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TDF2015 Tech: Trek Factory Racing’s all-new aero Madone race bikes & more!

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2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

For the most part, the Trek Factory Racing team appeared to be riding stock versions of the new Madone. Albeit, they’re the $13,650 Race Shop Limited version with the addition of an SRM power meter crankset, but it’s still mostly a bike you can buy off the showroom floor.

It’s stocked with plenty of Bontrager components, including the bar/stem, seatpost, saddle and wheels. But, in a departure from their usual spec, they’re not running housebrand tires…

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

Melding parts’ shapes and functions into the fuselage seems to be the trend for new aero bikes this year, and the new Madone is among the most aggressively integrated (Specialized’s new Venge being the other). The center pull front brakes flow seamlessly into the fork, with the cable completely hidden behind a headtube fairing.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

All cables, hoses and wires run from inside the one-piece bar/stem combo into the frame. Compare the shape of the 2016 model to the 2015 Domane and Madone bikes behind it in several of the pics.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

The rear brake is also a direct mount, center pull design.

2016-Trek-Madone-for-Trek-Factory-Racing-TdF20

Most aero road bikes that move the rear brake under the bottom bracket do so partly for aerodynamics, but also (usually) to claim improvements in compliance since they can better tune the seatstays without needing the reinforced sections to handle braking stresses. But Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler puts a pivot between the seat tube and seatstay-top tube junction, allowing forces to pass by the seat tube and use its flex to create comfort. So, they can keep the seatstay bridge in place, which generally helps out with lateral stiffness.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

And this massive bottom bracket section should also keep things very stiff.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

Again, note the difference between the older models.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

The tires are Veloflex, and judging from the clincher wheels being used, they’re one of Veloflex’s Open Tubular tires. The mystery is which one, since the tread pattern on these only matched up with the Roubaix tubular (from Veloflex, not Specialized!). We didn’t get a chance to ask, but we’ve reached out to Trek for answers and will update if we hear back.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

“Go and Take It”

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

The taller seatmast leading to a semi-traditional seatpost allows the brake cable to spit out the back of the tube for better aerodynamics. We’ve seen this plenty on custom bikes from NAHBS, but rarely on a production bike. The number plate holder is integrated into the cable stop.

2016 Trek Madone aero race  road bike for Trek Factory Racing Team at 2015 Tour de France

Team bikes are lined up outside the bus prior to the stage start. Most were aboard the new Madone, but some riders liked to keep their personalized models from a prior year on hand:

DSC06152

Cancellara’s Spartan-themed Domane may not be the latest and greatest, but it still looks good.

DSC06148

DSC06149

2016-Trek-Speed-Concept-TT-bike-for-Trek-Factory-Racing-TdF01

The Trek Speed Concept TT/Triathlon bikes carry over from their 2013 introduction

2016-Trek-Speed-Concept-TT-bike-for-Trek-Factory-Racing-TdF03

…but are decked out with Bontrager’s new ultra bright tail light. Not a bad marketing ploy to run it in the world’s most famous bike race.

TrekBikes.com

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19 Comments
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Callum
Callum
8 years ago

All that effort kamtailing everything on that speed concept and they throw that light on there. I can’t be the only one this bothers.

anonymous
anonymous
8 years ago

The light is actually a fairing that extends the shape of the airfoil past the 3:1 UCI limit.

Seraph
Seraph
8 years ago

It’s a marketing move, to show it off. I doubt that anyone who rides a SC 9.9 actually uses a tail light.

Jordan P
Jordan P
8 years ago

^you’d be surprised, there are many races now that require riders to use lights for safety. It appears to mount a lot nicer than normal lights as well (although being a pro team they most likely got access to mounts the general public wont)

uk100
uk100
8 years ago

Any ideas why they are using clincher tyres? Tubeless?

shafty
shafty
8 years ago

They’re probably not running Veloflex tires tubeless. There are plenty of reasons to choose clinchers. Lower rolling resistance would be one. Maybe tradition is losing out?

I’d like to know their reasoning as well.

Pistolero
Pistolero
8 years ago

lower rollign resistance a clincher than a tubular??? have you been drinking lately?

Joey Brown
Joey Brown
8 years ago

The “older” bikes you refer to seem to be the Emonda. A current model bike that is used for the big time mountain stages.

Pedro
Pedro
8 years ago

Hey Pistolero, it’s been proven a million times over. Ultimately you can make a clincher with lower rolling resistance than a tubular. That’s not to say all clinchers are faster than all tubs, but clinchers can have a lower rolling resistance than tubs.

Judging by your spelling mistakes, punctuation and grammar, maybe it’s you that should lay off the drinks hombre.

Antoine
Antoine
8 years ago

Bike is gorgeous and tick all (my) boxes. Just wondering what the choices of stem length bar drop and bar width will be.

TomM
TomM
8 years ago

Very interesting frameset. This is the first Trek I’d consider buying in more than a decade.

bmanx
bmanx
8 years ago

RE: Pistolero – 07/20/15 – 6:37am
lower rollign resistance a clincher than a tubular??? have you been drinking lately?

Yes new clinchers have lower rolling resistance when paired with a latex tube. This is well documented on several websites as clinchers and tubulars are on par now.

There are other reasons to run tubulars but rolling resistance is not one these days.

Trek Dealer
Trek Dealer
8 years ago

@Antione: Handlebar + Stem combos are available in a number of different combos with stem length from 90-130mm and bar width from 40 – 44 cm. Get a project one so you can get the right bar + stem combo right away versus having to pay for a second bar after your bike fitting.

Colin
Colin
8 years ago

Problem solved, run tubeless, tubulars, I do.

Veganpotter
Veganpotter
8 years ago

Colin…you talking about Tufos? They’re notoriously slow tires if you are. They’re fine for cyclocross but they’re slower than many heavy, flat resistant tires like a Conti 4-Season…worthless on the road unless all you want is the flat resistance with sealant in there.

***Personal evidence. I’ve broken 52 in a few 40K TTs. When I had tubulars(where the wheels were supposed to also be faster…from the same companies own data) I had trouble breaking 53 and went back to clinchers and was back to where I was before. I will never have tubulars on a TT bike EVER again. For road racing? Sure

shafty
shafty
8 years ago

Maybe those tires tested better in the ‘tunnel. It be marvelous to think they did it for the mechanics’ sake. Hmmm….

Colin
Colin
8 years ago

Yes I was talking about Tufos, and yes i know they are slow, just being ridiculous

nei
nei
8 years ago

so, who actually told you that these are clinchers?

TFR have been using 23mm tubs for the last 18 months.

chucka
chucka
8 years ago

Those sure do look like Zipps on the TT bike…

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