Aerodynamics aren’t a new concept, throughout the past two decades of bicycle design they have been the one aspect that each manufacturer has honed in on. It’s created a flooded market, awash with speedy aero bikes. It’s tough to rise above the others when you’re drowning in a sea of sameness, but there is one, just one, that may be poking its gloriously smooth head tube above the rest – the 2019 Trek Madone.
Creating the ultimate race bike
The Madone has always been fast, it is Trek’s most aero road machine after all. However, what really sets this new 2019 Madone apart from both the 2018 version and the rest of its competitors in the aero road bike category, is its harmonious balance of aerodynamics, lightweight build and compliant design. It inspires confidence on all manner of terrain, whether cobbles, climbs or steep descents.
Trek have added a clever new IsoSpeed feature to the 2019 Madone, a design that first debuted on the classics-ready Domane. IsoSpeed decouples the seat tube from the rest of the Madone’s frame, connecting it with a pivot axle and a set of cartridge bearings to allow more flex while riding over rough terrain. This has a significant improvement in overall ride quality, creating an aero bike that is actually comfortable to ride.
The new IsoSpeed design adopts an L-shaped that sits just under the top tube, allowing more room to flex. It can be adjusted and tailored to a rider’s style as well, Trek boasting a 17% softer feel in the softest setting – than the old Madone – and a 21% stiffer feel in the stiffest setting.
Disc brakes have finally been added to the Madone and Trek claim that the new discs are not only superior in the stopping power department to traditional rim brakes, they’re also just as aero. They haven’t totally abandoned rim brakes however, the more traditional option available across the 2019 Madone range. They’ve also changed the placement of the rim brakes, cramming them behind the front fork instead of in front with the 2018 vector wings. The result is a much more compact package up front that slices through the air even cleaner than before.
As well as a new two-piece aero bar and stem, complete with flawless internal cable routing, the Madone also receives a slight change to its geometry, Trek splitting the difference between their H1 pro geometry and H2 upright geometry with the new H1.5. Sitting in this middle ground allows the Madone to remain incredibly aero, while also offering improved levels of comfort and overall ride quality, something that a lot of aero bikes just can’t boast about.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a new bike without a new, stunning set of custom paint options. Trek have once again partnered with Project One to offer a custom service where a rider can choose between six pre-configured ICON colour schemes. The finished products are somewhat hard to put into words, so we’ll just leave this post from Trek here.
A race-winning design
The 2019 Madone was officially unveiled at this year’s Tour de France, piloted by the super-strong Trek-Segafredo team. It didn’t take long for the Madone to steal the limelight, Toms Skujins riding himself into the King of the Mountains jersey during the first week of racing – the bike receiving a stunning polka-dot paintjob as a result.
It didn’t take much longer for the Madone to garner even more success and appraisal, an emphatic victory for Jasper Stuyven at the recent BinckBank Tour as he defied some of the world’s best sprinters enough to get more heads turning.
With the team now ripping up the roads at the Vuelta a España it’s only a matter of time before the next big result. Giacomo Nizzolo will be piloting the Madone in the bunch sprints, as will the all-rounder Fabio Felline as he chases days in the breakaway. The Madone is also Bauke Mollema’s choice of steed to chase that elusive stage win, the flying climbing Dutchman loving this new, all-round aero machine – even on the more mountainous stages.
Does the new Madone tickle your fancy? We currently have the SL 6 and SLR 6 Disc in stock, but for any of the other models in the range, just drop us an email or ask in store and we’ll order it in.
