Peter Maniaty lifts the lid of the last Madonna of Trek, with key features that include:
• The IsoFlow seat tube replaces the IsoSpeed system
• 300 grams lighter than the 2022 Madone SLR
• 60 seconds faster / hour at 45 km / h
• 19 watts gained in drag reductions
• 6 SLR models (SL retains Gen 6 geometry for 2023)
• 12-speed electronic transmission only
• Disc brake only
In the current sea of similarity swirls, it is guaranteed that radical changes in the geometry of the frame will attract attention. This, of course, is exactly what happened when the new generation 7 2023 Trek Madone SLR first broke the roof at the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June.
After several weeks of intense speculation and considerable observation of the navel, the cat is now officially out of the bag with Trek organizing its global launch of the Madone SLR 2023 from its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, just in time for at the Tour de France and this year’s Tour. women of France.
Radical subsequent treatment of the new Madonna.
While recent updates to the iconic Madone platform have been relatively subtle, the 2023 SLR is exactly the opposite. In an era where homogenized aerodynamic geometry has reigned for most of a decade, Trek has gone and moved the goal posts. By the way.
With its radically reimagined rear section topped by the new IsoFlow system (simpler, lighter and slightly stiffer than the IsoSpeed system it replaces), it features a split seat tube and a cantilevered saddle that offers a silhouette like nothing else in the professional platoon.
Significantly, the 2023 Madone SLR is also about 300 grams lighter than its immediate predecessor (the SLR 9 weighs just 7.1 kg, with the SLR 9 eTap 7.4 kg). Trek says 50% of those weight savings come from changes to the frame, and the other 50% from the new integrated cab.
The drag has also been reduced by an impressive 19 watts through a kammtail virtual sheet tube optimized for the wind tunnel (including a new “shelf” of high lower support that helps airflow around the bottles and the bottom tube) and a more aggressive positioning of the H1.5 pilot with a narrower engine. Cab system that includes a shallower range and bell-shaped bars to the outside that place the hands 3 cm wider down to the drops than up to the hoods.
The Madone has long been at the forefront of road cycling technology and the 2023 iteration is full of engineering magic. Trek fully admits that the ICU guidelines have been pushed to their absolute limits. Over time, a detailed road review will provide an opportunity to explore these design complexities in depth. But one thing is very clear.
This is a road bike built shamelessly for speed. Trek-Segafredo rider and former world champion Mads Pedersen affectionately referred to it as a “spaceship” at launch and Trek test data supports it, suggesting the Madone SLR 2023 is 60 seconds faster per hour at 45 km / h and even more. 50 seconds faster per hour when driving at a more modest speed of 25 km / h.
Mads Pedersen has already achieved success with the new Madone, a bicycle he refers to as “a spaceship.”
(As if to prove the point, Pedersen got the first professional victory of the new Madone SLR in an excellent timing show on the same day as the launch to the world media, eliminating stage 1 of the Baloise Belgium Tour on June 15 Given the huge amounts of resources invested in the seventh generation Madone SLR, Trek will expect it to be the first of many.)
Yes, it’s only the early days and few Australians have even seen the new Madone SLR in real life, let alone ridden it. However, on the surface, its arrival seems a very important thing, not only for Trek, but also for the design of aerodynamic frame in general. It will be fascinating to see if, in the coming years, we look back on this moment as a real design paradigm shift, or simply a wild throw at the strains. I suspect it will be the first, but there have been false dawns before.
The Madone SLR 2023 will be available in six models with 12-speed electronic transmission trains (3 x SRAM eTap, 3 x Shimano Di2) and flat-mount disc brakes. Despite global supply chains, Australians should have the opportunity to assemble themselves before the end of the year, and shipping is expected to begin in the next two months. For now, here’s what the Trek themselves have to say about their new pride and joy …
MADS PEDERSEN, Trek-Segafredo: “The process for a new aerodynamic bike started just a few months after we had the previous Madonna (Gen 6). We asked Trek to make it lighter. We also wanted a bike that would react faster. Now let’s go on a spaceship. This bike is great. He is very aggressive in the corners. It is easy to handle. It’s so fast when you start a sprint, it’s there right away, you don’t feel like you have to put it up to date. It’s the perfect bike for a rider like me. “
JORDAN ROESSINGH, Director – Road Bikes, Trek: “The new Madone SLR is 300 grams lighter than the previous version, which saves a lot of weight on the whole bike. The bike itself improves aerodynamics by almost “When you add pilot position enhancements, you’re looking at ten more watts, almost 20 watts faster.”
ALEX BEDINGHAUS, Senior Design Engineer, Trek: “We did a lot of aerodynamic testing and computer modeling to find out which areas of the box we could save more drag and weight. The seat tube section is very important because there is a large flow of seat. turbulent air and chaos.We tried many crazy things and explored other designs that had joints at different points in the frame.We finally created the unique IsoFlow design, where we have this hole through the seat tube that we can use to accelerate the air around the steering tube and towards this low pressure area behind the rider, making the rider and the bike more aerodynamic and faster.It also has a cantilevered seat tube that really optimizes the weight, l “aerodynamics and compliance. It’s a unique solution that leads us to a lighter weight system (compared to the previous Madone) that far exceeds our aerodynamic goals.”
JOHN DAVIS, Aerodynamics, Trek: “Aerodynamically, there’s a lot going on at the junction of a bicycle seat tube. And if you nail it, you can really reduce drag. IsoFlow is a way to steer part of the flow of high energy in a low energy region of the bike.While pedaling, create these counter-rotating vortices and behind you is a very low energy region that creates a lot of drag.By having this hole (in the back of the new SLR frame ) right in front of this low-energy area, you can introduce a jet of fast-moving air that reduces drag throughout the system. “
Specifications of the Trek Madone SLR 2023
• 6 models (all 12-speed electronic transmission trains): SLR 9 eTap, SLR 9, SLR 7 eTap, SLR 7, SLR 6 eTap and SLR 6
• Frame: Carbon OCLV 800 Series, KVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) tube forming, IsoFlow seat tube, invisible routing, 3S aerodynamic chain holder, BB threaded T47, flat mounting disc, 142×12 mm through shaft
• Fork: Madone KVF full carbon, conical carbon steering, internal routing, flat mounting disc, carbon tips, 100×12 mm through shaft
• Cockpit: Madone integrated handlebar / handle, OCLV carbon
• Bar compatibility: 2 options of upper bearing cover – Madone SLR specific or standard 31.8 mm
• Seat stem: Madone aero internal carbon seat post cover (2 lengths, 2 displacements)
• Saddle: Bontrager Aeolus RSL carbon rails (SLR 9 and SLR 9 eTap), Bontrager Aeolus Elite (other models)
• Wheel set: Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 mm (SLR 9 and SLR 9 eTap), Bontrager Aeolus Pro 51 (other models)
• Geometry: H1.5
• Weight: 7.1 kg (SLR 9, 54 cm)
• Maximum recommended tire size: 28 mm
• Colors: smoke red, white, viper red, blue blue, deep carbon smoke
• RRP: $ 11,399 (SLR 6) to $ 17,999 (SLR 9 eTap)