First Bike Purchase Saturday Questions
 

I have posted a few times here and am down to the wire. I have a choice between a used 2014 Trek Madone 4.3 or a New 2015 Trek Emonda S6. Since its last years model he will sell it to me for 1800 which is the lowest price I have seen a brand new one for. The Madone is 1100. After test riding both I felt like I had a harder time picking up speed on the Madone (58cm) than the s6 which is 56cm. The gear shifts felt alot smoother and silent compared to the 105 setup on the Madone as well.
I am doing one final test ride saturday, I am leaning towards the s6 as it has all ultrategra parts and the ride just felt "better" as well as it being brand new and my first bike. I was curious as to any input anyone had as far as opinions on either bike, some necessary accessories I should get, etc.
So far as accessorize go I found a Tacx Vortex smart 5 months old for 300, and I'm currently trying to find a good shoe and pedal combo. Any input is much appreciated. I am very excited to start biking 10miles to work one way every day.

Buy the bike that feels better. If you're going to be commuting on it, you'll probably need a decent light, rear blinkie, lock, and backpack. You'll also need a flat kit/spare tube and means of inflating it.

Yes I'm looking into all of those thanks, I just bought a used tacx vortex trainer to do some home training when the whether turns bad for the season. What do you think of trainerroad and zwift? I thought the trainerroad looked pretty good as it has different training regiments which would be a big help for me in the winter to put in with my current weightlifting workout routine. The guy gave me the ant piece with it. Do you have a recommendation on foot pedals and cleats?

I have always used Ultegra pedals. They last forever. But they may be suboptimal for commuting, depending on how far your walk from bike parking is. A lot of folks commute on mtb pedals which allow for a recessed cleat.

No opinion on Zwift or Trainerroad.

New versus Used?


Always buy New, I say! :)

Sounds like the S6 is what you want. Smoother shifting and better ride feel. If that's your first impression don't over think it. I would go for the new one. You would have a warranty, know the bikes history and get some LBS support to start out. The Madone has the 5700 105 that was OK but 6800 Ultegra is really nice gear. Seems like an easy decision.

I just gave my 2013 Madone 4.5 (which I believe is basically the same as the 2014) to my son and I bought the Emonda SL6. I'm not 100% sure but I think the S6 uses 5 series carbon (whatever that means) versus the 4 series on the Madone, so you step up a notch there. The Emonda is lighter and stiffer than my old Madone. I would guess that the Emonda will ride nicer to you and if it does or even close I'd go that route. But like others have said, ride both and buy the one that feels the best.

Different frame sizes, that can't be good. Which one fits you better?

I fit both sizes fine, I think the 56cm (the s6 size) fit better. I'm doing one more test ride this weekend but I'm going with that. I am currently trying to get all my gear together. As far As pedals I was looking at the pd6800, and shoes the rp9. Does anyone have experience with those?

I had a Madone 4.6 and it was great.

The Madone 4 is 400 carbon and the Emonda S is 300 (if I remember correctly). The geometry is the same but it sounds like a 58cm is too big. Also the Madone is 10 speed and the Emonda is 11.

Right. Buy the size that fits best. Nothing else matters as much.

I like the s6, the size felt much more manageable if that makes sense

I wear the rp7. Pretty happy with the shoe quality.

Fit is a personal thing, which you'd know.
Find some good insoles which suit your feet.

Are there special places to see bike shoes in person for a large selection

Yes, bike shops.

;)

Stock really depends on the area. Some places move a ton of cycling shoes and consequently have multiple sizes of most models for several brands in stock all the time, some places only have a couple of shoes on the shelf and will order what you're looking for. A reasonable suggestion would be to find the largest shop in your area and just go in to see what they have.

Thanks I will look into it. What are some major items I should get? Like a repair rack, special tools etc

FWIW, I liked the 300 series carbon on my Madone 3.1. It was fairly heavy for a carbon frame, but it was indestructible and I think the un-stiffness of it made the ride quality kind of nice on long rides (100+ miles).


The Emonda would also have the warranty in effect, and that's probably worth a good chunk of the price difference.

Both bikes are good bikes.



Personally, I liked the feel of my now gone Madone more than the replacement Emonda, and I can't figure out why. Maybe I just had enough miles on it to like the needlessly twitchy feel of the Madone being a size small for me. Maybe it's just because every piece of it was a reward for hitting some goal or another, and the new one is still just a bicycle with no special events tied to it yet. In reality, the Emonda does pretty much everything I want it to do as well or better than the Madone did, so maybe it's just spite.

I always vote used, but I also vote that proper size is most important.

You might think you fit on the madone when you ride it around the block, but when you find yourself halfway done with a 3 hour ride, you'll wish you were on a huffy that was 2cm shorter.

i went from a Madone 4 to a Emonda SLR... no comparison. The SLR is an amazing bike, but at many times the cost of the Madone.

I just got my trainer super excited! Cant wait to do this last test ride on saturday, hopefully he doesnt mind me testing it with the trainer lol. I found a large bike shop by me so I'm gonna go there for the rest of my accessories