Nope, Gen 8 SLR and SL will release together.
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I’ll sell my gen7 for the right price, no low balls I know what I got! Just kidding the gen7 makes me turn around and look at it everytime I put it up after a ride. This new one… not so much.
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I feel like there is a good old ‘Does Trek make good bikes?’ joke in here somewhere
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Ditto. I loved the Trek 2014 to 2019 era bikes. But the road, MTB and gravel bikes have all shifted from what the bikes from that age were. MTB way far into Long, Low and Slack with weight gain. Even the previously snappy Top Fuel is a trail bike that outweighs the prior gen for not enough performance gain.
The Domane went from an amazing endurance bike to an overstuffed model with too much aero focus and wants to be a gravel bike as well.
The Checkpoint took a similar route and I really dislike the geo changes, so it wasn’t even palatable for me when searching for my gravel bike last season.
I owned the 1st gen (rim brake) and still have the 2nd gen (disc brake) Emonda. The perfect all-around bike for me and the lack of aero was welcomed for basic looks but also ride quality. The 3rd gen Emonda strayed into aero more than I like and I’m on the fence with the quiver killer Madone at the moment.
If I had to replace my Emonda today, it would probably be the Aethos, and I’d take a Stumpy Evo if i had to swap my 2019 Fuel EX. I understand why they are making the changes they are, it just happens to be in a direction in don’t like, which is a shame since I own many from that era (2 MTB, 2 road, 1 CX) and they are all amazing bikes. Just not a fan of their stock right now.
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I love it with the narrower tubing. Makes the previous model look old and outdated to me.
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Handlebar change, they claim the “chonky” model slows airflow ahead of the legs for more speed, but PeakTorque tested this a while ago and did not find that to be the case.
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I think Trek relied on their IsoSpeed too long and never really hand any advances in their layup and frame design (see Aethos). My first ride on my Crux was kind of an eye opener in that it rode better in every way than my Domane with wheels/tires the same.
Then there is that damn gigantic logo that covers up their beautiful paint jobs.
I have a gen7 and like the look of it better than the new one as well. When I bought it I was really looking for an “aero” road bike because I often ride alone and the area I live is pretty flat and open. The one bike to rule them all may actually make sense for pro tour riders but for me I buy what I get excited to ride.
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Maybe, but considering how well my non-Isospeed Emonda’s ride, I think they clearly know what to do with a rigid layup that is still rather comfortable even in “race” bike like both of mine. But I do agree that their whole direction on the Domane in particular is something I dislike. The 1st gen model was perfect IMO, for a blend of comfort and light weight, along with looking rather “normal” too. No surprise that I also like the 1st gen Boone with the same simple Isospeed that I used for my gravel bike. I plan to rebuild that bike as my everyday road bike with 32mm tires as I hand my Domane ALR to my wife.
But I agree that they pushed too far into some of the “tech” solution range and waved goodby to more classic looks even with their functional and less dramatic designs.
Worth noting that the gen7 Madone was pretty unanimously reviewed as being comfy, despite having deep tubes and test bikes having 25mm tires. I feel like IsoFlow looks more gimmicky on the new bike since the Gen 8 already has smaller presumably comfier tubes
I run my gen7 with tubeless 28mm gp5000str and it feels plenty comfortable to me.
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Fascinating discussion. I’ve owned 2 Treks in my life. A 2022 Emonda SLR and now a 2024 Madone SLR (Gen7). The Emonda rides like a tin can compared to the Gen 7. Really beats you up on longer rides. Same wheels, tires, size (geometry) and saddle too! I assume it has something to do with isoflow but, who knows. A buddy of mine from Flagstaff tests bikes for Trek. He said he thought Trek nailed the layup on the Gen 7 SLR (didn’t recommend the SL). Anyways, he talked more about the layup than Isoflow so, maybe the ride comfort is coming more from that. Who knows? All I know is there isn’t much comparison between the Emonda and Madone G7. One of the few high dollar purchases I feel really ok with. Like I actually made the right decision for once.
Lastly, got to roll around and feel the new “Gen 8 Madonda”. It feels and looks like a compromise. I’m probably wrong but, if the Madone didn’t do well, I’m not sure this will either. For the record, I think Isoflow looks gimmicky as hell and was a large part of the reason I took a while to buy one. That and I our team deal didn’t kick in until relatively recently for me…Even if Isoflow saves XX watts I don’t think there’s enough market out there to buy the gimmicky look. JMO.
edit: there, their, they’re…
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I did own a Gen 7 SL as well before the SLR and yes the ride quality is very different. SL was more smooth but muted, and a bit lazier feeling. SLR (granted with RSL wheels too) feels much more alive and connected to the road, not in a bad way. My consensus is if you want the Madone for looks buy the SL, but if you want the performance the SLR is the way to go.
I’m not so sure it’s going to be just 2 watts difference, and while I appreciate Tour Magazine testing some of their results don’t transfer to real world rider feedback. Ride feel is most important IMO, and some people will be very happy with a lighter snappier bike. I ride mostly in the saddle and solo so I’ll take all the added aero I can get without having to use special bottles
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Which makes me feel better about buying the Gen 7. I have close to zero interest in proprietary bottles but, remind me how much savings are they claiming with the new bottle system?
edit: totally understand one can run any bottle with the Gen 8…
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Watching the webinar I don’t recall a watt figure. However in the Gen 7 presentation they did also say they optimized the downtube to assist with airflow around bottles.
The town tube is now basically square and supposed to act as a windbreaker, until they reshape the speed concept to look like this I’m not convinced this aero theory is better
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Awesome! Thank you @Junk_Miles and @Picklerickle.
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Tour Magazine test with a round bottle on the downtube so I think that’s the only result we will be seeing. I’m basing this on the Nero podcast where they had the guy from Tour on for an episode and seeing footage from their testing.
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The difference is not 1-2w, but much more. (How much depends on what you’re comparing to.) And if you’re talking about a rider going 400w, it’s more, because their speed is higher. Meanwhile 300g of frame weight is worth less than half a percent (to a rider of any ability level) even on the Angliru. The top riders go up it at 18km/h meaning the gen 7 madone is likely marginally faster even at a slightly higher weight.
However your post is a great example of the fallacies that many customers probably base their purchasing decisions on.
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