Best of both worlds

The new Trek Madone blends the speed of the brand's quickest superbike with the lightness of its mountain-crushing Émonda to become the ultimate race bike

Trek’s new Madone superbike, the culmination of 20 years of evolution, has been refined to such a level that it’s now not only quicker, but also just as light as the brand’s Émonda climber’s bike. Which is why the American brand has now shelved the Émonda altogether and put all its high-end road bike efforts into just one model designed to perform at the highest level – the Madone Gen 8. So, while it’s farewell to the Émonda, it’s a warm welcome to the fitter, faster, lighter, altogether punchier Madone. It’s a blistering fusion of what made both models great and is arguably all the bike you could ever need. So what makes it a world-beater?

Weight shavings

Trek has whittled away more than 320g from the previous Madone’s frameset, putting it on a par with the Émonda’s mountain-ready, lift-it-with-your-pinkie frame. This has been achieved partly with the use of a new composite – OCLV 900 for the SLR models – said by Trek to be 20% stronger than the previous frame material.