Trek Madone 9 Series Too Much for a Begginer?

TitoDaddy

Greetings fellas,

Uber newbie here. I have a Specialized Dolce and I have little to no experience on cycling. Once my eyes laid upon the Madone, I immediately fell in love with it. However, I am having second thoughts as the Madone might be an overkill to a beginner like me.

Any thoughts is appreciated.

arthur_scrimshaw

TitoDaddy wrote:

Greetings fellas,

Uber newbie here. I have a Specialized Dolce and I have little to no experience on cycling. Once my eyes laid upon the Madone, I immediately fell in love with it. However, I am having second thoughts as the Madone might be an overkill to a beginner like me.

Any thoughts is appreciated.

If you can afford it why not? I think a lot of us on here are 'overbiked' - I certainly am. It's your money, do what you want. It's not like a new driver buying a 500hp Lambo, it won't bite you or be too much to handle, it will just be a very nice experience compared to cheaper bikes (I'm guessing as never tried a Madone)

singleton

What he said ^^

Why not - buy something you like and you're more likely to get out there, use it and get some miles in your legs.

fenix

Entirely up to you.

Personally I'd probably be sticking with the cheaper bike and get happy on that before spending big bucks. Winter IS coming and I'd not want to ride a 3K bike in the rain and mud.

Theres lots of other things to buy too - autumn and winter kit and then you have all the dark evenings to pore over what dream bike you should get in spring.

markhewitt1978

If you can afford it no reason not to. The only thing to be wary of is the geometry which on expensive bikes can be more agressive which may or may not suit a beginner. But bikes in all geometry types are available in all price ranges! It's not like having an overpowered car where it can be all to easy to wrap it around a tree; the bike is only as fast as you are.

Anonymous

If you can afford it, buy it. They aren't racing cars and won't exactly throw you off if you pedal too quickly.

The only disadvantage is that you have nothing to upgrade .

I guess the downside is that they are a mechanic's nightmare to fix stuff when it goes wrong due to complicated engineering but your bike shop may be able to do the work for you, if you want to pay for it each time.

bikes`n`guns

Only thing I would say is that when you go very high end, and bang the miles in, things wear out quicker and can be expensive to replace, but that`s the price of high end lightness.


If it was me, I`d buy it without a second thought.

larkim

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

If it was me and I had £3k to spend on a road bike and I was someone with "little to no experience on cycling" I'd be buying something for less than £1k and then spending the rest on things that will help me get into cycling - perhaps an organised foreign trip to a swanky Italian cycling hotel, fancy bike computer, a good stock of clothes, bike fit, turbo etc etc.

But its your money...

meanredspider

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

Given that logic, we'd all be riding £90 Tesco BSOs...

I actually believe that a £3k bike is 10x "nicer" to ride than a £300 (which, of course, is very subjective). As I've been able to buy pricier bikes I've not really noticed the difference of the better bike. But, as I've then gone back to my older, cheaper, bikes which my kids now ride, I've really noticed what the extra money buys you.

So I'm with those saying if you can afford it, go for it. Buy cheap, buy twice

mamba80

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

If it was me and I had £3k to spend on a road bike and I was someone with "little to no experience on cycling" I'd be buying something for less than £1k and then spending the rest on things that will help me get into cycling - perhaps an organised foreign trip to a swanky Italian cycling hotel, fancy bike computer, a good stock of clothes, bike fit, turbo etc etc.

But its your money...

you dont know a thing about bikes if you truly believe that, bikes and components are works of art, perhaps ever so slightly less in the carbon age but in the days of Nervex lugs and onto columbus slx/reynolds 753 tubing, to me, they are beautiful and highly desirable.

a 3k bike will be far above a 300 one from decathlon.

larkim

Yes, but with the OP saying he / she has little or no experience of cycling, I simply don't see how it is possible to "fall in love" with a bike. And even putting aside if that emotional response is possible, I don't see how it can be good advice to say "if you love it, buy it" not knowing if he'll find that bike comfortable or not for him. It's clearly a great bike, but surely you can squeeze far better riding satisfaction out of £3k better than just blowing it all on aero bike which has heaps of proprietary components with for a rider with no real understanding of whether it is actually good for his riding / body shape etc.

Surely buying on looks alone is the worst way to buy a bike (probably equally on a par with buying on price alone). The higher up the price band you go, the smaller and smaller are the incremental benefits from those extra pounds (accepting that there are some "step ups" in there which make pricing non-linear).

alistaird

markhewitt1978 wrote:

If you can afford it no reason not to. The only thing to be wary of is the geometry which on expensive bikes can be more agressive which may or may not suit a beginner. But bikes in all geometry types are available in all price ranges! It's not like having an overpowered car where it can be all to easy to wrap it around a tree; the bike is only as fast as you are.

I agree with this but would add - get a bike fit. This can help to tame an aggressive set up and make sure you get fitted before cutting down the steerer. A slammed front end may look nice but if you are new to cycling then it may be worth while getting to the more aggressive position over time.

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

Given that logic, we'd all be riding £90 Tesco BSOs...

I actually believe that a £3k bike is 10x "nicer" to ride than a £300 (which, of course, is very subjective). As I've been able to buy pricier bikes I've not really noticed the difference of the better bike. But, as I've then gone back to my older, cheaper, bikes which my kids now ride, I've really noticed what the extra money buys you.

So I'm with those saying if you can afford it, go for it. Buy cheap, buy twice

There is a borderline though. This logic wouldn't see us on a £90 Tesco BSO but it probably would all see us on Tribans - there is a big difference between 'good and cheap' and 'bad and cheap'. I think that a well put together, reasonably spec'd bike (probably costing less than £1k) can in any real world sense match a £3k bike unless you are directly comparing them (which, as you say yourself, is the only way you notice the difference).

Put it another way, nobody would miss the expensive bikes if they didn't exist. If we lived in a nice authoritarian state where the maximum price of a bike was £1k, we'd all be just as happy with our cycling and better off for it. Which is not to say that I don't enjoy my Look 585 with Campag Record!

popularname

larkim wrote:
I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

Oh I can see it/have done it... the colour, the shape of the tubes, the elegance of the overall shape and components and the promise of freedom and adventure.

The bike I most fell in love with - a Madone as it happens - was stolen two summers ago and I was so upset that I stopped riding for 6 months.

So, OP, go with your heart. As numerous people have said, the more you love your bike, the more you'll want to ride it.

Garry H

Yes, definitely buy it.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

There is a borderline though. This logic wouldn't see us on a £90 Tesco BSO but it probably would all see us on Tribans - there is a big difference between 'good and cheap' and 'bad and cheap'. I think that a well put together, reasonably spec'd bike (probably costing less than £1k) can in any real world sense match a £3k bike unless you are directly comparing them (which, as you say yourself, is the only way you notice the difference).

Put it another way, nobody would miss the expensive bikes if they didn't exist. If we lived in a nice authoritarian state where the maximum price of a bike was £1k, we'd all be just as happy with our cycling and better off for it. Which is not to say that I don't enjoy my Look 585 with Campag Record!

That's fair. But the same authoritarian state could limit us on beer, coffee, cars, clothes etc but life would be a shade greyer wouldn't it? Each of us decides what's "good enough". As it happens, I don't think I would pay more than £3k for a bike but I certainly wouldn't criticise someone that spent £10k if they wanted to. After all, people will spend the price of a house on a car which that have no hope of finding the limits of its capability unless they're a professional race driver. Enjoy the Look

ajmitchell

Hi I can see why you like it

http://www.designboom.com/technology/tr ... 7-06-2015/

Did you see this thread (2nd bike)
viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=13062422&p=19843525&hilit=madone#p19843525

and on the question is it too much? Only you can say however I would keep a cheap bike as a run around as well.

Enjoy, and tell us how it goes!

alex

bikes`n`guns

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

If it was me and I had £3k to spend on a road bike and I was someone with "little to no experience on cycling" I'd be buying something for less than £1k and then spending the rest on things that will help me get into cycling - perhaps an organised foreign trip to a swanky Italian cycling hotel, fancy bike computer, a good stock of clothes, bike fit, turbo etc etc.

But its your money...

You`re not a cyclist are you ?


How on earth could a cyclist come out with that ?.

meanredspider

As much as I'd like to believe the bike makes little difference, all the experience I've had tells me otherwise. Example today was a short ride after a 26-hour journey from Seoul via Singapore to Heathrow (22 hours in an aeroplane). 19C and no wind and yet I missed out on a straight-line descent "KOM" that I wasn't even trying on by 1 sec (with over 1000 riders having done it) using the Foil on C50s. I was shocked to see I was equal 3rd peaking at 66kmh. The numbers aren't important nor is the Strava bit other than to say I totally credit the bike (after all, I'm unfit and knackered so it HAS to be the bike).

Anonymous

data error

meanredspider

coriordan wrote:

data error

I doubt it on the Garmin 1000 (I could believe it on the iPhone app which is laughable).

But, as I say, this is just the latest example. If it was a data error thing, it would balance out between my bikes (after all, the data isn't relative to the bike). And it would balance out across the 1000+ riders too.

larkim

Bikes`n`guns wrote:

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

If it was me and I had £3k to spend on a road bike and I was someone with "little to no experience on cycling" I'd be buying something for less than £1k and then spending the rest on things that will help me get into cycling - perhaps an organised foreign trip to a swanky Italian cycling hotel, fancy bike computer, a good stock of clothes, bike fit, turbo etc etc.

But its your money...

You`re not a cyclist are you ?


How on earth could a cyclist come out with that ?.

I'm not a money-no-object, cyclist no. I'm a real world, limited funds, limited time cyclist.

But, more to the point, the OP is a self confessed non-cyclist too!

Lookyhere

larkim wrote:

Bikes`n`guns wrote:

larkim wrote:

I just don't see how anyone can "fall in love" with a road bike just based on looks when they all just about look the same! There's no way on earth a £3k bike will be twice as nice as a £1.5k bike to ride, and even less likelihood that it 10 times nicer to ride than a £300 bike from Decathlon.

If it was me and I had £3k to spend on a road bike and I was someone with "little to no experience on cycling" I'd be buying something for less than £1k and then spending the rest on things that will help me get into cycling - perhaps an organised foreign trip to a swanky Italian cycling hotel, fancy bike computer, a good stock of clothes, bike fit, turbo etc etc.

But its your money...

You`re not a cyclist are you ?


How on earth could a cyclist come out with that ?.

I'm not a money-no-object, cyclist no. I'm a real world, limited funds, limited time cyclist.

But, more to the point, the OP is a self confessed non-cyclist too!

a year into being on a bike i nicked from a tip! i lost my job, i spent my last £300 on a Peugeot Professional from Colin Lewis, it sparked a life long love of bikes ..... racing touring TT anything with 2 wheels, i ve still got the Peugeot.

its only money and then you die, so why not?