Trek Madone SLR 7 Gen 7 review - very fast and very expensive

The latest Madone may have a hole through the seat tube but we couldn't find any in its performance

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Trek Madone SLR 7 gen 7 on a pink background

The Trek Madone is an absolute speed weapon. The deep-section tubes with the radical-looking cutout help, as does the newly designed handlebar, which is narrow and provides good wrist support for the ‘aero-hoods’ position. And then there are the 51mm deep Bontrager Aeolus Pro wheels. The handling is incredibly fast, responding to the smallest shift in weight and the tiniest tweaks of the bars, and ride quality is so impressive that it’s almost possible to overlook things like the narrow tires and ungenerous clearance - but you can’t ignore the price. If you have the budget and want a WorldTour-level race machine with exceptional handling and ride feel, this is the bike.

Super smooth ride

Light for an aero bike

Striking aesthetics

Limited adjustability

No power meter

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  • Construction

Value and conclusion

Simon Smythe

For this latest Gen 7 version of the Madone, Trek’s aero bike, the US brand removed the IsoSpeed Decoupler of the previous Gen 6 model and left, in its place, a big hole.

OK, it’s not the crude, reductionist approach it sounds like.

The old bike’s micro-adjustable suspension system at the top tube/seat tube juncture added weight and was mostly redundant since Trek discovered most riders would ‘set and forget’.

And by radically reengineering the frame Trek claims to have saved 300g, and says the new bike is almost 20 watts faster than its predecessor, which equates to 60 seconds per hour when ridden at 45kph. It looks radical, too - always a good thing for a new bike.

In our 2023 Race Bike of the Year grouptest we awarded the Madone 'best aero bike' against competition that included the Cervélo S5, the Canyon Aeroad and the Giant Propel.

However, over $9K / £10K for an Ultegra bike has to be unchartered territory - so how does it compare overall to the best road bikes ?

Trek Madone 7 Gen 7: construction

Let’s peer a bit more closely into that hole or, to give it its real name, IsoFlow. The aerodynamic explanation for it is: “It’s a way to direct some high energy flow into a low energy region of the bike.” What that means is that the seat tube area creates a disproportionate amount of drag and the hole helps to dissipate this by adding what Trek calls a “jet of fast moving air.”

It turns out that only half of the claimed watt saving comes from the IsoFlow hole. Trek has entered the integrated cockpit wars (along with Colnago, Canyon, Cervélo et al) with a completely new and very slick-looking design but it’s neither adjustable nor V-shaped: according to Trek it saves watts by changing rider position rather than via the aerodynamic properties of the cockpit itself.

A standard 42cm bar becomes 39cm at the hoods and 42cm at the drops and there’s a backsweep so that a flat-forearms aero position on the hoods becomes very aero indeed.

There are 14 different combinations available and, since the backsweep gives the bar a shorter reach, it’s important to get the right one - if you’re like those of us who rode this bike, you’ll need a longer stem. You can change this at point of purchase at no extra cost, Trek told us, or the 1 1/8in steerer is compatible with a non-integrated stem and bar (though the frame is electronic groupset only).

The same goes for the seatmast. The cutout in the seat tube leaves less room for a long seatpost and less adjustability (around 6cm minimum to maximum) so if you are long-legged but prefer a smaller frame you may need the tall version that comes with the size 56 upwards (as I ideally would have done). There are also two offsets available.

Our size 54 with a standard short mast could only manage a maximum saddle height of 74cm and the reach felt very short with the 90mm stem cockpit it comes with.

The latest geometry is called H1.5 (halfway between the old H1 race and H2 endurance). The reduced reach combined with the shorter reach of the swept-back bar works very well for that super aero hoods position, but it does feel surprisingly short. The kamm-tailed rear of the stem is much closer to your knees than you’d expect.

The new SLR bikes are all made from Trek’s 800 OCLV carbon - from the 105-equipped SLR 6 up to the flagship SLR 9 - and are impressively light, especially compared with other aero bikes such as the Cervelo S5. Trek says this is its lightest ever disc Madone.

There’s clearance for 28mm tires max, which is tight by modern standards. This model comes with Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 tubeless-ready wheels, set up with Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 25mm tires and inner tubes - again, surprisingly narrow.

Despite the fact that the fit wasn’t optimal - I could have done with the size up - the ride quality of the Madone is absolutely incredible. That’s the first thing that strikes you, or rather doesn’t strike you.

Aero bikes used to supply a harsher ride simply because deep, bladed tubing doesn’t flex like round tubing. This was undoubtedly the reason why Trek bolted the IsoSpeed decoupler onto the Madone two iterations ago. So you might expect that with its suspension system gone, the latest bike might have gone backwards in comfort. Not a bit of it.

It feels like a coiled carbon spring - full of potential energy and floating over bad road surfaces seemingly without any effect on its speed. And this is on 25mm tires that aren’t even the best (at this price they really ought to be).

The handling is also exactly right. The shortish 90mm stem section of the cockpit could have made it a little twitchy, but thanks to the sweeping shape I found my weight sufficiently over the front wheel in the hoods position, and steering was fast but balanced on descents and tight corners.

So it passes ‘comfortable’ and ‘fast’ with flying colors (actually Deep Smoke for this one).

At 7.5kg it’s light for an aero bike - or any disc brake bike - and it leaps up hills as if it weighs even less. I was so impressed with its performance that I kept forgetting Trek also has the Emonda climbing bike. The next Emonda has its work cut out (pun intended).

Finally, stability in crosswinds. There’s one particular gateway on my test loop where any bike not designed for big yaw angles will be gusted and the Trek was indeed blown sideways slightly - but not alarmingly considering the deep wheels and frame tubes.

This bike is incredibly good but it’s also incredibly expensive. It’s a full $1,000 / £1,000 more than the equivalent outgoing Gen 6 Madone SLR 7, and you’d have to look hard to find a more expensive Ultegra Di2-equipped bike from the other mainstream brands. 

The Canyon Aeroad CFR with Dura-Ace costs $8,999 / £8,799, while the Cervelo S5 with SRAM Force AXS costs $9,000 / £9,200. The Giant Propel Advanced SL1 also with SRAM Force costs $8,000 / £8,999.

You might also reasonably expect a power meter at this price - those three bikes all come with them - but it’s just the regular Ultegra crankset here.

So the price is stratospheric but compared with the current aero bikes I’ve ridden so far including the Colnago V4RS , Canyon Aeroad SLX , Cervelo S5, Tarmac SL7 and Pinarello Dogma F, the ride quality is superior.

  • Frame: 800 Series OCLV carbon
  • Fork: KVF carbon, tapered steerer
  • Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2
  • Wheels : Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51
  • Tires : Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 25mm
  • Cockpit: Madone integrated
  • Seatpost : Madone aero internal
  • Saddle: Bontrager Aeolus Elite
  • Weight: 7.5kg
  • Contact: www.trekbikes.com

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Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.

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Cycling Plus

Trek Madone 5.2 review

An aero-friendly incarnation of the third-tier Madone

Russell Burton

trek fietsen madone

With its bold, contrasting hues and white wall tyres, the Madone 5.2’s aesthetics are like a throwback to the 1950s, but the dynamics are most definitely 2014. The third-tier Madone shares the design and features of the top flight 7-Series but with lower-spec carbon and less expensive parts.

  • Highs: Incredible frame rigidity, stability and comfort
  • Lows: The top tube is quite wide for muscly legs, and the colour combination won’t appeal to everyone
  • Buy if: You want cutting edge frame technology with upgrade potential

At first glance, the 5.2 doesn’t look like a typical aero bike, with its enormous, angular down tube, but closer inspection reveals the subtly curved leading edge that forms a Kamm Virtual Foil (KVF) – a truncated aerofoil – profile. The head tube, seatstays and fork are also KVF shapes, with the front brake integrated into the fork crown and rear brake placed beneath the chainstays, leaving two independent, bridgeless seatstays for clean, drag-reducing lines.

Trek offers its bikes in three different geometries: H1 with the lowest position, H2 featuring a slightly higher head tube and H3 for women. The Madone 5.2’s H2 fit offers a long but not too low position, and should be ideal for the majority of riders looking to race. On the road our first impression is of the sort of stability found on a relaxed-geometry tourer – it just feels planted.

And then we stood on the pedals. In line with several top race bikes, the Madone has the sort of rigidity usually reserved for buildings or oil tankers, its immense BB90 bottom bracket shell ably braced by that vast down tube and muscular asymmetric chainstays, which instantly translate the merest pressure into forward motion.

The Madone 5.2's handling is predictably superb; it also offers a surprisingly comfortable ride

Despite the frame’s rigidity, the ride is firm but never jarring, giving surprising levels of comfort. Handling is excellent, seemingly creating extra time through the corners to amend your line, resulting in no unwanted drama. We did find the front half of the top tube a bit too wide, as your quads can rub against its edges when riding hard on the nose of the saddle or standing up climbing.

Bontrager’s tubeless-ready Race wheelset features 23mm-high, 24mm-wide rims, which definitely play a part in the bike’s stability, cornering ability and overall grip and comfort. They’re not especially light, but are quite accelerative and efficient, and are willing to hold speed well over distance. The Ultegra drivetrain performs faultlessly and the Bontrager integrated brakes do a decent job, though they don’t have the instant bite of Shimano’s direct-mount offerings.

The Bontrager bar is stiff and quite ergonomic, and the Affinity 3 saddle well padded and offering superb comfort. The complete package could benefit from an upgrade diet, but it’s competent and quick straight out of the box.

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2023 Trek Madone SLR long-term review

The "ultimate race bike" has only a few minor flaws – and the hole in the seat tube isn't (exactly) one of them..

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What it is: Trek’s latest take on its “ultimate race bike”: an aero race bike with striking design cues. Frame features: IsoFlow seat tube cutout, dramatically reduced weight, claimed 19-watt improvement over predecessor. Weight: 7.4 kg (16.3 lb, actual weight, 56 cm size, without pedals). Price: US$13,200 / AU$18,000 / £13,800 / €15,000. Highs: Feels fast, light, responsive, and agile. Corners beautifully. Lows: Seriously expensive, IsoFlow equals spray flow, fit can be tricky.

It’s unclear if Groove Armada were actually singing about aero frames when they famously sang, “If everybody looked the same, we’d get tired of looking at each other.” I think it was a former colleague of mine, Dave Rome, who said the silhouettes of many aero frames are almost indistinguishable [ Speak for yourselves, guys; I aced this quiz – James ].

Someone at Trek is apparently a Groove Armada fan.

As many aero bike designers seemingly converge on similar concepts, Trek had other ideas. The latest Madone retains the aero theme but introduces a uniquely identifiable and radical new design concept in Isoflow – aka, “that hole in the seat tube”. There’s no mistaking the silhouette of this bike. 

Trek officially announced the new Madone  on the eve of the 2022 Tour de France. We hadn’t yet ridden the bike then, but  our article covering that launch  delved into all the updates and improvements Trek claimed the new Madone offers so feel free to head over there for a recap of all the nitty gritty details on the new bike. But having ridden the new Madone on and off for the better part of five months now, we now have a long-term review of this striking new aero rig. 

trek fietsen madone

Trek claims the Madone is the “ultimate race bike,” and first impressions of the new bike suggest they might have a point. The Madone is one of just a handful of bikes that have immediately felt like a tangible step forward on the first ride. 

Given the sheer size of its aero tubing, 50 mm-deep rims, electronic groupset, and standard power meter, it feels lighter than the already relatively lightweight 7.4 kg it actually weighs. But aside from the lower weight, every tube, corner, and angle of the new frame, fork, and bar-stem is also designed to make the new Madone faster, lighter, and almost as compliant as the outgoing frame.

On the road, the new Madone feels fast, light, responsive, and agile, and it handles beautifully. That Isoflow seat tube hole is said to add compliance, and it seems to, even if it doesn’t quite match the older (and much heavier) Isospeed system for comfort. However, the Madone is still a race bike, and rides as such. If the Madone was a dance, it’s like a wiggle-your-butt rather than a shake-your-hips move over the cracked and poorly surfaced roads I mostly ride on. It’s a balance I like and the ride feels fast, regardless of how fast it actually is. 

trek fietsen madone

It’s a real eye-catcher, too. Rarely has a bike received as much attention as the new Trek. Riders and non-riding public alike commented both positively and negatively on its bold, chunky design. The Madone received the full spectrum of comments all the way from “that thing is insane” and “I love the paint job” to “what’s with the hole?”, “there’s no decals; is that still a prototype?” and the most frequent question, “is that an e-bike?”

The Madone might have speed and performance at the core of its “ultimate race bike” tagline, but in that moment, I couldn’t have cared less how aero, stiff, light, or aerodynamically efficient it is. It feels amazing, and for many riders, that’s plenty. 

If I’d bought the new Madone purely for a good time, I’d have been a happy rider. As many of you will know, though, I always have at least one eye on maximising performance, and the new Madone threw up a few questions. 

trek fietsen madone

Questions like, why 25 mm clincher tyres? In an age when almost everybody is going wider, on a frame with ample clearance (even if officially clearance is limited to 28 mm), and on 30 mm-wide rims better suited to wider tyres, why has Trek opted for 25 mm as stock? The tan sidewall Bontrager R4s look fabulous and certainly aid with the weight reduction Trek had targeted for the new Madone, but I had to swap these out for 28 mm tyres. 

You might want to upsize the tyres also, and that’ll come at an additional cost to what is already an expensive bike. Furthermore, you’ll also need to budget for tubeless rim tape as the product manager for the Madone is apparently on #teamtubeinside: the stock rim tape isn’t tubeless-compatible.

Then there is the fit. Everything else being equal, moving to a narrower handlebar reduces the effective reach to the levers and increases the rider’s torso angle. Despite this, Trek still fits a relatively short 100 mm stem on a 56 cm frame. As a result, many riders will end up in a more upright position that could possibly negate the aero gains of a narrower setup. Consider if you need a longer stem before ordering the frame and one-piece cockpit.

trek fietsen madone

Fit aside, I found the new bar-stem combo remarkably comfort for such a performance-focused design. The tops are shallower and feel much more akin to a traditional round bar. There is a subtle flare to the drops for a wider position when getting low on the front. And Trek has incorporated an almost platform-like section just behind the hoods which proved perfect for resting my forearms on when riding in the “aero hoods” position (just don’t tell the UCI ).

Lastly, on fit, I found my 75 cm saddle height is just about the minimum saddle height actually achievable with some saddles and the longer 200 mm seatpost supplied on my review bike. There is a shorter 150 mm seatpost worth considering if you, like me, run a lower than average saddle height for your height or frame size. 

So about that hole

Finally, there was the question of Isoflow. It is a unique approach, and aesthetically, it has grown on me. I appreciate Trek is doing something unique, but inevitably, people will have questions as to why and what benefit there is to having a hole in the seat tube. 

Trek says Isoflow offered the trifecta of reduced weight, improved compliance, and better aerodynamics. When the bike was launched, Trek explained how the Isoflow concept was initially the result of aerodynamic analysis and included for its aero gains. It was only later that Trek found the added benefits of reduced weight and improved compliance. 

trek fietsen madone

I can’t quantify exactly how much weight Isoflow offers on its own as compared to the much more complex IsoSpeed system on the previous-generation Madone. Given how the new seatstays now extend all the way to the top tube, and what appears to be an increase in the amount of carbon fibre material in the area, I can’t imagine the savings are huge. However, omitting IsoSpeed also eliminates a lot of that system’s hidden internal parts, and if you take Trek’s 300-gram overall claimed weight savings here at face value, it seems fair to assume the switch to Isoflow accounts for a decent chunk of that.

As mentioned earlier, Isoflow does offer improved ride compliance compared to what you’d expect for an aero frame with these sorts of tube cross-sections, but again, the Madone is a hard-core race bike, and it feels as such. It is not fair to expect it to feel like a Domane or any other endurance road bike. That said, the Isoflow Madone is amongst the comfier of aero-focused rigs I have had the pleasure of riding while blasting down country lanes. 

trek fietsen madone

So that just leaves the aero question. How much faster is having a hole in the seat tube? The answer is far from clear-cut. Before delving into any aero testing results, it is worth remembering while Trek’s headline 19-watt saving with the new Madone sounds huge – and it is – Trek also explained more than half those watts were found by helping the rider into a more aerodynamic position. The rider is always the largest drag contributor within the entire system, so while that makes the 19-watt figure a little misleading at first, I like that Trek at least recognises this and has also focused on improving the rider position instead of just the bike. 

Trek attributes only around three of the remaining 10 watts or so of aero savings to Isoflow, with the remainder coming from the new Kammtail tubing, the aero bar tops, the new head tube, the taller bottom bracket area, and other frame features. Long story short, the Isoflow is just one small part of the entire aero upgrade package on the new Madone.

Furthermore, the seat tube is a notoriously tricky aerodynamic puzzle to solve. A rider’s legs generate a lot of turbulent airflow that can go anywhere and do anything. Trek claim the Isoflow hole channels the airflow into a low-pressure zone behind the frame, thereby reducing drag. That turbulent airflow may very well get channeled through the hole, but does it also reduce the turbulence? And what about the seatstays? The extra length mentioned above also doubles a single-seat tube’s surface area. Does that create more drag, and can the aero benefit of Isoflow outweigh that extra drag for an overall net improvement? Not only are these difficult questions to answer, but they are likely very condition-dependent. I have little doubt, given the right conditions, that Isoflow likely is faster. Trek tested the Isoflow at 45 km/h in a wind tunnel and using CFD, but I still wondered how it might compare in the real world.

trek fietsen madone

To get an answer, I turned to Aerosensor and a piece of leftover foam used for packing bikes. 

I shaped the piece of foam to mimic the shape of the seat tube, jamming into the Isoflow opening. Using the Aerosensor, I did a series of tests across several days assessing the Madone’s baseline drag over several out-and-back runs and compared that with test runs with the makeshift foam seat tube. The baseline and test run consisted of four repeats, each of a 2.4-km out-and-back route, alternating between baseline and test runs. 

Long story short, the Madone tested marginally faster in every run with the foam insert partially closing the Isoflow opening. While it is not possible to extrapolate exactly how or why we see these results, one theory is that the foam offers a chance for the airflow to reattach and flow smoother into that space behind the frame. Another theory is the ~35 km/h speed of our repeats wasn’t fast enough to reflect Isoflow’s true potential. 

On paper, our results are perplexing. Trek was quite open to hearing my test protocol and was happy to admit different tests may elicit different results. Furthermore, my testing simply compares two configurations of the same bike. It doesn’t compare the next Madone to the previous-generation bike or any other aero bike on the market, but the results are curious regardless, and only goes to further demonstrate the complexity of aerodynamic bike development.

Either way, an honourable aero mention goes to the Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 wheelset, which repeatedly out-tested several other premium wheelsets – of either similar or taller section depth – using the same testing protocol.

Many riders and engineers expressed concerns about Isoflow’s structural rigidity when Trek unveiled the new concept. While I am no engineer, I have taken zero precautions and subjected the Madone to some severe hits going full-send down some of the worst roads Ireland has to offer. So far, there have been no zero indications of any forthcoming failures. 

As I mentioned earlier, the new Madone feels phenomenally fast and provides one heck of a thrilling ride. Even considering the aero testing results, tricky fit, and humongous price tag, I’d gladly take the Madone racing seven days a week if it wasn’t for one minor issue that is could prove a deal breaker for me. It’s that hole in the seat tube, but not for any of the reasons mentioned above. 

trek fietsen madone

You see, I live in a rather soggy part of the world, and they say you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone. In this case, I didn’t appreciate before just how much rear tyre road spray is blocked by the seat tube, and with that Isoflow opening, my water bottle cap now fully exposed to it. It’s a similar case for the surprisingly vulnerable seatpost clamp area. I’d certainly like to see some sort of plug or cover there.

To flow or not to flow

For me, the new Madone’s real party trick is not the Isoflow, but that it offers all the aero tweaks and outright performance without compromising on day-to-day ridability. Beneath all its Isoflow openings, integrated one-piece handlebars, and oversized Kammtail tubing hides a normal bike with a threaded bottom bracket, easily adjustable stem and accessible (perhaps overly accessible) seatpost clamp. And while Isoflow may or may not provide an aero gain and reduce frame weight, it does provide enough ride compliance for what is still a pure race bike.

Minor quirks aside, Trek has produced a superb race bike. The new Madone is performant, a joy to ride, and unique. I applaud Trek for tackling rider aero drag and loading the new Madone with narrow bars; just remember to check the stem length before ordering.

trek fietsen madone

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BIKE CHECK: Mads Pedersen’s Winning Madone

trek fietsen madone

Big chainrings and some gold bling compliment Pedersen's Tour-winning machine

The seventh-generation Trek Madone landed on Earth recently and our sprinter Mads Pedersen has been showing it off at the Tour de France. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice there’s a chunk of the frame missing – that’s Trek’s all-new Isoflow technology which flexes over bumps, improves aerodynamics, and shaves weight – exactly what Mads asked for in his quest for Tour success. SRAM have added some bling in the drivetrain with a beautiful golden chain and cassette so he looks even better doing it. Full specification below photos.

trek fietsen madone

Mads is normally pushing a huge 56-tooth SRAM chainring (as pictured), but for yesterday's hillier stage opted for a 54-tooth

trek fietsen madone

Full Specification

Frame: 7th-generation Trek Madone , size 58

Groupset: SRAM Red eTap AXS

Brakes: SRAM Red Disc

Cranks: SRAM Red w/ Quarq Power Meter

Chainrings: SRAM Red 54/41

Cassette: SRAM Red 10-33, gold edition

Chain: SRAM Red Flattop, gold edition

Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51

Bearings: Kogel Ceramic

Tires: Pirelli P Zero Race clincher, 28mm

Cockpit: Bontrager integrated bar-stem. 130mm length, 37-40cm flared width

Saddle: Bontrager Verse Pro

trek fietsen madone

Trek Madone

In this story.

trek fietsen madone

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  • Mads Pedersen

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Mads Pedersen inks new contract… on his skin

After an unforgettable Grand Depart in Denmark, Trek-Segafredo is thrilled to announce that Danish star Mads Pedersen has been inked with a new contract through 2025

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2023 TREK MADONE SLR BREAKS NEW GROUND

Isoflow is in, and isospeed is out..

trek fietsen madone

It’s a funny thing how some random, little known and relatively short French mountain road can be thrusted into cycling history as much as the Col du Madone has been. The story is well told. Though the road had been there for years, it wasn’t until Lance Armstrong discovered it and convinced Trek Bicycles to name his new bike in its honor as it was his own personal training ride that proved he was in winning shape for the 2003 Tour de France.

Despite what the record books say, the Trek Madone enjoyed repeated wins in the Tour de France. In the years since riders like Lance and George Hincapie raced the bike, the Madone has carried on its winning ways under a variety of guises and great riders.

For the 2022 Tour de France, Trek is unveiling what is likely its most radical version of the Madone ever.  Gone is the Isospeed suspension and the blocky, Transformer-like frame shape of old with something called IsoFlow bringing a wild aero development to the frame.  Below is everything we know about the Gen 7 Madone so far.  0

BUT FIRST A TREK MADONE GALLERY

trek fietsen madone

BACK IN THE DAY MADONE MOMENTS

2003 Trek Madone powers Armstrong to his record-tying 5th straight Tour win. 2004 Rewrite the record books. Trek and Lance Armstrong dominate the Tour de France with his 6th consecutive victory aboard a Project One Madone SL with Bontrager wheels. 2004 The U.S. Postal team enjoy their most successful year ever aboard the Trek Madone 5.9. 2004 Trek engineers unveil the lightest production OCLV frame ever, the 950-gram OCLV 55 which is used by Lance in three stages of the Dauphine Libere’. Special prototype Bontrager wheels, also using new 55GSM OCLV carbon fiber, are used by Lance in the Tour de France.

trek fietsen madone

Here’s a complete look back on the Trek Madone.

BUT WAIT, WHAT ABOUT THE NEW MADONE?

Gen 7 madone tech notes.

  • Six models to choose from
  • 300-gram weight savings over the previous Gen 6 version
  • Five colorways plus Project One options
  • 28mm max tire size
  • Electronic drivetrain dedicated
  • 14 different length/width handlebar/stem options
  • 3mm flare to one-piece Bontrager handlebar
  • Removable front derailleur hanger
  • T47 bottom bracket
  • (claimed) frame weight is “sub-1000 grams”
  • 2 different length seat posts w/ 2 different setback
  • H1.5 geometry

Trek launched the all-new Madone SLR, topping off their performance bike line-up with their fastest road race bike ever. Seven generations in the making, the Madone SLR is the ultimate race bike, complete with never-before-seen IsoFlow technology, dramatic aerodynamic improvements and an all-new gram-shaving design.

This completely redesigned race bike will be ridden by the Trek-Segafredo men’s and women’s teams at the biggest events on the cycling calendar, including the 2022 Tour de France and the first-ever Tour de France Femmes.

trek fietsen madone

Unprecedented aerodynamics

The new Madone SLR is a whopping 60 seconds per hour faster than the previous generation (measured at 45 km/h) thanks to all-new aero frame shaping, a redesigned bar/stem and a more aero riding position.

trek fietsen madone

Revolutionary IsoFlow technology

IsoFlow is a first-of-its-kind seat tube technology that flexes over bumps for a smoother ride, improves aerodynamics and shaves weight to save precious seconds in the saddle.

Lighter than ever

A new lightweight design and Trek’s best and lightest OCLV Carbon make the seventh-generation Madone the lightest Madone disc ever, shaving 300 grams off the previous ultra-lightweight version.

trek fietsen madone

Refined integration

An all-new one-piece bar/stem and integrated IsoFlow seat tube technology take Madone’s unrivaled integration to the next level. An all-new bar/stem with 3cm of flare and shorter reach offers improved ergonomics and aerodynamics. Riders who use a 42cm bar/stem will now be a 42cm in the drops and 39cm in the hoods, reducing rider drag while allowing for powerful sprints.

2023 Madone bike weights

2023 madone slr pricing.

For more: trekbikes.com

trek fietsen madone

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INSIDE THE 2022 TOUR DE FRANCE TEAM PRESENTATION

BREAKING NEWS: KAITLIN ARMSTRONG CAPTURED!!!

THROWBACK THURSDAY, 2008: MEMORIES OF TEAM LANCE – BEFORE THE FALL

TREK-SEGAFREDO PEDALS INTO 2023 ON TIME

THROWBACK THURSDAY, 2005: TREK’S PARIS ROUBAIX SUSPENSION

WHAT ABOUT THAT BIG HOLE IN THE FRAME?

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2024 Trek Madone SL 7 profile

2024 Trek Madone SL 7 review: This is the one to get

The flagship Madone is lighter and very slightly more aero, but also more than twice as expensive.

James Huang

Second-tier models – ones that look the same, but use less-expensive materials and parts to lower the cost – typically aren’t nearly as exciting as their more premium cousins. But in the case of the Trek Madone SL vs. the Madone SLR, the difference in performance is so small – and the difference in cost so dramatic – that it’s hard not to consider the “lesser” version to be the one to get, even if you have the money for the flagship model.

The short of it: The same cutting-edge aerodynamic performance of Trek’s flagship Madone SLR, distilled into a much more affordable package. Good stuff:  Heaps lighter than before, tangibly speedy, surprisingly good ride quality, superb handling, lots of tire clearance, user-friendly two-piece cockpit, sharp lines. Bad stuff:  Polarizing IsoFlow aesthetics, poor weathersealing, narrow wheels and tires.

An aero primer

Trek went perhaps a little too far down the “aero and comfy” rabbit hole with the 6th-generation Madone, which was impressive in the wind tunnel and surprisingly comfortable to ride, but also among the heavier options in the category what with its complicated (and hefty) IsoSpeed pivoting seatmast design. With the latest iteration of the Madone launched last June, Trek supposedly improved the bike’s aerodynamic performance while also simplifying the structure, ditching IsoSpeed in favor of an even more radical-looking seat cluster configuration called IsoFlow.

In short, IsoFlow comprises a giant hole where the seat cluster would normally be. The seat tube stops just shy of its normal height, the seatstays bypass that area entirely and connect further forward on the top tube, and the semi-integrated seatmast is now cantilevered off the back of the top tube like the business end of an ice hockey stick.

2024 Trek Madone SL IsoFlow detail

Trek claims IsoFlow yields smoother airflow through that area, saves almost 150 g relative to the outgoing Madone (for the flagship SLR trim, at least), and – thanks to some clever carbon tuning in that area – also supposedly provides a better ride quality than you’d otherwise expect from such chunky frame proportions.

Trek has been one of the biggest proponents of Kamm-tail tube profiles since first using it on the Speed Concept way back in 2009, and those flat-backed shapes are very much alive and well on the latest Madone – if anything, they’re deeper than ever thanks to recent revisions in the UCI technical guidelines. The down tube, seat tube, seatstays, and fork blades are all more aggressively shaped than ever, and the head tube and cockpit areas are particularly sleek so as to keep air flowing cleanly over the carefully sculpted surfaces. 

The revised frame shape only accounts for about half of the new Madone’s claimed aerodynamic performance gains, however. The other half comes from the rider – or, more specifically, handlebars that have been radically narrowed by about 3 cm across the board in order to place the rider in a more aerodynamic position. 

Taking all of these factors together, Trek is touting some bold performance gains, saying the 7th-generation Madone frameset module (including the frame, fork, cockpit, and seatpost) is not only about 300 g lighter in total than the 6th-generation one, but also about 19 watts more efficient aerodynamically in a wind tunnel (at 45 km/h), which Trek says translates to a 60-second advantage per hour at that speed.

A single letter with small differences

All of those changes sound well and good, but keep in mind that when those announcements were made in June 2022, they only applied to the flagship Madone SLR models, whose retail prices start at US$8,000 / AU$11,800 / £7,600 / €8,200 (for a Shimano 105 Di2 build!) and top out at a whopping US$13,200 / AU$19,000 / £14,500 / €15,700 with a SRAM Red AXS groupset. More power to you if you can swing that kind of cash, but for most performance-minded riders, that’s just not in the cards. 

Trek has for years offered a less-expensive version in the Madone SL, but given how the 6th-generation Madone SLR was already overweight, the Madone SL was a veritable boat anchor. For example, a sample I tested a couple of years ago with a mid-range SRAM Force AXS wireless groupset and Bontrager’s reasonably light Aeolus Pro 51 wheels came in at a whopping 8.59 kg (18.94 lb), a tough pill to swallow, aero advantage or not.

Thankfully, the weight loss plan introduced with the Madone SLR now also carries over to the recently updated Madone SL. Despite the lower-grade carbon fiber blend here, claimed weight for a 56 cm Madone SL frame is now 1,200 g, plus 476 g for the matching fork. That’s still 208 g more than a comparable Madone SLR frameset, and hardly a featherweight given the selection of sub-800 g options now on the market, but still pretty good all things considered. If you take Trek’s aero claims at their word, those extra grams aren’t going to matter much at all against the stopwatch on most courses, and realistically speaking, the person considering a Madone these days will probably be more concerned about grams of drag.

2024 Trek Madone SL top tube and seatmast

Like with the previous Madone SL, this one again uses the exact same shape as the Madone SLR, so its aerodynamic performance should be identical, with one exception: the cockpit. The Madone SLR uses Trek’s latest one-piece carbon fiber handlebar/stem, but the Madone SL uses a more conventional two-piece setup that includes an aero-focused forged aluminum stem with a separate aero-shaped carbon fiber handlebar. And whereas the hose routing on the Madone SLR is fully internal, it’s hidden – but still largely accessible – on the Madone SL, with the brake hoses peeking out just a bit underneath the bar clamp before ducking away again into a plastic shroud bolted to the underside of the stem. 

Trek says this equates to a six-second hit to the Madone SL’s aerodynamic performance relative to the Madone SLR. Don’t worry; I’ll get to that soon enough.

2024 Trek Madone SL two-piece cockpit

Trek also says there’s a negligible difference in chassis stiffness – less than 5% – and ride quality shouldn’t take much of a hit, either. If anything, the lower grade of carbon fiber in the Madone SL might even make that bike more comfortable than the Madone SLR, not less.

Aside from the different carbon fiber blend and the two-piece cockpit, the rest of the feature list is identical, including Trek’s slightly modified T47 oversized and threaded bottom bracket shell, a built-in chain keeper, and the brand’s now-signature semi-integrated seatmast. Unlike true integrated seatposts, though, this one doesn’t have to be cut and will still squeeze into most standard travel cases, and Trek has gone to great lengths to ensure a proper rider fit. If the included proprietary seatpost doesn’t quite accommodate your position, Trek also offers a longer option – each with 65 mm of total height adjustment – and both are available in 0 mm and 20 mm offsets. Given the rather goofy component dimensions, Trek thankfully has a broad range of dedicated front and rear accessory mounts to accommodate stuff like lights and computers, too.

Both versions are also offered in eight sizes: impressive for a mainstream brand.

2024 Trek Madone SL frame geometry

Otherwise, the differences between the Madone SL and Madone SLR simply boil down to more economical build kits. 

My Madone SL 7 test sample is the nicer of the two complete Madone SL bikes Trek offers currently, and comes equipped with a complete Shimano Ultegra Di2 2×12 wiredless electronic groupset, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 carbon fiber clincher wheels wrapped with 25 mm-wide Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite tires, a Trek RCS Pro forged aluminum stem, Bontrager RSL Aero carbon fiber handlebar, and a Bontrager Aeolus Comp snub-nosed saddle. 

Actual weight for my 52 cm sample is 8.01 kg (17.66 lb), without pedals or accessories, and retail price is US$6,500 / AU$10,300 / £7,500 / €8,000.

You know what feels fast? Money left over in my pocket

Having fun on a road bike largely revolves around going fast – and holy cow, is the Madone SL fun in that respect.

For however many full-blown aero road bikes I’ve ridden over the years, it’s still shocking every time I get on a particularly good one and can so immediately feel – feel! – how much faster they are. It’s startlingly easy to hit – and hold – high speeds, but it’s also tangibly easier to just casually cruise if that’s what you feel like doing that day. The beauty is that the option to go fast is always there if you want it, and even after however many years I’ve done this, that thrill never goes away.

2024 Trek Madone SL rear three-quarter view

Those huge tube sections and all that material are also put to good use in terms of chassis stiffness. It’s wonderfully responsive when you lay down the watts, and it feels every bit like the race bike it’s supposed to be. High-speed jumps are where the Madone SL excels given that aerodynamic shape, but the combination of that stiffness and the new weight loss make it a surprisingly good partner on steep climbs, too. That rigidity also feels nicely balanced from tip to tail with no section of the frame coming across as more flexible than another. The Madone SL obviously doesn’t feel as light heading uphill as something truly feathery, but sub-8 kg is still pretty darn light, and if speed is truly what you’re after, the aerodynamic benefits should more than make up the difference. 

I fully expected my test sample’s 36 cm-wide bars (at the hoods) to feel very weird – and to be fair, they did, but literally only for the first few minutes, after which I almost completely forgot about it. I did miss the additional leverage of my usual 40 cm-wide bars on particularly steep climbs, but that was about it. Consider my eyes opened.

2024 Trek Madone SL narrow handlebars with inward canted brake levers.

That the Madone SL efficiently cuts through the air and feels fast doing so shouldn’t be a big surprise. The old one was known to be very aerodynamic, and this one is supposedly a big step up from there. But a big aspect of being fast on the road is also being comfortable, and more specifically, that you are able to achieve and maintain an efficient position while also producing a lot of power.

And that’s where the Madone SL’s two-piece cockpit comes in.

One-piece cockpits may look cool, but I don’t always get along with them. Even if the bar width and stem length is correct, sometimes the bend just isn’t my favorite, or the cross-section doesn’t feel right in my hands, or the drop dimension isn’t quite there, or whatever. More often than not, I find myself having to adapt to the bar since there aren’t any other options available instead of the other way around. 

The two-piece setup on the Madone SL may be slower than the fancy (and lighter, and far more expensive) one-piece cockpit on the Madone SLR, but being able to easily adjust and tune the front end to my liking is something I find invaluable. In the case of the Madone SL, the stock bar actually worked quite well for me: an appropriately deep drop with a semi-anatomic bend, a nice flat platform behind the hoods to rest your wrists, and tops that are aero-profiled but still refreshingly comfortable to hold. 

2024 Trek Madone SL hose routing

The stem, on the other hand, was a hair too short given my shorter-legs-longer-torso proportions. On a one-piece setup – particularly one with fully internal routing – even a simple adjustment like that on an internally routed one-piece setup is literally hours of work. And while Trek may offer the fancier one-piece setup in fourteen different size combos, you still have to buy the thing (unless you go through Trek’s Project One custom program and pick the right one from the start). But on the Madone SL, it took me all of ten minutes (and many dealers would likely be willing to swap the stem for you). Oh, you also want to try lowering the stem for a bit before cutting the steerer? Just stack some totally normal round spacers on top for a bit. Brilliant. 

Such simple things shouldn’t be so refreshing, but these days, they are.

Speaking of comfort, the Madone SL rides much better than I’d expected. While the ride quality is on the firmer side, it’s very well damped and also effectively takes the edge off of bigger impacts. Tactile feedback is still superb, too, and it’s striking how well the front tire communicates grip levels through the bars without feeling harsh. And as much as I enjoyed the cushiness of the old IsoSpeed system, I have to admit that there seems to be something to Trek’s claims about how the IsoFlow mast flexes over bumps. I’m not sure what it’d feel like under someone appreciably heavier than my modest 72 kg (159 lb), or how well that sort of cantilevered arrangement will hold up over time, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t impressively comfy.

If you are after an even softer ride, don’t forget there’s room for tires with a measured width up to 33 mm – or even more if you’re willing to stomach the risk of running less than 4 mm of clearance at the chainstays.

2024 Trek Madone SL frame and fork

Handling is another bright spot, as the Madone SL feels much like every other Madone I’ve ridden over the years. The steering geometry is quick and incredibly intuitive without ever feeling twitchy or nervous. It initiates turns with but a flick of the wrists and just a little tilt of your hips, falls naturally toward the apex, and then readily snaps back upright when it comes time to rocket out of the corner, never fighting you at all along any point of the process. High-speed stability is fantastic, too, with not a hint of drama – just relax and keep it pointed where you want to go. That magical combination is something I’ve long enjoyed about the Madone, and I hope Trek never changes it.

One change I’m quite fond of, however, is the new Madone SL’s edgier aesthetic. Gone is the incongruent mix of shapes on the previous model in favor of a more cohesive assortment of mostly straight edges. I’m particularly keen on how the seatstays, down tube, top tube, and chainstays seem to form a perfect parallelogram in profile. There’s beauty in the symmetry. 

That all said, it’s hard for me to ignore some of the Madone SL’s quirks, too.

Trek has engineered a surprising amount of saddle height adjustment considering the relative stubbiness of that integrated seatmast – not to mention the fact you never need to take a hacksaw to your brand-new bike. But the gap between the seatpost and seatmast base is big and unsightly, and the exposed slots further down are begging to suck in whatever’s flying off of your rear tire. 

2024 Trek Madone SL exposed seatmast slots

Trek says that area is entirely sealed off from the rest of the frame so you theoretically shouldn’t be regularly filling your bottom bracket area with gnarly road spray. “You could drain any water that may get in there by tipping the bike upside down, and the material is carbon so there wouldn’t be any damage if water got in,” I was told. Ok, but wouldn’t it be better if it wasn’t so easy for water to get in there in the first place? And sure, the main parts are carbon fiber, but let’s not forget all of the metal hardware that fixes those pieces in place – hopefully not permanently someday. Trek has long demonstrated the ability to mold rubber bits in places like wire and hose ports, so it’s a mystery to me why the seatpost area is left so comparatively unfinished.

Speaking of sealing, just as I’ve noticed on other recent Trek road bikes, the upper headset bearing is perilously exposed to the elements. In fact, there’s enough of a gap between the headset cover and the head tube that you can very easily see the shiny (for now) silver of the upper bearing’s outer race. Trek may very well be using stainless bearings (I didn’t bother to ask), but even if so, that only applies to the races – not the bearing balls – and given the enormous cost and hassle of servicing headset bearings with fully internal routing, I want to see headset bearings be more protected, not less. 

“We’ve had a high volume of bikes in the field with this same RCS-stem compatible headset bearing cover with similar clearance to the frame for some time (Gen 4 Domane SLR and SL, for example) and have not seen an uptick in the amount of headset service reported by Trek shops,” explained Trek bike product marketing coordinator Jake Glahn.

2024 Trek Madone SL exposed headset bearing

Consider the old shop mechanic in me unconvinced.

Build kit breakdown

Trek has outfitted the Madone SL 7 with solid, no-frills component mix and I have few complaints.

I’ve extolled Shimano’s latest Ultegra Di2 12-speed wiredless groupset several times in the past already, and my opinions haven’t changed. Shift performance is superb front and rear, lever ergonomics are excellent, and the brakes are strong and mostly silent, and with superb lever feel. Riders in particularly hilly environments might want to consider adjusting the 52/36-tooth chainrings and/or the 11-30T cassette, but Shimano’s use of a long pulley cage across the board for this latest generation of Ultegra Di2 at least lessens the financial hit.

Shimano Ultegra R8100 levers

The Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 carbon wheels share the same rim profile as the higher-end Aeolus RSL 51 – just with different carbon materials – and the DT Swiss 350-based hubs aren’t quite as nice as the RSL version’s DT Swiss 240-based one, either. As such, they’re essentially a wash in terms of aerodynamics, and while the nearly 200 g weight penalty can be noticeable when sprinting or climbing, it’s not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. 

Perhaps more questionable are the Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite tires. The tires themselves are perfectly reasonable for everyday use: decent rolling resistance, reassuring grip (at least in dry conditions), seemingly good puncture protection, surprisingly comfortable ride quality. But with even top road pros moving to 28s and beyond , the choice of 25 mm-wide casings here seems a little behind-the-times, even though the actual inflated width is just a hair over 28 mm. 

Bumping up a size would enhance the ride quality even further while also improving cornering grip, and there’s certainly room in the frame and fork to spare. The reduced weight of this latest Madone SL was clearly a big story for Trek, though, and my guess is the product manager didn’t want to add any more. But another likely explanation is the shape of the Aeolus Pro 51 rim, which is currently aerodynamically optimized around that tire size. My hunch is the next generation of Aeolus wheel grows in width, at which point I’m guessing the tire size will grow as well. 

“25 mm tires are what’s fastest on our current lineup of 23 mm internal-width rims,” Glahn said. “Further, 25 mm tires on 23 mm internal-width rims are what was used in the wind tunnel testing for the Gen 7 IsoFlow Madone, and therefore contribute to the basis of our aero claims for this platform.”

Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite tire mounted on Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 front wheel

As for the Bontrager finishing kit, the Aeolus Comp saddle is one of my favorites: a sort of hybrid between a Specialized Power and a Pro Stealth, mixing the overall profile of the former with the wider nose of the latter. It seems hard at first, but the high-density padding offers excellent support that arguably gets better as the hours tick by. 

I know I’ve already mentioned this, but the Bontrager RSL Aero handlebar was a pleasant surprise. The narrow width is initially jarring, but the overall shape is very comfortable, and there’s excellent wrist clearance when you’re in the drops. Kudos to Bontrager for not merely following trends and slapping a shallow drop on this thing, too. It’s an aero bar meant for performance riding, and so the 80 mm reach and 124 mm drop strike me as just about right. I do wish Bontrager had included more room in the middle for a computer mount, though. Unless you’re running something with a particularly narrow clamp, you’re stuck with some sort of stem-based computer mount.

It’s a winner for me

I haven’t always been a fan of the Madone SL in recent years. Although I loved the aerodynamic performance, it was just too darn heavy. Now that Trek has lopped so much weight off of it, though, it’s not only become much more appealing in my view, but also arguably the one to have if only for that more livable two-piece cockpit design.

If you’re on a budget, yes, there’s also the Madone SLR 6 that comes with Shimano’s new 105 Di2 wiredless electronic groupset, which would more closely align with the old “buy the best frame you can afford” mindset. The complete bike is about 250 g lighter overall than the Madone SL 7 despite the groupset being 130 g heavier, comes with the same wheels, shift quality would be virtually identical, and if the mid-compact gearing of the Madone SL 7 seems a little too tall for your liking, the 105 setup includes a friendlier 1:1 ratio for clawing your way uphill. 

But the braking performance of 105 isn’t quite as good as Ultegra, you can’t add remote shifters, and the supplemental upper buttons on Ultegra and Dura-Ace that are so handy for things like controlling your computer are missing, too. And then there’s that potential fit and comfort issue of that Madone SLR’s one-piece front end I’ve already mentioned, plus the Madone SLR 6 is still US$1,500 more expensive. 

Get the best frameset you can afford, sure. But when the second-tier one is this close, I know which one I’d be buying.

More information can be found at www.trekbikes.com .

2024 Trek Madone SL front three-quarter view

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Does Mads Pedersen have the blingest bike at the Tour De France?

The Dane will be racing on a rather special, custom-painted Trek Madone SLR

Mads Pedersen's rainbow-coloured Trek Madone

Trek has followed the trend of manufacturers unveiling new bikes and custom equipment at the Tour de France . The American brand and co-sponsor of Trek- Segafredo which has become Lidl-Trek , unveiled a seriously eye-catching custom-painted iridescent Trek Madone SLR for Danish star Mads Pederson ahead of the race's first stage in Bilbao .

The Tour de France usually sees teams and individual riders issued with special equipment and one-off bikes. Due to its position at the tip of the WorldTour pyramid, the biggest bike race in the world presents an excellent shop window for teams, brands and manufacturers to release designs and equipment that stand out from the rest. 

Pederson will surely arrive at the Tour with hopes after taking a stage win at the Giro d'Italia in May, becoming the 105th rider to win a stage at all three Grand Tours . A few days later, the ex-world champion then had to abandon the race ahead of Stage 13, it's probably safe to say Pederson will arrive at the Tour looking to add to his stage win last year

Tech Editor Josh Croxton is on the ground for Cyclingnews in Spain ahead of the races Grand Départ and managed to get some close-up snaps of the custom Trek Madone.

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Tom Wieckowski

Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as tech writer. Tom has over 10 years experience as a qualified mechanic with 5 or so of those being spent running an independent workshop. Tom has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track and has ridden and competed in most disciplines, even the odd bit of bike polo. Tom is as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike exploring the Worcestershire lanes.

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Met deze testfietsen komt TREK naar Velo Valley op 7 april

Maar liefst 23 fietsen van topmerk Trek staan er voor je klaar tijdens fietstestevent Velo Valley

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Trek fietsen testen tijdens Bicycling Velo Valley

Ben je op zoek naar een nieuwe racer, gravelbike of mtb? Dan ben je tijdens Velo Valley aan het juiste adres. De fietsen van Trek zullen je opwachten en staan klaar om je met open armen te ontvangen. Daarbij is de Trek Madone de absolute eyecatcher die voor je klaar staat.

Trek Madone testen

Het paradepaardje van Trek is de Madone . De aero racer met het super aerodynamische frame en dito zadelpen. De Madone SL7 is te testen in maat 54, 56 en 58. Ook de endurance racer Trek Domane is te testen in maat 54 en 56. Gericht op comfort en ontspannen, lange ritten, jouw vriend voor heerlijk lange dagen op de fiets.

Trek MTB en e-MTB testen

Ook mountainbikes zijn tijdens Velo Valley uitgebreid aan de tand te voelen op het mtb-parcours van de Nedereindseberg. Trek komt met de supersnelle Supercaliber 9.9 in maat medium, M/L, large en XL, de Top Fuel 9.9 in medium en de Slash 8 in M/L.

En laat jezelf verrassen door de kracht en de fun van het rijden op een e-MTB. Op het eerste gezicht misschien niet sportief genoeg? Neem van ons aan, het rijden op een e-MTB is ongelofelijk leuk. Een nieuwe dimensie aan je fietsplezier. Echt waar! Tijdens Velo Valley test je de Fuel EXe 9.9 in small of medium, de Fuel EXe 8 in large, de Marlin 8+ in medium of de Rail 9.8 in large.

Trek Checkpoint testen

Natuurlijk mag de gravelbike bij Trek niet ontbreken en dat doet hij dus ook niet. Fiets naar hartenlust op de Trek Checkpoint SL6 in 54, 56 of 58 en ook de aluminium Trek Checkpoint ALR5 is in maat 54 en 61 aanwezig.

Zit jouw nieuwe fiets hierbij? Genoeg redenen dus om naar Bicycling Velo Valley te komen dus!

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CelebWatch: Shatner Gets “Weird” + Pine Goes To “Moscow” + Nimoy Wraps “Fringe” + Quinto On The “Margin”

| April 12, 2010 | By: Anthony Pascale 19 comments so far

Shatner pitches "Weird or What" in Cannes

We will find in May if William Shatner’s new sitcom Bleep My Dad Says gets picked up, but one Shatner show that is definitely going on the air is Weird or What , a new documentary series Shatner is co-producing an hosting. The show description press release make it sound a bit like Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of :

in Weird or What? William Shatner will investigate and analyze all that is weird in the world, including everything from paranormal phenomena to weird and wonderful creatures, from medical oddities to mysterious disappearances, and bizarre natural disasters to mystical monster attacks.  

The show has been sold to Discovery Channel in the US and History Channel in Canada. Today Shatner is at the MIP TV convention in Cannes today selling  the show to the world. Variety reports that production company Cineflix has successfully sold the show to "nearly every territory". At the event Shatner described the show:

We’re looking at weird circumstances but we’re presenting them in a light-hearted, jaunty way. We’re not taking ourselves too seriously.

Chris Pine headed to Moscow as Jack Ryan

Last year Chris Pine, the new Kirk, was tapped as the new Jack Ryan, to head up another big Paramount franchise. New details have emerged on this next film based on the Tom Clancy character. Pajiba reports the following story synopsis for the next Jack Ryan film (now with the working title of "Moscow"):

The movie will pick up with the Jack Ryan not long after his stint in the Marines, before he’s joined the CIA, while he’s a Wall Street stock broker, an occupation that will play heavily into the script. In the Clancy novels, Jack Ryan was a successful financial analyst in Baltimore for Merrill Lynch. In the new movie, he will have transplanted to Moscow to continue his financial advising, not for Merill Lynch (which has been absorbed by Bank of America), but for a billionaire employer. It is that billionaire employer who eventually sets Jack Ryan up to take the fall for terrorist plot designed to collapse the U.S. economy. After that, Ryan must race against time to clear his name, reveal the terrorist plot, and save his wife, who has been taken hostage by the billionaire employer.

No word yet on when "Moscow" will go in front of cameras or be released, but probably following Pine’s work on the next Star Trek .

Nimoy’s last day as an actor? + honored as space inspiration

Spock Prime, Leonard Nimoy has recently stated he is ready to back into acting retirement. This would mean his last job as an actor would be reprising his role as William Bell in the season finale  JJ Abrams’ Fringe . And yesterday, Nimoy tweeted " Finishing work on Fringe today. Really good experience. The two parter will air in May." Today he tweeted that his back home. Speaking of Twitter, in just four days TheRealNimoy has picked up almost 33,000 followers.

But Mr. Nimoy is still out and about. On Thursday Leonard is being honored by the Space Foundation at the National Space Symposium in Colorado. Nimoy is being presented with the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach award for being an inspiration to people around the world "to explore the wonders of science, space, and technology." And a reminder, next Friday the original Spock is headed to the Vulcan, Alberta, Canada (the official Star Trek capital of Canada) to unveil a bust of himself, and then he is off to the Calgary Entertainment Expo for the weekend.

Quinto on NYSE floor

Finally we come to the new Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto. The actor is currently in New York  filling out his resume as a producer an actor in Margin Call , a film set in the world of the stock market. Last week Zach tweeted this pic of himself with his Before the Door production company partners.

While he has been in New York, Quinto has been a frequent Twitterer, sending gems like this one last Thursday:

the t-shirt i was wearing today smelled. so i bought a new t-shirt. now it smells. already. why you got to be so smelly t-shirts?

But no worries, Zach was cleaned up all nice by the next night…

Jeez, that photo of Nimoy is fierce! :D

I cant wait to see nimoy and the shat at vegas will miss them when their gone

Shats new show sounds fun–long as they dont make fun of believers cuz that could be bad n sad–

Like a jaunty “In Search Of…”

If I see one more word with quotes around it I’m going to “scream”.

Has Shatner seen Star Trek 11 yet?

How really cares. I don’t. maybe I did at one point. But I don’t now. Let it go. For crying….out….loud

“We’re not taking ourselves too seriously.”

In contrast to some of today’s Hollywood actor wannabees, Shatner can afford to not take himself too seriously. :)

Nimoy looks like an old, and very wise Spock on that photo. Acting retirement surely would be a waste of material…

#6 No, he’s busy having a life. :))

The two shows should be combined to form a show called “Weird Fringe”, and in the first show William Shatner could focus on mysteries of Mr.Spock’s bowl haircut.

Wow whats up with Quinto’s nerdball galsses….First we see a hobo Spock and now dork Spock.

ZQ’s follow up tweet is hilarious!

Nimoy always look cool…kinda badass…you wish Fringe would throw a evil Spock beard on him! Shat looks kinda pudgy…a jolly old type… I was really hoping Mr Nimoy would make it in the new MI movie as Paris…maybe a evil Paris with a beard!

Jack Ryan before Star Trek or after???

From everything I’ve seen of Ben Affleck, he’s pretty impressed with himself. Chris Pine will be 1000 times better than him.

Quinto needs a fashion adviser.

I think Quinto should do a music video as Bilbo Baggins

Alec Baldwin was a great Jack Ryan. Tough act to follow (and I’m a big Ford fan).

16. Yeah! xD lol

Quinto is always dressed stylish, cool and modern- I love it. Zach, just rub some patchouly on yourself and get back to work please!!!!!!!! And Bleep Jack Ryan!

Moscow Muled

Moscow Muled

How to clean and care for copper mugs: the definitive guide.

How to Clean and Care for Copper Mugs: The Definitive Guide

Oct 15, 2019

In this post, we reveal the complete guide to cleaning and caring for your copper mugs. From how to maximize the lifespan of your mugs to how to ensure that they maintain that brilliant copper shine, we have you covered. Let's get started!

Introduction

Since the creation of the Moscow Mule in the 1940's, copper mugs have never been more popular than they are today. This refreshing cocktail made of lime juice, vodka, and ginger beer is traditionally served over ice in an iconic copper mule mug. No matter what beverage you choose to serve in it, the appeal of the copper mug is hard to deny. As bars, restaurants and at-home use of copper mugs continues to grow in popularity, it is important to know how to properly care for and clean copper. This article will tell you everything you need to know, including:

Why is Cleaning Copper Mugs Important?

Why does copper tarnish.

  • How Do you Clean Copper Mugs?
  • 5 Easy & Natural Ways to Remove Copper Tarnish
  • Is it Safe to Drink from Copper Mugs?

Are Copper Mugs Dishwasher Safe?

  • Lined Versus Unlined Copper Mugs
  • The Benefits of Using Copper Mugs
  • Essential Tips to Care for your Copper Mugs

person wearing blue clothes carrying two Moscow Muled copper mugs in each hand

Like any drinking vessel, copper cups, mugs, water bottles and tumblers need to be washed after every use. Copper does require specific care and maintenance, however it's quite simple and easy to learn and do.

First and foremost, copper mugs should be cleaned properly for health and safety reasons. Whether at a restaurant or at home, you don't want anyone getting sick from drinking from an unwashed cup.

There is something compelling about the warm glow of polished copper. A huge part of the appeal and popularity of cocktails like the Moscow Mule is the unique aesthetic of the copper mug. This metal will tarnish naturally with time and use, so cleaning it properly can be essential to keeping it shiny, and fully experiencing the many benefits of drinking from a copper mug.

upper half of Statue of Liberty against sky background

Like iron developing rust, copper will naturally tarnish  over time with exposure to humidity and other elements found in the air. Copper's blue-green tarnish, known as patina, can be either useful or annoying, depending on its intended use.

The patina actually serves as a protective layer for the copper beneath, and can be useful in outdoor applications such as roofing or pipes.  However, when it comes to mugs or cups, we want the copper to shine as warmly as possible, so it is essential to know about preventative care and maintenance.

Don't worry, it's super easy to do, and incredibly satisfying to restore and polish your tarnished copper mugs.

How Do You Clean Copper Mugs?

Cleaning copper mugs is like cleaning most anything, except that it MUST be washed by hand. In other words, never put them in the dishwasher, ever. Take 30 seconds to gently wash them by hand with a soft sponge, soap and warm water.

For most people at home, this shouldn't be a problem. But some high-volume bars or restaurants might not be able to dedicate the time needed for proper care. This is one reason a business may prefer a tin-lined  or lacquered copper cup that may need less polishing, although they too should still be washed by hand.

The most important part of cleaning your copper mug is drying it!

Residual water in the slightest amount can lead to tarnishing, so experts highly recommend you dry your copper mug twice, with two different soft towels or cloths until all moisture is removed.  This extra step only takes a few moments, and will go a long way towards the durability and cleanliness of your copper mule mugs.

If you want your copper mug to look nice, dry it twice!

5 Easy and Natural Ways to Remove Copper Tarnish

Owning a copper mug comes with the added responsibility of some occasional, simple maintenance. When your favorite mug starts to turn green, here are some easy solutions to restore its natural shine!

Lemon or Limes and Salt

four slices of lemon lined up and sprinkled with salts

This simple method is quick and easy, and ideal for bars or restaurants that may have an abundance of lemons on hand. Simply pour some table or sea salt onto a dish, and cut a fresh lemon or lime into 1/4th slices. Dip the fruit slice into the salt, and scrub the copper mug with slow, methodical circles inside and out. The change should be almost instantaneous, and when the tarnish has been removed, wash under warm or cool water, and dry thoroughly.

Vinegar and Salt

Mix one cup of vinegar, one tablespoon of salt, and five cups of water. Pour the solution into a saucepan, place your mug into the saucepan, and bring it to a boil. After a few minutes, the tarnish will have disappeared, and you can remove the mug with tongs, rinse it in cold water, and dry thoroughly with two soft dish towels.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Create a paste with three parts baking soda, and one part vinegar. Use a sponge to apply it to the mug with small circular motions and let it sit for about 10 minutes in order for the magic to happen. After that, simply rinse and dry until all moisture has been removed.

Harness the power of tomatoes to clean your tarnished copper mug! Apply the ketchup using a soft sponge or toothbrush, always rubbing in small circles. Then let it stand for 30 minutes. Remove the ketchup in the same way you applied it (a specially designated tarnish-toothbrush can be a highly effective tool for getting into those hard to reach places). Finally, rinse with water, and dry thoroughly with two soft towels.

Tamarind Paste

Tamarind is a tropical fruit, popular in Caribbean, African and Indian cuisine. It contains tartaric acid, which helps remove tarnish from brass and copper. If this is something you have access to, simply add water to create a paste, and rub it onto the copper with a soft sponge or cloth.  After a few minutes, rinse off the paste, and dry completely.

Metal Polish

Although the natural methods listed above are all equally effective, inexpensive and safe, another option is to use a tarnish remover or metal polish. Popular brands like Brasso are great for polishing many different kinds of metals, but the main ingredients may be less than desirable (rubbing alcohol, ammonia, mineral spirits and silica powder). Chances are you can easily find most of the ingredients for cleaning copper mugs in your pantry, and can avoid buying a product full of harsh chemicals.

Is It Safe To Drink From Copper Mugs?

Yes, it is safe to drink from copper mugs , despite click-bait headlines, myths and legislation that may suggest otherwise. True, when using 100% pure copper mugs it is possible that trace amounts of copper could be ingested. However, this can be mitigated by using stainless-steel plated copper mugs.

Copper is an essential part of human biology, and is necessary for regulating metabolic systems and vital organs. Copper deficiency can lead to arthritis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and colon cancer.

Not only do our bodies need copper, we also have systems in place to naturally deal with any excess copper. Verified scientific studies have shown copper can do impressive things.

  • Copper and Iron work together to form red blood cells.
  • Copper helps maintain collagen, and along with other antioxidants, can reduce signs of aging.
  • Copper helps absorb excess iron in the liver.
  • Copper improves brain and nerve cell synaptic responses.
  • Copper aids in digestion and helps with ulcers and inflammation.

Copper toxicity is quite rare and, according to the World Health Organization , "There is a greater risk of health effects from a deficiency of copper intake than excessive copper intake."

The FDA guidelines do not recommend using copper for any food or beverage purposes, solely because of the extra care needed to maintain it, and applies exclusively to commercial operations, with varying local and state regulations.

This is meant to protect consumers from improperly cleaned or exposed copper mugs and cookware in bars and restaurants, and does not apply to home use. The FDA suggests the public learn about proper care and maintenance before using copper mugs, but scientists have debunked the claim that a Moscow Mule can give you copper poisoning.

When using 100% pure copper mugs and a liquid with a pH below 6.0 (like lime juice), and that liquid remains in the mug for an extended period of time, there is a chance you could consume amounts of copper. This is the reason why it is generally a good idea to use copper mugs lined with stainless-steel .

No, never! All copper cookware, utensils or mugs should be washed by hand, no exceptions. Dishwashers typically use harsh detergent, powerful water sprays and high heat that can seriously harm your copper mug both inside and out.

Dishwashers can lead to dents, tarnishing, and flaking or cracking. So take 30 seconds to do right by your copper mugs, and wash and dry them by hand!

Lines Versus Unlined Copper Mugs

When purchasing a copper mug, there are three basic options - 100% copper, tin-lined, and copper plated.

Copper is a great thermal conductor, and will keep your drink colder for longer (or hotter for longer, depending on the drinks). This is a big part of what makes the Moscow Mule an attractive summer beverage, and why copper mugs are great for cocktails in general.

Lined copper mugs  (usually with zinc, stainless-steel  or tin) can be a great choice. The double lining improves their durability, and can give them a great look. Unlike pure copper, lined copper mugs also offer additional health benefits by avoiding reactions between acids in your drink and pure copper.

Both lined and unlined copper mugs must be washed by hand and both will develop a patina over time. Lined mugs might take slightly less time to polish, because you only need worry about the outside. However, now that you know how to clean tarnished copper mugs, it's nothing you can't handle.

Essential Tips To Care For Your Copper Mugs

Copper mugs are stylish and good for your health. They keep your cold drinks chilled, and your hot drinks steaming. Copper mugs have been used for thousands of years for water purification and health benefits, and have made a triumphant rise in popularity since the invention of the Moscow Mule in the 1940's.

Whatever you choose to put in your copper mug, remember these three simple tips:

  • When serving drinks, don't let them sit for more than 4 hours. Drink up!
  • After each use, take the time to hand-wash your copper mugs with soap and water, and use TWO TOWELS to dry them thoroughly.
  • When your copper mug begins to tarnish, use one of the five easy and natural ways listed above to polish it to perfection.

Thank you for taking the time to become an expert on using, cleaning and caring for copper mugs. Cheers!

Did You Enjoy This Article?

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article, you might also like the following articles:  Why You Should Only Use Moscow Mule Copper Mugs With Stainless Steel Lining and  Which Moscow Mule Copper Mugs Are Best?

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    Madone Gen 7. Built on a legacy of superbikes, Madone Gen 7 is our fastest and lightest Madone disc ever. -Lightweight, never-before-seen IsoFlow compliance tech. -Flared aero-optimized bar (one-piece bar/stem on SLR, two-piece bar + stem on SL) -All-new ultra-fast aero tube shaping. -Faster and lighter. Shop Madone SLR Gen 7.

  2. Madone wedstrijdklare aerodynamische racefietsen

    De Madone SLR is uitvoerig getest door de mannen en vrouwen van de Trek-Segafredo wielerteams. Het resultaat is een volledig vernieuwde fiets die sneller, lichter en beter geschikt is voor de grootste wielerevenementen ter wereld, zoals de Tour de France en de allereerste Tour de France voor vrouwen. Meer snelheid.

  3. Trek's Seventh Generation Madone

    The entry-level build for the 2023 Madone SLR 6 (with Shimano 105 Di2) comes in at $8,000. That is a $1,100 increase over the 2021 Madone SLR 6 equipped with mechanical-shifting Shimano Ultegra ...

  4. Madone aerodynamische racefietsen

    Madone SL 6 Gen 6. € 3.569,30 € 5.099,00. Artikelen. 24. Sorteer op. Relevantie. De Madone is de ultieme racefiets. Hij is snel, licht en soepel en hij is gemaakt om jou elk mogelijk snelheidsvoordeel te bieden, dankzij baanbrekende technologie, ons beste en lichtste carbon en een nog nooit vertoonde aerodynamica.

  5. Close up with the new Trek Madone: Mads Pedersen's Tour ...

    The new Madone will come with Bontrager's Aeolus RSL 51 carbon tubeless-ready wheelset, but Pedersen's bike was fitted with deeper 62mm rims in Copenhagen. It was also equipped with SRAM's Red ...

  6. Trek Madone SLR 7 Gen 7 review

    It's a full $1,000 / £1,000 more than the equivalent outgoing Gen 6 Madone SLR 7, and you'd have to look hard to find a more expensive Ultegra Di2-equipped bike from the other mainstream ...

  7. Meet the new Trek Madone

    Learn even more about the new Trek Madone. Discover more. post Balsamo sprints to second in Ronde van Drenthe. March 10, 2024 post Johnny Milan strikes again at Tirreno-Adriatico. March 10, 2024 post Ellen van Dijk leads Lidl-Trek 1-2 on her return from maternity. March 10, 2024 ...

  8. Trek Madone SLR 9 eTap (2023) review

    The Trek Madone SLR 9 eTap is a cutting-edge aero race bike that features the innovative IsoFlow system, which replaces the IsoSpeed decoupler with a large vent in the seat tube. Find out how this ...

  9. Trek Madone 5.2 review

    An aero-friendly incarnation of the third-tier Madone

  10. 2023 Trek Madone SLR long-term review

    What it is: Trek's latest take on its "ultimate race bike": an aero race bike with striking design cues. Frame features: IsoFlow seat tube cutout, dramatically reduced weight, claimed 19-watt improvement over predecessor. Weight: 7.4 kg (16.3 lb, actual weight, 56 cm size, without pedals). Price: US$13,200 / AU$18,000 / £13,800 / €15,000.

  11. Trek Madone SLR Preview

    Trek Madone SLR6 and SLR6 eTap. SLR6. $8,000; 17.1 lbs. (56cm) Shimano 105 Di2, 12-speed; 50/34T chainrings, 11-34T cassette; Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51, carbon tubeless wheels;

  12. BIKE CHECK: Mads Pedersen's Winning Madone

    The seventh-generation Trek Madone landed on Earth recently and our sprinter Mads Pedersen has been showing it off at the Tour de France. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice there's a chunk of the frame missing - that's Trek's all-new Isoflow technology which flexes over bumps, improves aerodynamics, and shaves weight - exactly what Mads asked for in his quest for Tour success.

  13. 2023 TREK MADONE SLR BREAKS NEW GROUND

    Refined integration. An all-new one-piece bar/stem and integrated IsoFlow seat tube technology take Madone's unrivaled integration to the next level. An all-new bar/stem with 3cm of flare and shorter reach offers improved ergonomics and aerodynamics. Riders who use a 42cm bar/stem will now be a 42cm in the drops and 39cm in the hoods, reducing.

  14. Madone 9.0

    Model 550258. Retailer prices may vary. Madone 9.0 carries forward the same advanced aerodynamic performance and all-around ride quality as other Madone road bike models, but it keeps the price in check with a standard stem and aero bar set up for adjustability. It's the ultimate race bike at our best value, with extraordinary race performance ...

  15. 2024 Trek Madone SL 7 review: This is the one to get

    Otherwise, the differences between the Madone SL and Madone SLR simply boil down to more economical build kits. My Madone SL 7 test sample is the nicer of the two complete Madone SL bikes Trek offers currently, and comes equipped with a complete Shimano Ultegra Di2 2×12 wiredless electronic groupset, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 carbon fiber clincher wheels wrapped with 25 mm-wide Bontrager R3 ...

  16. Does Mads Pedersen have the blingest bike at the Tour De France?

    Tech Editor Josh Croxton is on the ground for Cyclingnews in Spain ahead of the races Grand Départ and managed to get some close-up snaps of the custom Trek Madone. Pederson's bike appears to be ...

  17. Trek Fall New For 2024

    This collection of all-new Trek bikes will change the way you experience the road, city, or trail forever. Explore the groundbreaking lineup of all-new 2024 models here, and get ready for a full year of your best rides yet. ... $7,999.99. Trek Madone SL 7 Gen 7. $6,499.99. Shop Now. Domane AL. Trek Domane AL 2. $999.99. Trek Domane AL 4 Gen 4 ...

  18. Met deze testfietsen komt TREK naar Velo Valley op 7 april

    De fietsen van Trek zullen je opwachten en staan klaar om je met open armen te ontvangen. Daarbij is de Trek Madone de absolute eyecatcher die voor je klaar staat. Daarbij is de Trek Madone de ...

  19. CelebWatch: Shatner Gets "Weird" + Pine Goes To "Moscow" + Nimoy Wraps

    March 8, 2024 | 'Star Trek: Picard' And 'Strange New Worlds' Nominated For 8 Critics Choice Super Awards; March 8, 2024 ...

  20. Концертно-праздничное агентство Star Trek

    Концертно-праздничное агентство Star Trek, Moscow, Russia. 8 likes. Организация мероприятий любого уровня и формата, торж

  21. 9th radio centre of Moscow, Elektrostal

    The 9th radio centre of Moscow was a high power shortwave and medium wave broadcasting facility at Elektrostal near Moscow.Its broadcasting frequency was 873 kHz with a transmission power of up to 1200 kilowatts. It was also used as radio jammer of "unwanted" stations.

  22. Madone race-ready aerodynamic road bikes

    The new Madone SL Gen 7 offers the same revolutionary road race technology as the seventh-generation Madone SLR at a more accessible price point, thanks to a 500 Series OCLV Carbon frame and a two-piece flared RSL handlebar and stem. It's the ultimate race bike, now available to more riders than ever. Our fastest and lightest Madone SL ever.

  23. How to Clean and Care for Copper Mugs: The Definitive Guide

    Vinegar and Baking Soda. Create a paste with three parts baking soda, and one part vinegar. Use a sponge to apply it to the mug with small circular motions and let it sit for about 10 minutes in order for the magic to happen. After that, simply rinse and dry until all moisture has been removed.

  24. Trek Bikes

    Trek started in a small Wisconsin barn in 1976, but our founders always saw something bigger. Decades later, we're on a mission to make our world a better place to live and ride. We build only products we love, provide incredible hospitality to our customers, and change the world by getting more people on bikes. ...