With isospeed on the madone wouldn’t the madone be the more comfortable bike for regular roads over the emonda? Which is kind of the opposite of specialized where their light bike (tarmac) is considered the better one for comfort over the aero bike (venge)
Depends a bit on what you mean by “regular roads”. For sure the Madone and Isospeed will smooth bumps and impacts.
But assuming same wheel and tire setup, all other regular road conditions should feel pretty similar between them.
I suggested the Emonda since it seems to me, to be more comfortable that the typical race bike. I think most comes down to the seat mast & cap design of the frame. They have turned it to a level that is on par with other endurance bikes focused on comfort, like by Roubaix.
Both bikes are amazing and can suit a range of needs. If you have terrible road conditions with cracks, expansion joints, pot holes and such, the Madone site winner. Anything less, and I think the Emonda is worth a look.
Yes I ride on old rural roads where it’s flat, windy, and a bit like the cobbles of spring classics. The stiff front end of my gen1 Domane is somewhat punishing on these roads. The best argument for a gen3 front/rear isospeed Domane is to run 32s with room for 38s (for the rare gravel rides at the coast). I’m told the Madone can run 28s. Currently running 25s/26s.
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took a pic today from a 2 mile stretch that you ride on the crown unless a car is coming from behind:
That is a pretty crappy 2 mile stretch from today’s training ride, but you get the picture.
I can’t speak for current madone, but my rim brake version easily fits 28’s. I tried GP5000 32’s on it and it was actually borderline OK when I mounted them. The next day, the tires had expanded just a little and I was getting some rubbing and they are just barely too tall.
28’s on Zipp 404’s is my setup for training and racing. We are all chipseal and crappy country roads here in TX, so running the lower pressure helps.
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I follow Christie Brinker on Youtube and she bought the Madone SL and was able to upgrade the cockpit to the SLR cockpit somehow so it seems it should be possible. Hard to price out though with no access to pricing online.
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Oooofffta. That’s some rough stuff. Isospeed make great sense there for sure.
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. They are still crazy busy But I’m going to start pushing down this path now that the 2021 models are officially available.
@bbarrera I have a 2020 disc Madone with Pro One 28c on Zipp 303 Firecrest which measure a hair under 32 mm wide. I have at least 5 mm clearance all around the tires and wheels. She rides very smooth as far as the saddle goes but on a road like you pictured or worse the front end does transmit a bit to the hands. This is with carbon bars and stem. Certainly nothing worse than any other bike’s front end I’ve been on (Supersix, gen 1 Domane, Allez, Teammachine) although I haven’t ever ridden something with a front end like a newer Domane.
I’m 150 lbs so I do only run 55/60 psi in the tires. Going to try 50/55 psi for a few rides just to see how it feels.
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