My new ride

Just built this up yesterday. Can’t wait for the weather to break to get out on her. For more photos check out My Gallery.

On my trek Travel Trip I took in September of ’05 I had the opportunity to ride a Trek 5200 for the week and was impressed. I was interested to see how the redesigned Madone would stack up to the 5200 that I had ridden so this last year I have spent a considerable amount of my ridding time on the 56 that we have as a demo.

The Madone Performance Fit has a 30mm longer head tube and is spec’ed stock with a stem that is a centimeter shorter. So I was interested in comparing this to the Cannondale Synapse that I had ridden in the past. The Synapse uses a longer head tube as well but runs a slightly shorter top tube length as well.  Recently the bike industry has gotten smart and offered more bikes that position the rider a little more upright for a more comfortable fit. This is ideal for riders with less flexibility or neck and back issues. For many this is an ideal way to fit a rider for more comfort without sacrificing performance. In many cases the performance goes up because the rider is more comfortable and therefore able to produce more power for a longer period of time.

One of the cool things about the bike industry is that I can sell you the exact same bike that is being raced by the pro’s.  An individual can’t go down to their local Ford or Chevy dealer and pick up the same car that is being raced on Sunday’s.  As we know for everyday use the car being raced on Sunday’s isn’t ideal. The same goes for a bike, in many cases, I would say the majority of times customers don’t need the same position or fit that the pro’s are using. They want a bike that is of the same quality, the same ride quality with the same components. This is easy enough to accomplish these days with all of the options available.

When trek went to redesign the Madone they did so with a completely clean slate. All they wanted to keep the same was the geometry they had been using for years. The feedback they had received about the geometry was very positive from the pro riders as well as from everyday riders. The Technology story on the Madone is long. There is so much to talk about what Trek did with the complete overhaul. So much so I just recommend following this link to learn all about the new Madone.

One of the coolest things that the Trek engineers did was redesign the seat post area and created a seat mast that uses a top cap for adjustments without having to cut the seat mast itself. I thought this was a really slick idea with allowed Trek to save 25% of the weight compared to a carbon post, strengthen up one of the most high stress areas on a bike frame and improve vertical compliance on the bike. They even incorporate some of this in the 9 series of hardtail mountain bikes and Top Fuel Carbon full suspension bikes. Trek does a great job of taking innovations one group of engineers creates and using it where it makes sense in other areas of their bike line. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the many innovations that are in the new Madone.

So back to the ride of the Madone 5.2 Performance. I must say I am impressed with the bike. The ride quality is not the same as my Look 585 but it is not fair to compare the cost of almost a complete bike to what just the frame and fork cost of the 585. The 5.2 Madone uses the OCLV Black carbon frame material, where the higher end Madone’s in the six series use the OCLV Red Carbon framesets. It would be fairer to compare the six series Madone’s to the 585 I have limited time on the six series Madone but enough time to know that there is a substantial difference for the better in the ride quality between the two.

What is neat about all of the OCLV Madone’s and other OCLV products that Trek makes is that they are all hand laid up frames in Wisconsin. You are truly getting an American made bike when you purchase an OCLV product that Trek makes. That also goes for the carbon wheels from the Bontrager line of components as well. As much of the industries manufacturing has moved overseas Trek still build their highest end products in Wisconsin.

For me I am a rider who likes to spend long periods of time in the saddle and want to be in a more upright position on my bike. The performance geometry of the Madone fits me well and I have been enjoying it. What I like about the Madone is that it is a very predictable and stable bike. Just like the 5200 was that I rode for a while. The 5.2 descends like no tomorrow, I felt very confident and in control at 50 plus miles and hours as I did at lower descending speeds. For me the bike climbed very well, I didn’t feel like I was losing energy from any frame flex. The rear end of the bike was very stiff and responsive to my efforts. What was a nice surprise was that I believe that the engineers have made the bike more vertically compliant, I didn’t feel as beat up after my rides on this bike as I have on others. I did have a rough time on one long descent on rough roads with Mavic R-SYS wheels. I wasn’t impressed after that descent but I think it had more to do with the wheels then the frame.

What did take me a long time to get used to was the compact drive train. The Ultegra SL components worked well and the shifting is what you have come to expect from Shimano components. Having primarily ridden 53/39 chainrings learning the new shifting patterns took a while to adapt to. I have come to enjoy ridding the compact drive train and am sold on it for hilly rides but still will ride a 53/39 chainring combo whenever possible.

I think the Madone 5.2 is an ideal bike for someone who wants to do a lot of riding on a great performing bike. Whether you want to do a century or race it on the weekends one of the two platforms (Pro or Performance) of the Madone geometry is going to fit your needs. The Ultegra SL components are going to give you the performance you demand. It is a stong package with the Bontrager Race Lite wheels and other Bontrager components. You won’t be disappointed with this bike.

It was a gorgeous day and it reminded me how much I miss riding in the woods. It took me back to when I was a kid spending endless hours in the woods behind our house riding our BMX bikes on the dirt trails we built.

Rosaryville is a near perfect venue. Not to hard but not boring in any way either. It is a great place to take a beginner mountain biker but still fun for the more seasoned rider. M.O.R.E. and IMBA have been putting a lot of work maintaining and upgrading the trails lately to preserve them for years of fun to come.
I got to ride three different models of Cannondale’s. I can tell a lot about a bike while riding it around the parking lot. Certainly you can tell a heck of a lot more while riding the bike where it was designed to be ridden, on the trail. It was time well spent not only for learning more about the bikes but also for simply getting back out in the woods. So I rode a Carbon Rush, spec’d just like what the pro team rides. Then I rode a Prophet and finished up my riding on the 29er. It is amazing what a difference the 29er wheels make over the standard 26in wheels. It takes a lot less effort to ride the 29er then a standard 26in wheel. Then you have the additional benefits of the 29er. More contact on the ground with the bigger wheel. This offers the rider greater control of the bike. With the higher axle placement it is easier to ride over stuff that gets in your way on the trail.    Cannondale equips the 29er with the Lefty fork. All of the bikes I rode had a Lefty on them. I fall more and more in love with the Lefty each time that I ride them. The front end is rock solid and does exactly what you want and expect it to do.  For 08 Cannondale is planning to add a few more 29er models to their line up, however not a full suspension version. (For a full suspension 29er check out a Gary Fisher Sugar.) Hopefully they will be making a lighter version of it. It is a tad on the heavy side but there is a few quick and easy places to lighten her up. Each of the tires that come with the bikes are around the 900 plus gram range. Secondly adding a two-piece crankset to the bike would further reduce the weight. If you are an endurance racer/rider adventure racer I highly recommend checking out a 29er. It is likely to be a perfect bike for you. I also think that for many cross country races the 29er would be a good fit depending on the terrain.  Full suspension mountain bikes are getting so light these days. The carbon Rush was no exception either. For me the Rush is a bike that I could ride all day. It was super fun, handled great and has a perfect amount of travel for this area. With bikes getting so niche oriented these days it is sometimes hard to pick a bike that serves multiple purposes. The Rush could be that perfect bike. If you like to ride cross country and single track and aren’t big into jumping off lots of stuff check out the Rush. If you are more into jumping off of stuff, but not to extreme then the Prophet might be a good choice for you. One of the neat things the Prophet offers is the ability to easily adjust the head tube angle from a cross country to a freeride angle. Ideal for someone who may ride in many different areas and wants to have that flexibility.

I thought this Coasting thing, might be as great as everyone said when my Mom came to me and said, “I want a Coasting bike.” Long story short is I have been trying to get my Mom on a new bike for over three years! I can’t stand to see her on an old steel mountain bike. Makes me completely cringe when I see it, especially with the access she has to all the great stuff I sell. With all of her questioning, her own research and a call to Trek she wants a Trek Lime.

How Coasting came to be:

Shimano hired a research group to find out why people did or didn’t ride a bike and what they wanted when they did ride a bike. So along came the Coasting bike. Check out this link for more information on how they arrived at the final product.

Needless to say it looks like they may have gotten it right. This bike is light, easy and fun to ride. I’m interested to see the other styles of coasting bike but my gut reaction is that the Coasting revolution may get would be non riders out on the bike.

Stay tuned for more. When Mom gets her coasting bike I’ll have her write a review for you.

Currently I am running the Cannondale SI Carbon crankset in a compact, perfect for climbing. The shifting is a lot smother then your traditional triple crankset. Better yet you get away from the 30/42/52 tooth combination of the triple. For me it is awkward to switch between my 39/53 gearing on my Look that I am so use to and having a 42/52 middle and big chainring. It surprised me originally to feel the difference the 3 teeth made in the middle chainring. The transition is much better for me at least between the compact and the 39/53 gearing.

Hopefully the frameset will show up tomorrow so I can get a ride in this weekend. I need to get back on the bike. As of late it seems that I’ve been allowing my schedule to manage me rather then me managing my own schedule. Not a good habit if I want to meet the goals I have set for myself this year. More riding, weight loss, a double century and the climb that starts from Front Royal and is the first 40 miles of skyline drive. That’s all for now, I need to get back to work. Hope to see you on the road soon!

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