New 2013 Madone 5.2

Captainlip

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rtjdesign

Looks good! Im guessing its yourself that got me on my Madone 3.1 the other week

Captainlip

rtjdesign wrote:

Looks good! Im guessing its yourself that got me on my Madone 3.1 the other week

Could you be the chap who bought the 3.1 but I see walking past the shop every morning

mtbboy101

Nice, but is that a good place for a rear brake, what with winter coming along?

Captainlip

mtbboy101 wrote:

Nice, but is that a good place for a rear brake, what with winter coming along?

we shall see, no reports yet on any of the 5,6 and 7 madones for brake issues, im sure if left neglected there will be issues. im a keen strip/clean/rebuild so im sure mine will survive.

rtjdesign

Captainlip wrote:

rtjdesign wrote:

Looks good! Im guessing its yourself that got me on my Madone 3.1 the other week

Could you be the chap who bought the 3.1 but I see walking past the shop every morning

That would be me I only live just past whitefield park it's not worth me getting changed and being sweaty by the time I get to work.

Been out on it a few times and love it! Although I did come off last sunday face first and scratched my pedals and my face , bought some bontrager all weather tyres off you the other week to help my battle against winter.

How you finding the 5.2?

Captainlip

rtjdesign wrote:

Captainlip wrote:

rtjdesign wrote:

Looks good! Im guessing its yourself that got me on my Madone 3.1 the other week

Could you be the chap who bought the 3.1 but I see walking past the shop every morning

That would be me I only live just past whitefield park it's not worth me getting changed and being sweaty by the time I get to work.

Been out on it a few times and love it! Although I did come off last sunday face first and scratched my pedals and my face , bought some bontrager all weather tyres off you the other week to help my battle against winter.

How you finding the 5.2?

We shall see tomorrow if the rain holds off, no winter clothing yet so I have to man up and pedal faster to keep warm.

3specs

Unusual colour scheme but a great looking bike. I have a 2012 Madone and keep looking at a second bike and cant make my mind up what to get. The trouble is i enjoy riding my current bike so much that it would have to be something special to get me out of the saddle and onto a new ride.

Captainlip

3specs wrote:

Unusual colour scheme but a great looking bike. I have a 2012 Madone and keep looking at a second bike and cant make my mind up what to get. The trouble is i enjoy riding my current bike so much that it would have to be something special to get me out of the saddle and onto a new ride.

I agree its abit marmite but looks alot better in the flesh. what are you riding at the moment?

the reason I went with this years madone is its packed with features and tech its pretty unique this year thats why I got it.

chrisaonabike

Captainlip wrote:

mtbboy101 wrote:

Nice, but is that a good place for a rear brake, what with winter coming along?

we shall see, no reports yet on any of the 5,6 and 7 madones for brake issues, im sure if left neglected there will be issues. im a keen strip/clean/rebuild so im sure mine will survive.

Sorry, I'm being thick here... where is the rear brake??

The only place I can think of is under the chain stays where they join the frame??? I'd be interested to see it if you have a clearer photo?

trek_dan

I was just drooling over this in the this months Cycling Plus. A gorgeous machine that from the review rides even better than it looks. The colour scheme as the same as my current Trek 1.5 so I'd love to upgrade to this and have matching winter and summer bikes!

greasedscotsman

OK, I'm curious, what is the benefit of putting the brake under the bottom bracket?

EKIMIKE

I'm guessing there is some claim that it's 'aero'. You could probably back that claim up with a few hours in a wind tunnel and some intelligent people. Anyway TREK have got this kammtail shizz going on. You can see a decal on the frame which will help remind the rider if they lose faith in their perceived 'aero' advantage.

The other reason is clearly for aesthetic purposes. It does look nice... but from the driveside only. From the non-driveside it just looks weird. "Is that a massive lump of mud affixed to your bottom bracket?" "No, my rear brake is under there somewhere."

I think everyone can agree that it's not been moved to make maintenance easier. IMO it's a gimmick and a probable pain in the arse.

keef66

I spotted a few Treks with back brakes mounted there at the Cycle Show in Sept. At first I assumed they were the TT bikes, but quickly realised they were standard Madones. Struck me then as a triumph of marketing b0llocks over function. Good luck with them!

greasedscotsman

It reminds me of the U-brakes that were fitted to mountain bikes back in the day.

saprkzz

greasedscotsman wrote:

It reminds me of the U-brakes that were fitted to mountain bikes back in the day.

yeah, It was like that on my specialized rockhopper comp in 1988 , i didnt think back then it was for aero advantage, especially when i used to wear a shell suit!!

jimmybloom

Really like these new Madones.....They've got a black one in the local, which I think the white walls suit, this definitely looks better with blacks though.
Interested to hear how the brakes perform, as i think they look really clean, especially on the front. Do remember the mechanic saying the rear was a real ball ache to set up though....

Captainlip

after a commute to work at back the brakes performance is spot on, cant say what its like in the wet but certainly performs well dry. ill try get a photo of the rear brake.

as mentioned above its correct that the moved brake aparently keeps the air flow all clean and reduces drag, also the front brake sits flush with the fork again reducing drag. these were designed by bontrager who work with trek, if the bontis aint your cup of tea then durace do a set of calipers for £320 the BR9010.

alihisgreat

Looks great.. its going to be a nightmare keeping that brake clean though.

Paul 8v

I never used to be a massive fan of Treks but these Madones do seem to be a pretty good design. Looks good

nickellis

Also by relocating the brake to the bottom bracket shell (which is built strong) they can remove some of the extra carbon layers from the top of the seat-stay, seat tube area. Reducing the weight, apparently having the brake on the seat-stays requires extra material to strengthen the area against braking forces.

I'm not sure how much of an aero advantage it gives by moving it. If it was that bigger difference what have they not gone for an integrated front brake, or at least reverse mount one on the back of the fork....

nickellis

PS nice colour way. Is the green slightly metallic?

Captainlip

The front

greasedscotsman

Aero brakes, now where have I seen that before?

EKIMIKE

nickellis wrote:

Also by relocating the brake to the bottom bracket shell (which is built strong) they can remove some of the extra carbon layers from the top of the seat-stay, seat tube area. Reducing the weight, apparently having the brake on the seat-stays requires extra material to strengthen the area against braking forces.

I was thinking of this too. In the respect that the BB is a strong area able to cope with braking forces then it makes sense. However, despite saving weight, i don't think that would be the greatest advantage - for me the most potential comes from being able to tune the ride characteristics of the seat-stays without having to worry about braking forces.

Anyway i would sum it up as:

Pro's
- Aero
- Frame weight
- Possibly better ride quality due to tuned seat-stays

Con's
- Dirty brake, may reduce functional life
- Difficult maintenance
- Limited brake-set choice
- Weight savings with aftermarket light weight brakes outweigh weight savings on frame.

Some of those will matter more to some than others. For me an 20 extra grams on the frame so i can adjust my brake easily and it potentially last longer (pivots won't be so caked in mud and grit) is preferable.

Paul 8v

greasedscotsman wrote:

Aero brakes, now where have I seen that before?

Lovely looking brakes, shame they didn't perform as well as they looking in the stopping department! Worth a fortune now

RideOnTime

stongle

Nice. These are definetly much better looking in the flesh, and like you're colour scheme!

I rode the Di2 version of this very bike last weekend, and was impressed with the responsiveness (despite running very average wheels on the demo bike). Originally I was almost adamant with my LBS I did not want a Trek, and was thinking more of a Venge / Cervelo S5; but they insisted I tried it and was so impressed I've just ordered a Madone 7, but in a more discreet colour scheme (vapor coat). Couting down the days for it to be built and delivered, just hoping that it's in time for my trip to the Canaries in Feb.

notlongnow

Love the colour scheme

Captainlip

stongle wrote:

Nice. These are definetly much better looking in the flesh, and like you're colour scheme!

I rode the Di2 version of this very bike last weekend, and was impressed with the responsiveness (despite running very average wheels on the demo bike). Originally I was almost adamant with my LBS I did not want a Trek, and was thinking more of a Venge / Cervelo S5; but they insisted I tried it and was so impressed I've just ordered a Madone 7, but in a more discreet colour scheme (vapor coat). Couting down the days for it to be built and delivered, just hoping that it's in time for my trip to the Canaries in Feb.

the 5.9 is a sweet bike and well finished.

its funny the amount that write off a trek until the actually try one. I see this happen every week when customers demo them. its a funny thing a trek to some road users.

stongle

Captainlip wrote:

stongle wrote:

Nice. These are definetly much better looking in the flesh, and like you're colour scheme!

I rode the Di2 version of this very bike last weekend, and was impressed with the responsiveness (despite running very average wheels on the demo bike). Originally I was almost adamant with my LBS I did not want a Trek, and was thinking more of a Venge / Cervelo S5; but they insisted I tried it and was so impressed I've just ordered a Madone 7, but in a more discreet colour scheme (vapor coat). Couting down the days for it to be built and delivered, just hoping that it's in time for my trip to the Canaries in Feb.

the 5.9 is a sweet bike and well finished.

its funny the amount that write off a trek until the actually try one. I see this happen every week when customers demo them. its a funny thing a trek to some road users.

I was riding the other day and chatting to a guy as we went along on is older bike, a few minutes after he actually made the effort to catch up to get along side and we had a chuckle because he had been following trying to figure out where the rear brake was.

Yep, after riding it I had a Victor Kiam moment. So impressed I bought one. Can't wait the 60-70 days till delivery. I currently ride a 2011MY BMC SLC01, which is pretty responsive but this felt moreso (despite the so-so wheels on the demo version).