cyclingnews.com has spent the past several months putting time and miles on a 5.2 Madone. The glowing review is posted here.
The review is especially important to us here at Trek because we know cyclingnews.com's James Huang put in the time it takes to truly understand the '08 Madone's design. This is not a paid advertorial review but rather an opinion that speaks volumes about the bike based on real-world experience.
Scott Daubert here - Trek Road Bike Brand Manager. I've been reading the posts in our blog and found common questions that need to be answered. Here's what I have so far:
Color options. It's impossible to please everyone's desire when it comes to colors. I've been passing your comments on to Trek's graphics people so they know where you stand. For the most part the 2008 Madone's colors have been well received but there are some of you with special needs. Keep in mind that our Project One program caters to Trek customers by offering a custom color and graphics palatte.
Project One. 2008 Madones will go be available through Project One on January 1, 2008.
Prices. We will put the 2008 Madone prices on our website soon but we are waiting for some last minute info before doing so. I'm happy to report that although the all-new Madone boasts advanced technology, a full range of fit options and unique upgrades, these bikes won't see a huge price increase.
Fuselage alone. Trek will still offer certain models of the 2008 Madone as a fuselage so you can build the bike the way you want. The models sold as a fuselage are the 6.9 and 6.9 Pro and the 5.2 and 5.2 Pro. We must fill the complete bike orders before we can send out fuselages so sit tight while we get our inventory up to speed. You can buy any 5 or 6 series fuselage through Project One on January 1, 2008.
Fit. We have divided fit from geometry. Think of fit as how you sit on the bike and geometry is how the bike behaves on road. Your fit options are Pro, Performance and WSD. The difference between Pro and Performance fit is the height of your hands - Performance is 30mm taller than the Pro. WSD uses the higher Performance fit hand position.
All of the 2008 Madones have the same proven, stable, predicatable geometry - the same seat and head angles, the same length reach in the toptube and the same length chainstays. The reason you see shorter toptube lengths between the Pro and Performance fit bikes is due to the longer headtubes.
Performance fit equal Pilot. There are differences between the Performance fit bikes and the Pilot bikes. The Pilots have an even higher hand position, more tire clearance and long reach brakes for fender mounting, rack eyelets and slower geometry. The Pilot is fast becoming a commuter and touring favorite.
Chainring options. The Pro fit bikes are spec'd with a standard 53/39 crankset. The Performance and WSD come with either a compact double or a triple crankset.
Seat caps and masts. There are two different seat cap lengths and three different offset options. The standard cap is 120mm x 20mm (length x offset). The offset options are 20mm rearward, 5mm rearward and 10mm forward. The tall cap is 160mm and comes in the same offsets. We are shipping 160mm x 20mm caps this week with the other options available ASAP. So far we are happily impressed with how little the cap scars or scrapes the mast so if you are having to raise and lower your cap to find the right seat height, they seem to be fairly resistant to maring. And there's no cutting so you don't have to worry about making a really big mistake.
6 series availability. We're working on it.
Replaceable derailleur hanger. This has been long lasting war within the walls of Trek but so far the one-piece hanger keeps winning. It's lighter, stiffer, tougher and more accurate than bolt together hangers/dropouts and can be replaced if need be here at Trek HQ.
OCLV is made in the USA. The entire line from the 5.1 to the 6.9 is made in Waterloo, WI, USA.
Rear brake cable routing. About 1000 bikes were built with a rear brake cable that exits the side of the toptube at the seat cluster. The brake works perfectly fine with the side exit. We changed this design after hearing too many complaints about the cable housing hitting rider's legs. We made a running change so bikes coming off the line today have the brake line exiting the top of the toptube.
Discovery is on the 5.2, not the 6.9. It's true; the team is on the 5.2. The 6.9 fuselages were not ready in time so we painted 5.2 fuselages with 6.9 decals. With team spec (Dura-Ace grouppo, Bonty bars, stem, saddle and RXXXL wheels) bikes weigh 7.0kg (15.4lbs). Not bad for our middle of the range fuselage, eh?
The Madone name. You'd think that with an all new platform there would be an all new name. Trek's Marketing department went round and round with names for a month before sticking with the Madone name. We even put it to a vote and "Madone" came back as the winner. Here's a simple analogy, for those of you that wanted something else: when Ford introduces a new Mustang, they call it the new Mustang because the name has equity; value, identity, a following. We feel that Madone has equity.
