NotAsFat
04-08-07, 08:45 AM
The nice folks from Trek brought their trailer full of bikes to my LBS yesterday, and I took the opportunity to ride two really sweet bikes, the Trek Madone 5.2 and the Lemond Zurich. It was a bit too cold for a really long ride, but I did get some pretty good first impressions of the two bikes.
The first bike I rode was the Lemond Zurich. This bike starts with the 980 gram version of Lemond's Min/Max carbon frame, adds a Bontrager Race Lite fork, Race wheels, and Shimano Ultegra group. The Trek guy stuck some SPD pedals on the bike, adjusted the seat hight for me, and I was off.
The Lemond really likes to climb. :D I took it up a hill I used to have to walk up, and felt no need for a triple (which was a good thing, because the bike was a double :)). Shifts were quick and crisp, even when standing. The bike felt solid on the descent, with no twitchiness. This would be a fantastic bike for fast centuries, although a crit rider would probably prefer something with quicker steering. I'm saving my pennies, and when I lose that other 50 pounds, I'm gonna reward myself with one of these.
The Madone 5.2 has more expensive componentry, Bontrager Race X Lite fork, Race Lite wheels, and Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur. It rode well, but it wasn't as eager on the hill climb. I managed the climb with gears to spare, but I had to work a little harder. The rear derailleur could have used some adjustment. It wanted to jump in and out of gears. Not the bike's fault, but I'd rather ride my bikes than work on them, and if the adjustment on the Dura-Ace is more critical than the Ultegra, then I'll stick with the Ultegra. Steering was quicker on the Madone, a little twitchier than I prefer, but it would be good for crit riding.
The Madone would be the better choice for a crit bike, the Zurich would be my choice for just about anything else. Neither would be suitable for applications requiring racks, but that's about the only road riding that they wouldn't work for.
The first bike I rode was the Lemond Zurich. This bike starts with the 980 gram version of Lemond's Min/Max carbon frame, adds a Bontrager Race Lite fork, Race wheels, and Shimano Ultegra group. The Trek guy stuck some SPD pedals on the bike, adjusted the seat hight for me, and I was off.
The Lemond really likes to climb. :D I took it up a hill I used to have to walk up, and felt no need for a triple (which was a good thing, because the bike was a double :)). Shifts were quick and crisp, even when standing. The bike felt solid on the descent, with no twitchiness. This would be a fantastic bike for fast centuries, although a crit rider would probably prefer something with quicker steering. I'm saving my pennies, and when I lose that other 50 pounds, I'm gonna reward myself with one of these.
The Madone 5.2 has more expensive componentry, Bontrager Race X Lite fork, Race Lite wheels, and Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur. It rode well, but it wasn't as eager on the hill climb. I managed the climb with gears to spare, but I had to work a little harder. The rear derailleur could have used some adjustment. It wanted to jump in and out of gears. Not the bike's fault, but I'd rather ride my bikes than work on them, and if the adjustment on the Dura-Ace is more critical than the Ultegra, then I'll stick with the Ultegra. Steering was quicker on the Madone, a little twitchier than I prefer, but it would be good for crit riding.
The Madone would be the better choice for a crit bike, the Zurich would be my choice for just about anything else. Neither would be suitable for applications requiring racks, but that's about the only road riding that they wouldn't work for.