# 2014 Trek Madone 5 Series vs. 6 Series



## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

What's the difference in terms of weight and ride quality for those of you that have ridden both? I know tht the new 6 Series and new 7 Series have beefier chain stays. How does that impact the ride or braking, etc.? Thanks in advance.


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## ejprez (Nov 9, 2006)

Really hard to quantify the differences. According to trek the 6 series carbon is lighter, stiffer and better ride quality, slightly. The chainstays probably to add a measure of ride and brake enhancement but nothing that will keep you from riding strong or winning. The 6 series is made in the US though.


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

ejprez said:


> Really hard to quantify the differences. According to trek the 6 series carbon is lighter, stiffer and better ride quality, slightly. The chainstays probably to add a measure of ride and brake enhancement but nothing that will keep you from riding strong or winning. The 6 series is made in the US though.


Thanks for the reply. That's kind of what I thought. It seems like it may be a significant price difference for not a whole lot in return, but the U.S. thing is cool. Anyone know the actual weight differences?


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## kookieCANADA (Jan 20, 2011)

Did you get the chance to check out the "Feature Tour" on the Madone 6/7 series bikes on Treks web site?

They have "charts" that compare all the frames. The 5 and 6 series is basically close for weight and stiffness but there seems to be a "noticeable" difference in compliance (that's if you just look at the graph itself. If you look at from a quantitative view, it's probably irrelevant).

One of the main complaints for the 2013 Madones was the braking (Bontrager brakes and I guess the other the chainstay).


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## ejprez (Nov 9, 2006)

Yeah the bontrager brakes are ok to good. Not as nice as the feel over shimanos. If you are using shimano you can always upgrade to shimano brakes or get them stock on a P1 build. If you're gonna spend 4500 ish on a bike the two choices, IMO, is between the 5.9 di2 and 6.2 ultegra. The sweet spot bikes are the 4.7 and 5.2, again my opinion. But don't take it too seriously since I ride a 7 with super record


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

ejprez said:


> Yeah the bontrager brakes are ok to good. Not as nice as the feel over shimanos. If you are using shimano you can always upgrade to shimano brakes or get them stock on a P1 build. If you're gonna spend 4500 ish on a bike the two choices, IMO, is between the 5.9 di2 and 6.2 ultegra. The sweet spot bikes are the 4.7 and 5.2, again my opinion. But don't take it too seriously since I ride a 7 with super record


Yeah, the 5.2 seems like a pretty good value for what you are getting. The new Felt AR is intriguing as well, but the Madone likely beats it out in the stiffness to weight category. It's also cheaper and lighter than what Cervelo's new S3 is rumored to be priced at and their S5 Rival. To go cheaper, you almost have to drop down to almost every other manufactuerers second tier bike which will come with 105 and not Ultegra. The only similar values I have been able to find that comes with a lifetime warranty is the Devinci Leo SL which you can pick up from Coloradocyclist or local shops and the new Boardman SLR. Neither of those have any "aero" features though. The Madone 5.2 may have the Leo SL beat on stiffness to weight as well because my guess is that it is probably lighter than the 930 grams that the Leo SL is listed at, but the Boardman SLR is listed at 798 grams. That's pretty light, but there aren't many U.S. based retailers for Boardman bikes yet and the warranty isn't as good. Nytro is one of the only ones I have come across. 

I really like the 6 Series if you are committed to spending a chunk of change and I was able to get a reasonable spec'd bike down to the high $4000 range on project one (about the same price as the 6.2). I am still weighing my 2014 options, but to my surprise, the Madone is in the hunt (I was almost sold on the new Felt AR, but decided to hold off for test rides and the Madone 5 Series is a pretty sweet ride). Cervelo is supposed to be releasing some new bikes in the next couple of days, so we will see what they bring to the table. 

How do you like the 7 Series ejprez? Is it a 2014?


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## Rashadabd (Sep 17, 2011)

I guess there is also this year's Cannondale Supersix Evo line, but the headset is pretty low and I hate the idea of riding around with a huge stack of spacers. Their new Synapse is also an option, but again I think it's a bit heavier than a Madone.


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## ejprez (Nov 9, 2006)

The 7 series is a great frame. I've never been all the interested in Trek but there KVF marketing sure sold me. The integrated brakes are ok. The ride was noticeably smoother over my Ridley and just as stiff if not slightly more. I think a 6 is pretty much 90-95% the same bike. According to treks marketing material the carbon of the 7 is barely better than the 6. So not a huge selling point, though did like that the 7 uses ballistic carbon too. 

The new synapse looks sharp with that new seattube bottom bracket junction.


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