Trek has officially launched its brand new version of the Madone. Which will be the 8th generation of the bike. Trek claims it’s as aero as the Gen 7 Madone but now as lightweight as the Emonda. The new Madone will replace both bikes, so Trek joins the growing number of bike brands to abandon separate aero and lightweight offerings.
Ever since the new bike was first spotted under the pros at the start of 2024, its skinnier looks compared to the Gen 7 Madone generated intense speculation about whether it was a new Madone or a replacement for the Emonda.
Whilst the Gen 7 Madone was only launched two years ago, the lightweight Emonda is now four years old, so the bets were on for a new Emonda.
Actually, the new Gen 8 Madone replaces both the Gen 7 Madone and the Emonda in one lightweight aero package. Trek says that the new Madone sheds 320g from the Gen 7 Madone frameset, which in turn was already 300g lighter than its own Gen 6 predecessor.
It claims a 796g weight for a painted size ML Madone SLR frame and 350g for the fork, without added hardware such as the new UDH rear derailleur hanger. That puts the claimed full bike weight of a top-spec Madone SLR 9 AXS bike at exactly 7kg.
The lightweight makeover means that the Gen 8 Madone is now as light as the Emonda. At the same time, Trek says that it’s aero optimised the frameset where that’s most important, but thinned out the tube profiles from the Gen 7 bike where the aero gains are less, to allow it to shed the weight.
We headed to Spain for the new Madone's launch and you can read our first ride review here.
The aero tube profiles have had an upgrade too. Trek says that its new Full System Foil shapes have gone beyond Kammtail, offering better aerodynamics over a wider range of yaw angles thanks to a more rounded trailing edge in place of the sharper, squared-off edges of a Kammtail profile.
Wind tunnel testing suggested that the old Gen 7 Madone was faster than the Emonda on gradients up to 3 per cent when weight took over from aero as the dominant factor. The new Gen 8 frame is said to be faster than the Emonda on climbs up to 12 per cent, the steepest gradient tested.
As aero as the Gen 7 Madone
Trek says that the new bike is as fast as the Gen 7 Madone and 77 seconds faster per hour at 200 watts compared to the Emonda. The design optimises airflow for the bike-plus-rider while the ride position remains the same as on the Gen 7 bike.
Madone SLR models will also feature an updated Aero RSL integrated handlebar and stem. This bar features hoods that are 3cm narrower than the drops to help riders stay aero. It’s thicker in cross-section at the tops than the Gen 7 bike’s bars and more comfortable to hold, though it is still compatible with the old bike’s RCS headset design.
The new design raises the top of the bar/stem by 4mm, but Trek offers an aftermarket RCS Race Low bearing top cover if you want to revert to the Gen 7’s 4mm lower bar top height. There’s also a new Blendr accessory mount that’s lighter and can more easily be removed.
There are also new, aero-profiled 595ml water bottles and cages, although you can also fit round bottles into the cages.
Trek says that the RSL Aero bottles and cages save 3.7 watts at 45kph over standard round bottles and make the bike faster than riding without bottles. They can also be bought aftermarket if your bike needs an aero upgrade.
It’s a similar approach to that used by Cannondale on the latest SuperSix Evo, with that brand claiming that its bottles improve the SuperSix Evo’s aerodynamics.
Lower weight, more comfort
The top tier SLR-grade Madone is constructed using Trek’s latest 900 OCLV carbon, which it claims is up to 20 per cent stronger than the 800 OCLV carbon used in the Gen 7 Madone. A new moulding process and single-piece fabrication of the fork also allow Trek to save additional weight.
When Trek launched the Gen 7 Madone, a lot of the weight saving on that model came from the replacement of the Gen 6 bike’s adjustable IsoSpeed seatpost with a lighter non-adjustable IsoFlow system.
Trek said at the time that it made the Gen 7 seat mast as stiff as the Gen 6 bike on its stiffest setting.
With the new Gen 8 Madone, it’s increased the vertical compliance though, which it says is now up to 80 per cent greater than on the Gen 7 bike and 24 per cent greater than the Emonda. The new design is also lighter than the Gen 7 Isoflow.
Trek has amended its tube shapes across the size range so that the frame stiffness is more similar between sizes. A by-product is that XS and S size frames are now lighter, while it says that the frame’s aesthetics are now more proportionate across the size range.
The new Madone can fit 32mm tyres, the same as the Gen 7 model.
New sizing
With the new Gen 8 Madone Trek has rationalised the size range, with the new bike now offered in six sizes from XS to XL, as against the Gen 7’s eight sizes. Despite offering fewer sizes, Trek says that there’s less overlap between frame sizes, so that the Gen 8 Madone can actually fit a wider spread of rider heights.
The new size M replaces the old sizes 52 and 54, while the new size XL replaces the 62, but includes a taller seat mast. As with the Gen 7 bike, the seatpost wedge can be reversed to increase the range of saddle height adjustment.
The geometry across the range is similar to the Gen 7 Madone, although the frame stack is slightly higher. Rather than calling the geometry H1.5, as with the Gen 7 Madone, it’s now renamed Road Race Geo.
Madone Gen 8 specs and prices
Trek will sell the new Madone in two frame grades, SL and SLR. Both are offered at launch in four specs, with SRAM and Shimano options, as well as a frameset-only option.
The top-spec SLR bikes use the latest 900 Series OCLV carbon, the one-piece bar/stem and RSL Aero bottles and cages and are electronic groupset only. You can choose your own colours in Trek's Project One configurator as well as off-the-shelf colours.
The SL bikes are made using 500 Series OCLV carbon and have a separate bar and stem. They’re not available for Project One customisation and are only pre-built. You don’t get bottles or cages, but the frame is compatible with mechanical groupsets.
US prices for the Gen 8 Trek Madone range from $3,499.99 for the SL 5 up to $13,499.99 for the Madone SLR 9 AXS. That’s a $200 price hike from the top-spec Gen 7 bike, although that’s probably due to to the new Sram Red AXS groupset.
In the UK, that translates to an entry-level price of £3,250 with the top spec priced at £12,500. That's actually a £2,050 reduction from the UK list price of the Gen 7 Madone SLR 9 AXS bike – maybe brands are getting the message on pro-level Tour de France bike prices.
The Euro price spread is €3,499 to €13,999 and in Australia, prices range from AU$4,499.99 to AU$19,999.99 for the SLR 9 AXS.
