LA's Madone SL

[Keith A]

Someone speculated about a month ago when the pictures of LA's new machine appeared, that this would be the new Madone SL. I wonder who that was...oh here's the quote...

Originally posted by Keith A
It appears to me that Lance is riding another prototype -- just like he was riding the Madone before it was released. I own a 5500 which is the standard OCLV and the bike Lance is riding is not a 5500/5900 or a Madone.

The Madone also has an aero shaped down tube which this bike doesn't have. However, it does have the top tube shape and seat stays of the Madone. I would speculate that this will be Madone Superlight -- just like the 5900 is the Superlight version of the 5500.

Sorry, just couldn't resist :D

Anyway check out the story on the new Madone SL (http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/probikes/usps_trek) that is still a work in progress.

[saab2000]

...a Trek for very cheap if I wanted and at various times have thought about it. Probably won't though.

Anyway, does anyone have experience on a recent 5900? Just wonder what they are really like. Conventional wisdom tells me that they are not that great, but common sense tells me that they are actually probably pretty good.

The good reviewers at RBR give it raves.

[Climb01742]

given where lance's saddle is, doesn't that 58 look too big for him?

(and please, don't anyone tell the jerk that lance is running a 110 stem. i just hate it when the jerk has to chew lance out for being stupid. :banana: )

[Keith A]

Saab,

I have a '03 5500, but have not ridden a 5900. I believe Kahuna has a recent 5900 and might chime in here.

IMHO, the 5500 is a great bike -- especially given the cost. Trek has continued to improve and refine it's OCLV frameset over the years. I know that some complain about it feeling "dead", but I like the way the carbon soaks up the road vibrations. It is a neutral handling bike and it has excellent acceleration, which comes in pretty handy when it comes to climbing hills and sprinting.

I put more miles on CSi than I do my 5500, however when Saturday rolls around and it's time to go play with the racer boys, my CSi stays at home.

One of my riding friends recently purchased a 5900 and he said this was the best bike he has ever ridden. He is a Cat 3 and has owned a number of nice bikes including a Merckx Ti, K5, Cannondale, Giordana (lugged steal) and possibly a Lengend Ti (but I'm not sure on this one).

[bags27]

There's a huge design flaw that's apparently gone unnoticed: there doesn't seem to be enough clearance for fenders!:p

I agree that Treks feel "dead": 18 months ago, I had an amazing deal on a 5500, and kept trying to convince myself, but couldn't. But it sure was fast: it seemed to coast uphill.

[dirtdigger88]

I read that the frame is too big for him. To get the seat tube length that he needed/wanted he had to go with a 58. Trek wants Lance on a stock bike with no tweeks to the geometry. You know it is very costly to make a custom one off carbon bike, besides that is Treks selling point. Buy the bike that Lance rides, even if it is too big for him.

Just what I read

Jason

[Dr. Doofus]

Lance's bike is sort off too big for him...but he also runs a 130 stem....

The Doc sort of likes OCLVs...nice climbing bikes, and actually, because of the offset BB it is one of the few stock frames he and I fit on well with our short thighs...one thing we don't like about the OCLV: the large sizes (60 cm and up) always want to dive-bomb into ditches for some reason....

[vaxn8r]

I have fenders on mine....but its an older one ('97). Don't know if the clearances are smaller now. But my shop knows how to squeeze them in there on just about anything.

I can vouch for the ride of OCLV. It does everything well, especially climbing and sprinting. Neutral handling. Comfortable all day. I've done 2 double centuries on it.

I bought this bike, not because it was my dream bike but because it was on a huge sale and I thought I'd upgrade in a year or two, for the price I could afford to do that. Seven years later I finally decided to get something new. That's how much I loved it. I still love riding it.

One thing they are not is about attention to cosmetic detail etc. Though the new ones at least give a lot more paint options. Couple of them look pretty good actually.

[Kahuna]

True I'm a big OCLV fan. I own two 5900's. The first was a NOS 2002 I bought at a good price. The purpose was to find a decent bike to leave at my family's home in Europe so I woudn't have to lug a bike back and forth with me each summer when I visit. After riding the 5900 last summer I liked it so much I ordered another one as soon as I got back home. My current ride is a new 2004 5900 (http://www.bikefanclub.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1200&size=big&password=&sort=1&cat=3004).

For me, I find the Trek precise, responsive, and extraordinarily stable. The "dead" or "wooden" feeling I don't think is a fair or accurate description. As far as road feel goes, it's not the the same as steel but in my case I wasn't lookiing for "road feel". Overall comfort was important, and the OCLV provides that. More importantly, the bike is feather light for going UPHILL and that's where the machine truly shines. The fact that the OCLV excels at everything else took me by surprise. However, when you consider the history of the bike, its raceworthiness shouldn't surprise anyone.

Does this mean I think any less of Serotta or Spectrum, Calfee, Etc? Nope. These bikes are great for many reasons. For example if Lance were riding a Legend Ti up Luz Ardiden last year, I doubt his chainstay would have cracked when Iban Mayo fell on it!

Dr. Doofus is right about the offset BB. If you want to see what he's talking about, check out this thread (http://www.velonews.com/phorum3/read.php?f=2&i=35478&t=35229&v=t) on Velo News where I used Photoshop to point this out.

Ride what works and let your legs do the talking. Peace out.

-K

[e-RICHIE]

i love the non-anatomical h'bars.
e-RICHIE

ps

:hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello: :hello:

[sfscott]

That does it; cancel my order

[Roy E. Munson]

Now they claim those bars are Deda 215's. Do they come in the non-anatomical bend? And I like, as pointed out on another forum, the DeFeet armwarmers that Lance wears with the Nike logo stitched on . I personally find them to be the best armwarmers you can get. God knows what else he has on there or is riding with clever rebadging done.

[e-RICHIE]

"Do they come in the non-anatomical bend?"

yes.
u r looking at them.
e-RICHIE

ps

:crap: :crap: :crap:
:crap: :crap: :crap:
:crap: :crap: :crap:

[Keith A]

As e-Richie pointed out, the Deda 215's come in a standard road bend. Additionally they have two different drops with the standard bend: Deep (Belgium style) and Shallow (Italian classic).

I've been using the Deda 215 shallow drop for several years and just love them. I recently picked up a Ritchey WCS Road Classic handlebar and the shape and dimensions are almost identical to the Deda shallow drop. I just finished installing these on my Legend Ti and expect to give them a try this week.

BTW, I totally agree with Roy on the DeFeet arm warmers, they are perfect.