Which Madone?

[DrMekon]

Want a lightish carbon bike to do a 1400km audax on. Been looking at the Domane obsessively, but I'm not sure I can get past the looks of it. Tall headtube, short top tube, arse about face dropouts - looks like a dutch bike that's been crashed in to a wall and then repurposed with drops. If it looked like the one in the promo shots with Cancellara, it would be a different matter.

I'm torn between the 3.5 plus some Hope Pro3 RS Mono wheels and the 4.5 (no money left for wheels). The 4.5 comes with Bonty Race Tubeless Ready wheels. Never tried tubeless. I'd also be stuck with Crudguards, which I've never tried. The 3.5 takes proper mudguards. However, once it's done the big audax, it'll be used for fun. I've got a fixed and a steel audax bike for when it's grotty.

Can you tell I really want the 4.5? Am I being daft?

3.5 - http://www.trekbikes.com/ie/en/bikes/road/sport/ma...
4.5 - http://www.trekbikes.com/ie/en/bikes/road/race_per...

[rhinochopig]

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/39890/Trek-Madone-4-...

400 quid off here. Job jobbed.

[anonymous-user]

I'm assuming you wont be doing the audax on the tubeless wheels so go for the 4.5 and use a wheelset that you feel more comfortable on, then you cna either sell the tubeless wheelset or keep them for the sun?!

[DrMekon]

rhinochopig said:

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/39890/Trek-Madone-4-...

400 quid off here. Job jobbed.

For a dwarf. 60 or 62 needed.

pablo said:

I'm assuming you wont be doing the audax on the tubeless wheels so go for the 4.5 and use a wheelset that you feel more comfortable on, then you cna either sell the tubeless wheelset or keep them for the sun?!

Actually, I was. I've always had handbuilts, but I am bored of seeing people of carbon bikes with half the spokes I've got go flying by. I'm not heavy on wheels. Worst case, I break a spoke, I reckon I could bodge it with a fibre fix emergency spoke.

The sensible thing to do is get the 3.5 with the Hopes / 32 spoke Open Pros.

Or get the 4.5, and have new wheels delivered to work...

[mudshark]

Why Trek? I'd get a Giant Defy for what you want.

Bargain if it fits:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?pro...

or Ultegra:
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?pro...

Edited by mudshark on Friday 4th January 22:12

[Birdthom]

I had a 2012 3.5 and loved it, great bike. Ultegra felt much nicer than 105 to me.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

DrMekon said:

Or get the 4.5, and have new wheels delivered to work...

^^ This ^^

I have had a 5.9 SSL for years now. Served me a race bike and now used for training. Will respray it this spring for a treat.

[mudshark]

The OP wants to do a 1400km audax, I used to have a Madone 5.9 and whilst it was fine for most my rides I usually felt pretty beat up after a hard all day event.

[Crippo]

The Domane is amazing.
The Head tube is only 0.5 - 1cm taller than the Madones depending upon bike size. The top tube length is the same as a Madones. The bike is a lot stiffer to ride than either Madone that you are looking at but also a lot more comfortable....in fact unbelievably more so. When I rode mine around the Lake District it transformed the broken roads up there. I was riding a 5.2 with Ultegra and Race wheels, alloy bars and it blew my 6 Series Madone with Red groupset Carbon wheels and carbon everything out of the water.
I have just fitted full mudguards, even with 25c tyres, to it to make it a Winter bike because the Domane comes with removable eyelets to mount mudguards onto.
For your requirements the Domane is the bike to have. Go and get a demo ride on one before you do anything else.