Madone 6.5 WSD

[equus123]

MY MADONE CAME IN YESTERDAY AND MY BIKE SHOP BUILT IT FOR ME IN ONE DAY!!!!! I say that because they're a very busy shop and it sometimes takes them a few WEEKS to build a bike, let alone the day it comes in from Trek.

Right now it's sitting at home looking pretty. I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to ride it any time soon because I'm not fit to it at all. The way it's currently set up, the handlebars/stem are about the same height as my saddle. On my R5000, my bars are like 4 inches lower. I tried moving the stem lower last night but 1) the steerer tube sticks up a good 2 inches above the stem that way (ugly) and 2) with the way the spacers worked, there would have to have been a spacer on top of another spacer that sticks above the steerer tube and would therefore be attached to nothing. So I put it all back together the way it came and I'll have to see what to do at a later point in time.

But DAMN is that thing perdy. I uploaded pictures to my photobucket account this morning before work so I could post them on here today but I just realized the settings were for uploading to avatar sized images (~100x200 pixels) so they're teeny tiny right now! I'll do it again when I get home later. But have a look at my itsy bitsy pictures. lol



My First Impression Review:

Again, I haven't even put pedals on the darn thing yet because I've only had it for a few hours but here are my first impressions....

1. Pretty. This bike is a work of art to look at and I keep forgetting it's born racing machine more than anything.

2. Light. I can easily tell the difference in weight between my Cannondale R5000 and this Madone 6.5 WSD.

3. Handlebars. They came with the X Lite Blade bars and these are actually REALLY comfortable. The variable degree bend in the drops is really comfy and there aren't any "corners" or weird spots. It's just a nice gradual bend all the way around. The tops of the bars are also really well designed because as the bars bend back (away from the shifters) and straighten out towards the stem, they flare out in width and height of the bars. This is really really comfortable to grab onto because it's more forgiving for your wrists because it's almost the same concept as ergonomically shaped computer keyboards. Your hands now have a slight rotation outward (supination).

4. Adjustable Reach Shifters [Shimano ST-R700]. I'm quite surprised by these. I initially didn't want them on my bike because I'm used to full Dura Ace but I can definitely get used to them. The big difference is in the distance between the smaller black shift levers and the front-most curve of the handlebars. It's almost half the distance on this bike versus my Cannondale with Dura Ace shifters. The moment I put my hands into the drops and went to reach all the way out to grab the levers, I was amazed at how close they were and how comfortable it was. I was so used to having to reach really far as well as bend my wrists at a very uncomfortable angle (due to kind of bars AND shifters) that I was actually amazed at how uncomfortable my other bike was in that sense. This will be a very nice change. I normally don't ride in the drops if I need to shift a lot because it bothered my wrists but I don't have to worry about that anymore.

5. White Spokes. I never knew these wheels came with white spokes and red nipples. It is soooo banging looking.

6. Compact Crank. I'm actually really excited to have a compact crank now (not that I had the option in ordering this bike anyway). I'm 5'5" and 122 lbs. My optimal cadence is 96 rpms. When I ride, I'm generally in the 53x23 which is only one gear from the top of the cassette. Now that I'll have a compact crank to work with I will definitely put less stress on the drivetrain because I'll be more in the center of the cassette and riding over variable terrain will be that much more comfortable in allowing me to spin higher as I prefer without immediately running out of gears. I'm excited to see how it goes.

7. Internal Cable Routing. I don't know about anybody else but I lift/carry/transport my bike more than a cyclocross racer. I live in a second floor apartment. There's an outside door and then our apartment's door. Neither door stays open by itself. The stairs are very narrow. And there's a stupid U-shaped path I need to go right inside of my apartment door because they decided 3 feet into our place would be a perfect place for a short wall to stick out into the room. Needless to say....I'm constantly bringing it up and down the stairs to ride or in and out to my car or whatever else. Not having the cables running beneath the top tube is a wonderful thing for me.

[csr1210]

Ooooo - looks/sounds fantastic! Let us know how fitting goes

[RoadRaven]

Woohoo Equus!

You must have a special friend there at the LBS to get it all sorted in a day


Looking forward to hearing the next installment

[Mr. SR500]

KILLER!

We are still waiting on Kim's 5.1, since about August - don't ask.

Love the bike!

[equus123]

Thanks everybody.

Let's try this again....

[northstar]

Yow! Hot! Congratulations!