Trek Madone 6 Series 2013 - Custom build

Trek have given their Madone road bike a major redesign for 2013 and we've found the new version to be super-fast and very comfortable. It might just be the best of all worlds.

It has taken me a while to write this review because the deal is this: once it's written, the bike goes back to Trek. That's the way these things work. But I'm not overkeen to send the bike back just yet. I'd like to hang on to it for as long as possible, so I keep doing just one more ride. You know, to check everything one last time.

I've had a soft spot for Trek's Madones for a while because the ones I've ridden in the past have been soooo responsive. They're light and punchy, sharp-handling and lots of other things that you want from a performance-driven road bike. The good news is that this new design is the best ever. It's an absolute delight to ride.

What we have here is a bike built around the 2013 Madone 6 Series frame. You'll find the new features described below on the cheaper 5 Series (complete bikes starting at £2,100) and the newly introduced and more expensive 7 Series.

The difference is in the carbon. The 6 Series bikes use 600 Series OCLV (optimum compaction low void, if you're interested) carbon which has a higher stiffness-to-weight ratio than you get with the 5 Series but a lower stiffness-to-weight ratio than the 7 Series.

All three of these Series (but not the lower end Madones) get a completely new frame design for 2013...

New KVF tubing

The biggest new feature is the KVF aero tubing. KVF? It stands for Kammtail Virtual Foil and it was first introduced on Trek's Speed Concept time trial bike.

Essentially, the KVF tube profile is an airfoil shape with the tail chopped off square. Trek reckon that the design makes the air behave as if the tail was actually there in order to reduce drag. The advantages of cutting the tail off are that it uses less material and so reduces weight; it works well in crosswinds; and it allows Trek to stay within the UCI's equipment rules.

You can see the KVF shape most clearly on the down tube – the sides curve around and then the rear edge is cut off flat. Trek use the same shaping on the head tube, seat tube, the seat stays and the upper portion of the fork blades. Extensively, then.

How much difference does it make? You have to have a statistic these days and Trek say the KVF shaping reduces frame (not including fork) drag by 60g over the previous generation Madone. Without taking the bike to a wind tunnel, we couldn't tell you how accurate that is. We're reporting it rather than confirming it.

Brake design

Integration has become ever more important in bike design recently with manufacturers seeking to reduce drag by making everything blend together for more aerodynamic efficiency.

Trek have been busy creating their own new front brake that fits neatly to the fork. Well, their in-house Bontrager brand have. One arm of the Bontrager Speed Limit brake is attached via a central bolt, the other fixes direct to the fork leg. This saves a little weight and allows the two arms to sit flush against the fork crown. Trek reckon that the combined effect of the KVF fork shaping and the integrated front brake reduces drag by another 76g.

Trek put the rear brake just behind the bottom bracket – a position that has been used on many bikes down the years including a whole bunch of today's time trial machines.

Slinging the brake down here allows Trek to keep it hidden from the wind for improved aerodynamics. It also means there's no longer any need for a brake bridge between the seatstays, cleaning up the airflow in that area. Plus, because they don't have to deal with the braking forces, those seatstays can be made with less material to reduce weight.

It works well. You'd be hard pressed to tell any difference between the braking power you get with Trek's new design and a standard set-up. I wouldn't say there's much in it either way. You can adjust the pad position of the rear brake on the fly just as easily as if it was mounted in the standard position because Trek fit a barrel adjuster at the point where the cable enters the head tube.

I did wonder whether the positioning of the rear brake would mean it would get bunged up with gunk from the UK's perma-damp roads, but that hasn't been an issue. It is a little more awkward than usual to clean but it's really not much of a problem.

Other features

The new Madone naturally comes with internal cabling, the rear mech cable emerging right at the end of the chainstay, and it's fully compatible with Di2 electronic shifting.

Trek continue their integration theme with a DuoTrap digital sensor recessed into the chainstay. You'll probably already know that this can take speed and cadence measurements and send them wirelessly (ANT+ compatible) to a computer on your bars.

Trek also integrate their 3S chain keeper directly onto the frame. It's a tiny plastic stop that bolts to a threaded hole just above the bottom bracket. There's no great level of technology going on here but it's really unobtrusive and it works to prevent the chain coming off the inner chainring and damaging any of that lovely carbon.

The ride

Okay, so that explains a few of the 2013 Trek Madone's key design features, but how does it ride? That, after all, is what matters.

Well, put simply, this bike rides beautifully. For a start, the lightness and punchiness of previous generation Madones is still there. Our complete bike weighs in at 6.78kg (14.9lb). That's with a mechanical Dura-Ace 7900 groupset and Bontrager's Aeolus 5 clinchers (we're going to do a separate review of those, so standby for that).

You can choose your own spec through Trek's Project One custom programme. Our one would cost you £6,725 – those wheels really jack the price up – although you can have a 6 Series Madone from £3,400 if you adjust the spec.

The Madone really flies forward the second you increase the power. It reacts so quickly. And when you get busy on the climbs, it's perfectly happy to pitch in and do its part.

I'm pretty big by cycling standards (75-77kg) and, despite its light weight, the Madone stood up to all the power I could sling its way. Trek's E2 head tube houses a standard 1 1/8in upper bearing with a big 1 1/2in bearing at the bottom, and it's a chunky piece of work. It holds the front end super-stable and, along with those KVF fork blades, it makes for precise handling through long, sweeping turns and quick, zigzagging ones.

The bottom bracket is Trek's BB90 standard with widely spaced bearings and there's very little flex there either. As far as I can tell, Trek have managed to keep all of the Madone's frame stiffness with this latest incarnation. Despite the big changes, it's every bit as solid as before.

The other big feature is vertical compliance. Now, I don't really like to go on about vertical compliance too much because it's the biggest cliché in cycling. On Road.cc, we tend to take the Mick when manufacturers mention it because they'll wheel out the phrase even if their bike rides like a boneshaker. But that's not to say that vertical compliance isn't a valuable property for a bike to have; it certainly is if you want a comfortable ride.

The reason I bring it up is because the new Madone does have plenty of, you know... VC. Sorry, it just does, especially compared to other aero road bikes I've ridden. That back end in particular just seems to soak up rough roads, unexpected dips and so on.

It helps that I have such a massive (some might say 'ridiculous') amount of seatpost to take the sting out of things. Well, not seatpost exactly... the Madone uses what Trek call 'a no-cut Ride Tuned seat mast'. In other words, you get an extended seat tube with a long mast topper on the outside that gives you 10cm of adjustment. As the name suggests, you don't need to cut the seat tube to length like you do with some systems.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of the Bontrager Inform Affinity RXL saddle. Buy it separately and it's a £100 perch with carbon rails and a carbon-fibre reinforced shell. It's just that I found it to sag in the middle and that's really not comfortable for me. But, when it comes to saddles, one man's meat is another man's poison. Probably not the best choice of words there. Ahem!

As for the ride position, our 6 Series frame is built to Trek's H1 fit which is designed to be low and aero. Trek have increased the reach of the existing H1 geometry a touch for a slightly more stretched ride position.

I'm happy with that setup and find it perfectly comfortable but you might not, in which case, you're in luck... The 6 Series is available in an H2 fit too. The biggest difference is in the length of the head tube. With the H1 fit it's 16cm on a 58cm frame; with the H2 fit it's 19cm. That means your ride position is a little more upright to take the strain off your back and neck, without the need to use a stack of flexing spacers. The H2 setup is still performance-orientated, but it's a bit more relaxed.

I won't bother telling you about the Shimano Dura-Ace groupset because it's not standard – although, as I said, you can spec it if you go through the Project One system. You can also choose your own colour and have your name on the top tube if that's your thing.

I won't tell you about the Aeolus 3 wheels either because we're going to cover them in a separate review. They're brilliant though.

So, that just leaves me to round things up and I'll do that by saying the new Madone is an absolute triumph. It really is. It's light, it's very, very fast and it's way more comfortable than you've a right to expect of a high-performance bike (albeit that I didn't get on too well with the saddle).

I'd love to be more critical and give you a few negatives as well but I'm not going to do that just for the sake of it. This is one of the very best road bikes out there. If the 7 Series is even better, well, we'll happily ride one of those for a bit too. In the meantime, I suppose we'd better box this one up and send it back.

Verdict

Lightweight, very fast and comfortable - a super-high performance bike that won't disappoint, if you have the cash.