Trek has officially launched its all-new version of the Madone. Which will be the 8th generation of the bike. Trek claims it’s just as aero as the Gen 7 Madone, but now just as light as the Emonda. The new Madone replaces both bikes, so Trek joins a growing number of bike brands to abandon separate aero and lightweight offerings.
Since the bike was new first seen under pro in early 2024 its skinnier appearance compared to the Gen 7 Madone has sparked intense speculation as to whether this is a new Madone or replacement for Emonda.
While Gen 7 Madonna launched only two years ago, the lightweight Emonda is now four years old, so the bets were on the new Emonda.
In fact, the new Gen 8 Madone replaces both the Gen 7 Madone and Emonda in one lightweight aero package. Trek says the new Madone shed 320g of the Gen 7 Madone frameset, which was again 300g lighter than its own Gen 6 predecessor.
It lists a weight of 796g for the ML size SLR Madone painted frame and 350g for the fork, not including added hardware like the new UDH rear derailleur mount. This means that the claimed full weight of the top spec Madone SLR 9 AXS bike is exactly 7kg.
The lightweight modification means that the Gen 8 Madone is now as light as the Emonda. At the same time, Trek says it’s an aerodynamically optimized frameset where it matters most, but it’s slimmed down the tube profiles from the Gen 7 bike, where aerodynamic gains are smaller, to shed weight.
We headed to Spain for the launch of the new Madone and you can read our first drive review here.
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The aero tube profiles have also been modernized. Trek says its new Full System Foil shapes go beyond the Kammtail, offering better aerodynamics over a wider range of yaw angles thanks to a more rounded trailing edge instead of the sharper square edges of the Kammtail profile.
Wind tunnel testing indicated that the old Gen 7 Madone was up to 3 percent faster than the Emonda on a climb when weight took over aerodynamics as the dominant factor. The new Gen 8 frame is said to be faster than the Emonda when climbing up to 12 percent, the steepest grade tested.
Same aero as the Gen 7 Madone
Trek says the new bike is as fast as the Gen 7 Madone and 77 seconds faster per hour at 200 watts compared to the Emonda. The design optimizes airflow for the rider on the bike, while the riding position remains the same as the Gen 7 bike.
Madone SLR models will also feature updated Aero RSL integrated handlebars and stem. This bar has hoods that are 3cm narrower than the drops to help riders stay aero. At the top, it’s thicker in cross-section than the bars on the Gen 7 bike and feels more comfortable to hold, while still being compatible with the old bike’s RCS headset design.
The new design raises the top of the bar/stem by 4mm, but Trek offers an aftermarket RCS Race Low top bearing cover if you want to go back to the 4mm lower top height of the Gen 7 bar. There’s also a new Blendr accessory holder that’s lighter and easier to remove.
There are also new, aero-profiled bottles and 595ml water cages, although the cages can also fit round bottles.
Trek says the RSL Aero bottles and cages save 3.7 watts at 45km/h over standard round bottles and make the bike faster than riding without bottles. They can also be purchased aftermarket if your bike needs an aero upgrade.
It’s a similar approach to Cannondale’s take on the latest SuperSix Evo, with the brand claiming its bottles improve the aerodynamics of the SuperSix Evo.
Less weight, more comfort
The top-of-the-line SLR Madone is constructed using Trek’s latest 900 OCLV carbon, which it claims is up to 20 percent stronger than the 800 OCLV carbon used in the Gen 7 Madone. A new molding process and one-piece fork construction also allows Trek to save additional weight.
When Trek launched the Gen 7 Madone, the big weight savings on that model came from swapping out the adjustable IsoSpeed ​​seatpost on the Gen 6 bike for a lighter non-adjustable IsoFlow system.
Trek said at the time that the Gen 7 seatpost was as stiff as a Gen 6 bike at its stiffest setting.
However, vertical compliance has increased with the new Gen 8 Madone, which she says is now up to 80 percent greater than the Gen 7 wheel and 24 percent greater than the Emonda. The new design is also lighter than the Gen 7 Isoflow.
Trek has adjusted its tube shapes across the size range to make frame stiffness more similar between sizes. A byproduct is that the XS and S size frames are now lighter, while the aesthetics of the frames are said to be now more proportional across the size range.
The new Madone fits 32mm tires, the same as the Gen 7 model.
New dimensioning
With the new Gen 8 Madone, Trek has streamlined the size range, with the new bike now offered in six sizes from XS to XL, up from eight in the Gen 7. Despite offering fewer sizes, Trek says there’s less overlap between frame sizes, so The Gen 8 Madone actually fits a wider spread of rider heights.
The new M size replaces the old 52 and 54 sizes, while the new XL size replaces the 62 but includes a taller seatpost. As with the Gen 7 bike, the seat post wedge can be reversed to increase the range of seat height adjustment.
Geometry across the board is similar to the Gen 7 Madone, although the frameset is slightly taller. Rather than calling the geometry H1.5, like the Gen 7 Madone, it is now renamed Road Race Geo.
Madone Gen 8 specs and pricing
Trek will sell the new Madone in two frame classes, SL and SLR. Both are offered in four specs at launch, with SRAM and Shimano options as well as a frameset-only option.
The top SLR bikes use the latest OCLV 900 series carbon, RSL Aero one-piece bottles and cages and are electronics only kits. In the Trek Project One configurator, you can choose your own colors as well as the off-the-shelf colors.
The SL wheels are made from 500 series OCLV carbon and have a separate bar and stem. They are not available to customize Project One and are only pre-made. You don’t get bottles or cages, but the frame is compatible with mechanical builds.
US pricing for the Gen 8 Trek Madone ranges from $3,499.99 for the SL 5 to $13,499.99 for the Madone SLR 9 AXS. That’s a $200 price increase from the top-of-the-line Gen 7 bike, though that’s likely due to the new Sram Red AXS kit.
In the UK, this means a base price of £3,250 with the top spec priced at £12,500. That’s actually £2,050 off the UK list price of the Gen 7 Madone SLR 9 AXS bike – perhaps the brands are getting the message about pro-level Tour de France bike prices.
The Euro price range is €3,499 to €13,999 and in Australia the SLR 9 AXS is priced from AU$4,499.99 to AU$19,999.99.