Trek Carbon - TCT vs. OCLV?

I've been trying to get a new bike for a couple of months now...I have a relative who can get me an excellent discount, but so far he hasn't come through with anything. Anyway, I'm asking him get me pricing on Trek 2009 Madones. They don't have a 5.1 WSD this year, so I'm looking at the 5.2...OCLV carbon and Ultegra SL, MSRP $4,069. Then there's the 4.7 WSD with TCT carbon and Ultegra, MSPR $2,799.

I was wondering if anyone had opinions on the TCT carbon. Ultegra is plenty good enough for me, so the specs on the 4.7 are basically what I'm looking for. But I'm curious if it would be worth the extra money to get the OCLV.

Trek is so good about standing behind their product, my guess would be that the TCT is good stuff...just made in Asia instead of Wisconsin. I like the idea of "Made in the USA" but I'm not sure I want to pay $1K extra to get it!

Any thoughts would be appreciated! :)

Well the 4.7 is going to be a lower level frame from the 5.2 regardless of where the carbon is made. The difference in the carbon is going to be in weight and stiffness because of the kind of carbon layup. The carbon in the 4.7 isn't going to be bad. It's probably manufactured in one of Giant's plants in Asia. It won't be the same caliber of the OCLV not because of the place of manufacture so much as it is on a lower rung in Trek's quality scale. Some of the price difference comes from components and wheels, but some will be in the quality of the frame. Not having ridden them, I can't say if you'd notice the difference or if the difference is worth the $. I do know that I like the Trek ride a lot better the higher up the quality scale I go, and I would contribute that to geometry between models (non-madone vs. madone, for example) as well as frame quality.

Can you sit on them both?

The 4.x series is the TCT carbon = imported from Asia, they also lack several of the improvements the 5.x series has (bottom bracket, seat post, and maybe headtube/fork (I forget)). Very good bikes, but just so you know.

The 5.x and above are US made, and have all the new goodies of the Madone series. There are three carbon levels, but the ride is very similar. Tough call on the 4.x vs the 5.x given the '09 price increase, maybe work with your dealer and see if they can make up some of the difference.

It's a shame they dropped the 5.1 (my wife has one), great bike at a very attractive price point.

I am not familiar with the 2008 and 2009 models (and they expanded the number of different carbon levels in 2008), but in 2007, I rode both the Madone 5.2 (with OCLV 110) and a couple of TCT frames. I thought there was a huge difference. The OCLV was spunkier, stiffer, the bike was lighter, but it also had a very different qualititative feel overall. The TCT carbon had a bit of that "hollow", "wooden" feel that you sometimes get with lesser quality carbons, considerably less "lively" feeling than the OCLV. Of course this is all subjective, but I far preferred the OCLV.

That said, my newish bike (Scott CR1 Pro) is made of a carbon that feels a lot like OCLV. It's very, very stiff. It's fast feeling (and I really like it), but if you're riding on rough roads, you feel it almost as much as you would with aluminum. It soaks up a little more of the low-level "buzz", but if you hit even a small bump it rattles your teeth in a way that steel, and some carbons, wouldn't (including OCLV, incidentally -- my bf ended up with the 2007 Madone 5.2 SL, and my bike is much harsher than his, but also accelerates a hair faster)...

So stiffness is a trade off.

I have a 2008 Madone 4.7, which is TCT carbon, with full Ultegra. I love the bike! I came off a Giant TCR, which was lighter, but the ride I get with the Madone is much better.

From what I read about the carbons on Trek's website, they are built to the same quality standards, it is merely the carbon fabric itself that is different. The TCT carbon is a heavier fabric than the OCLV fabric. But I love the ride. It's responsive without being twitchy, and it dampens the road vibration wonderfully. I'd definitely recommend it. :D

Thanks everyone, for your feedback. I have actually ridden both TCT and OCLV, but neither ride was ideal. The bikes were not the right size and I only got to ride them around in a parking lot for about 5 minutes. So I couldn't determine much about them! One of the drawbacks to living in a super small community is that the bike shops don't have much in stock. So I only get to ride what they happen to have in the store!

I guess what it will boil down to is price. If I can get a great deal on the 5.2, I'll go for it. But otherwise I'll go with the 4.7. I'm glad to hear pros and cons of both. Considering how happy I've been with my $800 Trek 1000, I have no doubt I'll be happy with any Trek product!