cydewaze

LOL! I know. I'm still deciding on a saddle, but the local Performance has the same one but black/red, so I'll probably go with that. I'm also looking for black bar tape with some red in it. I know Lizard Skins has some 2-tone, but I remember seeing black with little pores that red peeks out of. I can't seem to find it though.

But the saddle and tape will be replaced SOON!

EDIT: I think this is the saddle I'll end up with:

bluzharp

4 days old.

cydewaze

Super nice!

zymphad

This rant isn't about Emonda's ride quality. It's about what they are marketing most about this bike. The lightest production bike from Trek.

WOW! Just checked the Trek website. Trek's entry level S4 for a bike that they claim is their lighest yet weighs 20 lbs? $1600 gets you a heavy 20 lb bike, the model they claim is their lightest yet. A $1500 Allez Comp weighs less.

It costs $2600 to get a 18 pound Emonda? WTF? The whole point of this bike is that it's the lightest yet. Next year with a $300 wheel upgrade, my bike will weigh less. It's already hovering at the 18 lb.

Trek wants $4,500 to give you unremarkable 15 lbs. For less, if you built a Allez E5 Smartweld with SRAM Red, would weigh 15 lbs. $970 for the frame, $2500 for SRAM Red group. $400 for 1500 gram wheels.

But to get what Trek advertises, a bike that weighs less than an Allez with SRAM Red, you have to pay $12,000.

Ultra lightweight
Émonda is the ultimate lightweight road racing machine, pushing the boundaries of what's possible for bicycle weight and ride performance.

But less than $8,000 you won't get the ultimate lightweight road machine. You can get a responsive lightweight Specialized AL for far less.

Campag4life

Trek's marketing can be debated and the Emonda as being uber light has been contested. The $4K Emonda frame is quite light. The $1.5 500 series isn't uber light, but a great value.
But lets be clear about something. There is NO comparison between an Specialized Smartweld frame and a Emonda 500 series frameset which costs about $500 more than a Smartweld. The Emonda 500 series rides night and day better than the Smartweld. For $1K the Smartweld isn't a bad frameset. Me personally? I would rather find a low miles Tarmac Expert, Pro or Sworks for $1.5K versus ANY Smartweld bike...no comparison...or build an Emonda. The weight thing is nebulous. Yes, Trek's marketing is a bit foggy...components obfuscate true frameset weight. The Emonda is an excellent bike however.

cydewaze

My 2005 OCLV with 9-sp DA weighed 17.8 lbs with cages and pedals. Transferring those same components (except for the crankset and seatpost, which didn't fit) to the Emonda SL frame put me at 15.6 lbs, so I'm not complaining about the weight.

When I built my original bike in 1993, an OCLV frameset cost $1299. The new Emonda SL frameset costs $1429. A $130 difference in 21 years? Yeah, I'm not complaining about the price at all (forget the fact that Trek has now given me two free frameset in that time).

But by all means, feel free to nitpick!

txags92

I really think Trek may have had to make a quick change in plans once they figured out what they had in the Emonda. I think they originally were going for the weight weenie lightest/stiffest bike in the world crowd, and probably had planned a limited production of the lower level models. So all their marketing and press were directed that way. Once they figured out how well the bike rode with the lower level carbon, they didn't really have time to turn around and change everything up. Which would explain why the SL models are so scarce and it is taking them so long to catch up with production. They are still marketing it as the "lightest bike EVAR!!1!!111!", but the real story that has folks buying the SL models is how well it rides for a bike at that price point. I suspect next year we will see a new "aero" Madone with a wider range of models and the Emonda will be the race/dream bike without so much focus on the weight. Or at least that is what Trek will do if they are smart.

zymphad

Emonda SL frame in the size I need won't be available until March 2015. Got some time, may go for this. Thinking of building another bike next year with Ultegra.

gaucho777 

I'm curious: Why did Trek give you two free framesets? Are they a sponsor or were there problems with frames?

gaucho777 

I not seeing much saddle to bar drop on these bikes. For the latest/lightest race bike, it doesn't seem to me that any would qualify as having a "competitive fit" (a couple are even bordering on a French fit). The two examples from cashwatson007 show the biggest drop, but I suspect those may be stock photos. Is there something about the geometry that lends itself to a reduced saddle-to-bar drop, or are my eyes deceiving me?

cydewaze

I got my original frame in 93. In 2005, I noticed a clicking in the BB area that I couldn't get rid of. Turns out the BB shell had over the years come unbonded from the frame. The Trek rep took one look at it and asked me what color I'd like my warranty replacement frame to be. They replaced it, no questions asked.

I rode the 2005 bike until this past September, when I was cleaning it and noticed a crack near the seat tube water bottle mount. Brought the bike to the LBS, they sent a few pics to Trek, and my new Emonda frameset was in the mail the next day. Also no questions asked.

The ironic thing is that I also have an OCLV mountain bike, which I've brutalized, yet that frame's never had a single issue.

Trek has two "fits", H1 and H2. The H1 has a shorter head tube that puts the bars lower. The H2 has a longer head tube and thus a more upright position. Most of the pictures you're seeing are the H2 fit. Mine's an H2 and what I like about it is that I can have zero spacers and a -10 degree stem and get the bars around 4" below the saddle and not have the stack of ugly spacers that a shorter head tube would give me.

Here's an Emonda with a racier, H1 fit:

gaucho777 

^Thanks for the explanation re fit on the Emonda. Re the previous exchanges, it is great that Trek was willing to replace the frames, but no failures would have been better IMO. Hope your new Emonda is trouble-free.

Digitalfiend

I'm thinking of replacing my Madone 6.9 SSL frame in the next year or two and have been leaning towards the Emonda frameset, as the new Madone has the bottom mount brake, which I despise. One thing I've always liked about my frame is that it was made in the USA (not just assembled, but made there too.) Now this probably doesn't really matter that much, but when paying $4200cdn for a frameset, little things like that make it a bit easier to swallow.

Does anyone know if the Emonda SLR frameset is still *made* (not just assembled) in the USA?

My Madone 6.9 H1 with WH7900-C24-TL wheels, 7970 Di2, Quarq ELSA p/m 53/39, 11-28 DA cassette, SQLab 611 saddle (264g), and DA9000 pedals weighs in at 15.7lbs. I trust the frame and Trek, which is why I'm looking at an Emonda down the road.

cydewaze

I actually keep debating that, and I'm not sure which is better. Having a frame with zero failures and riding a 1993 bike at 19.3 lbs (the weight of my original bike), or having a new frame with all the running upgrades every ~10 years, which puts me on a 15.6 lb bike right now. It's hard to deny the merits of the latter!

Honestly, I keep hoping my 9700 (the mountain bike frame) buys the farm, because I'd REALLY like a brand new OCLV mountain frame that will take disc brakes (something mine doesn't have), but so far the thing's been bulletproof.

cydewaze

There's your answer.

bonz50

wish the SL frameset had more than one color option!!! at $1400 that seems like a helluva good deal!!!

cydewaze

Me too!

I don't see why not. They already make the thing in the matte grey, in white, and in red. I'd have LOVED to have this one instead:

bonz50

ya, I'm not complaining to much though, I saw an S6 in black/red and it looks good in person, but I like the white SL5 and matte black better.

txags92

I wish they offered an SL frame based Project One. Right now they only have S or SLR as options. So you can build a $3500 bike or a $10000 bike, but not much in between. It is almost like they don't really want to do the custom bikes. If they did, they would make more mid-priced frame options available.

Up North

You can go Project 1 with SLR frame not the S or SL.

My SLR build up is underway will have pictures soon.

txags92

Incorrect. Trek Website shows S and SLR models.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/proje...#model/emondas

bonz50

one thing I found rather nice about the emonda was a couple of the 'little things'. like the RD hanger is annodized to match the bike, on the S6 and S5 they were Red and Orange respectively, not a big deal, but a little detail touch that I was impressed with

Josey Wales

My new Trek Emonda SL5

Josey Wales

It's a great bike.600 miles so far.

Axiom

Sweet bike, but they are incredibly boring. They need more color.