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Trek Émonda Bikes Compared: Which One to Choose?

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In this article, I’ll help you navigate the Trek Émonda aero road bikes by comparing the Émonda SL 6 to SLR 9 .

You will also learn:

• Who are they best suited for?
• Why I think you shouldn’t buy Trek Émonda with SRAM groupset.
• And which model gives you the best value for your money?

KEY TAKEAWAY

Trek Émonda bikes are ideal for climbing and hilly terrain. They are the lightest bike family of all Trek road bikes . The models differ in components (e.g., electronic shifting) and frames. The more expensive ones are usually lighter and have a higher-grade carbon frame, but usually diminishing returns.

Let’s dive deeper to help make your decision easier.

This article compares Trek Émonda Gen 6 and 7. The main difference between Émonda Gen 6 and Gen 7 is that Gen 6 has IsoSpeed decoupler, while Gen 7 has IsoFlow.

Trek Émonda ALR 5 to SLR 9

The following table summarizes the main differences between all Émonda road bikes.

Émonda Pros & Cons Summary

I summarized the pros & cons of the Émonda series below.

Émonda Pros

• Lighter than Madone road bikes
• Aluminum and carbon models are available
• Relaxed geometry
• Availability in multiple sizes and colors
• Integrated cable routing
• Lifetime warranty

Émonda Cons

• Slower than Madone road bikes
• Narrow tire clearance (28mm)

Émonda Main Features

Let me now explain the most important features of the Trek Émonda aero bikes.

Frame and Geometry

The Émonda bikes are part of Trek’s road bike lineup . They’re made of aluminum or carbon .

The names of the bikes have abbreviations that refer to the type of material used for the frame:

• ALR  are  aluminum  frame bikes.
• SL are bikes with 500 series OCLV*  carbon (mid-range).
• SLR are bikes with 800 series OCLV carbon (high-end).

*OCLV carbon is Trek’s patented carbon fiber process ( learn more ).

ALR Émondas are great entry-level road bikes , thanks to their affordability. However, they are still a bit more expensive than less-known competitors.

SLs are the best mid-range option. They are slightly heavier than SLRs but about 25% cheaper.

And SLRs are ideal for people who have more money to spend and don’t want to compromise.

Most Émondas are available in 47-62 sizes and multiple colors giving you a wide range of options.

Their geometry is more relaxed than on other racing bikes, so you won’t experience as much strain on your lower back and neck. The following picture shows the comparison with Specialized Tarmac SL 7.

Weight & Aerodynamics

Trek Émonda frame weighs 760g in size 56. The highest-end Émonda even weighs below the UCI 6.8 kg limit. However, low weight is not everything. Stiffness and aerodynamics are also important.

Trek claims Émonda frames are also relatively stiff and aero (of course, less aero than Madone). They are 18 seconds per hour faster at 8% gradients. ( Source ) However, more information on the methodology is not available.

Émondas are so lightweight also due to the absence of an IsoSpeed decoupler that adds weight.

Wheels and Tires

On some Émonda models, the wheels may be different, but typically, they come with Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37 wheels.

Of course, the low-end models have cheaper aluminum wheels . Fortunately, all Émondas come with tubeless-ready wheels. But remember, the tires are clinchers. So, if you want tubeless tires, you have to buy them separately.

One of the things that surprised me is that the lower-end Émondas have 28mm tires, while the higher-end only have 25mm. Most road bikes these days (except for some aero bikes) have 28mm or 30mm tires.

Unfortunately, Émondas only have tire clearance for 28mm tires.

Unsurprisingly, the Émonda bikes have a 2X drivetrain, as is customary for road bikes.

Trek fits them with Shimano and SRAM groupsets, and the number in the bike name indicates the groupset.

• Models ending with 5 use Shimano  105  (R7000) groupset.
• Models ending with 6 use Shimano Ultegra , 105 Di2 (R7100) or SRAM Rival AXS groupsets.
• Models ending with 7 use Shimano Ultegra Di2 (R8100) or SRAM Force AXS groupsets.
• Models ending with 9 use Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 (R9200) or SRAM Red AXS groupsets.

Interestingly, the Émondas with SRAM are heavier than the Émondas of the same series with the Shimano groupset. In addition, those with Shimano are also cheaper.

This is somewhat strange because Shimano retail prices are higher than SRAM. That’s why I recommend choosing Trek bikes with Shimano groupsets unless you prefer SRAM.

TIP : You might also be interested in this comparison of Shimano vs. SRAM .

So, which Trek Émonda bike is the best?

If you’re considering buying an Émonda, I suggest a model with a Shimano groupset. They are lighter and less expensive than the equivalent SRAM models.

For better value, consider the Émonda SL. It’s around 30% cheaper than the SLR but offers almost the same performance. From all models, I believe the Émonda SL 6 Pro with the Shimano 105 Di2 is the best deal.

However, if you don’t want to compromise, go for the SLR, which is more expensive but lighter.

Trek Émonda FAQ

Trek Émonda bikes are for pro cyclists, competitive roadies, and enthusiast cyclists who want a lightweight road bike. They are ideal for hilly, mountainous terrain and short, medium, and long-distance rides.

The main difference between Émonda and Madone is that Émonda is a lightweight road bike, while Émonda is an aero road bike. For more detailed info, please check out my comparison of Émonda vs. Madone .

The main difference between Émonda and Domane is that Émonda is a lightweight aero road bike. Domane is an endurance road bike with wider tire clearance, also suitable for off-road adventures. Domane is somewhere between Émonda and Madone. Learn more in my Émonda vs. Domane comparison.

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Petr Minarik

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• Rider Notes

2015 Trek Émonda S 4

A carbon frame race bike with mid-range components and rim brakes.

For This Bike

View more similar bikes →

A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

Similar Bikes

(descending)

Add custom gearing

When Trek first introduced the Émonda back in 2014, it was sort of a surprising addition. Seeming to compete directly with the Madone, the biggest difference was that Trek’s new lightweight lacked the aerodynamic touches of its sibling. Now with the most modern iteration of the Madone, we know that Trek was already working on creating …

Read Review

In developing the Émonda, Trek devoted considerable resources to designing a lightweight race bike and trumped the industry with a 690g frame. CTech editor Matt Wikstrom takes a close look at the new bike and assesses the influence of different grades of carbon fibre by comparing the mid-level Émonda SL6 with the

Jul 2015 · Warren Rossiter

One of the lightest chassis ever made, the Émonda is a climber's dream but also a fantastic all-rounder

Nov 2014 · Mat Brett

Super light and lively road bike that flies up the climbs, with many other talents too

Nov 2014 · Matthew Pioro

My test bike, the Trek Émonda SLR 8, shares the same frame and fork (690 g and 280 g in Size 56, respectively) as the SLR 10, but has a less-rarified spec.

Trek claims its new race bike is the lightest production road frame ever

Last updated June 29 Not listed for 2,473 days

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

The New Trek Émonda Is Faster Than Ever

Already one of the fiercest climbing bikes available, the new Émonda is even faster thanks to a dose of aero.

The Takeaway: The Émonda SLR is a benchmark pro race bike—and it’s surprisingly rider friendly.

• It has 183 grams less drag than the previous generation, but the frame is only 33 grams heavier
• There are 10 models starting at $2,699
• SL models ($2,699 to $5,999) have the aerodynamic shaping and features but in a frame that’s about 400 grams heavier than the SLR
• SLR models ($6,699 and up) use a new carbon fiber composite that’s 30 percent stronger than Trek’s previous top-of-the-line carbon.

For Émonda SLR bicycles, Trek will provide an individual handlebar and stem until an updated handlebar/stem combo is available.

Additionally, all customers who bring in their handlebars for replacement will also receive a $100 in-store credit that can be used toward any Trek or Bontrager merchandise through December 31, 2022.

Remember professional road racing ? It’s that thing where super skinny people go unbelievably fast up and down hills and fly over flat roads for hours at a time. It’s been a while since the pros have beat up on each other for our entertainment, but there might, hopefully, be some races on the horizon. When the races do resume, Trek’s pro riders will be aboard its new third-generation Émonda climbing bike. The new Émonda isn’t lighter, but it is faster thanks to a dose of aerodynamic tuning.

.css-1hhr1pq{text-align:center;font-size:1.1875rem;line-height:1.6;font-family:Charter,Charter-roboto,Charter-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;}.css-1hhr1pq em{font-style:italic;font-family:Charter,Charter-styleitalic-roboto,Charter-styleitalic-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;}.css-1hhr1pq strong{font-family:Charter,Charter-weightbold-roboto,Charter-weightbold-local,Georgia,Times,Serif;font-weight:bold;} —Five Cool Details—

Now With Aero

The new Émonda gets a major drag reduction with a tiny weight gain.

Simple Seat Mast

The seat mast has lots of adjustment range, and an easy-to-use saddle clamp.

Light and Slippery

The new Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 wheels are light, sleek, and stable.

Wide and Threaded

The T47 bottom bracket has a wide stance, and user-friendly threads.

A built-in chain watcher prevents unwanted derailments.

Making the new Émonda frame more aerodynamic wasn’t exactly a tough hurdle as the previous Émonda had virtually zero aerodynamic optimization. But adding meaningful aerodynamic benefit while achieving the frame stiffness expected of a pro-caliber race bike, maintaining the well-regarded handling properties of the previous Émonda, and adding rider-friendly features like a threaded bottom bracket—all with adding only 33 grams (SLR frame, claimed)—is quite a feat.

Below you’ll find my review of the Émonda SLR—I’ve been on it since early March—followed by a dive into the technology and features of the new bike, and a brief model breakdown.

Ride Impressions: Émonda SLR 9 eTap

The Émonda SLR is a tool made to fulfill the needs of some of the world’s best road racers. This bike will never be as comfortable or versatile as a gravel bike. Going fast on pavement and climbing performance are its only goals. These are obvious facts, but that’s the lens through which it must be viewed. And through this lens, it is one of the very best.

The new Émonda was born out of a request from Trek’s pro racers and pitched as the company’s “fastest climbing bike ever.” So little surprise they set me up with the lightest model (the SLR 9 with SRAM Red eTap ), which also has a build kit almost identical to the team’s bikes. It’s also, excepting customized Project One builds, the most expensive model at a buck under 12 grand.

That massive pile of clams gets you an aerodynamic frame with disc brakes, power meter, and wireless electronic shifting that weighs less than 15 pounds (54cm). And that’s with a hefty T47 threaded bottom bracket unit, lustrous paint , clincher wheelset, a chain-watcher, standard butyl tubes, 37mm deep rims, 160mm disc rotors front and rear, and SRAM’s largest Red cassette (10-33). That’s “Holy shit!” impressive.

By cutting drag a ton without adding much weight, it’s hard to argue with Trek’s claim that the new Émonda is faster than the outgoing generation. But if you have any doubts, they’ll be erased when you ride it. This is an explosive bike: it feels as light as a feather and as solid as a steel girder at the same time.

Trek’s Émonda has always been a raw and rowdy bike that feels a little wild and a bit dangerous in precisely the ways you want a race bike to feel: That’s not lost with the added aerodynamics. If anything, the new Émonda is even crisper and punchier than before, which is saying something.

A small downside to all this fury is the Émonda’s smoothness. Light and stiff race bikes aren’t a smooth-riding lot to begin with, but even measured against a stiffer riding genre, the new Émonda is on the firmer end of the scale. Still, it escapes harsh or punishing labels—I did a six-hour ride on the Émonda on the stock 25 tires and didn’t feel worn down by its ride. Swapping to 28s helped a lot (no surprise) and were on the Émonda for the bulk of my testing. I’d suggest reserving the lighter and more aerodynamic stock 25s for racing or PR attempts—assuming good roads—and use 28s as daily drivers.

The Émonda’s handling is excellent. Well, let me caveat that: Road racing geometry is pretty uniform, so whether I’m on a current race bike from Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, Cervélo, Canyon, Colnago, Wilier, Pinarello, BMC, Giant (etc., etc.), I find the broad strokes of their handling feel and performance quite similar. There wasn’t anything about the Émonda’s handling or cornering performance that set any new benchmarks for me, but there wasn’t anything to dislike either.

It was quick and accurate, diving into corners with a light touch. It offered great feedback, so I always knew where I was relative to its and my limits, and I could count on it to be consistent and predictable. It was maybe a touch less settled in bumpy corners than the Specialized Tarmac, but the Émonda never broke traction or skipped. Overall, for such a light bike, the Émonda is remarkably solid and drama free. I’d have no qualms barreling down a technical alpine descent on the Émonda.

I received this test bike in early March, giving me plenty of time to ride it back to back with its primary competition—a Specialized S-Works Tarmac , what I consider the benchmark for aero-ized lightweight bikes. The Tarmac is smoother over the bumps and has a silkier feel overall, but the new Émonda feels more efficient, like it can go faster more easily.

I’ve also ridden a good slice of the Émonda’s competition, including the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX , Colnago V3Rs, Cannondale SuperSix Evo , Cervélo R5, Wilier Zero SLR , Pinarello Dogma F12 . These are all superb bikes, but I feel the Émonda is the class leader. It feels sharper and more explosive than all of them. It feels faster, and that’s what matters most in a race bike. But I also like that the Émonda is pretty straightforward and rider-friendly.

For example, I swapped the stock one-piece bar/stem for a standard stem and round bar. One, I could run a standard bar and stem on this bike, which you can’t say about every modern race bike. And two, I didn’t have to pull any cables, wires, or hoses to make the swap: Again, something you can’t say about all race bikes. For the record, the shape of the one-piece Aeolus bar/stem is great, and the tops are the most comfortable to grab of all the aero-topped bars I've used. The only reason I swapped is my preferred length and width combination (110x40) wasn't available yet.

The BB is threaded, which makes it easier to service and replace than a press-fit (however, I was getting some noise out of the BB area, which I never resolved). The wheels employ standard offset, and it uses regular thru-axles. It’s compatible with pod-style power meters and mechanical shifting. Its signature seat mast is pretty much the only non-standard thing about this frame, and even then, it’s pretty user-friendly. There’s no cutting necessary, height adjustment is ample, the saddle clamp is easy to use, and it’s travel-case friendly.

I expect so much from a modern high-end pro-level road racing bike that it’s hard to exceed those expectations. It’s rare when a bike does: The Émonda SLR is one of those rare bikes.

Team Request

The new Émonda is partially a result of a request from the Trek-Segafredo race team. “They are one of our primary customers,” said Jordan Roessingh, Trek’s director of road product. “And they started to realize that it’s not just weight, it’s not just stiffness and responsiveness, there’s this other thing—aerodynamics and speed—that’s also really important to be competitive and be faster on the bike. They had been one of the loudest voices saying, ‘We need the lightest-weight, stiffest bike possible.’ And now they started coming back saying ‘We need those things, but we also need the bike to be faster in order for us to be really competitive.’ ”

It is (comparatively) easy to make a light frame, it is easy to make a stiff frame, it is easy to make an aerodynamic frame. Making a frame that’s two of those three things is more challenging: Making a bike more aerodynamic usually makes it heavier, making a bike lighter typically makes it less stiff, etc. Making a frame that is light AND stiff AND aerodynamic enough to satisfy the demands of a top-level professional race team is extremely difficult.

But not impossible. Many brands already make a light, stiff, and aero bike. The Specialized Tarmac is one, as are the Canyon Ultimate, the Cannondale SuperSix Evo, the Cervélo R5, the Wilier Zero SLR, the Pinarello F12, the Scott Addict, and the new Giant TCR . All of them seek to balance the three qualities—light, stiff, and aero—in the pursuit of the ideal race bike, and they all manage the balance differently. The common thread between these bikes: They’re all used by teams that compete against Trek-Segafredo.

Still Light, Now With Aero

The previous generation Émonda SLR Disc , launched in 2017, was an extremely light frame at 665 grams (claimed). But when a frame is already that light, it is much harder to make it even lighter. At least lighter enough to make a meaningful difference.

So, Trek took a different approach to making its climbing bike faster—instead of lighter, it made it more aerodynamic. The new Émonda frame is a touch heavier—yet still extremely light at 698 grams—but the bike has 183 grams less drag than the previous generation.

The important thing to note here is that, though the frame is more aerodynamic, the 183 gram drag reduction is not from the frame only. New wheels and a new aero bar (more info on both below) play a role. The specific setups Trek used to get that 183 gram number are: 2018 Émonda with 28mm-deep Bontrager XXX 2 wheels, and Bontrager XXX Bar/Stem Combo compared to the 2021 Émonda with 37mm deep Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 Wheels and Bontrager Aeolus RSL Bar/Stem Combo.

Another drag saving upgrade: the housing, hoses and wires for the controls are almost fully inside the frame. They dive into the frame at the head tube passing through the upper headset bearing. The front brake hose runs into the fork steerer and down the left leg before popping out just above the brake caliper. The fork steerer’s flattened sides provide room for the rear brake hose and derailleur control lines to travel down and into the frame. Though it has flattened sides, the fork steerer is still compatible with standard 1 1/8” stems.

The overall drag reduction results in a bike that is 18 seconds per hour faster when climbing an 8.1 percent grade (the average grade of Alpe d’Huez ), and 60 seconds per hour faster on flat roads than the previous Émonda. Trek also claims the new Émonda is 13 seconds per hour faster than a Specialized Tarmac when climbing an 8.1 percent grade (all assuming the rider maintains a constant 350 watts).

Eight Point One Percent

With three qualities—aero, stiffness, weight—that work in opposition to each other, how do you decide how much to optimize one quality when you know it will negatively affect the other two? How aero is aero enough? At what point is improved aerodynamics offset by the weight added to get there?

The team behind the Émonda used a legendary climb to help them decide: Alpe d’Huez. “It represents an extreme example of what most people see on a regular basis when they’re doing a big climbing ride,” said Roessingh, “It’s around an 8 percent grade, and it’s about an hour-long climb for the pros—amateurs might go a little slower. It gives us a good understanding of what the benefit of a drag savings is relative to a weight savings.”

By optimizing the weight and aerodynamic balance around this climb, Roessingh claims the Émonda is faster on Alpe d’Huez and also faster on everything shallower than the famous climb, “which is the vast majority of the environments that most riders are going to ride in, including the team,” said Roessingh. “So if we can say it’s faster up Alpe d’Huez, it’s going to be significantly faster everywhere because the flatter it is, the more aerodynamics benefit you.”

Computer-Aided Optimization

Achieving the weight to the aerodynamic balance of the new Émonda required careful design of each tube shape. Aiding the Émonda’s team was supercomputing horsepower. The abridged and simplified version of the process goes like this: into the computer was fed a rough draft of the shape based on Trek’s aerodynamic experience and other information like UCI regulations. The program then varies the tube’s parameters within a predefined range and spit back several iterations of the shape, each with a different weight to aerodynamic balance. The Émonda’s team evaluated the alternatives and picked the one most suited to its location in the frame and best able to help the frame achieve its overarching goal.

Roessingh says that Trek cannot afford to buy the computing hardware necessary to run the CFD and FEA optimizations (in a timely manner) that helped shape the new Émonda’s tubes. The processing happens in the cloud where Trek rents time on Google, Microsoft, or Amazon’s supercomputers. It’s more affordable than buying a supercomputer. Even so, it is not cheap, “Cloud computing is becoming a relatively significant budget line item for us because we’re doing so many of these optimizations in CFD and FEA and all that processing happens in the cloud.”

The new Émonda’s fork legs, head tube, down tube, seat tube, and seat stays all use a variation of a truncated airfoil. The top tube and chainstays, which have virtually no effect on drag, are optimized almost entirely for stiffness to weight.

In Trek’s line, the new Émonda’s aerodynamic performance is equal to the third generation Domane ; the Madone is still significantly more aero. But while the more aerodynamic Madone is faster in flatter terrain, once the climb hits about 5.5 percent, the lighter Émonda becomes the faster bike. And for many of the Trek-Segafredo team riders—and many amateurs—that means the Émonda is fastest when it matters most: the hardest part of a race or ride, which is almost always on a steep climb.

OCLV 800 Carbon

Getting the new Émonda SLR to be as light as it is while adding aerodynamic shaping would not be possible without employing a new carbon-fiber composite, said Roessingh. The new OCLV 800 composite is 30 percent stronger than Trek’s previous top-of-the-line composite (OCLV 700). Because it is stronger, they can use less: By using OCLV 800, Trek’s team was able to make the Émonda SLR frame 60 grams lighter than if they used OCLV 700.

The Émonda SLR is very cool, but it’s also very expensive (bike prices start at $6,699). For the 99 percenters, there’s the Émonda SL (models start at $2,699).

The SL uses OCLV 500 composite, and the frame is quite a bit heavier than the SLR’s. The SL’s frame comes in at 1,142 grams, with a 380-gram fork (SLR fork weight: 365 grams).

But material (and weight) are the only difference between the SL and SLR.

Aeolus Bar Stem

While a ton of work made the Émonda’s frame tubes faster, a big chunk of the new bike’s drag savings comes from the one-piece Aeolus bar stem. It alone is responsible for 70 grams of the Émonda’s 183-gram drag reduction. This means that if a traditional stem and round bar are installed on the new Émonda, its drag advantage over the previous-generation bike drops to 113 grams. And it means that you can make any bike with a round bar and traditional stem significantly more aerodynamic by merely installing the Aeolus. Retail price is $650.

The integrated Aeolus is made of carbon-fiber composite, of course, with a claimed weight of 297 grams (42x120). It’s offered in 14 length and width combinations, from 44x120 to 38x80. Hoses, housing, and wires run externally for easier service and repairs, but in a groove that keeps them out of the wind. A bolt-on plate keeps the control lines tucked and organized where they turn off the bar tops to run in line with the stem.

The Aeolus employs a mount that works with Bontrager’s line of Blendr accessories for mounting computers and lights.

Aeolus 37 Wheels

Another new Bontrager product rolling out with the Émonda is the Aeolus 37 wheelset. It comes in two models: the Aeolus RSL 37 (1,325 grams/pair, $2,400) and the Aeolus Pro 37 (1,505 grams/pair, $1,300).

The RSL 37 is claimed to be lighter than Zipp’s 32mm-deep 202, yet more aerodynamic and more stable than Zipp’s 45mm-deep 303. Both wheels are disc brake only (only Center Lock interface), tubeless compatible, use DT-Swiss internals, have no rider weight limit, and come with a lifetime warranty.

Surprisingly Rider Friendly

Though the new Émonda is clean and integrated looking and uses high-performance standards, it is also remarkably rider-friendly. Cables, hoses, and housing run externally on the one-piece Aeolus bar/stem for easier repair and service (with one exception: wiring for a Shimano Di2 or Campagnolo EPS bar-end junction box runs partially inside the bar). If you prefer a more traditional cockpit, it can be run with a standard bar and stem with 1⅛-inch steerer clamp.

The bottom bracket uses the threaded T47 standard , which is compatible with almost all common crank-axle standards.

Front and rear thru-axles are standard 12x100 and 12x142mm, and the wheels employ a standard dish. The standard flat mounts for the brake calipers are compatible with 140, 160, or 180mm rotors.

Tire clearance is officially 28mm, but that’s with a ton of extra space. I fit 32mm tires in the Émonda with ease.

And though all models do use a seat mast, it’s a no-cut variety with lots of adjustment range.

H1.5 Geometry

Trek did offer its top-of-the-line race bikes in the aggressive H1 geometry for riders seeking an ultra-long and low geometry, or H2 which was an endurance fit. The new Émonda is offered only in H1.5, which splits the difference between H1 and H2. The result is pretty typical dimensions for a modern race bike—a 54cm Émonda H1’s geometry is remarkably similar to a 54cm Specialized Tarmac.

There are eight sizes starting at 47cm and topping out at 62cm.

There are 10 models of the new Émonda. SL models start at $2,699 and are priced up to $5,999. SLR models start at $6,699 and go up to $11,999.

Only SLR models come with the Aeolus integrated bar/stem stock; and only the Émonda SL 7 ($5,499) and up come with the Aeolus 37 wheelset.

The new Émonda is a disc brake-only platform.

Project One

The new Émonda is in Trek’s Project One paint and parts personalization program. If that’s not luxe enough for you, Trek’s Project One Ultimate program allows you to work with a designer to come up with a one-of-a-kind finish, and Trek will source any parts you want for your new bike.

Trek Émonda SLR 9 eTap

A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling , Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race. 

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Trek Introduces the All New Émonda, Claims World’s Lightest Production Road Bike

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The title of the lightest production road bike in the world is not one to be taken lightly. So when Trek announced that they were introducing a new bike that would take the crown we were intrigued. Trek has certainly offered some light bikes over the years, but the lightest production bike in the world? That, we were excited to see.

Introducing the all new Trek Émonda, a new line of ultra light weight road bikes out of Wisconsin. While the name carries the same letters as Madone and Domane, Émonda is an all new frame that will sit along side of the current bikes. The name itself is derived from the French verb émonder – to prune or cut away. A fitting name for a bicycle where every bit of unnecessary weight has been trimmed away.

The end result is a new frame with enhanced integration, size specific performance, and the lightest production complete weight – provided you can afford it…

Last year when we took a tour of Trek’s Waterloo head quarters there were a number of Trek Factory Racing frames hanging in the rear of the Advanced Composites Room . From a distance the frames looked similar to Madones, but with a number of small changes. Given the fact that Trek has been working on the Émonda for three years now, the secrecy surrounding the frames on the wall now makes sense.

Trek has always touted the benefits of their OCLV (Optimum Compaction Low Void) carbon fiber, but light weight has always been a back story to ride quality and strength. In order to get the weight down as low as possible while still being repeatable, Trek started what they are calling their “most stringent and sophisticated frame tube optimization project” in their history. Using size specific carbon layups and a new ultralight Ride Tuned Seat mast on the top tier bike, Trek whittled the frame weight down to an incredible 690g. Not quite the 667g Cervelo RCA, but pretty close. Trek is still quick to point out that while the Émonda frame is extremely light weight, they claim it is the best riding road bike Trek has offered.

Built with Ultralight 700 series OCLV carbon for the SLR level frames, Émonda continues with a number of specifications like the E2 tapered head tube (1.5″-1.125″) with asymmetric steerer, BB90 bottom bracket with bearings pressed directly into the carbon, internal cable routing, and integrated 3S chain keeper, and the new DuoTrap S. As the second generation of their Speed Trap integrated computer sensors, DuoTrap S is now compatible with both Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity and uses a new mounting system for improved looks.

SLR Émondas will also be equipped with the new Bontrager Speed Stop brakes which are a dual post design similar to the Dura Ace integrated stoppers. Compared to Ultegra brakes, Bontrager claims a 50g per caliper weight savings. Speed Stop brakes also offer an adjustable leverage ratio, two position quick release, and a wide set design to work with the widest rims and bigger tires.

As a complete bike the flagship Émonda SLR 10 comes in at an incredible 10.25 lb (4.6kg) and will retail for an equally staggering $15,749.99. In order to get the weight down to that level Trek is equipping the bike with Tune Skyline tubular wheels, and a Tune Komm-Vorr Plus saddle in addition to the SRAM Red drivetrain and Bontrager parts.

Coming standard on the new SLR 10 is the new Bontrager XXX bar/stem combo which provides a 75g savings over the same XXX bar and stem combination used separately. The bar/stem combo features a 129mm drop, 93mm reach, and is compatible with Trek’s new accessory integration system, Blendr. Eventually to be found across their entire line, Blendr allows accessories like lights, computers, and even cell phones to be attached to the stem with out zip ties or additional mounts.

Émondas will be offered in a number of builds with three different frame levels. The S series Émondas use Ultralight 300 Series OCLV (1220g painted 56cm frame), a BB86.5 bottom bracket, a standard seat post, and are DuoTrap instead of DuoTrap S compatible. Jumping up to the SL level will gain you 500 series OCLV carbon (1050g painted 56cm frame), BB90 bottom bracket, DuoTrap S compatibility, internally routed cables, and the Ride Tuned seatmast. At the high end, SLR frames carry all of the bells and whistles using 700 series OCLV carbon for the 690g painted 56cm frame. Both the SL and SLR models will be sold as framesets for $1429.99 and $4199.99 respectively. The forks differ between the three models as well with a 518g painted fork for the S, 358g painted fork for the SL, and 280g painted fork for the SLR each with around 235mm of steerer tube.

Complete bikes will be offered in both men’s and Women’s WSD models as well as H1 and H2 geometries depending on the model. If nearly 16k is a little too steep, Émondas start out at just $1649.99 for the S 4. The full line starts at the S 4 and then proceeds with the S 5, S 5 WSD, S 6, SL Frameset, SL 5, SL 5 WSD, SL 6, SL 6 WSD, SL 8, SL 8 Red, SL 8 WSD, SLR Frameset, SLR 6 (H1, H2), SLR 8 (H1, H2), SLR 9 (H1, H2, WSD), and the top dog SLR 10 (H1).

Bike Weights (KG: LBS):

trekbikes.com

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor . He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Additional details/specs here as well: http://www.probikeswap.com/2015-trek-emonda-slr/

This should be really great for getting more people into cycling.

Me gusto muscho L’Emonda!

690g is pretty impressive when you consider that it has a seat mast cap. That RCa (and just about every other bike) runs a standard seatpost

@Vectorbug Dude, the S 5 retails for just over two thousand. For that you get a full carbon frame, FULL 105 11-speed, and tubeless ready wheels. If someone wants to get into cycling without feeling like they’re already behind the “curve,” this range is a pretty good option.

Justifying the jump from the SL frame at $1430 to the SLR frame at $4200 seems like a tough one

Looks like … every other bike in the showroom. (But because it’s Trek the glue and carbon yarn were put into the muffin tin to bake by skilled craftsmen.) Yawn.

Did everyone forget about cannondale EVO black inc frame at 655g? Those have been out for years….

A Ducati with a real motor same price point. My net worth logic and my tech logic says, “Don’t compute.” $15,749.99 WTH ; p

Thats all well and good for making the lightest production bike. Lets see how they hold up to a years worth of heavy riding without frame failures. No thanks! I have a 6 yr old Litespeed Archon Ti, that is worry and CREAK free!

690g which frame sise? Does that weight include FD hanger? RD hanger & bolts? Water bottle bolts x 4pcs? Seat collar and bolts? Cable stops?

What about fork 300mm steerer?

Just trying to compare to other ultra light weight which in the market already.

FastWayne- exactly what i was thinking. “mass production” bicycle, albeit the flagship model, is now over $15,000. I’ll take a Panigale.

Someone posted this on weightweenies: http://i.imgur.com/t3wsP4c.png

Frame weight is without hardware.

Where do you attach the 2 kg lead weights you need in order to be allowed to race this thing?

Pretty neat

Funny how your mind can play tricks on you: here I was, thinking $16k for a bike?!? Woah! And then I looked up the price for the Emonda SLR 9, right around $8k, and for some fool reason thought, “OK, now that’s more reasonable…. Wait, no it isn’t!” Painful watching other companies do lightweight bikes and Trek seeming to not be playing that game.

say what you will about the $16K wunderbike, but the lower end models are very well priced, especially if all the frames have the ride quality TREK is promising. Correct me if I’m wrong, but with the current Madone 3.1 retailing for $1,979, that would make the Emonda S4 the cheapest carbon road bike TREK’s ever released, right? (I realize there’s a groupset difference)

Trek weighed a 56cm painted frame. Also, when you by a Trek frame, all the unique parts (seat cap, bb, hs…) are included.

Tune and THM deserve more of the credit for any of these superlight bikes. The H1 geo version of the frame looks pretty good aside from that weird seatpost deal they keep using. I wish companies would get rid of ISP and the Trek version is even worse aesthetically.

How about a rider weight limit? Me thinks the doctors and lawyers who pony up this kind of coin on bikes might be a bit large for the 10.

OK guys, here’s the deal: Only the top end bike is the “lightest” production bike, and even that has a generous rider weight limit of 200lbs (due to the wheels) the rest of the line (with the top models sharing the same frame) have the standard 275lbs limit! If you’re a Clydesdale, ride gravel grinders, tour the world with all your belongings, commute daily, or just don’t like it, then guess what? Don’t buy it. By the way, I find it odd that people trash Trek for making an expensive super-bike, but not Pinarello, BMC, etc… if there wasn’t someone buying these things, they wouldn’t build them. I can’t afford a Porsche, a Tesla, or even a Corvette but others can and I still appreciate the engineering.

Ok,I think we are pretty much ready to see the 2015 McLaren Tarmac priced at $15,759.99 now.

I can’t wait to warranty one of these!

@Bro, The goal was lightest total bike. Which trek Crushed. 10.25 for the Trek, compared to 11 for the Cannondale. It doesn’t matter if you have a super light frame and have to put extra shims and cups to attach the components to the bike.

Trek has cornered the market on bikes for orthopedic surgeons and professional athletes

can i get it without the red accents

Whoever is naming these bikes is really reaching. Just rolls of the tongue. Like fuemonda

I will take this beast instead if Trek. http://www.canyon.com/_en/roadbikes/bike.html?b=3331

Hmmmm…. Those brakes look a bit familiar. Can anyone say EE Cycleworks?

Buy trek care with it and you a crash it and it doesn’t matter. No questions asked on any thing you damage or wear out. Pretty sweet.

Madone Domane Emonda

I like the anagram theme…

Should have called it Ona’med

How long until Trek’s other road bikes are updated for DuoTrap S?

I was pretty sure CANNONDALE’s evo NANO was lighter, stiffer and stronger than this bike…

Fun fact: here in the UK Trek are offering a lifetime frame and fork guarantee on all models, plus a very good crash replacement scheme.

At least with Trek there is some backup, unlike other brands who don’t want to know (cough..Cervelo..cough) Skurce: i’m a Trek dealer (so might be somewhat biased!)

@ John smith, please show us the data comparing the two frames to validate your claims… didn’t think so.

@ Ghostt, lifetime warranties here in the US too. You can also purchase the Trek Care Plus, which cover ALL parts for replacement for ANY reason, for three years from purchase.

@chader http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/cannondale-supersix-evo-nano-now-even-lighter-3920.html

Now before you say this is based on a website, note bike rumour is also a website. How does a reader get actual data??? Can you show me by sending me the trek data?

I hope they’re paying Craig a licensing fee for his EE brake. http://www.eecycleworks.com/index.html

@John – the Cannondale Evo Nano weighed over 11 lbs. So no, it wasn’t lighter.

Ja, they look like (less refined) EE-brakes. Hope Trek/Shimano honoured Craig’s intelectual property, his patent was still pending as far as I know…

Trek’s next carbon bike will be a touring rig, called the NOMADE… I’m waiting for that one.

http://cdn2.coresites.mpora.com/rcuk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/LapierreXelius800SideProfile.jpg

bunch of aliases in this thread complaining about how much it cost, smh.

Patent pending typically means no patent has been filed, but we would if we could…

@John smith, weight is one variable & the Dale may well be lighter. Trek may well be wrong in their claims. I never made a claim one way or the other.

You made claims about stiffness & strength being better for the Dale. Neither of those is substantiated in the article you linked. It is merely a press release with some weight info and nothing about stiffness, strength or even ride quality.

I doubt that you know anything about those values for the Dale and nobody outside of Trek has stiffness and strength for the Emonda right now. VeloNews and others will probably get the data for both bikes, then we can have a meaningful comparison. Until then, anything else is useless speculation.

They are both probably great bikes and anyone is free to chose whatever they like. Stop acting like you know this stuff enough to make a claim that one is superior to another.

@Ilikeicedtea, Patent Pending means they have filed the paperwork with the USPTO, but the patent has not been issued or denied.

They often take several years from the point of filing before they get approved or denied. At the point of filing, their idea is protected based on that date assuming the patent is approved.

LOL at you guys comparing these brakes to EE brakes. Try WTB lever link, and the idea is probably older than that even.

Yeah. Pat. Pending means paperwork is filed, but it takes a while to go through the system.

So even if you know your design will not be judged patentable, it’s still worth filing the paperwork because you’ll have several years to sell and market you doodad with a nice little “pat. pending” text in the ad copy. And by the time your patent is rejected it won’t matter.

Did anyone notice that the translation of Emonda is prune. Yet another lack of creativity on Trek’s part…

Here, in the real world, “patent pending” is used all of the time when it shouldn’t be used “legally”.

In fantasy land, yeah, one needs to have filed a patent application.

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Test riding the new Trek Émonda

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Earlier this week Trek revealed its new Émonda range, the result of several years spent trying to develop the lightest production race frame on the market. While a few riders from the Trek Factory Racing team were riding the Émonda at the recent Tour du Suisse, and the Criterium du Dauphine, it wasn’t until Tuesday that Trek officially unveiled the bike to the press. CyclingTips’ roving reporter Dave Everett was in Yorkshire to learn more about the new frame and take it for a test ride.

Trek’s road line-up already has a frame to soak up the rough roads –the Domane — and an out-and-out race bike, designed to be fast, twitchy and cut through the air — the Madone. The one place Trek hadn’t ventured until now was an attempt to build an ultra lightweight racing machine.

The Émonda is the final piece in Trek’s now three-tiered frame range structure. With a new sales catchphrase of “choose your weapon”, Trek now has a bike that should appeal to any of the key racing markets.

For a bike brand to claim to have the lightest production bike on the market they really need to back this up with exact figures, and they made a point of sharing those figures. Previously the Cannondale Super Six Evo Black Label has been able to claim this sought-after honour as the lightest production bike, at 5.6kg for a 56cm frame. Trek, though, has managed to make a significant improvement on that with the Émonda SLR10 which weighs in at 4.65kg for a 56cm frame.

The build on this particular model is very well specced, using several parts from German lightweight component specialists Tune, including wheels, saddle and skewers, a SRAM Red drive set and Trek’s new direct-mount brakes that look very industrial. Steering is taken care of by Trek’s new one-piece bar and stem combo. The price is obviously at the high end too, at $15,999 for a full build on this model.

The SLR Frame alone tips the scales at 690g; 20g lighter than the Cannondale Super Six Evo and 187g lighter than the Specialized SL4 (the new Tarmac is heavier still). The SLR fork weighs 280g and it’s a new slender-looking fork compared to those seen on the Domane and Madone.

It’s reportedly taken Trek 30 months of research and development to get to the point where they are happy that the new bikes can perform to a standard that the company, its customers and the race teams are happy with.

The name Émonda derives from the French verb “émonde”, which means to prune or trim away. Of course it’s been butchered a little bit to use the same letters as the names “Domane” and “Madone”.

The bike may be light but Trek wanted it to pass all of the company’s and the industry’s stringent quality and durability tests — this was to be a light bike that not just the skinny racing snakes could use but a bike that any angry racing guy or weighty sportive rider could get benefit from.

From the ground up this Émonda bike range is all new — there is no carry over from either the Domane or Madone lines. Each of the three bikes in the Émonda range — the S (entry), SL (mid-level) and SLR (top) — were to be the lightest bikes in their respective categories. The bikes also come in women’s versions too, and with some absolutely stunning paint jobs.

Trek Factory Racing and the MTN-Qhubeka teams have helped with this development, though one can only feel sorry for these guys who will have to either use heavier components or weigh the bike down to use it in UCI-sanctioned races.

The geometry of the frame sits between the Domane and the Madone. When the Domane was introduced the difference between that bike and the Madone’s geometry wasn’t hugely different. Trek then reworked the Madone’s geometry in 2012 to make it an out-an-out race machine — more aggressive and faster in corners.

For the Émonda, Trek has revived a large proportion of the geometry of the old 2011 Madone. It’s not as twitchy as a Madone, but it’s not as relaxed as a Domane. It sits happily between the two.

Away from the SLR version, the SL frame comes in at 1,050g (56cm) and the fork at 358g (240mm steerer tube). This build uses 500 series OCLV carbon where the SLR uses 700 series. The direct-mount brakes are replaced with standard calliper brakes and the fork, unlike the SLR, isn’t of the asymmetric type. But that’s pretty much where the differences end — both have a BB90 bottom bracket, a new ride-tuned seatmast and the DuoTrap S speed sensor that has been updated to make it slimmer and more integrated.

A step further down the range is the S model which, with 300 series OCLV carbon, weighs 1,220g on a painted 56cm frame with a fork of 518g. There is no ride-tuned seat mast; instead a standard and now more common 27.2mm seat post is in its place. Cables are externally routed, the bottom bracket is BB86 press fit and the bike comes with the original DuoTrap sensor and an E2 tapered fork.

Starting at $1,899 the Émonda S4 comes with a Shimano Tiagra groupset. The SL range starts at $2,899 with Shimano 105 throughout, and the first rung of the SLR range — the SLR6 — lands at $6,999 with an Ultegra 6800 build up.

The test-ride

I managed to get a solid ride on the new Émonda after I was lent the SLR8 version. This build features: a Dura Ace mechanical groupset; Bontragers latest XXX integrated bar and stem combo; the Bontrager Aeolus 3 carbon clincher wheels; and saddle, tyres and finishing kit from the in-house brand too. The brushed matt black frame looked clean and simple in the rare Yorkshire sunshine.

Though the four hours I had with the bike were nowhere near enough to fully judge it, I felt I got a solid understanding of how the bike rides and handles.

I rode a large proportion of stage 1 of this year’s Tour de France, from just outside the village of Hawes — where the climb of Cote du Buttertubs starts — through to the finish in Harrogate. I ride these roads regularly as I live close to the area, so I was able to get a good understanding of how it handled compared to my usual ride, a Swift U-Vox 2012 model.

The first noticeable thing for me was not so much the weight but how planted the bike felt on the road. Even at 6.15kg the bike didn’t seem to skip or jump when hitting potholes or rough surfaces. Even strong crosswinds didn’t throw the bike about — it sat nicely holding the road at all times.

Descending on it quickly gave me confidence and the learning curve of knowing how the bike will react to cornering came naturally and quickly. The wheels and brake setup were a slightly different matter though. Long descents had the brakes squeaking and on two occasions I managed to lock up the rear wheel in to a very sharp corner. The Dura Ace direct-mount brakes were without a doubt some of the most powerful I’ve used. This is where more time riding the bike would have me learning where that “biting point” is.

Climbing the Cote du Buttertubs (or just Buttertubs as it’s usually called when the Tour’s not taking it in) was as close to a pleasure as a hard climb can be. Accelerations when climbing flung the bike from under me; when standing the front end felt light and lively underneath me. The one minor niggle I did find was that the cable routing seemed to rub against my knee when out of the saddle.

The fact that I found myself using a slightly smaller sprocket than usual just showed what comes in to play when you’re riding a lighter bike (the Émonda is 1.5kg lighter than my Swift).

I’m sure the wheelset had a part in the nature of this bike’s acceleration and climbing prowess. The wheels got up to speed quickly and stayed there with very little effort. It was just the braking that I felt let this item down.

Throughout the ride I surprised myself at how long I was able to stay in the big ring — the area doesn’t usually allow for the chance to romp away in the big dog for long periods of time. The short sharp climbs soon take their toll on the legs if you attack them in the 52- or 53-tooth chainring, even with a 25 on the back. With the Émonda I found myself definitely using the big chainring a lot more than I would normally.

The whole package of this bike is what I’d class as solid. The geometry of the bike plants it feet firmly on the road, the lightweight build gives so much advantage over a bike frame that may be carrying 300-500g more and the power transfer was as direct and responsive as you’d expect from a race-ready build.

The new XXX bar/stem combo at first didn’t sit well with me — I felt the shape of the bar at the top seemed to want to throw my hands forward and downwards, plus I was sure I could feel a fair amount of flex in the setup. Is this what happens when you try to reduce a product’s weight too much? At 240g for a 42mm by 120mm it’s a light setup for your steering option.

But after two hours of riding I’d changed my mind — the flex in the bars helped alleviate a large amount of road shock. That said, the slight flex I felt may be a slight put off for pure sprinters. The shape of the bars and where my hands sat on top grew on me quickly, though I feel I’d need more time to get used to it. I did find myself sitting comfortably in the drops for extended periods, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall the bike rides exceptionally well, unless you ride on cobbles or real rough stuff regularly. The Émonda sits right between the Domane and the Madone and is well balanced for it.

Sure the bike is light and it shows this quality when the road heads upwards, but the way it sits on the road, the comfort and handling are all areas that I feel it excels in in equal measures. It may not be sold on these points but they are qualities that shouldn’t be overlooked.

I’d love the chance to try riding the Émonda again, maybe with a wheelset I’m already familiar with to see how hard I could push it and see where its limits are.

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latest crash victim at itzulia basque country","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/matteo-jorgenson-to-skip-paris-roubaix-mikel-landa-lastest-crash-victim-at-itzulia-basque-country\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/matteo-jorgenson-to-skip-paris-roubaix-mikel-landa-lastest-crash-victim-at-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"matteo jorgenson to skip paris-roubaix, mikel landa latest crash victim at itzulia basque country\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/matteo-jorgenson-to-skip-paris-roubaix-mikel-landa-lastest-crash-victim-at-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"matteo jorgenson to skip paris-roubaix, mikel landa latest crash victim at itzulia basque country\"}}\u0027>\n matteo jorgenson to skip paris-roubaix, mikel landa latest crash victim at itzulia basque country\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"riders\u2019 association president calls for further action relating to hookless tires and rims","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/riders-association-president-calls-for-further-action-relating-to-hookless-tires-and-rims\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/riders-association-president-calls-for-further-action-relating-to-hookless-tires-and-rims\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"riders\u2019 association president calls for further action relating to hookless tires and rims\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/riders-association-president-calls-for-further-action-relating-to-hookless-tires-and-rims\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"riders\u2019 association president calls for further action relating to hookless tires and rims\"}}\u0027>\n riders\u2019 association president calls for further action relating to hookless tires and rims\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"power analysis: the moment mathieu van der poel won the tour of flanders","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/power-analysis-tour-of-flanders-mathieu-van-der-poel\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/power-analysis-tour-of-flanders-mathieu-van-der-poel\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"power analysis: the moment mathieu van der poel won the tour of flanders\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/power-analysis-tour-of-flanders-mathieu-van-der-poel\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"power analysis: the moment mathieu van der poel won the tour of flanders\"}}\u0027>\n power analysis: the moment mathieu van der poel won the tour of flanders\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"police called to scott sports headquarters as corporate drama roils brand","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/police-called-to-scott-sports-headquarters-as-corporate-drama-roils-brand\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/police-called-to-scott-sports-headquarters-as-corporate-drama-roils-brand\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"police called to scott sports headquarters as corporate drama roils brand\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/news\/police-called-to-scott-sports-headquarters-as-corporate-drama-roils-brand\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"police called to scott sports headquarters as corporate drama roils brand\"}}\u0027>\n police called to scott sports headquarters as corporate drama roils brand\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"update: no concussion for primo\u017e rogli\u010d after nasty crash at itzulia basque country","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/primoz-roglic-crashes-heavily-but-continues-in-itzulia-basque-country\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/primoz-roglic-crashes-heavily-but-continues-in-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"update: no concussion for primo\u017e rogli\u010d after nasty crash at itzulia basque country\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/primoz-roglic-crashes-heavily-but-continues-in-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"update: no concussion for primo\u017e rogli\u010d after nasty crash at itzulia basque country\"}}\u0027>\n update: no concussion for primo\u017e rogli\u010d after nasty crash at itzulia basque country\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"paris-roubaix on gravel bikes factor gravel bikes to be raced this weekend","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-on-gravel-bikes-factor-gravel-bikes-to-be-raced-this-weekend\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-on-gravel-bikes-factor-gravel-bikes-to-be-raced-this-weekend\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix on gravel bikes factor gravel bikes to be raced this weekend\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-on-gravel-bikes-factor-gravel-bikes-to-be-raced-this-weekend\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix on gravel bikes factor gravel bikes to be raced this weekend\"}}\u0027>\n paris-roubaix on gravel bikes factor gravel bikes to be raced this weekend\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"remco evenepoel fuming over tt \u2018head-sock\u2019 botched ban as primo\u017e rogli\u010d races with it for the win","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/remco-evenepoel-fuming-over-head-sock-tt-miscue-michael-rogers-leaves-uci-post\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/remco-evenepoel-fuming-over-head-sock-tt-miscue-michael-rogers-leaves-uci-post\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"remco evenepoel fuming over tt \u2018head-sock\u2019 botched ban as primo\u017e rogli\u010d races with it for the win\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/remco-evenepoel-fuming-over-head-sock-tt-miscue-michael-rogers-leaves-uci-post\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"remco evenepoel fuming over tt \u2018head-sock\u2019 botched ban as primo\u017e rogli\u010d races with it for the win\"}}\u0027>\n remco evenepoel fuming over tt \u2018head-sock\u2019 botched ban as primo\u017e rogli\u010d races with it for the win\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"\u2018we have to rethink the way we race\u2019: vingegaard, evenepoel\u2019s tour de france plans in balance after brutal itzulia basque crash","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/itzulia-basque-country-vingegaard-evenepoels-plans-in-balance\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/itzulia-basque-country-vingegaard-evenepoels-plans-in-balance\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018we have to rethink the way we race\u2019: vingegaard, evenepoel\u2019s tour de france plans in balance after brutal itzulia basque crash\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/itzulia-basque-country-vingegaard-evenepoels-plans-in-balance\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018we have to rethink the way we race\u2019: vingegaard, evenepoel\u2019s tour de france plans in balance after brutal itzulia basque crash\"}}\u0027>\n \u2018we have to rethink the way we race\u2019: vingegaard, evenepoel\u2019s tour de france plans in balance after brutal itzulia basque crash\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"report: grand tour-smashing lead sport director to leave visma-lease a bike","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/grand-tour-smashing-ds-zeeman-to-leave-visma-lease-a-bike\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/grand-tour-smashing-ds-zeeman-to-leave-visma-lease-a-bike\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"report: grand tour-smashing lead sport director to leave visma-lease a bike\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/grand-tour-smashing-ds-zeeman-to-leave-visma-lease-a-bike\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"report: grand tour-smashing lead sport director to leave visma-lease a bike\"}}\u0027>\n report: grand tour-smashing lead sport director to leave visma-lease a bike\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"\u2018as bad as 2021\u2019: paris-roubaix cobblestones caked in mud ahead of weekend races","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/as-bad-as-2021-paris-roubaix-cobblestones-caked-in-mud-ahead-of-weekend-races\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/as-bad-as-2021-paris-roubaix-cobblestones-caked-in-mud-ahead-of-weekend-races\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018as bad as 2021\u2019: paris-roubaix cobblestones caked in mud ahead of weekend races\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/as-bad-as-2021-paris-roubaix-cobblestones-caked-in-mud-ahead-of-weekend-races\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018as bad as 2021\u2019: paris-roubaix cobblestones caked in mud ahead of weekend races\"}}\u0027>\n \u2018as bad as 2021\u2019: paris-roubaix cobblestones caked in mud ahead of weekend races\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"review: specialized\u2019s new search \u2018all-road\u2019 helmet & updated recon shoes","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/review-specialized-search-helmet-recon-2-shoes\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/review-specialized-search-helmet-recon-2-shoes\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"review: specialized\u2019s new search \u2018all-road\u2019 helmet & updated recon shoes\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-gear\/review-specialized-search-helmet-recon-2-shoes\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"review: specialized\u2019s new search \u2018all-road\u2019 helmet & updated recon shoes\"}}\u0027>\n review: specialized\u2019s new search \u2018all-road\u2019 helmet & updated recon shoes\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"bike check: lotte kopecky\u2019s paris-roubaix winning specialized tarmac sl8","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/lotte-kopeckys-paris-roubaix-winning-specialized-tarmac-sl8-full-gallery\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/lotte-kopeckys-paris-roubaix-winning-specialized-tarmac-sl8-full-gallery\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"bike check: lotte kopecky\u2019s paris-roubaix winning specialized tarmac sl8\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-gear\/lotte-kopeckys-paris-roubaix-winning-specialized-tarmac-sl8-full-gallery\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"bike check: lotte kopecky\u2019s paris-roubaix winning specialized tarmac sl8\"}}\u0027>\n bike check: lotte kopecky\u2019s paris-roubaix winning specialized tarmac sl8\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"paris-roubaix essentials: cobbles, contenders, weather, maps, start lists, tv listings and more","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/paris-roubaix-essentials-cobbles-contenders-weather-maps-start-lists-tv-listings-and-more\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/paris-roubaix-essentials-cobbles-contenders-weather-maps-start-lists-tv-listings-and-more\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix essentials: cobbles, contenders, weather, maps, start lists, tv listings and more\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/paris-roubaix-essentials-cobbles-contenders-weather-maps-start-lists-tv-listings-and-more\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"paris-roubaix essentials: cobbles, contenders, weather, maps, start lists, tv listings and more\"}}\u0027>\n paris-roubaix essentials: cobbles, contenders, weather, maps, start lists, tv listings and more\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"\u2018the riders all call it a death trap\u2019: why the peloton pushed back on paris-roubaix dangers","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/the-riders-all-call-it-a-death-trap-why-the-peloton-pushed-back-on-paris-roubaix\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/the-riders-all-call-it-a-death-trap-why-the-peloton-pushed-back-on-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018the riders all call it a death trap\u2019: why the peloton pushed back on paris-roubaix dangers\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/the-riders-all-call-it-a-death-trap-why-the-peloton-pushed-back-on-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"\u2018the riders all call it a death trap\u2019: why the peloton pushed back on paris-roubaix dangers\"}}\u0027>\n \u2018the riders all call it a death trap\u2019: why the peloton pushed back on paris-roubaix dangers\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"it\u2019s not just mvdp and mads: here are 5 outsiders for paris-roubaix","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/five-outsiders-for-paris-roubaix\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/five-outsiders-for-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"it\u2019s not just mvdp and mads: here are 5 outsiders for paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/five-outsiders-for-paris-roubaix\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"it\u2019s not just mvdp and mads: here are 5 outsiders for paris-roubaix\"}}\u0027>\n it\u2019s not just mvdp and mads: here are 5 outsiders for paris-roubaix\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"mathieu van der poel untouchable at paris-roubaix with 60km solo raid","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-van-der-poel-unmatchable-with-60km-solo-raid\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-van-der-poel-unmatchable-with-60km-solo-raid\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"mathieu van der poel untouchable at paris-roubaix with 60km solo raid\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/paris-roubaix-van-der-poel-unmatchable-with-60km-solo-raid\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"mathieu van der poel untouchable at paris-roubaix with 60km solo raid\"}}\u0027>\n mathieu van der poel untouchable at paris-roubaix with 60km solo raid\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"rogli\u010d is back, evenepoel crashes, pidcock out: wild start in basque country","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tt-recon-crash-knocks-tom-pidcock-out-of-itzulia-basque-country\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tt-recon-crash-knocks-tom-pidcock-out-of-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"rogli\u010d is back, evenepoel crashes, pidcock out: wild start in basque country\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tt-recon-crash-knocks-tom-pidcock-out-of-itzulia-basque-country\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"rogli\u010d is back, evenepoel crashes, pidcock out: wild start in basque country\"}}\u0027>\n rogli\u010d is back, evenepoel crashes, pidcock out: wild start in basque country\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "}]' > >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>advertise >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>privacy policy >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>contact >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>careers >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>terms of use >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>site map >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>my newsletters manage cookie preferences privacy request healthy living.

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Trek Emonda – Review

I received a loan of a Trek Emonda SLR 9 for the last week of the hill climb season, where I finished 4th in national hill climb on Pea Royd Lane.

For 2015 I bought a Trek Emonda SLR, and used all year. Photos of that Trek Emonda are here

It’s a good bike.

2014 Emonda For the national championship I customised the Trek Emonda to get the weight down from 6.4kg to 5.1kg. Details of the hill climb bike are below. This is a general review of the Trek Emonda.

The Emonda is designed for those most interested in climbing. The frame is based on the OCLV series carbon used in the Madone series – which has been Trek’s flagship model for quite a few year. For the Emonda, Trek have sought to reduce weight wherever possible, whilst retaining the strength and rigidity of the frame.

Project One

Another advantage of the Emonda is that you can pick and choose combinations through Project One – if you already have light wheels you can save money there, and keep the cost down.

What’s it like to ride?

Firstly, the lightness is noticeable. On the smooth surface of Pea Royd Lane, it had fantastic acceleration.I’m used to riding the Madone (2010 model) which is no heavyweight, but the Emonda was a noticeable improvement. For me, that is a big plus.

The lower weight has not been sacrificed for any loss of strength and rigidity. Using a simple stress test, it’s hard to notice any lateral movement. Of course, rigidity is harder to measure than weight. But so far, I can Trek’s word for it that it is as strong.

Value for money

Bikes seem to be be getting more expensive as manufacturers find better ways to get us to part with cash. Still the Trek Emonda is reasonably priced compared to similar models.

Is it the right bike for you?

Certainly there is a great attraction in getting a super-light bike, it definitely makes it easier in the hills. But, bear in mind 0.5kg / 1kg weight saving is not that much, if you’re carrying around 20kg of surplus insulation. Also, bear in mind that aerodynamics can make a bigger difference to your speed. When doing flattish time trials – you learn it’s all about aerodynamics, weight doesn’t really come into it. Aerodynamics is harder to measure than a simple 4.6kg weight value, but in a solo attack, the Madone will be a better choice.

In my case, the Emonda is top of my wish list. It ticks all the boxes in what I need from a bike. I definitely want to get one, the problem is that it’s already been an expensive year with a new TT bike. After the national hill climb, my comment was that the Emonda is irritatingly good. Alas, there’s always a new bike to buy!

Trek Emonda Hill climb bike

Firstly, thanks to Beeline bikes Oxford for helping me get loan of bike and setting it up.

I have been riding a Trek Madone (at 2013 hill climb champs, it weighed about 6.0kg). But, with the new Emonda coming out this summer, I wanted to try and get the new specialist climbing bike for the upcoming national championship.

It meant only 1 week to get used to the bike – not ideal, but I thought potential weight saving worth it.

Customised Trek Emonda

To state the obvious, the bike is really light. We had it in Beeline’s and asked a few punters to lift it up. Many were driven to exclaim in the bluest French words to the effect of ‘goodness me that is light’. There really is a wow factor to lifting up a bike that light. As a hill climber, I’m spoilt by being used to riding a 6.0kg bike, but when you get it down to 5.1kg, it’s a big bonus.

I rode the Emonda at Burrington Combe, and Cheddar Gorge on Sunday and also yesterday and today. The acceleration going up hills is very good. It is also feels quite rigid and strong. Doing a simple stress test, it is hard to feel much lateral movement. The extra wide bottom bracket, does seem to help with power transfer.

It can’t say it feels a huge difference to riding the Trek Madonne – in terms of ride quality, control, stiffness and weight; but there is a marginal improvement and it was quite a bit of fun working out how to reduce weight.

Trek agreed to lend a Emonda SL9. The Emonda SLR 9 The SLR 9 has a claimed weight of 6.1 kg. When we first weighed it was about 6.3kg, but that was with 60cm frame, mechanical Dura Ace 9000 rather than Di2 and lots of extras screwed on – . However, from the SLR 9, we made quite a few modifications to bring the weight down to 5.1kg.

Some details of hill climb bike

• Frame – Emonda SLR – OCLV 700 series frame (claimed weight of an Emonda SLR 56cm frame is 690grams) – This frame is 60cm, so a bit bigger.
• Groupset – Shimano Dura Ace 9000 mechanical – but front mech removed and Shimano Dura Ace 7900 crank to fit Race Face narrow wide single chainring.
• Rear wheels – Zipp 202 (weight with cassette and TT tub – 900 grams)
• Front wheel – Tune hub / AX lightness rim (weight with Vittoria Chrono TT tub – 550 grams)
• Saddle – AX Lightness (63 grams) (The Bontrager Paradigm XXX saddle was 175g)
• Brakes – Shimano Dura Ace 9000
• Pedals – Speedplay (X1) – 150 grams a pair
• Total weight – 5.1 kg – (8-900 grams lighter than Trek Madone hill climb bike in 2013)

Trek say ‘The Emonda is made from Trek’s top-end 700 Series carbon fibre, but lighter and without compromising stiffness or handling’. It is geared up to be a ‘climber’s bike and Trek must be hoping the UCI reduce their weight limit of 6.7kg.

For a hill climb bike, it seems a great frame to build a bike up from. I was hoping for Di2 electronic gearing, but it only came with mechanical groupset.

Frame: 700 series OCLV

Bontrager XXX integrated stem and handlebars. Stem cap removed for big race. (it isn’t an integral part of keeping the stem tight).

Wide Bottom Bracket 90. Trek say it is the widest bottom bracket to give extra rigidity and stiffness to help acceleration.

It tapers from a 1.5″ lower bearing to a 1-1/8″ upper bearing, and is wider side to side than front to back. Trek say. ‘This asymmetric steering system minimises weight while maximising power transfer and keeping the fork stiffer under cornering loads.’

Handlebars without handlebar tape. The only problem with borrowing a bike is that you can’t cut the ends of the handlebars you don’t use. There’s 20 grams right there. Also, I didn’t like riding without handlebar tape, it was too slippy so I have put some lightweight tape on the drops. Also, it’s a good job this isn’t my bike or I would be cutting off the ends of those brake levers and regretting it later.

It was hard to get a narrow wide chain ring to work on bike. This 5 armed Race Face, doesn’t fit the Shimano Dura Ace 9000 series crank with 4 bolt holes, so the chaps at Beeline found an old 7900 crank to fit it.

The alternative would have been to go SRAM red and use another type of chainring, but that would have got too expensive. Initially, it looked like we would have to leave front mech on. But, it does look cooler without.

Emonda at Burrington Combe – with outer chain ring still on.

Direct mount brakes. Reduce redundant parts

Could it have been lighter?

The Emonda SLR 10 (at a mere £11,000) – has a claimed weight of 4.6kg. If I had the time and money, I could have made the bike even lighter. For example EE Brakes (or Bontrager Speed Stop brakes), AX lightness stem/handlebar and SRAM red gruppo groupset. But, it’s still pretty good at 5.1kg. Just as there’s always a new bike to buy – I suppose there is always a lighter bike. At the end of the day, the power you can generate is more important than the odd gram here and there.

I would also have preferred to be riding Dura Ace di2 electric gears, though a week before the big race is probably a little late to be changing gear systems just now.

• Marginal gains from hill climb bike
• hill climb technique
• Do I need a new bike?

14 thoughts on “Trek Emonda – Review”

That paint job looks a little heavy 🙂

The Swift Sculp is incredible: http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/10/bikes-of-the-bunch-swift-sculp-ultralight-project/

Best of luck on Sunday Tejvan.

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Would you have cut the steerer tube (if it was your own) to save weight?

No, I don’t think so. It would have saved 0.001 seconds and not made any difference really.

how tall are you?

Thanks. Im 190 with a 60cm Emonda on order. I love the review.

There is another option over Sculp.Ax Lightness Vial EVO D. Better geometry, lower price and lighter than Emonda.

Hi Great review, trying to get some prospective is the the H1 model or H2. Given the extra tube sizing on a H2 I would of thought that would be heavier.

Many thanks

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Hi do you experience chain drop at the chainring when riding or shifting gears? I know that you are using the narrow wide chainring, but without a clutch RD or a chain guard or chain spotter, does the chain drop off during normal riding on road?

I am thinking of going 1×11 on a road bike, with Dura-Ace 9000 RD and front single narrow wide chainring, but I am not sure if the chain will drop off the chainring.

I have not experienced chain drop

why not remove one shifter and rear brake? just have one shifter to shift and control the front brake (less cable length).

Did you have to use shims for the chain ring bolts? I’m attempting the same thing but the bolts are too long

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2017 Edition — Trek Émonda S 5 Road Bike: Review

The Trek Émonda S 5 Road Bike

With 300 Series OCLV Carbon, the Emonda S 5 offers riders the best-in-class weight, stiffness, and strength.

With an H2 fit, this optimal fit is a near-perfect fit for most riders, including Pro Team athletes. The H2 fit gets riders in the correct position for performance and power.

Blendr Stem

The Trek Émonda S 5 features the Bontrager Blendr Stem by Trek. This is a highly integrated system for easy and clean stem installation of computers, lights,and other biking accessories. You simply begin with a Blendr Stem and add the appropriate base and finish with a mount that matches your accessories.

The Trek Émonda S 5 is built with an Ultralight 300 Series OCLV Carbon frame. The frame design down to the component parts were designed to serve a goal — to be one of the lightest performance bikes offered. The ride-tuned balance and handling elevates this Trek Émonda to another level.

OCLV is short for Optimum Compaction, Low Void, which refers to the carbon manufacturing process that Trek engineers developed decades ago. This allows them to produce carbon framed bikes with consistent, high quality that was not possible before.

The 300 Series OCLV Carbon offers best-in-class weight, best-in-class carbon, and gives the rider stiffness and strength. The 300 Series is at the lower end of the carbon scale, but it keeps the price down, areal weight low, and quality of the frame excellent for a nice price.

The 300 Series OCLV is a great choice for this bike’s frame, as it is compliments the stiffness and weight ratio well. With the right relationship of stiffness-to-weight, the performance of the road bike increases. Trek tested every part of the frame extensively to maximize handling and pedaling performance, as well as ride feel of this S 5.

Technical Specifications and Features:

• Frame: Ultralight, 300 Series OCLV Carbon — Ride-Tuned Performance Tube Optimization, E2 Tapered Head Tube, BB86.5, DuoTrap Compatible
• Fork: Emonda Carbon, E2 Tapered Steerer
• Wheels: Alloy Hubs
• Front Hub: Alloy
• Rear Hub: Alloy
• Rims: Bontrager Tubeless Ready
• Tires: Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite, 700 x 25c
• Shifters: Shimano 105, 11 Speed
• Front Derailleur: Shimano 105
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105
• Crank: Shimano 105, 50/34 (Compact)
• BB: Press Fit
• Cassette: Shimano 105, 11-28, 11 Speed
• Chain: Shimano HG60
• Saddle: Bontrager Montrose Comp
• Seatpost: Bontrager Alloy, 2-Bolt Head, 27.2mm, 8mm Offset
• Handlebar: Bontrager Race VR-C, 31.8mm
• Grips: Bontrager Microfiber Tape
• Stem: Bontrager Elite, 31.8mm, 7 degree, w/ computer & light mounts
• Headset: Integrated, Cartridge Bearing, Sealed, 1-1/8 inch Top, 1.5 inch Bottom
• Brakeset: Shimano 105
• Using the 56cm size as an example, the size 56 weighs: 19.55 lbs / 8.87 kg
• Weight Limit: Combined weight (rider, cargo, and bike) of 275 pounds / 125 kg

Key Features

• 300 Series OCLV Carbon — Ultimate Light Material
• Excellently Balanced — Ultra Responsive
• The World’s Lightest Road Line with Best Warranty
• Lightweight, but Offers the Robust Performance of Heavier Bikes

Color Options

• Trek Black / Viper Red

As a very solid 2017 edition Trek, the Émonda S 5 with 300 Series OCLV Carbon and Shimano 105 groupset, will only cost you 1,500 GBP or $2,099.99 USD. For such an excellent bike from a brand like Trek, we highly recommend this model to anyone looking for more out of their road bike.

Trek Emonda S 5 Purchase Link:

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2021 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro review

Trek's climbing specialist has been re-imagined as a do-it-all race bike.

Felix Smith / Immediate Media

Amazingly stiff ride; race-ready long and low fit; exceptionally fun to ride.

25mm tyres exaggerate harsh ride and harm performance on imperfect road surfaces; weight isn't competitive for price.

The new 2021 Trek Emonda sees a shift away from a purely climber-focussed bike to a more all-round package with the de-rigueur aero shaping to match.

We have two bikes in for review. My colleague, Warren, has the top-end 6.9kg Emonda SLR 9 model with all of the bells and whistles, and an outrageous £9,700 price tag .

I have been testing the Ultegra R8000-equipped 2021 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro.

The SL-level Emonda is based on Trek’s OCLV 500 carbon layup, which adds roughly 445g to an unpainted frameset in an unspecified size compared to the top-end model.

You do, however, get the exact same geometry and frame shape as the SLR-level Emonda, so the differences should largely boil down to weight alone.

More on the new Trek Emonda

• New 2021 Trek Emonda | An uncompromising disc-only race bike
• Trek Emonda SLR 9 eTap first ride review

At £3,350 ($3,799 / €3,799 / AU$5,499), the SL6 Pro is by no means cheap, but represents fairly good value for money in the context of the wider market

For that cash, you get a full Ultegra R8020 groupset , a Bontrager Aelous Elite 35 carbon wheelset, a perfectly inoffensive alloy cockpit and a very plush Bontrager saddle. The bike weighs 8.13kg on the nose with no pedals.

Picking two comparable bikes, the Giant TCR Advanced Pro 2 Disc costs roughly the same (£3,499) for a broadly similar build, as does the Rose X-Lite 6 (~£3,450).

Trek has significantly altered the geometry of the Emonda for 2021, and it is now only available in the brand’s middle-of-the-road H1.5 fit.

H1.5 sits pretty much in the middle of Trek’s super aggressive H1 geometry and its endurance-focussed H2 fit.

The resulting shape strikes a nice balance between real-world usability while allowing the sportier riders among us to get a low and fast setup should they so wish.

The stack for the new Emonda is on the lower end of the spectrum for a 56cm bike at 563mm. The reach is fairly average, at 391mm for a 56cm bike. The 56cm bike ships with a 100mm stem.

While the reach of the frameset is fairly average, when matched with the 42cm-wide Bontrager Elite VR-C bars, which have a hefty 100mm reach, the fit of the bike feels suitably long and low.

I really like the overall profile of these bars – there’s loads of room in the drops so you can actually spend some time down there comfortably without your hands getting smooshed up, and the extra reach offers additional useful hand positions.

Adding reach to the bars (rather than increasing the length of the stem) also means the tops stay a touch closer to you, giving a really comfortable position for seated climbing.

The ride of the bike is exceptionally stiff and incredibly fun in the way that a proper race bike can be.

It’s got that addictive ultra-efficient feel with a totally unyielding pedal response that is amazing on the climbs – you are giving up nothing to the frame when mashing yourself into a lactic oblivion.

I dare say the overall feel is almost a little old school, with a super stiff ride that’s reminiscent of early carbon bikes.

This will be polarising for some riders, but I personally really like it. It feels properly rapid and responsive, and going fast is never not fun.

Related reading

• Trek Domane SL7 review
• Trek Madone SL6 Disc review
• Best road bikes: how to choose the right one for you

While perhaps divisive, this super stiff ride also goes some way to differentiate the bike from the others in Trek’s lineup.

The line between the Emonda and Madone – and to a certain degree, the Domane – is now fairly blurred with this new bike.

But by keeping it simple, with no ISOSpeed squashiness, a racy ride and a lighter overall package, the Emonda stands out in the range.

That stiffness also translates into a really engaging and fun ride on the descents. The bike shrugs at irresponsibly heavy braking into corners, remaining accurate and giving – yes, I really am going to say it – a really feedback-rich ride. It’s a total hoot.

It’s no surprise that this stiffness results in a firm ride.

It’s not a rough ride, per se – the bike still provides that pleasingly damped feel that any quality carbon bike gives on imperfect surfaces, and the integrated seat mast brings a degree of rear end comfort.

However, on larger bumps, the front end can feel quite jarring. The alloy bars will contribute to this, but the stock 25mm tyres are the main culprit.

25mm wide tyres were considered progressive a few short years ago, but the majority of new road bikes these days ship with 28mm tyres (or even larger) and not without good reason.

Wider tyres have consistently been shown in testing to have lower rolling resistance than narrower tyres and, as they can be run at lower pressures, they also improve comfort. Being more comfortable means less fatigue, which means increased speed.

This is well-trodden ground, so to see 25mm tyres here is a little bit disappointing – other bikes in the Emonda range feature 28s, and I’ve always admired Trek for boldly speccing 32mm tyres on the Domane, so to see narrower rubber here feel like a bit of a cop-out.

Trek is clearly trying to pander to the hill climb kids with the tiny reduction in weight 25s will offer, but 28s would be better for the majority of riders in nearly all situations.

Keen to see how much of a difference wider tyres would actually make, I swapped the stock Bontrager R2 Hard-Case Lite tyres in favour of a pair of Panaracer Race D Evo tyres. These measure bang on 28mm when inflated to 70psi on the Bontrager Aeolus Elite 35 wheels.

Unsurprisingly, the wider tyres smoothed out the ride of the bike significantly without making the ride feel mushy – you can focus on getting the most out of the bike’s stiff frameset without having to worry so much about potholes or broken road surfaces. The larger tyres also improve grip on descents.

They also make very light gravel detours a more appealing possibility.

Gravel riding is absolutely one bazillion per cent not within the intended remit of this bike, but the larger volume tyres make short stretches along smooth unsealed rail trails or rough access roads a much less hateful experience.

On a similar theme, I was also a little disappointed to see the bike come set up with tubes.

The likes of Giant are now shipping complete bikes tubeless out of the box and, regardless of which side of the tubeless vs. tubed debate you sit on, including tubeless tech as stock adds value to a bike.

Given the new Aeolus 35 Elite wheels are tubeless-compatible, it’s disappointing that the included tyres aren’t at least tubeless-ready.

As mentioned, the bike has been doused in a liberal helping of aero sauce, and the new bike is claimed to sit between the outgoing Emonda and the Madone in terms of aero performance.

There’s no way I can quantify these claims, but the bike does feel fast on the flats. I suspect that has more to do with the fact the bike’s geometry means it’s possible to get into a properly long and low position, so I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you believe Trek’s claims – or whether you care.

Not that it has any bearing on performance, but the aero shaping has resulted in a bike that looks fast. I’m fond of the overall shape of the bike and I’m glad to not see dropped seat stays here. The lines are classic and the traditional cockpit doesn’t look out of place either.

Trek clearly doesn’t want you to forget you’re riding one of its bikes judging by the sheer size of the logo on the down tube. It is so over the top and a bit daft, but I kind of dig it – it’s like a postmodern statement, the David Byrne big suit of bicycle logos .

I also think the paint job looks really nice for what is, in the context of this model range, a ‘budget’ bike.

A surprising standout from the bike is the Bontrager Aeolus Comp saddle.

Every man and his dog has thrown his hat into the short nose and stubby saddle game, and I’ve tried a fair few now, but I think it’s a toss-up between this and the Pro Stealth Superlight for my all-time favourite .

Trust me when I say this is very high praise because I love the Pro Stealth. The Aeolus is squashy, comfortable and perfect for my peach. I can’t believe it has taken this long for saddles to get this good.

The bike is built around a full Shimano Ultegra R8020 groupset . It’s nigh-on impossible to level criticism at R8000, offering nearly all of the performance of Dura-Ace at a considerably lower price point.

The 52/36 crankset is paired with an 11-30 cassette. For a go-fast all-round climb-friendly bike, this is perfect.

However, it’s worth noting that the bike is equipped with a short cage mech, which officially limits the drivetrain to a 30t cassette. This means you would have to go for a smaller set of chainrings if you require lighter gearing.

Even so, the gearing has more than enough range to climb comfortably in the saddle on most climbs.

The SL6 Pro is the ‘cheapest’ bike in the new Emonda range to feature carbon wheels.

At 35mm deep, the Aeolus Elite 35 should, in theory, give a bit of aero advantage without sacrificing too much on the climbs in terms of weight.

A 35mm wheel is unlikely to present serious problems in crosswinds, and they feel perfectly well-mannered and stiff. The wheels are based on DT Swiss’ Ratchet EXP freehub, which are easy-enough to service with widely-available spares.

Again, I’m a bit miffed these aren’t set up tubeless out of the box. It would allow you to run lower pressures, improving comfort and grip, which is never a bad thing.

2021 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro conclusion

Make no mistake – the Emonda is an uncompromising race bike, and it’s all the better for it.

In a world of squashy do-it-all bikes, the Emonda’s wonderfully moreish super stiff ride stands out and I’ve really enjoyed my time testing it.

Speccing standard 25mm clincher tyres in 2020 is an odd move, and the weight for this particular build isn’t that competitive.

You also lose out on some (claimed) aero benefit with the standard cockpit versus the fancy new integrated Bontrager Aeolus RSL VR-C bar-stem combo. But, if you’re anything like me and enjoy endlessly tweaking your position and cockpit setup, this might not be such a bad thing.

Jumping up to the Emonda SL 7 (£4,850) would get you an Ultegra Di2 groupset, Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37 wheels and the integrated cockpit, but I’m not convinced the extra expense would be worth it.

A few small spec niggles aside, if you’re after a delightfully fun go-fast race bike, the 2021 Trek Emonda SL 6 Pro is very unlikely to leave you wanting.

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