All-new Trek Emonda ALR takes lightweight frame tech to alloy models

The invisible welding looks a lot like what pretty much every other company calls smooth welding. And has been using for years. You weld the tube normally then go back over it without filler material and “reweld” it. The process smooths out the weld and helps it wet out. REVOLUTIONARY TREK!!!

@Robert W – my sources say the Madone is on the way out. & if the story is about weight vs. areo it would make sense to mimick the emonda shapes. Also, the 2 series aluminum frames are already Madone-esqe.

I like how they quote an unpainted frame weight, then only offer it in a painted variety. But lets also make sure we pair that unpainted weight with a painted fork weight.

Aluminum, how quaint.

That Bontrager cycling kit is pretty damn nice. “Understated” as the hipsters like to say.

Hasn”t specialized already been doing this for like 3 years now? And better welded joints? Revolutionary-nothing is more like it, just another slightly modified copy frame.

Jesus, tough crowd. Lightweight aluminum, full component groups and small price tags… Sounds good to me.

y’all are haters. you can pick on the marketing and on random bits and pieces but in the end this is the bike you’re going to start seeing at all the local crits and races. So they have weird marketing, worry about the bike and what it can do for you.

Yeah a bunch of haters here, Go buy a Specialized because they are not owned by the big man, Oh wait, Specialized is own by a conglomerate, and Trek is family owned. Seems like most people don’t understand the definition of “the man” Don’t hate on them just because you don’t like it that more people ride Trek than any other brand in the US.

When you think about it, it’s a bike people actually look for: Workhorse, and the no-nonsense but clean aesthetic.

Considering the Propel SLR might not come stateside, as well as the update TCR SLR before it, it’s nice to have another potential alloy option on the market that isn’t an Allez or CAAD.

Jbikes: I understand why you’re asking about why two frames with different materials have the same tube shapes, but in fact they probably should have the same shapes.

In the bike industry (and many others), it’s common practice to design using isotropic material properties (e.g., with aluminum) for a first pass. The resulting stiffness (quantified through FEA) ensures you’re getting the most sectional modulus you can out of a given tube shape. Only then do you go back and design a laminate schedule with anisotropic materials (e.g., carbon fiber).

This allows the designer to clearly separate the modulus (stiffness) due to tube shape and the modulus due to the laminate schedule. That way, each can be optimized as a discrete step.

Except for a few corner cases, optimal frame tube shape is material-independent. Surprising but true!

I’m wondering if some of the frames are anodized, so unpainted weight would be pretty relevant.

I like the emonda and the CrossRip frame for my commuter. I would seriously consider if I was in the market and carbon was not an option.

I applaud Trek for coming out with a ‘light’ and ‘inexpensive’ aluminum frameset but I’m still not sold on the H2 geometry.

Sincerely,
Worlds longest head tube.

Nearly the same weight as a Cannondale frame that was first manufactured out of the same material about 6 years ago

If I see one more I’m-so-flexible-I-can-stick-my-head-up-my-ass comment about the lack of H1 geometry, I might give up trolling comments on bike rumor all together. Seriously, 5 years at a Trek dealer and we sold maybe 3 H1 bikes (all as special order). We ordered dozens more project 1 bikes in the ‘normal’ H2. Working now at a Cervelo dealer I have very few people balk at the head tube height, and MOST are running a positive angle on the stem anyways. At 6’3″ I run 14cm of bar drop. I have had zero issue getting a proper fit on stock bikes, including Trek. Currently on the newly updated (i.e. market norm) stack of the 2015 Cervelo S5 I still have 15mm of spacers under my stem. If H2 geo just doesn’t do it for you, grab a Cannonade with a low profile headset cap and go ride. They are making a bike for the largest market, obviously the budget racers this bike is designed for are too busy riding their bikes to complain on Bike Rumor…..

Waiting for my ALR 5 to arrive!! Last bike I bought was in 1986, a Myata One Ten. Hopefully this one will last another 29 years.

i had a domane and the headtube was too tall.

i might get one of these. its pretty affordable all things considered.

@MikeC – Are you kidding? I haven’t seen anyone refer to a full groupset as including the wheel since like 1999. Some people are just desperate to find something to bitch about. The Bontrager Race wheels are great. They only weigh 200g more than the Ultegras, and unlike every Shimano wheel, they are specced completely with off-the-shelf parts that are easily purchasable in any bike shop.

@Adam – Yes, because Cannondale were the first company with an aluminum racing bike. You forget the Trek, via Klein, were making awesome lightweight aluminum race bikes when Cannondale was still welding together soda cans.

@H1 Lovers – You’re all on crack. A quarter of the Trek pros don’t even ride the H1, and I promise you that you are not that fast. I can also tick off a list of local heroes, Cat 1 and PRO dudes, who get by just fine on the H2, usually preferring it to the H1.

Wait to you see the next gen cannondale frame before you jump on this..

@badbikemechanic – What makes you say that? There is a generation of high end aluminum out there that holds up just fine to the rigors of daily life. I personally have an aluminum Allez that I regularly leave locked up outside of bars, the grocery store, as well as race, and it hasn’t even scratched the anodized finish yet.

These bikes are epic. And yes, they blow the competition out of the water.

Arguing that “some pros ride H2, therefore nobody needs H1” is well, just a poor excuse for an argument. An H1 aluminum Emonda would be a hit, and I would purchase one as soon as it were available. I’ve owned and ridden both H1/H2 models, and greatly prefer the H1. As an aside, direct mount breaks on this beast would be the icing on the cake. Think about it Trek.

I’ve got a current model year Allez smartweld frame built up with full 105 and tubeless Shimano wheels. I certainly didn’t do it for $1760 retail, but then some parts on my bike (bars, saddle, tires) are from a very much higher trim level. I’ve also got all the accessories (cages, tools, &c) in my price, and I was unable to use the economy of scale a manufacturer can.

ANYWAY. The ride quality of my Allez is nothing short of amazing considering. It is *as smooth* as my steel 3-speed with 38mm tires over brick roads. I have no problems riding the Allez a hundred miles, though I run out of water. The Allez smartweld is making me completely re-think aluminum as a frame material, especially for amateur racer types.

These Treks seem to DIRECTLY compete with the Allez smartweld introduced last year, which is great, since it engenders competitive designs. When you get an Allez Comp (with 105), you pay less, but you miss out on the excellent 5800 brakes and crankset, and get bog standard training wheels. Moving up to an Allez Expert (with Ultegra), gets you a full groupset with carbon SL-K crank and ‘Fulcrum’ wheels at a competitive price.

I’d love to ride these Treks back to back with my Allez.

Just ordered my alr 6 today! I work at a trek dealer, and I have to say H2 is usually great for 99% of our customers, and they usually have the stem flipped up. For the 1% of people that actually want that huge bar drop, you can always size down and make it look super pro with a longer stem! Nothing wrong with that!