Trek Madone vs Specialized Tarmac
Discussion
Chaps,
Looking at getting a decent road bike.
These 2 run Ultegra:
Trek Madone 5.2
Specialized Tarmac Expert
They are similar in price. But which one is better in your opinion?
Have been looking at SRAM equipped versions, but they are dearer. But I like the idea of the double tap shifting.
Thanks.
Looking at getting a decent road bike.
These 2 run Ultegra:
Trek Madone 5.2
Specialized Tarmac Expert
They are similar in price. But which one is better in your opinion?
Have been looking at SRAM equipped versions, but they are dearer. But I like the idea of the double tap shifting.
Thanks.
to be honest, there is so little in it, so its probably down to fit. as you can guess, they are pretty much top end race bikes and wont take too much abuse on the roads if potholes and tarmac quality is an issue near you? (or is it to chase after the g/f on tri-training!?!?!) consider a cheaper, more robust set of wheels for everyday stuff if thats an issue, you will notice the difference with ultegra rims/hubs on the flat though.......whooosh!....
Thanks Pablo, once again it is much appreciated.
The thing is, I have done that much research on bikes in order that we can my wife's TT bike sorted (closing in on a deal on that which I will let you know when it happens) that I have been bitten by the bike bug myself. All that lovely carbon!! Yum!!
I want to become a reasonable cyclist in the first instance, then maybe do duathlons initiallly, and ultimately perhaps triathlon. But I don't want a TT bike, that can wait. But I don't want to buy a bike for say 700 quid which I immediately want to upgrade to a 2 grand bike. That to me is a waste of money, so I will get a 2 grand bike.
2 futher questions:
1. On the subject of pot holes, the Specialized Roubaix is better on British Tarmac I bet (although obviously not potholes!), worth a look?
2. The Trek range has 2 hights of head tubes, the pro and the taller one. I think I should get the taller one as I have poor flexibility to be honest. Or is that for wimps?!!
The thing is, I have done that much research on bikes in order that we can my wife's TT bike sorted (closing in on a deal on that which I will let you know when it happens) that I have been bitten by the bike bug myself. All that lovely carbon!! Yum!!
I want to become a reasonable cyclist in the first instance, then maybe do duathlons initiallly, and ultimately perhaps triathlon. But I don't want a TT bike, that can wait. But I don't want to buy a bike for say 700 quid which I immediately want to upgrade to a 2 grand bike. That to me is a waste of money, so I will get a 2 grand bike.
2 futher questions:
1. On the subject of pot holes, the Specialized Roubaix is better on British Tarmac I bet (although obviously not potholes!), worth a look?
2. The Trek range has 2 hights of head tubes, the pro and the taller one. I think I should get the taller one as I have poor flexibility to be honest. Or is that for wimps?!!
Hmm......for a little more, I could get this.........would want some discount mind:
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/madone-55...
Quite like the idea of the SRAM gear change system.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/trek/madone-55...
Quite like the idea of the SRAM gear change system.
I had this exact 'dilemma' last year - I had a Specialised Sirrus for commuting which I used occasionally for training and longer road runs, but unsurprisingly found it slow and frustrating for these trips. So I decided to treat myself!
I looked at the Madone 5.2, the equivalent Specialised Tarmac, and the Roubaix and test rode them all.
While the Roubaix was the most comfortable, it also felt the least special of the three. If I had ridden only it, I'd have been delighted, but compared with the Tarmac and the Madone, everything just felt a little soft, which wasn't what I was looking for.
The Madone felt the most 'extreme' of the bikes, really responsive when I was pushing hard, not quite as comfortable a riding position, and generally a tauter feel. The Tarmac fell somewhere in between the other two.
As I was specifically looking for a fast piece of kit that would help take my riding to the next level, and give me that bit of excitement to go for a ride when I might be feeling 50:50, I went for the Madone. It helped that I think it looks amazing (and also very classy next to the somewhat more 'bling' Specialised'), and that, because I was buying towards the end of the summer, I got a great deal on a '08 bike.
For what its worth I went for the slightly higher head unit - I believe pretty much all Madones are sold with this configuration, unless you are planning to use one regularly in competition - and as I have become more 'bike-fit' the relative discomfort I felt when first test riding it is now a distant memory. I still get the little frisson of excitement when I go to the garage to saddle up, and have just been delighted with the bike. I went with the Ultegra gear set etc, Bontrager wheels, have been very happy with it all. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with either of the Specialiseds!
Good luck with your decision - hope you end up with something you are pleased with.
I looked at the Madone 5.2, the equivalent Specialised Tarmac, and the Roubaix and test rode them all.
While the Roubaix was the most comfortable, it also felt the least special of the three. If I had ridden only it, I'd have been delighted, but compared with the Tarmac and the Madone, everything just felt a little soft, which wasn't what I was looking for.
The Madone felt the most 'extreme' of the bikes, really responsive when I was pushing hard, not quite as comfortable a riding position, and generally a tauter feel. The Tarmac fell somewhere in between the other two.
As I was specifically looking for a fast piece of kit that would help take my riding to the next level, and give me that bit of excitement to go for a ride when I might be feeling 50:50, I went for the Madone. It helped that I think it looks amazing (and also very classy next to the somewhat more 'bling' Specialised'), and that, because I was buying towards the end of the summer, I got a great deal on a '08 bike.
For what its worth I went for the slightly higher head unit - I believe pretty much all Madones are sold with this configuration, unless you are planning to use one regularly in competition - and as I have become more 'bike-fit' the relative discomfort I felt when first test riding it is now a distant memory. I still get the little frisson of excitement when I go to the garage to saddle up, and have just been delighted with the bike. I went with the Ultegra gear set etc, Bontrager wheels, have been very happy with it all. I'm sure I would have been just as happy with either of the Specialiseds!
Good luck with your decision - hope you end up with something you are pleased with.
its not the "done thing" but you can try a size in the shop and then order online elsewhere if the shop can not match the online price. if they cant match the online price, they should at least give you a healthy discount on some stuff so either way its no bad thing, just a case of whether the cash discount is more valuable to you than the free stuff potential.
i'm in the same boat, started running, got reasonably good at it, then entered a few duathlons, now considering some sprint triathlons...for what its worth, i will use my boardman team and a cheap set of aero bars for both.
as for the bike choice, cant comment on the head tube height but they will all come with spacers so you can adjust to fit. i run my tyres quite low on pressure to compensate the bristol roads. as i said, i would go for a cheap set of wheels and accept they wil lget damamged over time rather than compromise on the bike.
i'm in the same boat, started running, got reasonably good at it, then entered a few duathlons, now considering some sprint triathlons...for what its worth, i will use my boardman team and a cheap set of aero bars for both.
as for the bike choice, cant comment on the head tube height but they will all come with spacers so you can adjust to fit. i run my tyres quite low on pressure to compensate the bristol roads. as i said, i would go for a cheap set of wheels and accept they wil lget damamged over time rather than compromise on the bike.
yes rather than have two bikes, an audax/winter/training bike and a race bike for sunday best, just swop a set of wheels over on hte race bike. ultegra hubs and rims will be pretty light and the last thing you want to do is batter them on the roads whilst training. you could do a lot worse than a pair of Shimano RS20s for £150
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productDetail.asp?Pr...
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productDetail.asp?Pr...
Hi The Trek is th emore advanced bike and as mentioned will make you feel like a better rider. However you cant get Treks online as Trek belive that getting th ecorrect fit is too important to leave to guess work.Road bike fit is nothing like a an MTB. It is far more precise and you simply have to sit on th ebikes and seek best advice from a decent shop otherwise you could easily be wasting your money. Would you spend £2k on a pair of expensive shoes ordered online having never tried any shoes on in your life before....No neither would I.
What ever you got for please dont go down th eroute of trying to save abit of cash...get down to your best bike shop and give them your business. They will really look after you after that.
What ever you got for please dont go down th eroute of trying to save abit of cash...get down to your best bike shop and give them your business. They will really look after you after that.
Crippo said:
Hi The Trek is th emore advanced bike and as mentioned will make you feel like a better rider. However you cant get Treks online as Trek belive that getting th ecorrect fit is too important to leave to guess work.Road bike fit is nothing like a an MTB. It is far more precise and you simply have to sit on th ebikes and seek best advice from a decent shop otherwise you could easily be wasting your money. Would you spend £2k on a pair of expensive shoes ordered online having never tried any shoes on in your life before....No neither would I.
What ever you got for please dont go down th eroute of trying to save abit of cash...get down to your best bike shop and give them your business. They will really look after you after that.
Thanks, I agree with that. I definitely intend to use a local shop and I wouldn't be too bothered about the odd hundred quid difference in price as long as the bike fit was right.What ever you got for please dont go down th eroute of trying to save abit of cash...get down to your best bike shop and give them your business. They will really look after you after that.
I went for the Madone, and haven't looked back - as everyone else has said, slightly more extreme but worth every penny when you get used to it.
I'm just in the process of changing my '07 Madone 5.2 for a Mountain Bike, so if you wanted a mint second hand one I may be able to help - it would be criminal to let it gather dust in the shed and I don't want to flog it on eBay...
PM me if you want more info.
Cheers
I'm just in the process of changing my '07 Madone 5.2 for a Mountain Bike, so if you wanted a mint second hand one I may be able to help - it would be criminal to let it gather dust in the shed and I don't want to flog it on eBay...
PM me if you want more info.
Cheers
Cheers Bob, but I may be doing the cycle to work thing, so I may as well have a new one.
I've been to the bike shop today and it would appear I can have 500 quid off a Madone (20%) come August 1st as an end of season deal. You can actually pre-book your bike in the sales if you leave a deposit.
As much as I think I prefer the Madone, won't there be a new one in August? There will be a new Specialized Tarmac out in 6-8 weeks, so the chap in the shop said. Worth waiting for?
I had a play with SRAM Force gear change in the shop on a Madone 5.5 (but not on a proper outdoor ride, mind you) and I think I preferred the Ultegra gear change, which is handy cos it's 300 quid less on the Treks, like for like.
I've been to the bike shop today and it would appear I can have 500 quid off a Madone (20%) come August 1st as an end of season deal. You can actually pre-book your bike in the sales if you leave a deposit.
As much as I think I prefer the Madone, won't there be a new one in August? There will be a new Specialized Tarmac out in 6-8 weeks, so the chap in the shop said. Worth waiting for?
I had a play with SRAM Force gear change in the shop on a Madone 5.5 (but not on a proper outdoor ride, mind you) and I think I preferred the Ultegra gear change, which is handy cos it's 300 quid less on the Treks, like for like.
Have you considered a bike from Planet X? They are doing their SL Pro Carbon with Ultegra for £1300 and IMO have a far better spec compared to the equivalent priced Trek/Spesh.
I had a sit on a Madone 4.5 at the LBS and whilst being a very nice machine to look at and sit on I couldn't justify the far lesser spec when compared to Planet X, I also believe that Plane X offer a very similar warranty to Trek if you are feeling concerned about that.
I was also told that all 2010 bikes will have at least a 10% price increase or 10% 'spec drop'. Damn this recession!
I had a sit on a Madone 4.5 at the LBS and whilst being a very nice machine to look at and sit on I couldn't justify the far lesser spec when compared to Planet X, I also believe that Plane X offer a very similar warranty to Trek if you are feeling concerned about that.
I was also told that all 2010 bikes will have at least a 10% price increase or 10% 'spec drop'. Damn this recession!
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