From riders rolled out of La Voulte-sur-Rhône for Stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and the brand new Trek Madone was featured beneath some of the Trek-Segafredo riders, including Toms Skujinš and Jasper Stuyven.
While at first, the bike appeared devoid of any mention of the Madone model name, rumors prior to the race and the bike’s clear aerodynamic intentions gave us all that clues Championships beneath Mads Pedersen and Milan-San Remo below Stuyven.
On closer inspection, the one-piece cockpit had the name of the famous French col – after which the bike is named – across its leading edge, confirming our suspicions. Given the finished, painted, and race-ready state of the bike, it’s not a stretch to assume that the official launch of the Madone is due imminently, perhaps in time for the ever-nearing Tour de France.
So with confirmation that Madone is coming, what can we deduce from the photos, and what do we know so far?
What do we know about the new Trek Madone?
The most noticeable aspect of the bike’s design is the wild-looking junction between the top tube, the seat tube and the seatstays. Thanks to the below images taken by Road.cc, we can see that, put simply, there’s a hole in the seat tube.
However, the intention of this hole becomes more apparent. The seat tube splits and forks outward to join the seatstays, and the seatstays continue in their direction, joining the top tube about three inches further ahead than the seat tube normally would. From here, the top tube juts backward, creating three inches of floating top tube. This then turns and points upward to create a continuation of the seat tube, and this is the seatpost fits into.
The point, presumably, is that the floating top tube – and thus the floating seat tube – allows a small degree of flexion to the saddle and turn of the rider, without losing stiffness and power transfer at the bottom bracket area.
The Madone – and indeed Trek as a brand – has never needed to adopt novel solutions to the problem of compliance on a bicycle. The outgoing Madone used a technology called IsoSpeed, which features an adjustable sliding damper on the underside of the curved top tube and a pivot point to allow the bike to flex to a rider-selected degree depending on the terrain.
IsoSpeed no longer appears to be in use, but in the images above, the word ‘IsoFlow’ can be seen printed inside this hole. Given its similarity to the previous term, we assume the “Iso” part of this related to the flex it offers, and predict the “Flow” part relating to the airflow it permits.
This leads us nicely on the aerodynamics of the new Madone, which will be a key selling point when it finally has aero bikes became a thing.
Looking at the side-on shot of Skujins descending, it’s clear that Trek has gone to town on deep tube sections. The head tube looks like the UCI’s boundaries on tube profiles, while the fork legs are similarly optimized.
Trek’s response to our request for information was the standard “We work with athletes to develop new products…” so long as we can assume the new Madone is more aerodynamic than its predecessor, it’s likely we’ll have any idea for the specifics of how much more until the company officially launches it.
Will the new Madone have disc brakes?
Yes, and only disc brakes. It’s probably not news to anyone at this stage, but Trek has been committed to disc brakes for about three years now, so we’re certain the disc only will be available.
Is there a new cockpit too?
As mentioned earlier, the Madone on which Trek-Segafredo is racing is fitted with a cockpit adorning the Madone wordmark. It is likely that a new cockpit will launch alongside the bike, and if history is anything to go by, we can predict it even with other Trek models, perhaps even with other bike brands.
Will the new Madone have a threaded bottom bracket?
The cycling industry has enough bottom bracket standards, and thankfully Trek seems to agree. From the images we can see, but given Tk’s be found here too.
What about new Bontrager wheels?
Will we see new wheels alongside the new Madone? We think not. When Trek launched the new Emonda in 2020, it comes with a new 37mm deep Bontrager Aeolus RSL wheels alongside it. In the two years since, it has added to that range with the 51, 62 and 75mm depths. Trek Segafredo’s riders appear to be using the existing wheels, so there’s nothing here to suggest an update.
Price and availability of the new Trek Madone
Trek’s existing Madone sits at an eyewatering £ 12,500 / $ 12,549.99 for the top-tier model shod with Dura-Ace Di2. Don’t expect the new model to be anything less than this.
Like most bikes, we believe you’ll be able to buy the new Madone as soon as it launches, but until that day comes, we can’t be sure how quickly it’ll arrive at your door. However, in-store purchases are likely to be available immediately after launch.