't the bike for you. The original Madone, to me, offers a lot of character, in the same way people feel a classic steel frame does. The new Madone is built for comfort, strength, lightweight & efficiency. No compromises were put in place to give it the feel of a bike from yesteryear.
   
• Price. Well, this one is a bit weird. These bikes don't cost any more than prior bikes did, but their introduction has caused a marked reduction in what other bikes will sell for. Both from TREK and everyone else. So as the various new Madone models arrive, you're going to see some '07, '06 & '05 models at Chain Reaction at prices that will definitely give you something to think about. Those are still great bikes! And we're going to find good homes for them. So in comparison, you'll be paying more for the new bikes. And this isn't going to affect just TREKs; my guess is that bike brands everywhere are going to be re-thinking what people will be willing to pay for their bikes.

What models are available now?

That depends upon the model & size you want. The lightest versions, the 6.X series, began to come into stock in November, with very limited quantities. Even the Discovery team didn't get 6-series bikes for the '07 Tour de France; they were riding on stock 5-series frames. Also late to the party will be the women's models (the "WSD" series), of which the larger size 5.1 models (52, 54 & 56cm) started to arrive in early October, with the smaller sizes (47 & 50cm) scheduled for around the first of the year. 5.2 & 5.5 models are in fairly good supply.

Please note that the 5.1 men's model, which sells for $2749.99 as a triple, has been discontinued and replaced with an import model (the 4.7) for a bit less money (around $2400). The import will not have the same features as the domestic bikes- the bottom bracket, headset & seatpost are all conventional. The switch from domestic to import was made so that Trek could concentrate more resources to build the more-expensive bikes. We did bring in quite a few before the change though.

Do I want a "Performance" or "Pro" fit?

There is no quality difference whatsoever between the "Performance" & "Pro" fit. This has been the source of a lot of confusion; there's a tendency for people to believe that something called "Pro" is better. This is simply not the case. The geometry & materials are identical, so the ride is identical. The only difference is that the "Performance" fit has a front end that's 3cm taller than the "Pro" version. Most will be better served by the "Performance" version, which will allow a wider range of useful handlebar height options. Please note that the "Performance" version doesn't allow use of wider tires than the "Pro." They are, as I said, identical in every way aside from the taller handlebar position (made possible by a taller head tube).

Do these new bikes really represent a major advancement in bicycle technology?

Yes. The things that make these new bikes so different... the headset, bottom bracket (crank area) and seatpost... all three of those incorporate materials & designs found nowhere else. It is unquestionable that others will work quickly and hard to try and copy what TREK's done, but they will succeed mostly in appearance. Without the OCLV technology (the manner in which TREK prepares and "cooks" their frames, which remains their own process), these improvements would simply be a designers' clean-canvas dream bike. TREK was able to make that dream a reality.

What about the carbon used? Are these GSM 55, 110, or 120 bikes?

In the past, manufacturers (including TREK) have "rated" the quality of carbon used in their frames by the GSM count, which tells you how many grams of carbon fiber there are in one square meter of material. But that doesn't really tell the story, because you must know how to use the correct material for each application.  Different regions of the frame require unique blends of carbon fibers. A successful frame uses a combination of different types of carbon in different areas, and those different carbons aren't spec'd in "GSM" as much as they are their modulus of elasticity- a measurement of how much the fibers elongate under a given load.. The reason a higher-modulus carbon is used in some areas is that its resistance to flex allows for a stiffer section of the frame (as might be needed around a bottom bracket) with less material (resulting in lighter weight).

So TREK has come up with three materials designations. It's all explained on TREK's website better than I ever could, but in a nutshell there are three levels of frames- Red, Black and White. White is the basic high-performance OCLV frame, using primarily standard-modulus carbon. Black uses more high & intermediate-modulus carbon, allowing a significant reduction in weight (250 grams) while maintaining similar ride characteristics. Red takes it as far as TREK believes you can presently safely go (another 65 grams lighter than the black frame), with a greater percentage of high-modulus carbon and a more-complex lay-up "schedule" (the manner in which you hand-lay the various sheets of carbon in order to get the exact ride qualities you're looking for).

What does all this mean to YOU?

It means there has never been a better time to buy a bike than right now, because we've got this incredible new technology arriving at our store, and fantastic pricing on older models. For many, the 8-12 ounce weight savings, plus easier maintenance of the bottom bracket, won't be enough to offset savings of many hundreds of dollars on equivalent '07, '06 & '05 models. But when those bikes are gone, the alternative, one of the new '08 Madones... well, that's not a bad way to go either. You can't lose. Sure, it's self-serving for me to say that, but after having ridden the new bike, and after having to take quite a hit to price many older models to sell through, I truly believe it.

Late-breaking news-

02/05/08- The first 64cm product (5.1 & 5.5) is finally heading to Chain Reaction. Not enough 5.5s to fill all our customer's orders yet, but the rest should be coming soon. We will actually have some of the 5.1 64cm product available though. This will be the largest carbon frameset we've ever had to offer our customers, so finally, that person who's 6'3-6'6 (maybe, not sure yet) will have an opportunity to own a truly great bike at a reasonable price.

Women's WSD supply remains extremely tight. The 6.5s have begun to ship, in very limited numbers. We've got some on the floor now, but best to call to see if we've got something that might fit you in stock.

We've also got some highly favorable ride reports from two Chain Reaction alumnus who have picked up Madone 5.2s, Todd & Brian. I'll get some info from them posted here soon. --Mike--

12/21/07- 47cm 5.1 WSD (women's models), along with 64cm men's 5.1 Madones, remain the most-difficult models to get. I spoke with the Madone product manager earlier today, who believes that we're probably a month away from seeing enough come in to take care of customers of ours who ordered them 4 months ago. Maybe it's time to tell them my story about having to wait 6 months for my first really nice bike 35 years ago!

11/27/07- Cyclingnews.com updated their initial report on the Madone 5.2, having now put the bike through several months of riding. Were they impressed? 5 jerseys out of 5!

10/04/07- A real shocker; the Madone 5.1 is being discontinued due to the demand for the 5.2 & above being far more than what can be produced. Unfortunately, the Madone 5.1 is the only version available for women with a triple crankset. Trek is filling the void with a pair of new, non-OCLV imported models, the Madone 4.5 & 4.7. Thankfully, Trek will be building enough of the 5.1 Madones to fulfill backorders placed prior to September 15, and we placed very large backorders.

08/31/07- Our first 5.1 models are arriving! These are the least-expensive '08 Madone offerings, at $2749.99, but still feature the drop-in headset & bottom bracket bearings, external seatpost and Ultegra components.

7/12/07- Our first shipment of 5.2 triples has arrived! The 60 & 58cm are already sold out, but we still have 54 & 56cm (although possibly not by the time you read this; please call first).

6/13/07- We've built a few of the new bikes up, and can now answer the question of, exactly, do they weigh. A 58cm 5.5 with compact crank (including wheel reflectors, but no pedals) weighed 16.24 lbs. A 56cm 5.2 with compact crank (plus wheel reflectors but no pedals) weighed 16.4 lbs.

6/09/07- (updated 8/23) The reaction in the press to the new Madone has been nothing short of amazing. Cyclingnews, Pez Cycling and Velonews have all given exceptional reviews.

Equipment options- It's all laid out on TREK's website, but just to confirm, there are no triple crankset options for any bike above the 5.2. We're presently trying to figure out whether it will be more reasonable for us to build up a high-end Shimano DuraAce triple by switching parts on a stock double or starting from the ground-up with a bare frame. Either way such options are a bit off, since the 6-series bicycles aren't going to exist until Fall.

--Mike--