New Trek Madone (2023)

To each their own I guess, imho the best looking road bikes where made late seventies to mid eighties though I definitely enjoy the tech upgrades since then. I think I need to hear about some real world experience and if this bike turns out to be an alround great experience I might start trying to hit that 300 afterall

Yeah, I want one pretty badly.

Stolen from FB:
image

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Was just reading this https://cyclingtips.com/2022/06/2023-trek-madone-isoflow/ and noticed this little sentence

Riders choosing a Shimano build will still find their internal battery hidden inside the seat tube. Although, sitting as it now does below the IsoFlow opening, the battery is only accessible by removing the bottom bracket

I’m not up on all the components involved in electronic gears, but isn’t removing the bottom bracket to charge/replace the battery a pain?

I’ll look ridiculous getting dropped on that !

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You don’t need easy access to the Shimano battery. You build up the bike and then (unless something really unusual happens) you forget about it for several years.

You charge it up every few months from the charging port, which on current generation di2 is on the rear derailleur.

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Trek releases the SL line of the new Madone about a week ago:

Madone SL 7 gen 7:

  • 12 speed Ultegra Di2
  • Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 Wheelset
  • Bontrager RSL Aero Handlebar
  • $6500 USD
  • Size 56: 8.00 kg / 17.64 lbs
  • Gray or Maroon color

Madone SL 6 gen 7:

  • 12 speed 105 Di2
  • Bontrager Aeolus Elite 50 Wheelset
  • Bontrager RSL Aero Handlebar
  • $5500 USD
  • Size 56: 8.00 kg / 18.52 lbs
  • Matte Black or Crimson frame color

Seems like a pretty good offering considering where some of the competition is at $$ wise. Saves about $2500 over a similar spec/groupset from the SLR line. I imagine they will sell a number of these

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Is it my imagination, or did this bike kind of flop in the market?

Saw my first SL tonight, the SL7, a guy that works for local Trek store. Nice bike.

I’ve seen more Moots and Colnagos on the roads around me than new Madones. I think I’ve only seen one.

Don’t know about the US, but in Europe, pricing for Trek is completely uncompetitive, and the Bikeshop network is a little lackluster at least in Germany.
Considering new bikes are hard to sell anyway right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t sell so well.

They were impossible to find when they launched which doesn’t help sales. Starting to see a few more on the road down here in the SW US. They look gimmicky to me. Sorta like a rear wing on a Honda Civic. Someone needs to buy one and put the Cervelo S5 front end on it to complete the kit bike look. :wink:

Only person I know who has a trek had to have his frame warrantied. Its nice Trek backed it all up, I am in the states.

n=1: I have seen 1-2 “new” Madones in the wild since the release. Truthfully with the intro of the SLs I expect to see a lot more now. The pricing is good enough.

The case was the same in the US with the SLR. The Rival AXS Madone SLR is $8400 USD. To put it in perspective Specialized (who is typically at the upper end of the market price wise) has the Rival version of the new Tarmac SL8 priced at $6500 USD.

I only know one person locally with the SLR (and it’s the dura ace version no less). I think with a much lower cost Madone SL version they will fit into more people’s budgets and we might start to see more out on the roads.

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I’ve never seen one in the wild, but I also haven’t done a road race in a few years. For the weekend warrior coffee ride crowd, folks seem more concerned with what a bike looks like vs. how well it performs. And the madone looks weird. I suspect they will sell more with the SL release and more reasonable pricing, but I still think the design is a bit polarizing and they will struggle to find wide market interest. I don’t love the look, but I’d ride one if it performed well and the price was reasonable.

I’m fairly observant, however on several group rides I had to be prompted to the fact there was a couple SLRs on Wed night a couple months ago. And again last night when I had to stop to seal (tubeless) a minor puncture… the LBS guy with a brand new Madone SL7 had botched his tubeless install (an hour before the ride LOL) and also had to stop and put air in. We were standing on the side of a quiet country road, and I didn’t even notice his new bike. He had to prompt me for a reaction!

Trek at least got it (mostly) right with the bars. I’d ride a 62cm and it comes with bars that are 41 @ the hoods and 44 @ drops. :star_struck::star_struck::star_struck:

44cm/0 flare bars would come off before the first ride!

:thinking::thinking::thinking:

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Price of Madone SL 7 in the US is $6500. Why does it cost €8000 in Europe? It’s almost cheaper to fly to the states to get one :confused:
It’s even worse with SLR 7 : 9K vs 11K

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