First look: Trek Madone 6 Series

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=45&resize=462%2C600 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-122164 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b.jpg?quality=90&resize=461%2C600" width="556" height="723" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="Trek's newest 6 Series Madone will quickly see duty under Lance Armstrong and the Astana team in this year's Tour de France" title="1246593107467-1bfyea83dusci-43ec56b" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> Trek’s newest 6 Series Madone will quickly see duty under Lance Armstrong and the Astana team in this year’s Tour de France James Huang

Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and the rest of their Astana team will use the next generation of Trek Bicycles’ flagship Madone road bike in this year’s Tour de France, the 6 Series.

According to Trek, the 6 Series Madone is 150g lighter than the previous version but also 10 percent stiffer at the bottom bracket, 17 percent more rigid in front triangle torsion, and more comfortable to boot.

Frame weight is down to 890g (100g lighter than the current version), the tapered E2 carbon fork drops 30g to 350g, and the new 140g seatmast cap loses another 20g.

Though those figures may not be terribly noteworthy compared to some of the Madone’s competition, Trek are quick to point out that the 1,380g ‘fuselage’ figure (frame, fork, and seatmast cap) is more impressive when you consider the weight saved through the integrated bottom bracket bearing cups (-40g), the now round-profile no-cut mast (-60g) and the fork’s built-in crown race (-10g).

True, even with the savings the new bike still isn’t as light as bikes such as the Scott Addict and Cervélo R3-SL, but Trek feel the 6 Series Madone’s more balanced portfolio of performance features makes up for the modest extra mass and the system weight is still well within the ballpark.

The additional stiffness and quicker reflexes comes courtesy of refined tubing shapes. The down tube is still nearly 80mm wide but takes on a more polygonal profile, the seat tube is far broader at the bottom bracket than last year’s version and the asymmetrical chainstays have grown considerably. Moreover, the new aluminium rear dropouts have a deeper profile and more surface contact with the ends of the stays.

Even so, total surface area on the 6 Series Madone has actually gone down about three percent thanks to more efficient use of material. As Trek road product manager Tyler Pilger puts it: “The more accurate we can be, the less material we have to throw into the frame and the most consistent the ride quality as well.”

An example of that would be Trek’s ‘Resin Right’ moulding procedure, which yields a far smoother and more consistent finish with less excess material – the inner surface now looks as good as the outer surface – while a clever StepJoint bond interface geometry reduces the number of redundant carbon layers between frame sections.

Trek says its 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.: James Huang Instead of just necking down one side to fit within another, each side now uses progressively fewer carbon layers, thus producing the distinctive stepped appearance. When bonded together and overwrapped, the joint has the same number of carbon layers and tube wall thickness as the surrounding area.

Pilger adds that uniform wall thickness lends a more consistent ride quality throughout the tube length while the revised tube profiles also have more fore-aft and vertical flex built in for a smoother ride.

Trek’s new resin right manufacturing process yields a much cleaner and more consistent interior surface finish than before.: James Huang Though much wider than before, the seat tube is also flatter front-to-back, the seatstays have decreased slightly in size and the 6 Series’ novel asymmetrical steerer tube base uses bulged sides for surer cornering but scalloped front and rear surfaces to retain some movement over bumps.

The 6 Series Madone will also usher in a new level of component integration for Trek. In addition to the extant built-in bearing seats and seatmast, cable routing is now fully internal though easily convertible housing stops compatible with either conventional cable systems or Shimano’s new Dura-Ace Di2 electronic drivetrains.

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 Rear brake routing is cleaner than ever with an entry point right in the front of the head tube and exit on top of the top tube – away from the rider’s legs – and the trick bottom bracket cable guide can also double as a mounting point for the Di2 battery and cable harness. Dead-straight cable paths and the lack of internal guide liners cut down on friction, too.

Moreover, Trek has one-upped the SpeedTrap recessed wireless speed sensor pocket concept first used on its lower-end Madone forks with a new DuoTrap receptacle built into the non-driveside chainstay of the 6 Series Madone.

The chunky non-driveside chain stay now accepts a duotrap integrated wireless speed and cadence sensor.: James Huang The dual-purpose transmitter picks up both speed and cadence signals and can then send it to either Trek’s own Bontrager NODE computer head, or any number of ANT+-compatible devices, such as SRM’s PowerControl VI or the Garmin Edge 705.

Trek will even use a new method for ordering and building the new bike, using the customisable Project One model for all 6 Series Madones – buyers will be able to mix and match from five no-cost colours, a range of drivetrains, any Bontrager wheelset (and 10 decal colours), a wealth of finishing kit, and even housing, brake hood and bar tape colour.

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: James Huang Of course, the usual options such as stem length and angle, bar width, crankarm length and gear ratios still apply. Special ‘Signature Series’ versions with more elaborate paint schemes and logo colours will also be available, in addition to Armstrong’s trademark yellow-and-black ‘Livestrong’ theme if you’re so inclined.

In addition to the standard range of project one custom options, trek will also offer special ‘signature series’ versions with more elaborate paint schemes: James Huang Trek say the new Madones are already in production and shipping imminently. Claimed lead time is less than seven business days “for 95 percent of orders” in the US and fewer than 30 for European markets. Final pricing is still to be determined.

A mix of new and old for other Madone lines Last year’s Madone carries on as the 5 Series (pictured below), all with Trek’s mid-level OCLV Black carbon construction, but a new 4 Series lineup will join the Madone family for 2010.

Last year’s madone will be renamed as the ‘5 series madone’, all using the mid-level oclv black carbon construction: last year’s madone will be renamed as the ‘5 series madone’, all using the mid-level oclv black carbon construction James Huang Unlike the US-built 5 Series and 6 Series, the 4 Series will be built in Asia using Trek’s TCT carbon technology and will use a conventional round seatpost and standard threaded bottom bracket shell. Trek claim a 15 percent bump in bottom bracket stiffness compared to the outgoing frame, however, and the non-driveside chainstay will also accept the new DuoTrap computer sensor.

Trek have also redesigned their third-tier madone range with many of the features included on the top-end 6 series flagships: trek have also redesigned their third-tier madone range with many of the features included on the top-end 6 series flagships James Huang Updated Bontrager wheels and cockpit components The biggest news in Trek’s Bontrager componentry arm is a move away from paired spoke patterns across the entire wheel line. According to Trek, paired lacing was necessary to avoid the ‘snaking’ that can afflict ultralight rims under high spoke tension but the latest generation’s wider rim profiles – now used on all Bontrager road wheels – are now supposedly stiff enough to handle the load. In addition, the reduced point stresses resulting from having just one spoke at a section of rim instead of two allowed Bontrager’s wheel engineers to lighten their carbon rims by 30g per pair.

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 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 James Huang Bontrager will also use their own hub designs for all of the 2010 road wheels save for the Race XXX Lite, which will carry on with carbon-shelled hubs made by DT Swiss. According to Bontrager, the 15mm-diameter alloy axles are stiffer and more durable, engagement speed has quickened from 20 to 15 degrees, and the new three-pawl driver mechanism has a higher load capacity. Spoke flanges have also been reshaped for better aerodynamics. In addition, the 2010 Race X Lite will feature a new scandium-enhanced aluminium rim that saves 40g per pair relative to last year.

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: 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 James Huang Bontrager’s popular Race XXX Lite carbon drop bar and Race XXX Lite carbon stem will also get substantial facelifts. The bar now uses slightly forward-swept tops to reduce forearm interference while in the drops, while the drops themselves extend further back to provide more room for your hands to grip. Claimed weight remains unchanged at 180g.

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 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 James Huang The new Race XXX Lite is now approved for both road and mountain use and features an HCM carbon fibre body, a pared-down alloy four-bolt faceplate and replaceable steerer clamp hardware. Even with the hardened steel hardware (Trek are averse to using titanium bolts), claimed weight is still a feathery 120g for a 110mm length.

The revised bontrager race xxx lite carbon stem is now approved for both road and mountain bike use: the revised bontrager race xxx lite carbon stem is now approved for both road and mountain bike use James Huang Follow James Huang’s Tour de France tech reports at BikeRadar, as the prologue sets off in Monaco on 4 July.