Trek Emonda, Demone, Madone

[dontay]

I’m coming from mountain biking to the road with minimal experience.
I’m in process of road testing and then ordering either an Emonda SL5, Damone SL5 and Madone SL6.
My initial aspirations are single day rides 25-50 miles averaging 4000 ft of assent.
I appreciate they are quite different bikes. I would really appreciate the opinion of those with any experience.

Many thanks
D

 

[vickster]

Try them out, don’t spend that amount blind

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Vickster is talking sense. those bikes are like comparing apples with pears. The only commonality is they are all Treks. Why are you even considering that sort of money on a first road bike? You don't know yet if you will end up enjoying that style of riding, or whether you will keep it up long term or the bike will just end up getting stuffed in the back of your shed gathering dust. The minute you take delivery of a new bike and ride it, that's a third of it's retail cost gone in an instant. If you buy the wrong one and decide you don't like it much, and it's a pricey high end model, its going to be an expensive learning experience.
It would make a lot more sense to get a budget road bike from a reputable source, that will merely be good enough to be mechanically reliable, without being a depreciation money pit, and ride that around for a while to see if you really intend to stick at that type of cycling or not.

 

[cougie uk]

4000 feet of ascent is quite a lot. You must love climbing.
If you're in the northern hemisphere I'd be buying a winter bike first. Full mudguards, wide tyres and disc brakes.

Then by the time the nice weather arrives you'll know what you want out of a bike.

Are you limited to Trek ?

 

[dontay]

Vickster is talking sense. those bikes are like comparing apples with pears. The only commonality is they are all Treks. Why are you even considering that sort of money on a first road bike? You don't know yet if you will end up enjoying that style of riding, or whether you will keep it up long term or the bike will just end up getting stuffed in the back of your shed gathering dust. The minute you take delivery of a new bike and ride it, that's a third of it's retail cost gone in an instant. If you buy the wrong one and decide you don't like it much, and it's a pricey high end model, its going to be an expensive learning experience.
It would make a lot more sense to get a budget road bike from a reputable source, that will merely be good enough to be mechanically reliable, without being a depreciation money pit, and ride that around for a while to see if you really intend to stick at that type of cycling or not.

All extremely valid points, which I appreciate you and others raising. I’ve been ridding my mountain bikes weekly on the road for a year or so, switching wheels/tyres and absolutely love it. I now want to add many more miles and I live in a very hilly area.
My logic was to invest in something of quality, great fit, really light, decent components etc allowing the best opportunity to succeed and feel happy on the road. What I didn’t want to do was buy cheap, and more importantly heavy and within a few months regret the purchase and need to upgrade.
I am able to have each bike for a weekend to try/test so that’s an advantage - Comfort, least fatigue, gearing and smile factor.
I will consider and discuss your comments with friends before considering a purchase.
Genuinely appreciate your reply.
D

 

[cougie uk]

A lot of keen cyclists will have a couple of bikes. A best one for summer and then one for winter.
It's easy to trash a nice shiny summer bike if you don't keep up on the cleaning through the winter.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

The Madone is the model you'll see on the pro tours when it's a high speed, flattish stage with low crosswinds, it's designed to be as aerodynamic and as fast as possible. The Domane is a slightly more comfort orientated bike for really long days, and the Emonda is the model that's meant to be optimised for climbing. So on paper you probably want the Emonda, although I agree that they need to be tried in person with that sort of outlay at stake.

 

[Dogtrousers]

4000 feet of ascent is quite a lot. You must love climbing.

That's putting it mildly. To convert into metric, that's 1,219m in 40.2 km. 3% overall. That's a @Sea of vapours style ride.

Get some low gears.

My general advice would be to not go for a top notch bike to begin with. Get a cheaper bike and ride it for a while to discover what it is that you do and don't like about it. Then when you do splash out on a posh bike you're doing so from a position of knowing exactly what you do/don't want

 

[Sea of vapours]

Yeessss... the pointy end of that distance / ascent range is close to Lunacy Climbing Challenge ascent rates, isn't it. If the 25 miles / 4,000' is true then 34 x 34 gearing, whch any of those bikes /could/ have, would certainly be a very good idea.

 

[vickster]

All those hills...get one with a battery motor

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

I’m coming from mountain biking to the road with minimal experience.
I’m in process of road testing and then ordering either an Emonda SL5, Damone SL5 and Madone SL6. My initial aspirations are single day rides 25-50 miles averaging 4000 ft of assent....

The Madone and Emonda share a similar Bike Fit, the former is their aero model where as the Emonda is focused more on weight reduction and as such a popular choice for those who enjoy climbing, so arguably as you want to do "25-50 miles averaging 4000 ft of assent" at this stage I'd personally shortlist the Emonda over the Madone. In comparison the Domane has a shorter, higher reach to the bars as well as being by design more compliant; aimed at the 'extra mile' as well as the 'extra mph'.

I have drawn up both on BikeCAD for you, both 56cm with the same saddle height and set back (click on each for a larger picture)

​

Morphing one into the other may help illustrate; especially the reach and drop to the bars, plus the effect the shallower head angle, longer chainstays and wheelbase have on the overall set up. In addition features like the 'isospeed' and larger tyres all combine to influence the difference between the two. (If you like using tech/software there is a free version of BikeCAD, that you may enjoy; I've added these two to their public design archive for you; click on the following to a link to each, Domane and Emonda)

​

As an analogy to help compare I have two bikes that tick similar boxes to these, my Van Nicholas Chinook is closer to the Emonda and my Van Nicholas Yukon more like the Domane. Both are the sum of their parts of course, but even if I had the same components and finishing kit on both my Yukon would still not inspire me to try hard in quite the same way. When I get to the bottom of my regular climb of Box Hill on my Yukon I am inclined to change down gears and just roll up it; where as on my quicker bike I am more inclined to change down fewer gears and attack it; which I have to say normally translates to me blowing up and crying for my mum but you get the picture.

That is where you may have a dilemma, the more compliant bike can take time to win you over, on a short test ride the Emonda may feel seductively quick, but in time although technically the Domane is the slower bike factor in the 'tortoise and the hare' effect then for many it's this bike that's the valid choice over the more focused Madone and Emonda; in your case especially if there is potential that you may evolve into enjoying longer rides than 25-50 miles. Trying to compare the difference in performance is always down to the perception of the rider; a deal breaking difference to one may well be no difference to another, plus your initial conclusion may change as you gain experience. Coming from a mountain biking back ground you will probably still find the Domane quick, because in short it still is; it's just not as focused as the Emonda.

A quality local store will be able to guide you through the options, factor in your goals and if relevant any issues then help you conclude what is the right choice; for the 'you' of now and significantly the 'you' that may well evolve into. It's important to think what style of riding you actually enjoy and be really honest with yourself with what it is you want, so many don't think it through clearly and perhaps buy a less valid choice as a result. In my case for example the older I get the more I enjoy cycling to 'chill out' rather than 'work out', so I use my Yukon far more. I am in my late fifties now; the 'me' in my twenties would have come to a different conclusion, I would have used my quicker bike far more simply because most rides were in the higher effort ranges and the bike set up to compliment that would have been my 'go to' bike. This is what I mean by being honest with yourself, I have seen quite a few not admit even to themselves that what they actually enjoy is wafting along far more than going out for a blast, the result is they buy a bike set up to be quicker and harsher, a decision that they then later regret; vice versa applies of course.

I am able to have each bike for a weekend to try/test so that’s an advantage - Comfort, least fatigue, gearing and smile factor...

That's ideal if you get to have each bike for a weekend, astonished that a dealer has all three in your size to test as all of them are scarce with long lead times for new orders; late 2022 for each model

 

[dontay]

Hi Paul, what an absolutely superb concise informative reply. I’m blown away! Extremely useful and helps massively. Thank you so much.
Agree bike numbers are very low, however. Two local shops have demo stock of the 2022 Emonda SL5 and 2022 domane SL5, my best friend has the Madone SL6.
Thank you once again for taking time to submit this information.
D.

 

[Paul_Smith SRCC]

Hi Paul, what an absolutely superb concise informative reply. I’m blown away! Extremely useful and helps massively. Thank you so much.
Agree bike numbers are very low, however. Two local shops have demo stock of the 2022 Emonda SL5 and 2022 domane SL5, my best friend has the Madone SL6.
Thank you once again for taking time to submit this information.
D.

Definitely worth sharing how you got to whatever the conclusion you come to Dontay

 

[Proto]

That's putting it mildly. To convert into metric, that's 1,219m in 40.2 km. 3% overall. That's a @Sea of vapours style ride.

Get some low gears.

You haven't been to West Dorset/East Devon, have you!

 

[T4tomo]

Yeessss... the pointy end of that distance / ascent range is close to Lunacy Climbing Challenge ascent rates, isn't it. If the 25 miles / 4,000' is true then 34 x 34 gearing, which any of those bikes /could/ have, would certainly be a very good idea.

even if its 4000ft in 50 miles its pretty lumpy, looking on my veloviewer over 80ft/m is when I've been in very hilly areas of UK or overseas or rides designed to go up lots of hills for training or sheer devil-ment. Over 160ft per mile are very rare, particularly if you start and end at same-point as @Dogtrousers calc of average 3% become 6% ascent if half the ride is the going down bits.

where do you live @dontay out of interest?

The Domane is arguably the better option for getting used to the position after coming from a more upright MTB background, least racy more endurance geometry. I hired one to ride up Mont Ventoux, so they do climb ok too! (5000ft in 13miles)