TREK makes it's new Madone a rival to be reckoned with.

We recently received our first two Madones for the 2008 season, a little early for 2008, but nonetheless here we are. To my knowledge, only 30 Madone 2008 bikes landed in Australia and only the 5.2 and 5.5 performance models. Happily we received one of each to flaunt in our showroom.

The 2008 Madone is about as complete a redesign as is possible from a manufacturer. Almost no part of the bike resembles anything from the 2007 model line up, from the way the frame is constructed in fewer pieces than before, to the new seatpost/seatmast design, which brings the new Madone into line with its competitors. I feel that the design team at TREK were taking their daily dose of crazy creative pills when they were asked to put pen to paper for the new Madone.

Happily, after a year of controversy in regards to Bontrager wheels, TREK (in conjunction with Keith Bontrager) have spent a great deal of time also redesigning the Bontrager wheel range, to firstly update everything with the new Madone, but also to ensure that the new season is free from the issues and troubles that came about in 2007. Rim and hub packages have been completely redesigned with slightly broader rim profiles and the hubs look nothing like their predecessors.

After a few years of designing, re-designing and around ten prototype bikes later, TREK finally was satisfied with what we have today. To give you a brief rundown of the new lineup of TREK Madone bikes, they are now spilt into three broad categories. The 'Pro Fit' carries over the geometry from previous years of Madone with an aggressive full race geometry - the racers choice. Next comes the 'Performance Fit' which is for racers and enthusiasts alike. The performance bike is very similar to the Pro Madone but features a head tube that is 30mm longer to provide a high hand position. Lastly, and just as important, comes the 'WSD Fit' designed specifically for women. It is loosely based around the performance fit and has been fine tuned to address a woman's different body structure. It is also really good to see TREK now catering for the really big guys who are becoming much more the 'norm' with the addition of a 64cm frame set to the range, with appropriate stack heights and reach that feature no weight limit. Most of the big guys out there can now get the benefits of a carbon frame as well.

With the new range of Madone we still have three grades of carbon frames, mainly differing in weight. The Madone 5.1 is the only bike featuring the 'White' series carbon, whereas the 5.2 and 5.5 are featuring the 'Black' series of Carbon and the 6.5 and 6.9 models have the latest 'Red' series carbon.

The new design features of the Madone for 2008 amazingly reduces the 'fuselage' weight which is frame, fork, headset and seatpost on average 250 grams per bike and we've been told it rides smoother and more comfortable by far than the 2007 model. Thanks go to Robert H for his feedback on his '08 5.2.

For all you techheads I definitely recommend checking out the Madone Microsite on TREK's website. It provides some interesting reading.
Now, some techno babble, so for all those not remotely interested in figures and nerdy stuff, have a good one and see you soon.

The new bearing setup for bottom bracket and headset using TREK's "Net Molding Carbon Technology" allows them to make sections of the frame, namely the headtube and bottom bracket shell, so that when the frame comes out of the mold there is no machining, preparation or fitting of cups required. Essentially the cups for the the bearings are already formed into the frame and fork from OCLV carbon fibre and so the bearings fit perfectly into what TREK calls "Precision fit sockets".

As with many manufacturers, TREK have gone with a Seat Mast as opposed to the classic seat post design, but happily with the TREK frame there is no cutting of the frame to be seen. The seat cap which houses the clamp for the saddle slides over the frame and clamps into place at your desired height. This means you have a greater range of adjustment and it is impossible to cut things to low. To cater for as many people as possible TREK are offering six different seat caps, essentially a short and long cap both available in 5mm and 20mm rearward offset, and also a 10mm forward offset.

Assembly of the new Madone was certainly a slow learning process for all of us, taking some time out to see how every little thing works and functions with the new Madone. Fitting the cranks and fork is an absolute snap with the new bike, as nothing is pressed or screwed into place, it's simply push the bearings into the frame and fit the item in question, then tension the bearings and job done. The new bottom bracket shell does look very different being 90mm wide, rather than the standard 68mm, this allows for a much wider downbar and seat tube to maximize the stiffness in the bottom bracket area of the frame. In the workshop this is fairly obvious when loading up the crank at the pedal for a very simple stress test.

Raenier