anyone notice ...

[KKevin]

Looks like Lance has a new bike for the Tour. Has anyone else seen this before?

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . from this pic, but he's got a darker gray one he raced in the spring. When you get up close it's got little sayings like "livestrong" etc. in slightly darker or lighter gray.

He's gat a whole stable of bikes from Trek, but I'm not sure this one would have anything radically new about it.

BBD

[bostondrunk]

Yup, different. Look at the seat post, looks round. And perhaps smaller/thinner seat stays (seems to be the trend). Kind of ugly IMHO.

[nicrump]

those seat stays are much leaner than the current madones.

[nahtnoj]

Seat stays have a Cervelo/Cannondale Super Six look to them...

[KKevin]

The seat tube post was what caught my more than the seat stays. The profile of some of the tubes seems leaner as well.

[Kirk Pacenti]

The TT still looks a wee bit sloped, but its much closer to horizontal than the stock bikes seem to be.

Cheers,

KP

[Ti Designs]

It's about the bike now???

[Kirk Pacenti]

It's about the bike now???

Well, it sure aint about that kit! :p

Cheers,

KP

[old fat man]

i saw some pictures of levi and he seemed to be on the same bike as lance. also flat black.

[Steelhead]

Looks like a different bike just waiting for another Gosh awful graphic scheme like the one he rode in the Giro. That was so classless and U G L Y.

[rwsaunders]

I heard that there are some great deals out there on Astana kit and frames....

[gemship]

the bike looks stealthy in flat black. :beer:

I used see Trek not so long ago as just another cookie cutter bike but if I were in the market, me being on the proverbial bang for buck mode, a used Madone would be on my short list.

[BdaGhisallo]

Apparently Lance is adamant that he only likes frames with round tubes and finds those shaped tubed frames awful. If you recall, he introduced the original Madone frame, but wasn't seen on it much after that.

Whatever Lance wants, Lance gets! Can't really fault him. Now if he would only stay away from those nasty paint jobs...

[KJMUNC]

damn look at that calf/leg.....you can just hear the power cranking out of that upstroke....wish I could ride like this instead of pulling through one big dead spot right there.

yah the bike looks diff but what did you expect? trek is following what all the other major sports already know: create a different/throwback jersey/hat/uniform and people will buy it. From LA's castoff's they can now crank out the "climber's edition" that helped Lance ride the Giro and can also tout the "stage-race-all-day-comfort" edition that helped Lance ride the Tour. I'm sure they'll have a one-day race version too. It's all marketingmo.

[bostondrunk]

I heard that there are some great deals out there on Astana kit and frames....

I quite liked the Astana Madone 6.9 frames. I'd love to find a sweet deal on one.

[Kevan]

it was the outcome of a trek and calfee smacking uglies. That's what it looks like to me.

[jhcakilmer]

That really looks like a Cervelo, comparing side by side, they look nearly identical. It's kind of hard to get a good look at the chainstays with the shadowing, though.

Is Trek outsourcing now? ;)

Looks great to me, and definitely a 100% improvement!

[lavi]

Definitely a new bike proto. Along with everything else noted, the fork is different too.

Don't forget Lance has his F1 project team back in place. He loves new gear, who doesn't.

I think the new bike looks better than the last Madone.

[Keith A]

This certainly does have some different lines -- especially the seat tube, seat stay and top tube junction. However, it still has many of the same lines as the current Madone.

[Keith A]

Several pictures here (http://www.velodramatic.com/archives/3385) from the recent race in Nevada City. Most of them are head on shots, but both LA and Levi are riding this new bike.

[TAW]

Why the stealth, unbadged frame, I wonder?

[nahtnoj]

Why the stealth, unbadged frame, I wonder?

Strike fear into the hearts of his opponents?

[KKevin]

heres more pics of the Nevada City bike.

looks like horner is riding a painted version of the same bike.

internal gear cable routing. round post.

http://www.cyclingfans.com/2009_Nevada_City_Classic_Photos

[Keith A]

Good find. This one really gives you a good look at the new frame...

http://www.cyclingfans.net/images/2009_nevada_city_classic_lance_armstrong_livestron g_astana_legs.jpg

[Keith A]

It is interesting that this pre-production frameset does away with their previous semi-ISP. It now looks like you can run a regular seat post.

[derosa_guy]

...man look at the legs! Not that mine don't look like that, but... :rolleyes:

[Z3c]

Cervelo nailed it when they conceived the R3 and everyone is following, finally. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

Looks like Lance has a Suunto front skewer??

[Kirk007]

I saw Levi riding this in Aspen on Monday. Looks nothing like a Trek. Interesting top tube with internal cable routing. Flat, nude carbon no decals. Looks interesting in person; I was going to ask him about it but didn't want to pester.

[paulrad9]

If this is the new Madone, it's understandable that Trek is having a sale on the 2009 models

[Fivethumbs]

I think its a Pedal Force RS...I hear that Lance is very frugal and always looking for a good deal...

[KKevin]

Trek marketing in action

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/trek-launches-2010-madone-range