Trek Madone 5.9 - Any Good?

I am thinking of buying a stock Trek Madone 5.9

I am fed up of reading fantastic reviews on this and the superlight 5900.

I want to know from someone who owns one, whats not so good about this bike, or from anyone else who knows. How about a top five fault list from people who know. Any thoughts gladly received. A critical non biased opinion would be nice.

Roy

 

I have only had my 2004 5900 for a few weeks now but have put a few hundred miles on it, even with all the wind & rain here in Devon. All I can say is that the frame really makes the ride a smooth one. The 110 carbon soaks up all the bumps & is so light & stiff that it makes hills a breeze. It's an absolute joy to ride.

Let's face it, the Madone & the 5900 are both pretty bikes. Both are pretty pricey too but if you're shelling out your hard earnd cash get something you want. I can only suggest that you take out a Madone & ride it. If you fall in love with it great, if not try another manufacturer. I doubt you'll find a bad bike out there for the money your looking at spending but it's all about personal preferance. Some will love the Treks others Giants etc. Then there's the whole issue of whether you want carbon or titanium etc.

Some will say if you crash the carbon is history, well, true, but the same can be said for many other materials. I doubt anyone would want to crash their £3000-£5000 bike! If the Lance crash in the '03 tour puts you off the Madone (although it was an '04 5900 he crashed) maybe titanium is better for you? Some carbon bike, such as the Orca, have rear triangles that can be removed so a crash like Lance's won't mean the end of the whole frame.

Okay, I'm going on a bit but I'm sure other Trek OCLV riders will tell you that it's all in the ride - Take one out & try it. Please let us know what you end up doing. Either way, if you're spending this sort of money you're going to have a fantastic bike beit Trek, Giant, Colnago, C'dale, DeRosa etc....the list goes on...

Pez have a few articles on the 5900, Orca & a few other carbon bikes, check it out:

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=technspec

 

Tubes can be replaced in the 5900.Same for many other CF frames,depending on consturction method.

 

Can only tell you what I have read in magazine reviews.
Stiff
Fast
Not that comfortable
Not that Cheap
Not for rercreational riding
And not for everyone

 

Looks like ***

Full with USPS crap and stickers

Glued carbon fibers



Better buy this, Colnago one piece monoqocue carbon:

http://members.lycos.nl/michaelmuusse/colnago carbonissimo oof groot.jpg

http://members.lycos.nl/michaelmuusse/colnago carbonissimo lx37 2.jpg

 

I have no Idea where you are from but in Australia those bike retail for about $10000. But you can spend half that on a similarly equiped Trek 5500 which probably rides 95~99% as good.
Isuppose if you've got that money spare and there's absolutely nothing else useful you could spend it on (like being able to eat for a year!) then you can.
Also these bike are all so new that its pointless trying to get people to come forward with faults. There couldn't be more than a few hundred on the planet (and a good slice of that would be under the USPS team). I know that there's only 5 in the city of Sydney.
I'm about to recieve a 5500 because it is a frame that has been tried and tested and developed over the past few years and is known for it's duraility and performance. The Madone is only known for it's performance and it hasn't been refined at all.

 

I too have been doing a lot of research on the Trek offerings, as I have been riding a 5200 for the past 4 years and love it! I can tell you that the 5200 has been an incredible ride, sucks up bumps and handles like a dream. The only reason I am looking to upgrade is that by the time I were to purchase the '04 Dura Ace gruppo, seat post, stem, fork, I could spend only a little bit more for a brand new ride.

In my research I have determined that the 5900 is the way to go, for me. While I have heard great things regarding the Madone, in the same breath I always hear that the Madone is not a great 'all rounder'. It has been told to me on a number of ocassions that the Madone is great on flats and rolling hills but leaves something to be desired for climbing. As I can only afford one bike, I need that bike to be all purpose and I have been advised that Madone is not the bike. The fact that the 5900 is a little lighter and a few $ cheaper is bonus.

Hope this helps and all the best.

 

I have no Idea where you are from but in Australia those bike retail for about $10000.

You need to enrol in 'negotiation skills 101', if you're paying $10K AUS for a Madone. A mate of mine has just paid $8.5K including a whole heap of 'trick' upgrades & 'Lance' pedals....shop around, there's plenty of deals to be had,

cheers

Hitchy

 

Sounds to me like I need to go into import/export! The Madone is going as a complete bike ('04 Dura Ace gruppo) here in the states at around the equivalent of $5900 AUS! The 5900 is going at around $4900 AUS!

 

G'day Glyde,

I'm in...you send 'em over & i'll send ya the money.......promise!. Seriously, though If the madone is selling at $5900 AUS (i reckon thats about $4500 US) over there, looks like us Aussies are being ripped off big time. $8.5K with a few bits & pieces thrown in, is a good deal here,

cheers,

Hitchy

 

I am sure that I will be blasted for this but...

Everthing has a trade off, we get Trek's cheaper but we do have to live with a man like G(ee) W(hiz) Bush. If I had my choice (which thankfully I do in November), I would take more costly Trek's!!!

All the best!