2016 Trek Madone 9 Formally Introduced in Tour de France

2016 Trek Madone 9 Formally Introduced in Tour de France

Every major bicycle manufacturer is designing and selling bicycle model for each market segment; aerodynamic race bike, comfort race bike, time trial bike and lightweight race bike for climbing. John Burke, the President of Trek Bicycle Corporation, introduced the new Madone 9 Series in Zeist, The Netherlands on July 2, calling it ‘the ultimate racing bike.’ the Trek Factory Racing Team used the new model in the Tour de France as well as the Criterium du Dauphine.

The 2016 Trek Madone successfully fills the aerodynamic niche of the road bike mix. The 2013 Madone was designed as an aero road bike using Kammtail Virtual Foil (KVF) tubes that have a truncated airfoil shape, thin and aerodynamic on the leading edge and chopped off in the back. Chopping off the back of the tube saves weight and the airflow over the shape is not disrupted. The 2016 model Madone keeps the KVF tube shapes. The Madone looks like a hybrid of a traditional race bike and the Trek Speed Concept Time Trial bike.

Beyond the aerodynamic shape, the 2016 Madone comes with a single piece handlebar and stem that routes the brake and shifter cables internally and saving a little weight. Trek conducted a study about handlebar positioning and found that the majority of customers set their handlebars within a narrow range of angles. The Madone has little visible wiring and cabling. So the Madone looks even more streamlined, instead of a high school science experiment with cables and wires running everywhere.

Trek has a solution for the fact that the aerodynamic tube design is uncomfortable for the rider. Trek engineers took the IsoSpeed ‘decoupler’ feature from the Trek Domane with a tube in tube design for the Madone. The outer tube has the aerodynamic shape and transfers forces to the bottom bracket. The inner tube flexes and is more compliant dampening the potentially harsh ride to almost the level of the Domane.

The Bontrager brakes are closely tucked in next to the frame in an aerodynamic position. The brake cables go through the frame to the center pull calipers. The frame can be bought separately, and the Bontrager brakes come with the frame.

The fact that Trek engineers took two years to design this 2016 Madone 9 shows in of the design details like the ‘vector wings’ on the Madone headtube. The spring loaded wings are installed on either side of the headtube and each wing will swing open when the handlebar is swung left or right to allow the upper part of the brake and the brake cable to follow the handlebars. The wing clicks when it closes preserving the aerodynamic shape of the headtube.

The Madone includes a junction box, called the ‘control center,' in the downtube to allow to components of an electronic groupset, like the or Campagnolo’s EPS or Shimano Di2. For a mechanical groupset, the junction box gives access to the front derailleur barrel adjuster.

The clear competitor to the Madone 9 is the Specialized S-Works Venge ViAS with three teams riding Specialized bicycles in the Tour; Astana, Etixx-Quick Step and Tinkoff-Saxo versus just one Tour cycling team riding the Madone, Trek Factory Racing. In Trek’s competitive analysis and comparison shared with the press, the competitor was unnamed but assumed to be Specialized.

Trek has the new model Madone on its website and has stated that it will appear on the Project One site very soon allowing you the user to customize your Madone’s color and components. The prices range from $4,729.99 for the frame alone to $13,649.99 for the Trek Racing Team replica.

I have ridden a 2010 Trek Project One Madone 6.5 for years and been very happy with it. This Madone 9 is the first new Madone that is tempting. I have seen it at the local bike shop being built out, and the frame looks amazing and well thought out.