Trek’s 2010 Madone, the same one being ridden in the Tour de France right now under Astana’s famous rear ends, will hit retail with three fit options.  They all use the same geometries and materials, but will offer “fits” for pro-level racers (and wannabes), enthusiast riders (the rest of us) and WSD Women’s Specific (the best of us).  The differences are:
PRO FIT: Designed for athletes with excellent flexibility and male-model core stability that need every aerodynamic advantage.  In other words, it’ll get you tucked low.
PERFORMANCE FIT: Same ride characteristics and handling and geometry as the Pro Fit, but with a taller headtube for a more upright, comfortable ride or for those with less flexibility.  Call it what you will, but taller headtubes are moving ever higher in the performance echelon because, well, they’re comfortable without giving up much performance.  Check our Look 566 review for further reading on this matter.
WSD FIT: The Women’s Specific Design keeps the taller headtube, ProTour level performance and handling of the Performance Fit, but shortens the Top Tube and Chainstays.  Those changes, combined with an extended range of smaller sizes, help accommodate shorter riders.
The other big news for 2010 is that ALL 6-Series Madones will be custom ordered through Trek’s Project One program.  Basic choices include:
- bar tape, cable housing and brake hood color
- choice of five no-cost frame colors
- drivetrain options
- choice of 10 Bontrager wheelsets with decal options
- other finishing bits options
But Wait! There’s More!  The bike itself incorporates some sick new technology, the likes of which you’ve never seen before! Hit ‘more’ for additional details and photos…
Some of the stock color options for the 6.0.
Trek started from the ground up…or, technically, from the arse down to redesign the 2010 Madone 6.0.  Using “Load Path Design,” they equipped a bike and rider with sensors to determine exactly where the bike saw stresses as it was pedaled down the road.  The result led them to several big changes, starting with an asymmetric steerer tube.  That’s right, it’s wider than it is long.  This provides better lateral stiffness (17% improvement over 2009 fork) while offering fore/aft sensitivity for increased comfort. (The crown is still perfectly round, just the bulged part that’s hidden within the head tube is asymmetrical)
The next big change was the “Ride Tuned” seatpost, which claims to have 43% more vertical compliance than the previous model for all-day riding comfort.
The best part?  All their trimming, tuning and testing led to a 150g (!) weight reduction over the 2009 frame.
Some of the weight savings comes from Trek’s new StepJoint lug matching process.  It creates exact fit sections to reduce excess material and more consistent tube wall thickness.  They also developed a new resin process called ResinRight that claims to eliminate any voids or irregularities and, lastly, they used Net Molding to create precision sockets for the headset and bottom brackets.  This creates extremely tight tolerances at these points, which allows for better frame alignment, and it reduces weight by letting Trek build the sockets for the bearings directly into the frame (no additional cups).  Put it all together and it’s what Trek calls OCLV2.
Keeping the bike’s aesthetics in check is Trek’s new internal cable management system.  Not only does it keep all the cables tucked almost entirely in the frame, but it integrates with Shimano’s new electric Di2 shifting system without modification.  Straight cable paths and the lack of internal liners keep cable friction to a minimum.
Trek also incorporated a new Bontrager DuoTap wireless sensor into the non-drive side chainstay.  Operating with the new-ish ANT+ system (same principle as Bluetooth, just different), the sensor with speak with any ANT+ system, including those from Bontrager, SRM and Garmin.
So, what did Lance have to say about the new Madone?
“This is next generation stuff. The Madone has evolved, and we’ve ended up with something that’s the lightest, stiffest, fastest, best bike that I’ve ever ridden. I think there’s no doubt that the equipment we’ll ride in this Tour de France will be far and away the best equipment in the peloton.”
