Pro bike: Andy Schleck's Leopard Trek Madone 6.9 SSL

New ride and prototype wheels for team's Tour de France hopeful

James Huang/Future Publishing

Published: January 13, 2011 at 4:30 pm

Andy Schleck has managed to retain most of his key support riders from last year with the move to the new Luxembourg-based Leopard Trek squad but in terms of equipment, virtually everything else has changed.

Schleck is now on a Trek Madone instead of his old Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3 and for components he’s on Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 electronic group instead of SRAM Red. Bontrager wheels replace his familiar Zipps, and Bontrager will also supply saddles, stems, and bars in contrast to his old Prologo and FSA bits – in total, it’s a monumental shift for a professional athlete that relies so much on his gear.

Schleck is admirably pragmatic and upbeat about the situation. "For a lot of riders it's like a disaster but for me, you know, things change – I changed teams!" he told us at the team camp in Palma de Mallorca. "I'm open for every new thing. When you go to a new bike you always notice differences immediately but you also have to get used to it – and the more I get used to it, the more I like it. I'm not allowed to say it's 'f-ing awesome', but it is"

Many riders of his caliber often insist on at least carrying over an old saddle given how personal an item it is – and regardless of whether it may create a conflict with a new sponsor. However, Schleck is even open-minded there, too, and is already working with Bontrager to get things dialed in with a custom model built upon a discontinued shell.

Bontrager produced a custom saddle for andy schleck (leopard trek) using an older shape shape and firm padding: bontrager produced a custom saddle for andy schleck (leopard trek) using an older shape shape and firm padding - James Huang/Future Publishing

Bontrager produced a custom saddle for Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) using an older shape shape and firm padding

"The first ones I didn't like, but then that's how it works with Trek and us – I gave them feedback and now they made me a saddle which I'm really happy with," he said. "You don't have to accept everything but you have to at least try. You cannot get a new saddle and look at it and say, "It's shit," you know? You at least have to try it. At first I tried it and didn't like it but now I have a saddle I like. I will have to see how it is on a long distance — because it's quite hard, but I like a hard saddle — and then we go from there."

The transition is also eased by the fact that team mechanics were able to replicate his old position almost perfectly; so while all of the contact points themselves have changed, they're at least in a familiar place. "I was sitting good on the bike last year and I just want to be close to the position and then look at what we can change," Schleck said. "But really, it's just millimeters."

Most of Schleck's gear consists of off-the-shelf items – even his lighter-weight Madone 6.9 SSL frameset was introduced last year. But the team is, however, already working with Bontrager to develop a new carbon tubular wheelset that will presumably replace the current Aeolus 5.0.

Bontrager is developing these ultra-wide 50mm-deep carbon tubulars with input from the team: bontrager is developing these ultra-wide 50mm-deep carbon tubulars with input from the team - James Huang/Future Publishing

Bontrager is developing an ultra-wide 50mm-deep carbon tubular wheelset with input from the team

The new unnamed model sports the same 50mm section depth as the current model, but like Zipp's successful 303, it's much, much wider – measuring nearly 25mm at the tire bed – for better aerodynamics and improved tire casing support. Unlike Zipp, the new Bontrager rim uses parallel brake tracks.

According to team liaison Ben Coates, the wider bed offers excellent support for the team's current 25mm-wide Schwalbe tubulars, too (though he adds the riders will likely use 22mm-wide tires during the race season). Ultimately, Coates says the new wheel will serve as leopard Trek's 'workhorse' race wheels for most situations this season.

Neither Coates nor anyone else at Trek or Bontrager would offer up any technical details on the new wheelset, but based on the current version, we'd expect Schleck's version to come in somewhere between 1,300-1,500g for the set given the team's use of lighter carbon-bodied hubs with DT Swiss internals instead of the standard Bontrager alloy units.

We do, however, have a total weight for Schleck's complete bike as pictured here: 7.23kg (15.94lb). The missing SRM PowerControl 7 computer head will add a few more grams on top of that but we would expect that swapping in shallower-depth wheels and more typical tires plus switching out the SRM crank for a standard Dura-Ace model will likely bring the total much closer to the UCI-mandated 6.8kg weight limit when it comes time to attack the high mountains.

Complete bike specifications

  • Frame: Trek Madone 6.9 SSL, 58cm
  • Fork: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, tapered 1 1/8"-to-1 1/2"
  • Headset: Cane Creek integrated
  • Stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 140mm x -17°
  • Handlebars: Bontrager Race Lite VR, 42cm (c-c)
  • Tape/grips: Bontrager cork
  • Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-7900 w/ Bontrager cork pads
  • Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-7900 w/ Bontrager cork pads
  • Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-7970
  • Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-7970-F
  • Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-7970
  • Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-7970
  • Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7900, 11-25T
  • Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7900
  • Crankset: SRM Wireless PowerMeter Dura-Ace 7900 Compatible, 172.5mm, 53/39T
  • Bottom bracket: Trek Madone integrated w/ Enduro ceramic bearings
  • Pedals: Speedplay Zero Titanium
  • Wheelset: Bontrager 50mm carbon tubular prototype w/ ceramic bearings
  • Front tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo HT tubular, 25mm
  • Rear tyre: Schwalbe Ultremo HT tubular, 25mm
  • Saddle: Bontrager Race X Lite custom w/ firm padding
  • Seat post: Bontrager Race XXX Lite seatmast cap
  • Bottle cages: Bontrager Race X Lite
  • Computer: SRM PowerControl 7

Critical measurements

  • Rider's height: 1.86m (6' 1")
  • Rider's weight: 68kg (150lb)
  • Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 782mm
  • Saddle setback: 115mm
  • Seat tube length, c-t: 502mm
  • Tip of saddle to center bars: 635mm
  • Saddle-to-bar drop: 137mm
  • Head tube length: 160mm
  • Top tube length: 573mm (horizontal)
  • Total bicycle weight: 7.23kg (15.94lb) w/o computer head