trek madone sl6 vs sl7

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2024 Trek Madone SL 7 review: This is the one to get

The flagship Madone is lighter and very slightly more aero, but also more than twice as expensive.

Second-tier models – ones that look the same, but use less-expensive materials and parts to lower the cost – typically aren’t nearly as exciting as their more premium cousins. But in the case of the Trek Madone SL vs. the Madone SLR, the difference in performance is so small – and the difference in cost so dramatic – that it’s hard not to consider the “lesser” version to be the one to get, even if you have the money for the flagship model.

The short of it: The same cutting-edge aerodynamic performance of Trek’s flagship Madone SLR, distilled into a much more affordable package. Good stuff:  Heaps lighter than before, tangibly speedy, surprisingly good ride quality, superb handling, lots of tire clearance, user-friendly two-piece cockpit, sharp lines. Bad stuff:  Polarizing IsoFlow aesthetics, poor weathersealing, narrow wheels and tires.

An aero primer

Trek went perhaps a little too far down the “aero and comfy” rabbit hole with the 6th-generation Madone, which was impressive in the wind tunnel and surprisingly comfortable to ride, but also among the heavier options in the category what with its complicated (and hefty) IsoSpeed pivoting seatmast design. With the latest iteration of the Madone launched last June, Trek supposedly improved the bike’s aerodynamic performance while also simplifying the structure, ditching IsoSpeed in favor of an even more radical-looking seat cluster configuration called IsoFlow.

In short, IsoFlow comprises a giant hole where the seat cluster would normally be. The seat tube stops just shy of its normal height, the seatstays bypass that area entirely and connect further forward on the top tube, and the semi-integrated seatmast is now cantilevered off the back of the top tube like the business end of an ice hockey stick.

Trek claims IsoFlow yields smoother airflow through that area, saves almost 150 g relative to the outgoing Madone (for the flagship SLR trim, at least), and – thanks to some clever carbon tuning in that area – also supposedly provides a better ride quality than you’d otherwise expect from such chunky frame proportions.

Trek has been one of the biggest proponents of Kamm-tail tube profiles since first using it on the Speed Concept way back in 2009, and those flat-backed shapes are very much alive and well on the latest Madone – if anything, they’re deeper than ever thanks to recent revisions in the UCI technical guidelines. The down tube, seat tube, seatstays, and fork blades are all more aggressively shaped than ever, and the head tube and cockpit areas are particularly sleek so as to keep air flowing cleanly over the carefully sculpted surfaces. 

The revised frame shape only accounts for about half of the new Madone’s claimed aerodynamic performance gains, however. The other half comes from the rider – or, more specifically, handlebars that have been radically narrowed by about 3 cm across the board in order to place the rider in a more aerodynamic position. 

Taking all of these factors together, Trek is touting some bold performance gains, saying the 7th-generation Madone frameset module (including the frame, fork, cockpit, and seatpost) is not only about 300 g lighter in total than the 6th-generation one, but also about 19 watts more efficient aerodynamically in a wind tunnel (at 45 km/h), which Trek says translates to a 60-second advantage per hour at that speed.

A single letter with small differences

All of those changes sound well and good, but keep in mind that when those announcements were made in June 2022, they only applied to the flagship Madone SLR models, whose retail prices start at US$8,000 / AU$11,800 / £7,600 / €8,200 (for a Shimano 105 Di2 build!) and top out at a whopping US$13,200 / AU$19,000 / £14,500 / €15,700 with a SRAM Red AXS groupset. More power to you if you can swing that kind of cash, but for most performance-minded riders, that’s just not in the cards. 

Trek has for years offered a less-expensive version in the Madone SL, but given how the 6th-generation Madone SLR was already overweight, the Madone SL was a veritable boat anchor. For example, a sample I tested a couple of years ago with a mid-range SRAM Force AXS wireless groupset and Bontrager’s reasonably light Aeolus Pro 51 wheels came in at a whopping 8.59 kg (18.94 lb), a tough pill to swallow, aero advantage or not.

Thankfully, the weight loss plan introduced with the Madone SLR now also carries over to the recently updated Madone SL. Despite the lower-grade carbon fiber blend here, claimed weight for a 56 cm Madone SL frame is now 1,200 g, plus 476 g for the matching fork. That’s still 208 g more than a comparable Madone SLR frameset, and hardly a featherweight given the selection of sub-800 g options now on the market, but still pretty good all things considered. If you take Trek’s aero claims at their word, those extra grams aren’t going to matter much at all against the stopwatch on most courses, and realistically speaking, the person considering a Madone these days will probably be more concerned about grams of drag.

Like with the previous Madone SL, this one again uses the exact same shape as the Madone SLR, so its aerodynamic performance should be identical, with one exception: the cockpit. The Madone SLR uses Trek’s latest one-piece carbon fiber handlebar/stem, but the Madone SL uses a more conventional two-piece setup that includes an aero-focused forged aluminum stem with a separate aero-shaped carbon fiber handlebar. And whereas the hose routing on the Madone SLR is fully internal, it’s hidden – but still largely accessible – on the Madone SL, with the brake hoses peeking out just a bit underneath the bar clamp before ducking away again into a plastic shroud bolted to the underside of the stem. 

Trek says this equates to a six-second hit to the Madone SL’s aerodynamic performance relative to the Madone SLR. Don’t worry; I’ll get to that soon enough.

Trek also says there’s a negligible difference in chassis stiffness – less than 5% – and ride quality shouldn’t take much of a hit, either. If anything, the lower grade of carbon fiber in the Madone SL might even make that bike more comfortable than the Madone SLR, not less.

Aside from the different carbon fiber blend and the two-piece cockpit, the rest of the feature list is identical, including Trek’s slightly modified T47 oversized and threaded bottom bracket shell, a built-in chain keeper, and the brand’s now-signature semi-integrated seatmast. Unlike true integrated seatposts, though, this one doesn’t have to be cut and will still squeeze into most standard travel cases, and Trek has gone to great lengths to ensure a proper rider fit. If the included proprietary seatpost doesn’t quite accommodate your position, Trek also offers a longer option – each with 65 mm of total height adjustment – and both are available in 0 mm and 20 mm offsets. Given the rather goofy component dimensions, Trek thankfully has a broad range of dedicated front and rear accessory mounts to accommodate stuff like lights and computers, too.

Both versions are also offered in eight sizes: impressive for a mainstream brand.

Otherwise, the differences between the Madone SL and Madone SLR simply boil down to more economical build kits. 

My Madone SL 7 test sample is the nicer of the two complete Madone SL bikes Trek offers currently, and comes equipped with a complete Shimano Ultegra Di2 2×12 wiredless electronic groupset, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 carbon fiber clincher wheels wrapped with 25 mm-wide Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite tires, a Trek RCS Pro forged aluminum stem, Bontrager RSL Aero carbon fiber handlebar, and a Bontrager Aeolus Comp snub-nosed saddle. 

Actual weight for my 52 cm sample is 8.01 kg (17.66 lb), without pedals or accessories, and retail price is US$6,500 / AU$10,300 / £7,500 / €8,000.

You know what feels fast? Money left over in my pocket

Having fun on a road bike largely revolves around going fast – and holy cow, is the Madone SL fun in that respect.

For however many full-blown aero road bikes I’ve ridden over the years, it’s still shocking every time I get on a particularly good one and can so immediately feel – feel! – how much faster they are. It’s startlingly easy to hit – and hold – high speeds, but it’s also tangibly easier to just casually cruise if that’s what you feel like doing that day. The beauty is that the option to go fast is always there if you want it, and even after however many years I’ve done this, that thrill never goes away.

Those huge tube sections and all that material are also put to good use in terms of chassis stiffness. It’s wonderfully responsive when you lay down the watts, and it feels every bit like the race bike it’s supposed to be. High-speed jumps are where the Madone SL excels given that aerodynamic shape, but the combination of that stiffness and the new weight loss make it a surprisingly good partner on steep climbs, too. That rigidity also feels nicely balanced from tip to tail with no section of the frame coming across as more flexible than another. The Madone SL obviously doesn’t feel as light heading uphill as something truly feathery, but sub-8 kg is still pretty darn light, and if speed is truly what you’re after, the aerodynamic benefits should more than make up the difference. 

I fully expected my test sample’s 36 cm-wide bars (at the hoods) to feel very weird – and to be fair, they did, but literally only for the first few minutes, after which I almost completely forgot about it. I did miss the additional leverage of my usual 40 cm-wide bars on particularly steep climbs, but that was about it. Consider my eyes opened.

That the Madone SL efficiently cuts through the air and feels fast doing so shouldn’t be a big surprise. The old one was known to be very aerodynamic, and this one is supposedly a big step up from there. But a big aspect of being fast on the road is also being comfortable, and more specifically, that you are able to achieve and maintain an efficient position while also producing a lot of power.

And that’s where the Madone SL’s two-piece cockpit comes in.

One-piece cockpits may look cool, but I don’t always get along with them. Even if the bar width and stem length is correct, sometimes the bend just isn’t my favorite, or the cross-section doesn’t feel right in my hands, or the drop dimension isn’t quite there, or whatever. More often than not, I find myself having to adapt to the bar since there aren’t any other options available instead of the other way around. 

The two-piece setup on the Madone SL may be slower than the fancy (and lighter, and far more expensive) one-piece cockpit on the Madone SLR, but being able to easily adjust and tune the front end to my liking is something I find invaluable. In the case of the Madone SL, the stock bar actually worked quite well for me: an appropriately deep drop with a semi-anatomic bend, a nice flat platform behind the hoods to rest your wrists, and tops that are aero-profiled but still refreshingly comfortable to hold. 

The stem, on the other hand, was a hair too short given my shorter-legs-longer-torso proportions. On a one-piece setup – particularly one with fully internal routing – even a simple adjustment like that on an internally routed one-piece setup is literally hours of work. And while Trek may offer the fancier one-piece setup in fourteen different size combos, you still have to buy the thing (unless you go through Trek’s Project One custom program and pick the right one from the start). But on the Madone SL, it took me all of ten minutes (and many dealers would likely be willing to swap the stem for you). Oh, you also want to try lowering the stem for a bit before cutting the steerer? Just stack some totally normal round spacers on top for a bit. Brilliant. 

Such simple things shouldn’t be so refreshing, but these days, they are.

Speaking of comfort, the Madone SL rides much better than I’d expected. While the ride quality is on the firmer side, it’s very well damped and also effectively takes the edge off of bigger impacts. Tactile feedback is still superb, too, and it’s striking how well the front tire communicates grip levels through the bars without feeling harsh. And as much as I enjoyed the cushiness of the old IsoSpeed system, I have to admit that there seems to be something to Trek’s claims about how the IsoFlow mast flexes over bumps. I’m not sure what it’d feel like under someone appreciably heavier than my modest 72 kg (159 lb), or how well that sort of cantilevered arrangement will hold up over time, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t impressively comfy.

If you are after an even softer ride, don’t forget there’s room for tires with a measured width up to 33 mm – or even more if you’re willing to stomach the risk of running less than 4 mm of clearance at the chainstays.

Handling is another bright spot, as the Madone SL feels much like every other Madone I’ve ridden over the years. The steering geometry is quick and incredibly intuitive without ever feeling twitchy or nervous. It initiates turns with but a flick of the wrists and just a little tilt of your hips, falls naturally toward the apex, and then readily snaps back upright when it comes time to rocket out of the corner, never fighting you at all along any point of the process. High-speed stability is fantastic, too, with not a hint of drama – just relax and keep it pointed where you want to go. That magical combination is something I’ve long enjoyed about the Madone, and I hope Trek never changes it.

One change I’m quite fond of, however, is the new Madone SL’s edgier aesthetic. Gone is the incongruent mix of shapes on the previous model in favor of a more cohesive assortment of mostly straight edges. I’m particularly keen on how the seatstays, down tube, top tube, and chainstays seem to form a perfect parallelogram in profile. There’s beauty in the symmetry. 

That all said, it’s hard for me to ignore some of the Madone SL’s quirks, too.

Trek has engineered a surprising amount of saddle height adjustment considering the relative stubbiness of that integrated seatmast – not to mention the fact you never need to take a hacksaw to your brand-new bike. But the gap between the seatpost and seatmast base is big and unsightly, and the exposed slots further down are begging to suck in whatever’s flying off of your rear tire. 

Trek says that area is entirely sealed off from the rest of the frame so you theoretically shouldn’t be regularly filling your bottom bracket area with gnarly road spray. “You could drain any water that may get in there by tipping the bike upside down, and the material is carbon so there wouldn’t be any damage if water got in,” I was told. Ok, but wouldn’t it be better if it wasn’t so easy for water to get in there in the first place? And sure, the main parts are carbon fiber, but let’s not forget all of the metal hardware that fixes those pieces in place – hopefully not permanently someday. Trek has long demonstrated the ability to mold rubber bits in places like wire and hose ports, so it’s a mystery to me why the seatpost area is left so comparatively unfinished.

Speaking of sealing, just as I’ve noticed on other recent Trek road bikes, the upper headset bearing is perilously exposed to the elements. In fact, there’s enough of a gap between the headset cover and the head tube that you can very easily see the shiny (for now) silver of the upper bearing’s outer race. Trek may very well be using stainless bearings (I didn’t bother to ask), but even if so, that only applies to the races – not the bearing balls – and given the enormous cost and hassle of servicing headset bearings with fully internal routing, I want to see headset bearings be more protected, not less. 

“We’ve had a high volume of bikes in the field with this same RCS-stem compatible headset bearing cover with similar clearance to the frame for some time (Gen 4 Domane SLR and SL, for example) and have not seen an uptick in the amount of headset service reported by Trek shops,” explained Trek bike product marketing coordinator Jake Glahn.

Consider the old shop mechanic in me unconvinced.

Build kit breakdown

Trek has outfitted the Madone SL 7 with solid, no-frills component mix and I have few complaints.

I’ve extolled Shimano’s latest Ultegra Di2 12-speed wiredless groupset several times in the past already, and my opinions haven’t changed. Shift performance is superb front and rear, lever ergonomics are excellent, and the brakes are strong and mostly silent, and with superb lever feel. Riders in particularly hilly environments might want to consider adjusting the 52/36-tooth chainrings and/or the 11-30T cassette, but Shimano’s use of a long pulley cage across the board for this latest generation of Ultegra Di2 at least lessens the financial hit.

The Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 carbon wheels share the same rim profile as the higher-end Aeolus RSL 51 – just with different carbon materials – and the DT Swiss 350-based hubs aren’t quite as nice as the RSL version’s DT Swiss 240-based one, either. As such, they’re essentially a wash in terms of aerodynamics, and while the nearly 200 g weight penalty can be noticeable when sprinting or climbing, it’s not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. 

Perhaps more questionable are the Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite tires. The tires themselves are perfectly reasonable for everyday use: decent rolling resistance, reassuring grip (at least in dry conditions), seemingly good puncture protection, surprisingly comfortable ride quality. But with even top road pros moving to 28s and beyond , the choice of 25 mm-wide casings here seems a little behind-the-times, even though the actual inflated width is just a hair over 28 mm. 

Bumping up a size would enhance the ride quality even further while also improving cornering grip, and there’s certainly room in the frame and fork to spare. The reduced weight of this latest Madone SL was clearly a big story for Trek, though, and my guess is the product manager didn’t want to add any more. But another likely explanation is the shape of the Aeolus Pro 51 rim, which is currently aerodynamically optimized around that tire size. My hunch is the next generation of Aeolus wheel grows in width, at which point I’m guessing the tire size will grow as well. 

“25 mm tires are what’s fastest on our current lineup of 23 mm internal-width rims,” Glahn said. “Further, 25 mm tires on 23 mm internal-width rims are what was used in the wind tunnel testing for the Gen 7 IsoFlow Madone, and therefore contribute to the basis of our aero claims for this platform.”

As for the Bontrager finishing kit, the Aeolus Comp saddle is one of my favorites: a sort of hybrid between a Specialized Power and a Pro Stealth, mixing the overall profile of the former with the wider nose of the latter. It seems hard at first, but the high-density padding offers excellent support that arguably gets better as the hours tick by. 

I know I’ve already mentioned this, but the Bontrager RSL Aero handlebar was a pleasant surprise. The narrow width is initially jarring, but the overall shape is very comfortable, and there’s excellent wrist clearance when you’re in the drops. Kudos to Bontrager for not merely following trends and slapping a shallow drop on this thing, too. It’s an aero bar meant for performance riding, and so the 80 mm reach and 124 mm drop strike me as just about right. I do wish Bontrager had included more room in the middle for a computer mount, though. Unless you’re running something with a particularly narrow clamp, you’re stuck with some sort of stem-based computer mount.

It’s a winner for me

I haven’t always been a fan of the Madone SL in recent years. Although I loved the aerodynamic performance, it was just too darn heavy. Now that Trek has lopped so much weight off of it, though, it’s not only become much more appealing in my view, but also arguably the one to have if only for that more livable two-piece cockpit design.

If you’re on a budget, yes, there’s also the Madone SLR 6 that comes with Shimano’s new 105 Di2 wiredless electronic groupset, which would more closely align with the old “buy the best frame you can afford” mindset. The complete bike is about 250 g lighter overall than the Madone SL 7 despite the groupset being 130 g heavier, comes with the same wheels, shift quality would be virtually identical, and if the mid-compact gearing of the Madone SL 7 seems a little too tall for your liking, the 105 setup includes a friendlier 1:1 ratio for clawing your way uphill. 

But the braking performance of 105 isn’t quite as good as Ultegra, you can’t add remote shifters, and the supplemental upper buttons on Ultegra and Dura-Ace that are so handy for things like controlling your computer are missing, too. And then there’s that potential fit and comfort issue of that Madone SLR’s one-piece front end I’ve already mentioned, plus the Madone SLR 6 is still US$1,500 more expensive. 

Get the best frameset you can afford, sure. But when the second-tier one is this close, I know which one I’d be buying.

More information can be found at www.trekbikes.com .

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Trek Madone Gets More Affordable with All-New SL Gen 7 and RSL Aero Bar

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Want to go fast for less? Trek’s new Madone SL Gen 7 looks to deliver SLR performance at a (much) lower price point. The new Madone SL Gen 7 frame looks nearly identical to the SLR, with only a few tweaks and a brand new RSL Aero Bar.

The question is: Do you want a Trek Madone SL Gen 7 for $2550 less than the SLR Gen 7, or do you really need to save 300g?

Trek Madone SL Gen 7 — Frame details: 

The Trek Madone SL Gen 7 has (almost) all the bells and whistles of the Madone SLR and is available at nearly half the price. 

What are the bells and whistles?  The Trek Madone SL Gen 7 frame takes cues from the Madone SLR, including the new IsoFlow design. This unique hole in the frame’s seat tube replaced the IsoSpeed damping system on the previous Gen 6 version. 

The new IsoFlow system still provides some vertical compliance, but more impressively, it eliminates excess weight and is a claimed 60 secs faster per hour over the Gen 6 model. 

The slippery frame combines a refined Kammtail (Kammtail Virtual Foil) shaping for the tubes and a new narrower handlebar. Trek claims the new narrower bar/stem saves 9.7w alone, not including the frame aerodynamics.

The Madone SLR arrives with the RSL bar stem combo, and the Trek Madone SL Gen 7 mimics that with an all-new RSL Aero bar. 

All-New Bontrager RSL Aero Bar

The new Trek RSL Aero bar is a narrow road bar aimed at creating a slippery front end without the fixed limitation positioning of a bar/stem combo.

It’s shallow (124mm drop) with an 80mm reach and a slight flare in the drops. The top of the RSL Aero bar is narrow, 3cm narrower at the tops vs. the drops.

Trek measures the RSL Aero bar from the tops, so finding your size can be tricky if looking aftermarket. For example, a 42cm wide bar is 42cm wide at the drops, which means the tops where the shifter mount are 39cm.   

Q: So What’s Different? A: Carbon 

The new Trek Madone SL Gen 7 uses 500 Series OCLV carbon fiber, Trek’s middle-tier carbon. The SLR uses 800 series OCLV carbon for maximum weight reduction. You can also find the more robust 500 series on the Trek CheckPoint SL and Domane SL.  

The frame bits remain the same (excluding the carbon) and they include a T47 threaded bottom bracket and proprietary seatpost. The seatpost wedge assembly is reversible to allow for a larger range of saddle height adjustment on a single seatpost. The stock seatpost is a 0° offset, but aftermarket 20mm offset versions are available from Trek. 

Trek Madone SL Gen 7 Geometry 

The Trek Madone SL Gen 7 uses the same race-oriented H1.5 geometry as the SLR. H1.5 is Treks Pro-Tour level race geometry, but it’s not point-and-shoot. Most roadies should find the steering and corning precise but manageable. 

The sizing covers an extensive range, starting with 47cm and growing to 60cm. The seat tube shaping can make for some challenges, so there are two different seat masts, one with a length of 150mm (short) and 200mm (Tall). The geometry chart above shows the minimum and maximum saddle rail height with both options for every size. Bike sizes 47-54 will ship with the short post installed, and bikes 56-60cm will get the tall. 

Trek Madone SL Gen 7 Specs: 

The new Trek Madone SL Gen 7 comes in two 12-speed Shimano builds: SL7 with Ultegra and SL 6 with 105. Though the groups and price structure change accordingly, a few specs remain the same throughout. SL 7 and 6 come with the cockpit, the new Bontrager RSL Aero-OCLV Carbon bar, and the RCS Pro – 7° stem.  

For tires, both roll on Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 120 tpi, 700x25c treads. The 25c tires are narrow compared to most modern road specs but ride well after setting up tubeless. The R3 Hardcase tires are a great mix of high performance with real-world puncture protection, though we prefer the 28c version. 

For saddles, the Madone SL Gen 7 comes with the Bontrager Aeolus Comp. We reviewed the Aeolus a while back, and it remains one of our favorites for road riding.

The Aeolus Comp uses steel rails, making it more cost-effective in the spec but keeping the same shape as the Aeolus Pro and Elite — Plus you can use all your Bontrager BlendR compatible accessories.

Trek Madone SL 6 Gen 7 

• Groupset: Shimano 105 Di2 12-speed, 105 50/34 chainset and Shimano 11-30, 12-speed cassette
• Wheels : Bontrager Aeolus Elite 50 , OCLV Carbon, Tubeless Ready
• Weight: 8.40 kg / 18.52 lbs* Size 56
• Paint: Deep carbon smoke + Crimson

Trek Madone SL 7 Gen 7

• Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2 12-speed, Ultegra 52/36 chainset and Ultrgra 11-30, 12-speed cassette
• Weight: 8.00 kg / 17.80 lbs Size 54 (tested, real weight out of the box)
• Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 , OCLV Carbon, Tubeless Ready
• Paint: Dark carmine red + Plasma

Trek Frameset SL7 

• Frame, fork, and seat post only 
• Color: Dark carmine red

Trek Madone SL Gen 7 Pricing:

• Trek Madone SL 6 Gen 7: $5,499.99
• Trek Madone SL 7 Gen 7: $6,499.99
• Trek Madone SL Gen 7 Frameset: $3,799.99

Trek Madone SL Gen 7 Availability: 

The new Trek Madone SL Gen 7 is available online and from your local Trek Dealer. The Madone SL Gen 7 is not yet available for Trek Project One paint, but stay tuned… 

Look back for a full review as we take the Trek Madone SL7 Gen 7 through the paces this fall. 

Jordan Villella is the Racing Tech Editor for BikeRumor.com, specializing in cross-country mountain, gravel, road, and cyclocross. He has written about bicycles and bike culture for over fifteen years with no signs of stopping.

Before BikeRumor, Jordan raced professionally and wrote for MTBR and the now-defunct Dirt Rag Magazine. He’s covered the World Championships, World Cups, and everything in between — where he loves to report what people are riding.

Based in Pittsburgh, PA,  Jordan coaches cyclists of all abilities with  Cycle-Smart ; you can find him racing bikes around North America and adventuring with his family.

For an inside look at his review rides follow him on Strava .

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Could you possibly expand on the 300g increase in weight between SL and SLR options?

Are you referencing a frame-only figure or comparing similarly equipped completed bikes? As such, does it include the proprietary seatpost, or handlebar/stem – none of this is known from your article.

Whatever the case, a listed frame weight would add a lot of useful info to this article.

300g must be the frameset. According to the Trek website, the difference between an complete Ultegra-level SL and SLR gen-7 Madone is 0.52 kg.

I second this question!

Were working on getting some frame weights, thanks!

We’re really testing the limits of the word “affordable”

Road cycling is now purely for rich white men these days. Not like back when Lance was winning and people from all sorts of socioeconomic groups got excited and would buy a trek 1.1 to do group rides. Now it’s all people on 5000+ dollar bikes scowling in pastel kit who show up to the ride in their leased Audi. I have a BMW so I’m superior to them though.

There are plenty of very competent aluminum bikes available for a fraction of what this costs, similar to the Trek 1.1 you cite. I agree with Tom below, if you think all road cycling is white men on $5k+ plus bikes then you’re probably not a participant yourself.

Ummm… Caucasians rank pretty far down in a list of ethnicities in the US ranked by household income.

Agreed, though I somewhat applaud Trek’s effort to make the new Madone SL at least more competitive price-wise. I could be wrong but a similarly spec’d Madone SL 7 undercuts Giant’s Propel Advanced SL & Specialized’s Tarmac SL8 Pro by at least $1500 or more.

Still significantly higher than Canyon’s mid-tier Aeroad.

hey, if you want to have instant gratification with the latest hardware, be prepared to pay for it. My road bike cost me $4500, my last one about the same. Just be patient, look for deals, buy used stuff where possible, and it can get done for not an insane amount of money

Applause for a slipper cockpit without the limitations of one-piece bar/stem combos (although those do look purty).

Generalize much? you boys obviously don’t get out much. My big group ride is majority black/hispanic, with a mix of professionals, landscapers, contractors, bus drivers etc.

Yeah, one has to wonder if the commenter that implied that cycling is full of racists is even a cyclist.

FYI the spec for the tires are nontubeless. Whoever is riding the bike better have a good life insurance policy.

If you’re the type that builds custom (because like building a pc it saves money), the 300g is worth $800

If you’re building with new parts, building a frame set up is usually more expensive.

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Review: The New Trek Madone Is Extra Smooth and Still Very Fast

The emonda dies and the trek madone is once again the all-around race bike, but all i can ask is how can a bike this fast be this comfortable.

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• Incredibly comfortable.
• Project One build customization.
• Clever aero cage system with real benefit.
• Size specific ride tuning.
• Weighs within 40 grams of previous Emonda.
• Faster than previous Madone.
• High quality outfront mount.
• Power meter included with SRAM builds.
• Stiff when standing.
• Universal derailleur hanger.
• Narrow handlebar diameter as it exists the controls.
• Smooth ride lacks engagement.

Get a free Giordana cycling jersey when you subscribe to Velo with Outside+! It’s our way of celebrating the 2024 Road World Championships in Zurich. Includes free shipping. Hurry, ends Sept. 29. >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Join now .

The Trek Madone is one of the most recognizable modern race bikes on the market today.

It came to market in 2003 with a name pulled from a French climb and was quickly synonymous with winning under Lance Armstrong. Those were the early days of carbon fiber and long before aero was everything.

Although the tubes used carbon, they were still mostly round and the Madone was Trek’s do-everything race bike. In 2016, everything changed.

Although the Madone had added aero details steadily since around 2012, weight had remained important. Then the Emonda came to market as a climber’s bike with weight as the ultimate goal. The new bike gave the Madone a new freedom. Aero was everything, weight didn’t matter, and the 2016 Trek Madone was completely different.

Today, eight years later, everything changes again. The Trek Madone is returning to its roots as an all-around race bike and the Emonda is disappearing.

Trek will tell you this is purely because of innovation but it’s largely a result of the UCI keeping the minimum bike weight (6.8kg/15 pounds) unchanged. More and more brands have managed to hit the minimum weight without sacrificing aero performance. The Emonda is no longer needed to offer what the Madone can’t — at least so long as the UCI minimum weight remains the same.

To understand what that means, my latest bike review is the updated Gen 8 Trek Madone I’ve been riding for close to a month now. I tested a top-spec Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS and what I found is that the Emonda disappearing is only a small footnote in the details of this bike. Nearly everything about the 2025 model year Trek Madone is new and the result is a bike unlike anything else.

As a final goodbye to the bike, I attempted to take it on a 230-mile trip to the beach and back. Things didn’t quite work out as planned, but my time with the Trek Madone was spent marveling at how smooth and comfortable it is. If you are looking for a new road bike this summer, keep reading to see what works and what doesn’t on the latest Madone.

Quick hits: standout details of the Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS

• More aero than a Gen 7 Madone and nearly as light as the Emonda.
• For that reason the Emonda is leaving the Trek lineup.
• Comfort is the most noticeable part of the ride experience.
• There’s a high quality outfront mount.
• Power meter is included with SRAM builds.
• Aero cages will take standard bottles.
• Trek Project One allows you to get the exact bike you want.
• Sizing changes from numbers to T-shirt style of small, medium, etc.

Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS frame details

The Gen 8 Trek Madone, is an attempt by Trek to turn back the clock. The Emonda came to market as a solution for a problem. Now there’s a better solution and Trek is recombining the Madone and the Emonda. The question is, can you do that without losing anything?

To answer that, Trek started by looking to add aerodynamics to the Emonda. Pretty quickly it was clear that a weight first focus wouldn’t cut it. You can add aerodynamics to a lightweight frame but it’s not as difficult as it once was to match the UCI minimum weight. A brand either has to blow past the UCI weight limit, ala the Specialized Aethos , or make an aero bike just light enough.

Having once again proven that, Trek started expanding the possibilities. Instead of a new Emonda, the goal was now to create a bike that was faster than both the Emonda and the Madone on any gradient between zero and 12 percent.

To get there, Trek developed a pair of algorithms that would both develop cross section shapes and test them. You can think of it as a brute force attack on aerodynamics and it allowed a speed of testing that would otherwise be impossible. This process led to a new shape called “Pareto” that’s more square than previously thought efficient. It minimizes weight while maximizing aerodynamics and it provides a range of options.

With that in mind, the next stage of development was to use those new building blocks to create a bike. Some of the shapes identified were lighter, some more aero, and the team used a combination of CFD and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to find the best places for different shapes. Instead of simply trying to use the most aero option at every opportunity, Trek instead takes a system approach the brand is calling “Full System Foil.”

The idea here is that air flows at different speeds around different parts of the bike. Interactions at the front of the bike, or with the rider, sometimes slow it down and sometimes speed it up. Knowing this means different solutions are needed in different places. A chunky downtube that’s lighter and less aero makes sense because the front wheel slows the air. This slower air means low-drag shapes are less important for the downtube. At the same time, the legs of the rider actually speed up the airflow as it passes through. For that reason the area where you’d normally find a seat tube and post benefits from aero shapes and Trek uses the isoFlow design with aero shapes for the seat mast and post.

The last example Trek gives is the new Aero RSL Road integrated bar/stem. This is another piece that’s actually slower if you look at it in isolation. That increased drag is intentional though. According to Trek, the “wake of the thicker handlebar slightly reduces drag on the pedaling legs by slowing down the air in front of them.” Given that a rider’s legs are a bigger drag contributor, the net effect is a gain.

Overall, those little details are the point. Each little aero detail adds up and Trek quotes a 0.1 watt saving at 22 mph for the Madone Gen 8 vs Gen 7. If that sounds small, it is — but a win is a win and the numbers compared to the old Madone aren’t that important anyway. The place where you see bigger numbers is when compared to the Emonda. That comparison shows an 11.3 watt advantage at 22 mph while also dropping the weight to a 36 gram penalty for the vastly more aero bike. If you are curious, there’s also a savings of 322 grams for the frame and fork when compared to the Gen 7 Madone.

Trek Madone SLR Geometry

Although the various geometry options disappeared before this generation, that continues. There’s no longer a reference to various names and it’s the same as the previous h1.5. There’s also less sizes covering more range with a move from eight options, labeled using the seat tube length, down to six options labeled XS-XL. As you move up and down those sizes, Trek is offering size-specific tube shapes to go with them. Smaller and larger bikes will now have better balanced stiffness, better aesthetics, and actual wind tunnel testing.

Builds and pricing

Frame: 900 Series OCLV Carbon, Full System Foil tube shaping, IsoFlow seat tube, RCS Headset System, electronic-only routing, removable aero chainkeeper, T47 BB, flat mount disc, UDH, 142x12mm thru axle

Fork: Madone Gen 8 full carbon, tapered carbon steerer, internal brake routing, flat mount disc, 12x100mm chamfered thru axle

Shared with every build option: T47 bottom bracket standard, RSL Aero Bottle and Cage system, UDH (universal derailleur hanger), 32 mm max tyre clearance

Frame: 500 Series OCLV Carbon, Full System Foil tube shaping, IsoFlow seat tube, RCS Headset System, electronic or mechanical routing, removable aero chainkeeper, T47 BB, flat mount disc, UDH, 142x12mm thru axle

Shared with every build option: T47 bottom bracket standard, UDH (universal derailleur hanger), 32 mm max tyre clearance

Trek Madone build details

One of the innovations that comes to the Gen 8 Trek Madone is the new full carbon one-piece fork. The same fork comes on every model of the bike but there’s also an updated 900 series OCLV carbon only available for the SLR builds. Along with the new carbon, the SLR builds also bring the addition of the one-piece bar and stem, electronic only groupset compatibility, and the aero bottle system. If you do decide to start with an SL build, the bar/stem and the aero bottle system are available as aftermarket accessories.

Among the build options you will also find customization options. If you prefer a frameset only, there’s one available in both carbon options. If you’d rather have a complete build but you want to customize the details, check out Project One. If you, like me, prefer better climbing gears and a 1:1 ratio, you could change the gearing that comes with your bike as well as any other sizing details. You can also adjust components up or down and there’s plenty of paint options. Depending on budget you can stick to picking a simple color scheme for no up-charge or take a look at the Project One ICON series premium paint schemes. Launching with the bike is a new option in that lineup called Chroma Interstellar.

Ride experience

Sometimes testing doesn’t go according to plan. My plan with this bike was to cap off more than a month of riding with it by doing a roughly 230-mile ride from my house to the coast and back. I’d written headlines talking about spending 15-hours (just a guess) on it and I’d prepared the bike. After 10 miles, my riding partner and I collided, the bike went down, and the UDH broke. The ride was over. I could hide that but I think there’s value in what it says about the Trek Madone Gen 8 even if it didn’t go off as planned.

The idea of the trip came to me because of how this bike felt. From the very first moment I swung my leg over it, I was immediately blown away by how smooth it is. The terrible pavement as I leave my neighborhood is nearly imperceptible on the Madone. As I went over a rough wooden bridge on a later ride I realized that it was actually a moment I could attack as my buddy slowed. At one point I even started to wonder how well it would do off-road on its max 32 mm tires.

I initially worried that it was smooth because it had a lot of flex but as soon as you stand, you know that’s not the case. My notes from those early rides are all questions trying to get to the bottom of when it feels stiff vs compliant. The more I tested, the more amazed I was with the dual nature of the latest Madone.

If you cruise with it, it’s smooth and comfortable. If you push it, the bike responds. Stand to sprint and it feels like a different bike. When it’s time to climb, the 6.9kg (as measured ready to ride minus pedals) and stiff frame are willing partners. This dual nature is backed up with a comfortable riding position as well.

Like with the Enve Melee , holding the tops puts you somewhat upright. Trek counters the upright position with the Trek Aero RSL Road integrated bar/stem that uses a proven trick of simply being narrow. Size it like other bars on the market and you’ll notice narrower hoods that provide a big aero upgrade. I tend to find this unnoticeable and, given it’s faster, that’s a good thing. The only detail I would love to see addressed is the narrow, rounded, nature of the bar immediately behind the controls. If this was my bike, I’d want to add a bit more padding right there.

As far as the rest of the finishing kit goes, there’s not a single detail I can complain about. Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 TLR Disc Road Wheel shrugged off crosswinds and felt fast. The Aero bottles are very usable plus offer an easy 3ish watts savings depending on speed (3.7 watts at 45 km/h) and I love the outfront mount. That’s something I often complain about because it can be such an annoyance when it’s not right, but this time Trek nailed it. Even the included saddle is great and actually a piece I’ve used on other bikes a number of times over the years. If any of those details, including specifics like gearing, aren’t quite right for you, then Project One will fix it without issue.

The Gen 8 Trek Madone is the kind of bike I want to share with you. When I packed it up to head to the beach, I swapped out the aero bottles for a set of HydraPak Breakaway+ 30oz bottles (with the filter swapped for standard tops) and it just worked without issue. Then I added the light mount and attached an Outbound Lighting Detour . Again, everything just worked.

That idea of things just working is what I look for in a bike. Trek wants to talk about smashing an aero bike and a climbing bike together but that’s only part of the story. The Madone is so comfortable, smooth, and usable that Trek is really offering one bike to cover all of your needs. If you want to do some kind of huge ride, that’s a five-minute swap from fast bike to long distance bike. If you want to take a bike out climbing grab this one. If you have a fast and flat day, the Madone works there too.

However you decide to use it, Trek thought through all the little details. Creating a good quality outfront mount is a small thing that has a big impact on your experience of riding a bike, Trek nailed that for you. There’s aero bottles but they are good for drinking water and you can also use standard bottles if you need to. You can go fast or slow over rough or smooth pavement and the Gen 8 Trek Madone is a capable partner. If there’s anything you want changed, Trek makes it easy to customize your build. Even the builds with included power meter are part of the picture. Nothing ever feels cheap and, sadly, that’s not always true even on a bike this expensive.

The only thing that kept sticking in my mind during this test was whether I wanted a bike this smooth all the time. The first time I took it out I’d just gotten off my Look 795 Blade RS while testing the Specialized Roval Rapide CLX II wheels. The Trek is just as fast, I actually matched my fastest time, but it doesn’t feel as fast. The Look is a visceral ride with controls that are two inches lower. It’s not smooth, it requires a good stretch before and after a ride, and the combination of those wheels and the Hope RX4+ brakes make for a lot of noises. When you ride that bike, you feel like you are pulling the performance out of it. The Trek Madone is just as fast but it lacks all the drama. Is that a good thing?

Would you prefer a bike that’s borderline uncomfortable but very engaging or a bike that’s precise and smooth but feels a little less heroic? If you want a go fast bike that can do anything you ask, no drama included, check out the latest Trek Madone.

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Trek Madone SL6 Disc review

The Madone scoops our aero road Bike of the Year award

David Caudery / Immediate Media

Warren Rossiter

Awesome ride; racy handling

A bit weighty

The major issue with making cutting-edge aero bikes is that it’s expensive to recoup the huge development costs. So how has Trek managed to squeeze the Madone chassis replete with IsoSpeed rear suspension into this price category?

• Bike of the Year 2020: how we tested
• Bike of the Year 2020 awards

The answer lies in the front-end as Trek has done away with the expensive integrated bar and stem system and replaced it with a more cost-effective combination of alloy Bontrager Pro stem and Aero VR-CF handlebar.

Cable integration, however, is still tidy because Trek has designed a set of headset spacers and top cap that still route all the cables and hydraulic hoses down the head tube in front of the steerer.

Bike of the Year 2020

The Trek Madone SL6 Disc is part of our annual Bike of the Year test and our Aero Road Bike of the Year winner.

Head to our Bike of the Year hub for the full list of winners, categories and shortlisted bikes, as well as the latest reviews – or read our behind-the-scenes feature on how we tested Bike of the Year 2020 .

The frame is designed around Trek’s KVF tube profiles (Kammtail Virtual Foil), which looks like a shortened aero dynamic wing cross-section with the long tail section chopped, ‘cheating’ the air into believing it’s a long airfoil, making for a less turbulent path through the air.

The idea behind dropping seatstays on modern bike design is two-fold: it minimises the stays, thus reducing drag, and it allows the seat tube and seatpost to have more unsupported length, which allows flex.

Trek with the unique design of the Madone and its IsoSpeed back-end means it doesn’t have to drop the stays for comfort or minimise the size of the stays for flex because IsoSpeed isolates the seat tube from the stays and top tube.

The freedom of the seat tube to move fore and aft is controlled by an elastomer. The tension in the system is adjustable by undoing the Allen head bolt on the damper and the Allen head bolt on the underside of the top tube, then pushing the seat tube forward and sliding the adjuster to your desired setting.

Trek claims that the Madone offers twice the compliance of any of its rivals with the IsoSpeed design, and as soon as you get out on the road it’s easy to see why.

The system eliminates wearing vibrations from poor road surfaces and deals with high-frequency chatter wonderfully well.

Up front, I expected things to be very different because that deeply bladed aero fork, substantial head tube plus skinny 25c tyres and deep aero wheels don’t promise comfort. So, it was a welcome surprise to discover just how composed the SL6 feels.

The aero-sculpted alloy bar is wrapped with super-thick bar tape and its spot-on ergonomics keep you comfortable. The front end dulls chatter and noise.

Just because the SL6 is a lower-priced version of Trek’s most successful race machine doesn’t mean the ride position is dumbed down either.

The SL6 is still based on its H1.5 geometry that was developed with the Trek-Segafredo race team. On my 58cm bike you have the aggressive ride position imposed by a 581mm stack and 396mm reach paired with a steep 73.8-degree head angle and 73-degree seat.

The Madone is a bike designed to go fast, so it’s no surprise that the fork’s trail and offset encourage fast handling.

Bontrager’s carbon Aeolus wheel range extends from WorldTour-proven XXX wheelsets down to the Comp 5 models fitted here.

The Comp 5 is an alloy rim that has a structurally bonded 50mm deep carbon fairing. The centrelock hubs are smooth rolling and the wheel build is tight; the tautness in the wheels and the fast-acting freehub offset the 1,860g weight for a pair.

The wheels are tubeless ready but the R3 tyres fitted are not, so tubeless is an option.

The rim’s internal 18mm width is a good match for the 25c tyres. The bikes’s 8.73kg complete weight is more than I’d like to see on paper, but it doesn’t ride like a heavy bike: the chassis’ composed manner on poor roads means you can go faster and the efficiency of the design, including the wheels, means it holds speed well.

Like the majority of bikes in this year’s Bike of the Year , Trek has put its faith in the Ultegra group and it performs just as well as expected.

In all, the SL6 is a composed race machine with a compliant ride that balances fast handling and comfort unlike any other aero-road bike around.

Trek Madone SL6 Disc geometry

• Seat angle: 73 degrees
• Head angle: 73.8 degrees
• Chainstay: 41.1cm
• Seat tube: 55.3cm
• Top tube: 57.4cm
• Head tube: 17.1cm
• Fork offset: 4cm
• Trail: 5.7cm
• Bottom bracket drop: 6.8cm
• Wheelbase: 992mm
• Stack: 58.1cm
• Reach : 39.6cm

With thanks to...

BikeRadar would like to thank 100% , Q36.5 , Lazer , Garmin and Facom for their support during our Bike of the Year test.

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Trek Madone SLR 7 Gen 7 review - very fast and very expensive

The latest Madone may have a hole through the seat tube but we couldn't find any in its performance

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The Trek Madone is an absolute speed weapon. The deep-section tubes with the radical-looking cutout help, as does the newly designed handlebar, which is narrow and provides good wrist support for the ‘aero-hoods’ position. And then there are the 51mm deep Bontrager Aeolus Pro wheels. The handling is incredibly fast, responding to the smallest shift in weight and the tiniest tweaks of the bars, and ride quality is so impressive that it’s almost possible to overlook things like the narrow tires and ungenerous clearance - but you can’t ignore the price. If you have the budget and want a WorldTour-level race machine with exceptional handling and ride feel, this is the bike.

Super smooth ride

Light for an aero bike

Striking aesthetics

Limited adjustability

No power meter

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

• Construction

Value and conclusion

For this latest Gen 7 version of the Madone, Trek’s aero bike, the US brand removed the IsoSpeed Decoupler of the previous Gen 6 model and left, in its place, a big hole.

OK, it’s not the crude, reductionist approach it sounds like.

The old bike’s micro-adjustable suspension system at the top tube/seat tube juncture added weight and was mostly redundant since Trek discovered most riders would ‘set and forget’.

And by radically reengineering the frame Trek claims to have saved 300g, and says the new bike is almost 20 watts faster than its predecessor, which equates to 60 seconds per hour when ridden at 45kph. It looks radical, too - always a good thing for a new bike.

In our 2023 Race Bike of the Year grouptest we awarded the Madone 'best aero bike' against competition that included the Cervélo S5, the Canyon Aeroad and the Giant Propel.

However, over $9K / £10K for an Ultegra bike has to be unchartered territory - so how does it compare overall to the best road bikes ?

Trek Madone 7 Gen 7: construction

Let’s peer a bit more closely into that hole or, to give it its real name, IsoFlow. The aerodynamic explanation for it is: “It’s a way to direct some high energy flow into a low energy region of the bike.” What that means is that the seat tube area creates a disproportionate amount of drag and the hole helps to dissipate this by adding what Trek calls a “jet of fast moving air.”

It turns out that only half of the claimed watt saving comes from the IsoFlow hole. Trek has entered the integrated cockpit wars (along with Colnago, Canyon, Cervélo et al) with a completely new and very slick-looking design but it’s neither adjustable nor V-shaped: according to Trek it saves watts by changing rider position rather than via the aerodynamic properties of the cockpit itself.

A standard 42cm bar becomes 39cm at the hoods and 42cm at the drops and there’s a backsweep so that a flat-forearms aero position on the hoods becomes very aero indeed.

There are 14 different combinations available and, since the backsweep gives the bar a shorter reach, it’s important to get the right one - if you’re like those of us who rode this bike, you’ll need a longer stem. You can change this at point of purchase at no extra cost, Trek told us, or the 1 1/8in steerer is compatible with a non-integrated stem and bar (though the frame is electronic groupset only).

The same goes for the seatmast. The cutout in the seat tube leaves less room for a long seatpost and less adjustability (around 6cm minimum to maximum) so if you are long-legged but prefer a smaller frame you may need the tall version that comes with the size 56 upwards (as I ideally would have done). There are also two offsets available.

Our size 54 with a standard short mast could only manage a maximum saddle height of 74cm and the reach felt very short with the 90mm stem cockpit it comes with.

The latest geometry is called H1.5 (halfway between the old H1 race and H2 endurance). The reduced reach combined with the shorter reach of the swept-back bar works very well for that super aero hoods position, but it does feel surprisingly short. The kamm-tailed rear of the stem is much closer to your knees than you’d expect.

The new SLR bikes are all made from Trek’s 800 OCLV carbon - from the 105-equipped SLR 6 up to the flagship SLR 9 - and are impressively light, especially compared with other aero bikes such as the Cervelo S5. Trek says this is its lightest ever disc Madone.

There’s clearance for 28mm tires max, which is tight by modern standards. This model comes with Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 tubeless-ready wheels, set up with Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 25mm tires and inner tubes - again, surprisingly narrow.

Despite the fact that the fit wasn’t optimal - I could have done with the size up - the ride quality of the Madone is absolutely incredible. That’s the first thing that strikes you, or rather doesn’t strike you.

Aero bikes used to supply a harsher ride simply because deep, bladed tubing doesn’t flex like round tubing. This was undoubtedly the reason why Trek bolted the IsoSpeed decoupler onto the Madone two iterations ago. So you might expect that with its suspension system gone, the latest bike might have gone backwards in comfort. Not a bit of it.

It feels like a coiled carbon spring - full of potential energy and floating over bad road surfaces seemingly without any effect on its speed. And this is on 25mm tires that aren’t even the best (at this price they really ought to be).

The handling is also exactly right. The shortish 90mm stem section of the cockpit could have made it a little twitchy, but thanks to the sweeping shape I found my weight sufficiently over the front wheel in the hoods position, and steering was fast but balanced on descents and tight corners.

So it passes ‘comfortable’ and ‘fast’ with flying colors (actually Deep Smoke for this one).

At 7.5kg it’s light for an aero bike - or any disc brake bike - and it leaps up hills as if it weighs even less. I was so impressed with its performance that I kept forgetting Trek also has the Emonda climbing bike. The next Emonda has its work cut out (pun intended).

Finally, stability in crosswinds. There’s one particular gateway on my test loop where any bike not designed for big yaw angles will be gusted and the Trek was indeed blown sideways slightly - but not alarmingly considering the deep wheels and frame tubes.

This bike is incredibly good but it’s also incredibly expensive. It’s a full $1,000 / £1,000 more than the equivalent outgoing Gen 6 Madone SLR 7, and you’d have to look hard to find a more expensive Ultegra Di2-equipped bike from the other mainstream brands. 

The Canyon Aeroad CFR with Dura-Ace costs $8,999 / £8,799, while the Cervelo S5 with SRAM Force AXS costs $9,000 / £9,200. The Giant Propel Advanced SL1 also with SRAM Force costs $8,000 / £8,999.

You might also reasonably expect a power meter at this price - those three bikes all come with them - but it’s just the regular Ultegra crankset here.

So the price is stratospheric but compared with the current aero bikes I’ve ridden so far including the Colnago V4RS , Canyon Aeroad SLX , Cervelo S5, Tarmac SL7 and Pinarello Dogma F, the ride quality is superior.

• Frame: 800 Series OCLV carbon
• Fork: KVF carbon, tapered steerer
• Groupset: Shimano Ultegra Di2
• Wheels : Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51
• Tires : Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 25mm
• Cockpit: Madone integrated
• Seatpost : Madone aero internal
• Saddle: Bontrager Aeolus Elite
• Weight: 7.5kg
• Contact: www.trekbikes.com

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Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.

Demi Vollering staked everything on trying to win the rainbow bands, but it wasn't to be. Was there a better way?

By Adam Becket Published 28 September 24

Belgian becomes seventh woman to defend the rainbow bands on tough day on the roads of Zürich

The American took the best result for her country since 1991 in the road race, capping off great year for USA women's cycling

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• As it happened: Lotte Kopecky sprints to world championship victory after brutal race in Zurich

Best aero road bikes: The fastest bikes money can buy

The best aero road bikes will cut through the air and save you watts

Best aero road bikes you can buy today

Aero road bikes explained.

The best aero road bikes will give you a dose of free speed with their aerodynamic performance better than ever and saving you energy at all but the lowest speeds. Their aerodynamic gains are more important than the benefits of riding the best lightweight bikes on all but the steepest climbs.

Modern aero road bikes are also much more comfortable than their predecessors and many have reduced the significant weight of those bikes close to the UCI's 6.8kg weight limit in top spec builds.

That makes an aero road bike a compelling choice if you're looking for the best road bike for your next purchase. Even though pro-level builds are very expensive, most brands will offer a range of builds to soften the price. 

Read on for our pick of the best aero road bikes, or head to the bottom of the page where we answer some of the most common aero bike questions.

Specialized Tarmac SL 7

Our expert review:

Specifications

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

The Tarmac has traditionally taken on the role of a lightweight climber in Specialized's road bike range, but in the pursuit of performance gains there has been such a convergence in technology that the latest Tarmac SL 7 has assumed both the aero and the lightweight mantle, and is the bike ridden by Specialized's sponsored pro teams in almost all races, with the exception of Paris-Roubaix.

Specialized has managed to make the Tarmac SL 7 as aero as many out and out aero bikes while still skimming the UCI's 6.8kg weight limit, even in the commercially available S-Works spec.

There's fantastic handling although the ride is harsher than the previous SL 6 model. The top spec bike comes with Roval Rapide CLX wheels, although surprisingly still with inner tubes. It also carries a frightening price tag, although lower spec bikes are slightly more affordable.

There are two frame levels available. The S-Works models use the brand's FACT 12r carbon and will have a frame weight of 800 grams (size 56cm, painted). The lower-specced Pro, Expert and Comp models share the same silhouette but with FACT 10r carbon for a frame weight of 960g.

Model range

• Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 - Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 - SRAM Red AXS
• Specialized Tarmac SL7 Pro - SRAM Force AXS
• Specialized Tarmac SL7 Expert - Shimano Ultegra Di2
• Specialized Tarmac SL7 Comp - SRAM Rival AXS

Trek Madone SLR

The latest Trek Madone SLR Gen 7 bike takes a totally different tack to most aero bikes, with a seat tube that splits towards its top, leaving a large hole under the rider. Trek claims that this significantly improves airflow towards the rear of the bike, resulting in around a 10 watt energy saving over the previous Madone.

There's another 10 watts saving on offer from the redesigned bar/stem, which has a significant flare, resulting in a more aero position when riding on the tops.

Trek has also shaved around 300g from the bike's weight by removing its predecessor's adjustable IsoSpeed damping. It's been replaced by the non-adjustable IsoFlow design, which cantilevers the seat mast over that split seat tube.

The previous generation Madone was already an expensive bike and the upgrades haven't done anything to improve affordability, but the Gen 7 bike is a radical, distinctive take on the aero road bike. Trek continues to sell the older model alongside the new bike if you hanker after its more stocky looks. 

Model range (Gen 7 Madone)

• Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS
• Trek Madone SLR 9
• Trek Madone SLR 7 AXS
• Trek Madone SLR 7 
• Trek Madone SLR 6 AXS
• Trek Madone SLR 6

Merida Reacto

The Merida Reacto aero road bike has been updated to be more in line with modern trends - lighter, more aero, and more efficient. As such, the Reacto's slimmed down, aerofoil tubing and dropped seat stays make up the majority of the aero alterations.

To begin with its aero credentials, development of the Reacto IV saw six different models undergo computational airflow testing before heading into the real wind tunnel to refine and select the quickest frame.

The results include the fork being integrated into the frame, complete internal cable routing (into the cockpit rather than into the headtube), a redesign to optimise airflow at the seat stays and fork crown, and lower attachment points for the seat stays to reduce drag, among other touches.

Compliance and comfort are also the name of the game, with tweaks and improvements in the carbon layup – even more so in the higher-end CF5 frame – reducing the mass of the frame while bringing a reportedly smoother ride, which is something the Merida S-Flex seat post also assists with.

Further burnishing the Reacto IV's all-rounder tag are the 30mm tyre clearance, disc-brake cooling fins, an integrated rear light, and aero touches like the 'hidden' seat post clamp and thru-axles.

• Merida Reacto Team
• Merida Reacto 9000
• Merida Reacto 8000
• Merida Reacto 7000
• Merida Reacto Limited
• Merida Reacto 6000
• Merida Reacto 5000
• Merida Reacto 4000

Giant Propel Advanced

The Giant Propel Advanced had an update in 2022, which has aimed to make the bike lighter and more accommodating, with a rear end that's skinnier and more compliant without compromising power delivery or front end stiffness.

The new two-piece bar and stem are designed to make it easier to work on the bike than its predecessor. Giant says that the new bike is some 225g lighter than the last model Propel, and also more aero, saving over 6 watts. There's an increase in tyre clearance too, allowing you to fit 30mm rubber for increased road smoothing.

The top spec Propel Advanced SL bikes have an integrated seat mast, which limits adjustability, but the Advanced and Advanced Pro have a more normal seatpost design, which should make resale easier. 

• Giant Propel Advanced SL 0
• Giant Propel Advanced SL 1 (not US)
• Giant Propel Advanced SL Disc Di2 (not UK)
• Giant Propel Advanced Pro 0 AXS
• Giant Propel Advanced Pro 0 Di2
• Giant Propel Advanced Pro 1 (not US)
• Giant Propel Advanced 1
• Giant Propel Advanced2 (not US)

Pinarello Dogma F

This fourth iteration of the Dogma F has lost its numeric suffix, but follows the form of its predecessors; the winners of five Tours de France. 

At a time when many brands were developing separate lightweight and aero bikes, Pinarello stuck to its guns with the Dogma series, progressively refining its all-rounder design with increased integration and improved aerodynamics. 

The Dogma was never a lightweight bike though, leading Team Ineos Grenadiers and its predecessor, Team Sky, to stick to rim brakes long after other teams had switched to discs and look to save weight elsewhere by using Lightweight wheels for hilly stages.

But the Dogma F manages to reach a more competitive weight via small gains in parts like the 3D-printed titanium seatpost clamp, which together add up to a 265g reduction from the Dogma F12 and puts a top spec disc brake retail build at around 7kg. The Dogma F is not just light though, it's razor sharp, fast, and comfortable with it. It's also one of the few high spec bikes that's available with rim brakes, not just discs.

• Pinarello Dogma F Red eTap AXS
• Pinarello Dogma F Dura-Ace Di2
• Pinarello Dogma F Disc Super Record EPS
• Pinarello Dogma F Custom Build

Cannondale SystemSix

The SystemSix moniker is nothing new to Cannondale, having first appeared in the form of a hybrid carbon fibre/aluminium composite frame back in 2007. Ahead of its time in many ways, it paved the way for future models such as the lightweight and dynamic SuperSix Evo , which has also been given the aero treatment and an upgrade in 2023.

The blueprint for the SystemSix - Cannondale's dedicated aero road bike - has been touted by the American company to be the 'fastest on the planet'. At 7.8kg it may seem a little on the portly side, but Cannondale says the added grams will do little to thwart progress, even on the hills.

The SystemSix makes an endearing case for itself as far as free speed is concerned. It's seriously fast - be it on a descent, flat, or climb, and the powerful disc brakes make for controlled modulation mid-corner.

Offering a choice of Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 , Ultegra Di2, Ultegra mechanical, and Red eTap AXS groupsets, there are plenty of options to choose from depending on your budget. 

• Cannondale SystemSix Hi-MOD Dura-Ace Di2
• Cannondale SystemSix Hi-MOD Red eTap AXS
• Cannondale SystemSix Hi-MOD Ultegra Di2
• Cannondale SystemSix Carbon Ultegra

Wilier Filante SLR

The Wilier Filante SLR is designed to mix aerodynamics and low weight, with a design that reduces the amount of material used, resulting in a claimed 870g frame weight. The tube shapes are also said to make for better performance when riding in real world conditions like in a group or cornering, where airflow may be more complex than in a wind tunnel test.

Wilier has retained its signature widely spaced fork legs, which it says reduces aero interference with the turning wheel, as well as offering wider tyre options. The frame and fork are asymmetric to balance the loads on their component parts. Wilier fits its own SLR42KC wheels to many specs as well as offering a Vision Trimax alternative. 

• Wilier Filante SLR Campagnolo Super Record EPS Disc
• Wilier Filante SLR Shimano Dura-Ace Di2
• Wilier Filante SLR Sram Red eTap AXS
• Wilier Filante SLR Shimano Ultegra Di2
• Wilier Filante SLR Sram Force eTap AXS

Bianchi Aria

The Bianchi Aria is one of the most versatile aero road bike offerings gathered here. Not only is it super-efficient in a straight line, boasting a phenomenal turn of speed, but it's also impressively responsive to directional changes thanks to the steep head angle and racy geometry.

The frame comprises all the aero-optimised shapes you'd expect from a bike of this nature, with an integrated frame and fork, dropped seat stays and a D-shaped seat post - it all looks very fast.

Like most modern road bikes, it's now disc brake only, and while it does err on the heavy side it still climbs well and offers impressive compliance despite lacking the Countervail technology as used on the brand's higher-value models such as the Oltre RC.

That said, if it's greater comfort you're after, the Aria can accommodate wider tyres - it comes with 28C road tyres as standard.

• Bianchi Aria Ultegra Di2 Disc
• Bianchi Aria 105 Di2 Disc
• Bianchi Aria Ultegra Disc
• Bianchi Aria 105 Disc
• Bianchi Aria Rival eTap AXS Disc

Canyon Aeroad

With a name such as Aeroad, there's no mistaking what this weapon was designed to do - attack the finish line as quickly as possible.

There are three frame specs for the Aeroad, starting off with the top spec CFR (Canyon Factory Racing), which is available with a range of premium groupsets and wheels, as well as a power meter as standard.

The CF SLX level frames are equipped with mid-level electronic groupsets, but still boast a power meter and quality wheelsets, while the entry-level CF SL frameset is specced with Shimano Ultegra and DT Swiss ARC 1600 wheels. Smaller size CF SL bikes come with 650b wheels to keep the geometry similar to larger sizes with 700c wheels. Canyon quotes a bike weight of 7.8kg for the most basic CF SL 8 Disc spec, dropping to 7.2kg for the CFR Disc Di2.

There's a new Canyon Aeroad on the horizon for 2023, with Mathieu van der Poel spotted winning Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix on the new frame, which features subtle upgrades from its predecessor, the most obvious of which is a repositioned seatpost clamp.

• Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc LTD (not US)
• Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc Di2
• Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc eTap
• Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc EPS (not US)
• Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc MvdP (not US)
• Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 8 Disc Di2
• Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 8 Disc eTap
• Canyon Aeroad CF SLX 7 Disc eTap
• Canyon Aeroad CF SL 8 Disc

Scott Foil RC

The Scott Foil is another aero road bike that has had a recent makeover . Scott says that the changes have made the new bike lighter and more aero. Although the cut-out for the rear wheel makes it look as if the wheelbase has been reduced from the older model, the geometry is essentially unchanged. According to Scott the redesigned frame with its deeper tube profiles will save you over a minute over its predecessor over a 40km ride at 40km/h. 

The new Foil is also claimed to be more comfortable, with a carbon bar-stem that helps absorb road chatter and, as with the Merida Reacto, a seatpost with a large cut-away section at its rear, into which you can fit a light. Claimed weight has dropped to 7.22kg and you can fit 30mm tyres.

• Scott Foil RC Ultimate
• Scott Foil RC Pro
• Scott Foil RC 10
• Scott Foil RC 20
• Scott Foil RC 30

The notion of aerodynamics is nothing new to Cervelo, having single-handedly created the aero road bike concept back in 2002 with the aluminium Soloist. With aerofoil tubing developed by NACA – the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics – the Soloist was unlike anything seen before and started the aero genre that has taken over top level racing today.

The latest S5 dominated the 2022 Tour de France. It's had a more subtle upgrade than the Scott Foil, with the new 2023 model having frame clearance for 34mm tyres, tweaked tube profiles and a redesigned bar-stem that makes adjustment and maintenance easier than its predecessor. It's also gone disc brake and electronic groupset only - another trend in high-end bikes.

• Cervelo S5 Dura-Ace Di2
• Cervelo S5 Red eTap AXS
• Cervelo S5 Force eTap AXS
• Cervelo S5 Ultegra Di2

Factor Ostro VAM

Factor Bikes describes the Ostro VAM as an "everything bike". The VAM stands for " vertical ascent per minute", so as you'd expect it's lightweight and stiff to satisfy the climbers, with a frameset claimed to weigh 830g that Factor says can easily hit a sub-6.8kg build.

The Ostro VAM frameset is also aero, with truncated aerofoil tubing, front end integration and an aggressive ride position. Pair that with the option to fit 32mm tyres and a frame built for compliance and it's Factor's answer to the aero all-rounder.

It's designed to be easy to run, with CeramicSpeed SLT maintenance-free bearings and a T47 threaded bottom bracket. Factor builds to order and offers a wide range of bar-stem and groupset options as well as five different depths of wheels from its Black Inc sister brand.

Model Range

• Built to order

Aero is the road bike buzzword at present. But what makes an aero road bike, why are they so expensive and why do they all look the same ? Read on to find out.

What makes a bike aero?

The heart of an aero road bike is its aerofoil-shaped tube profiles. In fact, truncated aerofoils are used, which have the front end of a classic teardrop shape, but cut off the rear end sharply. This results in an aerofoil (like a plane's wing) that's as much as eight times longer than the actual tubing. Air behind the rear of the tube "completes" the aerofoil shape and results in the air flowing smoothly around the tubes. 

This creates a frame that's significantly more aerodynamic than a classic round tube profile, reducing the effort required to keep the bike moving at all but the slowest speeds.

In addition, modern aero road bikes hide the brake hoses (and gear cables if these are present) within the bar and stem, routing them directly into the head tube. 

As with round frame tubes, there's drag developed by exposed cables that's disproportionate to their width. This front-end integration and fitting bar-stems that are aerodynamically optimised save yet more energy.

Finally, an aero road bike will almost always be fitted with deeper section wheels, which are more aerodynamically efficient than shallower rims. The sweet spot tends to be between 40mm and 50mm deep, where there are significant watt savings, but the wheels are not too hard to handle in crosswinds.

Why do aero road bikes cost so much?

There's a significant amount of resource required to develop a modern aero road bike. That usually starts off with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies of airflow over the design and iteration of the design elements to optimise aero efficiency. 

Life size 3D-printed models of the bikes are then usually tested in a wind tunnel, which is a pricey, labour-intensive process. Airflow may be modelled at different wind speeds and wind yaw angles to ensure good aerodynamic performance in a range of conditions.

There may be several iterations and designers may perch mannequins on the prototype frame to see the effect of the rider on airflow. Some mannequins can even pedal, as this movement can alter the results.

It's all additional work and cost over developing a traditional round-tubed bike, in addition to ensuring it passes all the relevant safety standards too. It has to be shown to be comfortable to ride and stiff enough for efficient pedalling as well.

Are aero road bikes uncomfortable to ride?

The initial crop of aero road bikes from around 10 to 15 years ago had a, not unmerited, reputation for being jarring to ride and heavy. Modern aero bikes have overcome this though, with designers learning how to maintain aerodynamics while building compliance into the frame. The ubiquity of disc brakes has seen a trend to wider, more comfortable tyres too.

Bike weight has decreased as well, with top spec modern aero bikes routinely approaching the UCI's magic 6.8kg weight limit, even with the disc brakes that are now the norm. 

In most ride conditions, aerodynamics are more important than bike weight, so an aero road bike is usually a better choice for most riders, even on hilly rides. It will be faster on the way back down too.

Why do all aero bikes look the same?

A result of the focus on aerodynamics and the need for designers to keep to the UCI's rules on frame design is that there's limited scope to innovate in frame shape. The same physics apply to airflow over every manufacturer's frame.

Features like deep aerofoil sections, horizontal top tubes, a deep bottom bracket area, dropped seat stays, integrated hose routing and sharp frame junctions have the same effect for all bikes and so feature in the majority of designs.

Having said that, there's still room for innovations like the Trek Madone's split seat tube that can potentially stir things up and change the aero calculus.

Would an aero/lightweight bike be a better choice than a full aero road bike?

Some brands offer both a lightweight bike and an aero road bike, so you may have a choice if you've decided on a particular bike brand. The majority of lightweight bikes now include some aero features though, just not as extreme as a full-on aero bike, so there's less energy saving. In general they retain a significant weight advantage.

Examples of lightweight bikes which have had the aero treatment include the Bianchi Specialissima , the Merida Scultura , the Scott Addict RC and the Trek Emonda . Other brands have merged the two categories: take the Specialized Tarmac SL 7 and the Pinarello Dogma F for example. 

For many riders, the combination of aero and light weight may be a compelling alternative to the all-out aero road bike.

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Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages. 

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