Thanks for your detailed explanation as to why you chose the Emonda. Today I noticed that my 2005 Trek 5000 series frame had a cracked seat tube (odd place to break, no?) and it's very likely that I'll get an Emonda frameset as a replacement. Hopefully the seat mast will give me enough adjustment, and I since I'm coming from a bike with a level top tube, I'm hoping that by running with no headset spacers and a negative rise stem, I'll be able to get back to my old riding position, which I spent ages tuning.

I was sort of worried that I was getting more of a cruiser (I haven't kept up with Trek's lineup for ages) but after reading through this thread, I'm now really excited about my replacement frame! Now I just have to figure out which crankset will work with my 9-speed component group.