Bikeradar gallery

First look: Trek Madone 6 Series

The new internal derailleur cable routing system can be used with either mechanical or electronic drivetrains. Special plugs and guides are inserted when using Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 electronic group

  • Trek's newest 6 Series Madone will quickly see duty under Lance Armstrong and the Astana team in this year's Tour de France
  • Trek say their new StepJoint design saves weight and also produces a more predictable ride quality by maintaining tube wall thickness throughout the entire joint with no excess material
  • The stepped male end joins to a similarly profiled female end
  • Trek's new Resin Right manufacturing process yields a much cleaner and more consistent interior surface finish than before
  • The inner surface finish is now just as good as the outer surface, leaving less excess material and thus less extra weight to carry around
  • Last year's deeper-section seatmast design has been traded for a round profile on the 6 Series Madone
  • The 6 Series Madone continues to use a wishbone-style rear end...
  • … but the size difference between the chainstays and seatstays has grown wider
  • The driveside chainstay is taller and thinner while the non-driveside stay is substantially wider and more rounded
  • Inside the head tube lies a new asymmetrical E2 tapered steerer tube that is slightly bulged on the sides for better handling but pared down on the front and back sides for more flex over bumps
  • The new internal derailleur cable routing system can be used with either mechanical or electronic drivetrains. Special plugs and guides are inserted when using Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 electronic group
  • The integrated cable routing is decidedly clean at both the entry and exit points
  • The clever bottom bracket cable guide can also be swapped out for an integrated Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 battery mount
  • The chunky non-driveside chainstay now accepts a DuoTrap integrated wireless speed and cadence sensor
  • Trek claims its 90mm-wide BB90 bottom bracket design is better than BB30 in that it allows for a wider down tube and seat tube plus more widely spaced chain stays. Improved tolerances plus a new slight press-fit sizing in the bearing seats cut down on creaking relative to earlier Madones
  • The asymmetrical down tube's height and width is maintained all the way through to the bottom bracket shell while the seat tube has grown shallower front-to-back for more comfort
  • Trek has adopted a bolder and more aggressive look for its latest Madone range
  • The new seat tube profile forces a switch to a braze-on front derailleur mount that is reinforced at both the top and bottom for more precise shifting
  • The driveside rear dropout now serves double duty as a housing stop and all frame entry/exit points are sized to fit Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 connectors
  • Aluminium is still used at both the fork tips and rear dropouts on the 6 Series Madone for durability
  • Trek will offer a wide range of colour options for the 6 Series Madone in addition to a customisable parts spec. Rather than stock complete bikes, all 6 Series Madones will be stocked as frame-only and then built to order
  • In addition to the standard range of Project One custom options, Trek will also offer special 'Signature Series' versions with more elaborate paint schemes
  • Yes, now you too can have a bike just like Lance's through Trek's Project One programme
  • Trek will also offer the new 6 Series Madone in a WSD geometry with shorter top tubes and longer head tubes
  • Optional 'stealth' graphics made for a subtle appearance
  • Last year's Madone will be renamed as the '5 Series Madone', all using the mid-level OCLV Black carbon construction
  • The 5 Series Madone continues to use the tapered E2 front end design from last year
  • Though the 6 Series Madone now uses a round seatmast cap, the 5 Series will still use last year's more oval-like shape
  • The 5 Series Madone soldiers on into the 2010 model year essentially unchanged from last year and as such is not compatible with the new DuoTrap integrated computer sensor system
  • Women's-specific WSD versions of the Trek 5 Series Madone get updated colour schemes for 2010
  • Trek have also redesigned their third-tier Madone range with many of the features included on the top-end 6 Series flagships
  • Conventional telescoping seatposts are used on the new Trek 4 Series Madone
  • The new 4 Series Madone is also DuoTrap compatible
  • The 4 Series Madone carries on with a simpler clamp-on front derailleur arrangement
  • The 4 Series Madone frames use external cable routing
  • Bontrager have moved away from paired spoking patterns to a more conventional layout on their latest generation of wheels, saying the wider rim profiles are now stiff enough to handle the asymmetrical loading and can be made lighter than before
  • Bontrager have shifted from DT Swiss-made hubs to their own design almost across the board that they say are stiffer, faster engaging and more durable
  • Like all of the all-carbon Aeolus wheels, the 65mm-deep Aeolus 6.5 is based on the Race XXX Lite rim but with an aerodynamic cap bonded on top
  • The newest Aeolus 9.0 wheelset is the deepest that Bontrager offer
  • The Bontrager Race XXX Lite wheels lose two spokes up front and drop 30g per pair
  • Hubs on the lightest Bontrager Race XXX Lite shallow-section wheels, however, are still made by DT Swiss
  • New customisation programmes mean that consumers will now be able to choose between 10 different decal colours for their Aeolus wheels, from orange…
  • … to pink and nearly everything in between
  • Riders preferring the braking performance of an aluminum rim can opt for the Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC
  • The revised Bontrager Race XXX Lite road bar now features slightly forward-sweeping tops to reduce forearm interference while in the drops along with slightly longer hooks to provide more room for your hands
  • The revised Bontrager Race XXX Lite carbon stem is now approved for both road and mountain bike use
  • The opposing-bolt steerer clamp uses replaceable hardware

Showing 11 of 47

The new internal derailleur cable routing system can be used with either mechanical or electronic drivetrains. Special plugs and guides are inserted when using Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 electronic group

© James Huang