Campag4life

One heck of a nice bike in particular for what you have into it bluehills.
Are you a little over 6' tall..maybe 6'1" or 6'2" or so? Pretty high saddle position.

floridamtb

With my new Aelous Pro 3 wheels on top of Florida's highest "mountain"

bluehills3149

Yes- 6'2" (188cm)
Inseam is 90.5cm or 35.6".

Stockie

Beautiful build!
What size is your frame?

NUTNDUN

Haven't had a chance to get out for a longer ride with nicer scenery so this pic will have to do. So far I am really liking it. Hoping to get a good many miles on it this weekend.

2019 SL6 Disc

gabeham206

My Emonda SL in it's natural habitat. Got the frame through a warranty in February, Decided to build it up with a newest ultegra mechanical groupset.

benadrian

I picked up a used 2016 Emonda SL6 in early July 2018. I switched over to it from a Specialized Roubaix. The Roubaix was a great "first carbon road bike", but it taught me that I wanted something less endurance-y and more performance oriented. I decided to get this bike after renting the exact model when riding Mont Ventoux. I was lucky enough to be on vacation in France near Mont Ventoux, so I had to take a day and challenge myself. It was awesome. I also really loved my rental bike. Good move by Trek to get their bikes in stores as a rental fleet.

Like many here, the bike is in the stealth black color scheme. I find it's really difficult to get a good photo of the matte, all black bike. So, I give you a professional photo of me on the rental, in the final km of Ventoux.


Ventoux Climb by benadrian, on Flickr

Now, how do I add some color?

Capo72

^^^^^^^^^Very nice, and a bucket list climb for me!

Campag4life

You are wrong if you believe an Emonda is a better performance bike than a Roubaix with Specialized higher modulus which creates a light bike. Both the Roubaix and Emonda have been raced in professional cycling and the Roubaix has more tour wins to its credit. It is a more celebrated race bike having won the race it was named for several times. I have dropped countless Emonda riders including a close friend I built a SL6 for a few months back. Difference in the bikes is not enough to mask differences in the riders. An Emonda I agree is a good bike but it is no better or worse than even a five year old SL3 Roubaix with 10r carbon. My experience. The pricey SLR Emonda however is a step above in lightness which would matter fractionally when climbing. A considerable premium for that weight reduction that most couldn't detect in a blind test.

benadrian

I'm not trying to be right or wrong, I'm just trying to find a bike that I love to ride and that makes me want to ride more and for longer. Gear is cool and tinkering is fun!

I had an SL4 base model Roubaix with FACT 8r carbon. Overall, it was a great bike that was always very good to me. I have a long torso and short legs for my height. I feel my legs ride a 56 and my torso rides a 58. I struggled a bit with the Roubaix fit. It felt cramped in the cockpit. It's a pretty upright ride as it is for a human without my corgi-like proportions. I tried a longer stem, but I didn't like the feel on the handling.

I rode an Emonda, loved it, found it fit my body better, and got one. In the process, I went from Tiagra to Ultegra, which is an extremely noticeable upgrade. If the Roubaix geometry was a little more like the Emonda, or if I'd gotten a Tarmac rather than a Roubaix, I'd probably just be upgrading the component set rather than doing a whole bike swap.

I don't race. I only compete against myself and my previous fastest time. I want to know that I can get to the top of hills and mountains on my own power. I know I can do that on any competent bike, but I'm lucky enough to get to try out a number of nice bikes and pick one that feel good, works well, and excites me as a gear head. Who knows, in a year I might be building up another, different bike. I've considered building my own wheels just because I can try and I like a good project. It's the same kind of satisfaction as making it to the top of the big hill.

Cheers!

Campag4life

I believe what you wrote shows keen insight in particular for somebody hasn't been into the depths of the sport. Yes, you are built the opposite of the geometry that works best for Roubaix riders like myself who are all legs.

If you want even a medium fit with your proportions than more of a full race geometry what Trek calls H1 may even be better for you.

You had the lower level Roubaix with 8r carbon. Not sure in a blind test one can really tell the difference but an analogy relative to the Emonda is, many believe the SL6 Emonda is a notably better bike than the S6 lowest level carbon. Many believe the Emonda ALR, the Al version to be better than the base level carbon Emonda S6.

So there are many shades of grey to bike differences. The Emonda should fit you better and no doubt the SL6 is lighter than the 8r Roubaix you had. I have ridden both bikes quite a bit. They are 'different' in personality but the term better is more subjective and in terms of speed there is little between them. I really like the Emonda. Not a fan of the single bolt seatpost, OK however with the inverted seat mast/cap design due to controlled flex....don't like Trek's carbon bore BB90 bottom bracket but it can be managed, but love the Emonda bike...its ride, handling and the speed that can be created on one. SL6 is a great bike and ride safe.

Rock71

Lol.... I too feel like a Corgi sometimes, short legs and long Torso. My height says 58, but my legs say 55.

NUTNDUN

Has anyone with a disc version Emonda mounted Continental 28mm GP4000Sii tires by chance?

springs

No but I have done so on my rim brake 2018 Emonda.

NUTNDUN

jwalther

Made some changes since my last post. . .Upgraded to DA 9150, Bontrager XXX carbon saddle and DT Swiss DiCut Oxic wheels.

mavickers

Love this color. ❤️❤️❤️

GlennR

No changes to mine, but i just passed 20,000 miles on it.

rpyr

New Emonda SL. Mix of 6800 and 8000 Ultegra. Current wheels older Dura Ace until I determine what I want to go with.

Campag4life

I am a big fan of the Emonda and a couple of questions please to the owners of these great bikes:

1. with the single bolt saddle clamp..the bolt up top at the rails.... that is part of the seat mast cap that comes on all Emondas, do any of the heavier riders ever have problem with the saddle losing its tilt...maybe over rough road riding?

2. anybody have problems with their bottom bracket creaking? Trek uses slip fit BB90 with carbon bores on all their Emondas.

Thanks

NUTNDUN

I haven't been fond of the single bolt seat rail clamp. Good thing is once you get it set it doesn't really need to be messed with again. The issue I was having with mine was the one side gets stuck and makes adjusting tilt a pain in the arse. Haven't really had any creaking from the seat either. I made sure I torqued it to the proper amount.

I haven't had any creaking from the bottom bracket either. I am a heavier rider at 215+ and have put about 300 miles on my Emonda so far and no issues.

benadrian

1. I had some problems. I put on my saddle, adjusted it, and torqued it down. I always go a bit light with the torque wrench at first. If I remember correctly, the seatpost/saddle clamp asks for something like 16nM? I was partway through a ride and I started getting blasted in my taint region. I stopped and my saddle had slid fully back and went slightly up. When I got home I readjusted and applied the full torque setting. It's been fine ever since.

2. No issues in my brief ownership period.

fmilovanov

I am not sure if it's BB or not, but when I am riding on a high gear on a crankset, there's a feeling of small vibration like chain is rubbing of something. I asked technicians of my bike shop (at least 4 locations) to look at it, and they say chain's not rubbing.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

Campag4life

Thanks for the tip. Perhaps counterintuitive that grease with its lubricity would help a rotary compression clamp not slip...but I believe compression trumps lubricity in this application. Grease as with press fit bearing applications, fills in micro voids and increases surface contact.

I presume that carbon friction plates on the cones of the single bolt compression clamp 'may' work even better because the fluid will fill the voids and the particles within the paste will increase friction.

Will say this. To me, just astounding Trek, Specialized and Cervelo utilize a single bolt rotory compression clamp to keep a saddle in place knowing that heavier riders move around the saddle and sometime ride rough roads. The torque on that rotory clamp which is as much as a pivot as it is a clamp is very high. To me, ridiculous.

Specialized and Cervelo in many applications have offered a two bolt clamp as an option. Sometimes not however and never Trek. I have had single bolt clamps slip at the worse times during a ride.

Other thing of course is Trek's notorious 'carbon bore' BB90. Why would they ask for trouble with this design?

To me, both designs are dubious. The kicker is, the bikes themselves that Trek makes are truly outstanding.