# '13 Trek Madone 2.1



## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

I went around shopping for road bikes and I found this 2013 Trek Madone 2.1. The price is within my price range. The ride is smooth and I find it nice.

I was wondering if this is a good bike to start with. Can anyone kindly possible give me some tips. 

Oh, I also found out that it was made in Taiwan. No more made in USA for Trek bikes?


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

cmtbiz said:


> I went around shopping for road bikes and I found this 2013 Trek Madone 2.1. The price is within my price range. The ride is smooth and I find it nice.
> 
> I was wondering if this is a good bike to start with. Can anyone kindly possible give me some tips.
> 
> Oh, I also found out that it was made in Taiwan. No more made in USA for Trek bikes?


You can still get a Trek bike that's made in the USA, if your starting point is around 5 grand. 

Only the 6 and 7 series Madones are made in the US. The aluminum frames are made in China and Taiwan, and the cheaper Madones and all of the Domanes are made in Taiwan.

Don't lose any sleep over a Taiwanese frame. They're fine.:thumbsup:

The 2.1 is a fine bike to start with. You won't outgrow it for a long time.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Thank you for the tip.

5K!!  omg thats too much for a beginner. lol 
Ok, will go for the 2.1.


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## jwl325 (Feb 3, 2010)

I have a 2010 Trek 2.3, which I *think* is probably still comparable to the new 2.1s and 2.3s. Great bike, CF fork and seat post, Shimano 105 set. My two years with the bike suggests the 105 is bullet-proof, offering great performance and ease of use. 

She's a great, great bike. I have a Pina FP4, but still ride my Trek regularly--in fact, I just came in from cleaning her up for a ride tomorrow. 

Speaking for myself, I wouldn't be concerned about the Asian-made aspect--heck, my Pina's frame is made in Asia as well. Trek is producing great bikes at great price points. Full disclosure, my wife and also own Trek hybrids and trail bikes (well, Fisher for mine, but same co.).

Good luck with your purchase! 

Bill


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Ok.. I just got my '13 Trek 2.1 Madone in Black/Grey. I love this bike!! Its just so fun riding one. Way way different how a Mountain Bike handles. I cant wait for the weekend to come. Thanks for all the advises. :thumbsup:


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## jwl325 (Feb 3, 2010)

Congrats!! When you can, share some pics!


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

jwl325 said:


> I have a 2010 Trek 2.3, which I *think* is probably still comparable to the new 2.1s and 2.3s. Great bike, CF fork and seat post, Shimano 105 set. My two years with the bike suggests the 105 is bullet-proof, offering great performance and ease of use.
> 
> She's a great, great bike. I have a Pina FP4, but still ride my Trek regularly--in fact, I just came in from cleaning her up for a ride tomorrow.
> 
> ...


I think they just relabeled the old 2 series the Madone 2 series. The difference is that they don't put an Apex group on the 2.1 now. It's a 105/Tiagra mix. I think the 2.1 has the "Bontrager Approved" base wheelset, and the 2.3 has Bontrager Race, but I'm not sure about that.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

It comes with:
Wheels

Alloy hubs w/Bontrager Approved alloy rims


Tires

Bontrager R1, 700x23c




Shifters

Shimano 105 STI, 10 speed


Front derailleur

Shimano 105, 34.9mm clamp


Rear derailleur

Shimano 105


Crank

Shimano R565, 50/34 (compact)


Cassette

Shimano Tiagra 12-30, 10 speed


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## ldotmurray (Jun 15, 2009)

Pix or it didn't happen. ;-)


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

jwl325 said:


> Congrats!! When you can, share some pics!


Thanks.. I will.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Here goes the pix.. =)


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## jwl325 (Feb 3, 2010)

Beautiful bike!!! Congrats!! Rider her in good health and happiness!!


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## jwl325 (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the info mpre! Looks like the whole series is still a lot of bang for the buck (my wife has a '10 1.5/Tiagra).

We were in Germany back in Dec, and stopped by the AF exchange at Ramstein--and was pleasantly surprised to see they had an excellent selection of Trek and Cannondale bikes, up through the Madone 4.1 (not sure what their Cannondales went to as I'm not as familiar with their line, but price-wise they appeared to have models equiv to the 4.1). They were selling the 4.1 for $1800, which seemed like a pretty decent price.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks... Woohoo.. Its Friday.. One more day of work and 2 days of endless riding!! 

Weather forecast 56 (Sat) and 60 (Sun) degrees.



jwl325 said:


> Beautiful bike!!! Congrats!! Rider her in good health and happiness!!


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Heres a better picture.. Went to check on bike early morning.. Lol





















ldotmurray said:


> Pix or it didn't happen. ;-)


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Nice bike. I like the reflectors.


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

it just occurred to me that it is alloy......an alloy madone? is this the first?


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

yes, the wheels are Alloy.

Wheels: Alloy hubs w/Bontrager Approved alloy rims
Tires: Bontrager R1, 700x23c
Frame fit: H2
Frame: 200 Series Alpha Aluminum, E2, KVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) tube shape, press-fit BB 

Fork: Madone KVF carbon, E2, SpeedTrap compatible
Size: 56cm





Touch0Gray said:


> it just occurred to me that it is alloy......an alloy madone? is this the first?


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

I removed the "Made in Taiwan" stickers off, now I dont know where it's made. 



mpre53 said:


> You can still get a Trek bike that's made in the USA, if your starting point is around 5 grand.
> 
> Only the 6 and 7 series Madones are made in the US. The aluminum frames are made in China and Taiwan, and the cheaper Madones and all of the Domanes are made in Taiwan.
> 
> ...


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

cmtbiz said:


> yes, the wheels are Alloy.
> 
> Wheels: Alloy hubs w/Bontrager Approved alloy rims
> Tires: Bontrager R1, 700x23c
> ...


I'm talking about the frame.....wondering why they switched to alloy for the lower end madone's


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

If you haven't taken off the other stickers, be sure to warm them up with a hair dryer to loosen the glue to avoid any clearcoat/paint damage. 

Nice ride. I just bought a used Giant Defy but was looking at the Madone alloy if I was going to buy new.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Thanks for the tip... The Made in Taiwan sticker is gone. It took me quite some effort to get it off using just finger nails. :cryin:




acckids said:


> If you haven't taken off the other stickers, be sure to warm them up with a hair dryer to loosen the glue to avoid any clearcoat/paint damage.
> 
> Nice ride. I just bought a used Giant Defy but was looking at the Madone alloy if I was going to buy new.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Does anybody use the reflectors? I will only be using this for daylight riding. Took off the reflectors.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

jwl325 said:


> Thanks for the info mpre! Looks like the whole series is still a lot of bang for the buck (my wife has a '10 1.5/Tiagra).
> 
> We were in Germany back in Dec, and stopped by the AF exchange at Ramstein--and was pleasantly surprised to see they had an excellent selection of Trek and Cannondale bikes, up through the Madone 4.1 (not sure what their Cannondales went to as I'm not as familiar with their line, but price-wise they appeared to have models equiv to the 4.1). They were selling the 4.1 for $1800, which seemed like a pretty decent price.


You sure it was a 4.1 and not a 3.1? Unless they offer different models in Europe than they do in the US, I think their cheapest 4 series is the 4.5 which has an MSRP of around $2700 US. Trek's German website lists MSRP for the 3.1 at 1.799 Euros. They don't have a Madone 4.1.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

Touch0Gray said:


> I'm talking about the frame.....wondering why they switched to alloy for the lower end madone's


They just re-badged the old 2.1 and 2.3 models as Madones. Not sure whether they tweaked the geometry of them. The familiar entry level Madones (the 3 series) are still CF frames.


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## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

Touch0Gray said:


> I'm talking about the frame.....wondering why they switched to alloy for the lower end madone's


My silver and blue Trek (you've seen it) is an '08 2.1. I think that was the first year for that number sequence, and IIRC it was the same geometry as a Madone but in aluminum. This frame 'looks' more like the current Madones, in the shaping of the tubes. I'm guessing they just added the word 'Madone' to the rest of the road bikes this year. 

Cool bike, mine has served me well. Enjoy!


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## Touch0Gray (May 29, 2003)

You know how I feel about trek (there are 3 in my garage) I was just curious about the "name recognition" thing in putting Madone on them. My 5200 was pretty much madone geometry too....the only alloy on it is the steerer. I was just wondering..... HOWEVER, I DO know how to find out...LOL

BTW to the OP, yep, nice bike, good choice!


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## TheRealWelshCJ (May 15, 2013)

Hello,

I was just wondering if the OP could post about how he has found this bike over the past few months, as I was just looking to purchase one for myself.

I am an avid mountain biker, and have used hybrids in the past for road, but I was looking to get this Trek to allow me to progress in to longer distance road cycling (100+ miles a day comfortably).

Regards,

CJ.


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## acckids (Jan 2, 2003)

Consider the Domane also.


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## cmtbiz (Jan 8, 2013)

Hi.. I love the Madone 2.1.. its solid and perform very well. At that time, the MSRP for this bike is *$1,429.99* but I got it at a discount for $1,199 from my LBS.. so thats a bargain. 

I would suggest you check the DOMANE 2.0 ($1,429) which runs the same price as the Madone 2.1. Which comes with IsoSpeed decoupler. Note: I tried this and I personally didnt like the IsoSpeed technology. IMHO, on power sprinting, it flexes too much for my liking. Don't get me wrong, its a great feature but not for me. You have to try it, to get the feel.

If you have some extra room for the price... I would recommend the MADONE 3.1.. which has the full carbon (frame and fork) for $2,000.




TheRealWelshCJ said:


> Hello,
> 
> I was just wondering if the OP could post about how he has found this bike over the past few months, as I was just looking to purchase one for myself.
> 
> ...


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## TheRealWelshCJ (May 15, 2013)

I'm purchasing in the UK. So the costings are a bit different.

I am looking at £999 (inc. tax) which according to Google is ~US$1520.


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## Hertz2much (May 4, 2013)

I have a 2011 Trek Alpha 2.3. 105 all the way around and the Bontrager Race wheels. love the bike. It's a little soft for my taste but makes long rides comfortable.


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## bhi (Feb 17, 2010)

I have a 2011 2.3 also.the bike is light and rides smooth for aluminum.I just used it for a long charity ride and had no problems.


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## mpre53 (Oct 25, 2011)

mpre53 said:


> You can still get a Trek bike that's made in the USA, if your starting point is around 5 grand.
> 
> Only the 6 and 7 series Madones are made in the US. The aluminum frames are made in China and Taiwan, and the cheaper Madones and all of the Domanes are made in Taiwan.


Actually, you can do a P1 Six series, with Rival and the cheapest available components (saddle, wheelset, tires, bars, etc), for about $4100, and get a US made frame. That's MSRP. Your shop will probably do better.


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## 2702 (Apr 22, 2014)

I just got a new leftover 13 2.1 a few days ago. 
I was first going to buy a Trek 7.5 FX and after many test rides could not warm up to it, It was cheap 789.00 new but in the end I found it to be boring.
So I just out of the blue gave this a try due to its sale price of 1143.00 new and shiny red color. 
It was so responsive and handling was terrific. Very nice blend of everything. In the future I might just stick with Trek road bikes.


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## Peregrine (Apr 23, 2014)

2702, I'm trying to pick up one just like yours once the seller emails me back.


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## 2702 (Apr 22, 2014)

Peregrine said:


> 2702, I'm trying to pick up one just like yours once the seller emails me back.


Go for it! The color scheme is very very sharp. Hard to find red bikes now.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

jwl325 said:


> I have a 2010 Trek 2.3, which I *think* is probably still comparable to the new 2.1s and 2.3s. Great bike, CF fork and seat post, Shimano 105 set. My two years with the bike suggests the 105 is bullet-proof, offering great performance and ease of use.
> 
> She's a great, great bike. I have a Pina FP4, but still ride my Trek regularly--in fact, I just came in from cleaning her up for a ride tomorrow.
> 
> ...


The entry level Treks, Pinarellos, Cannondales, etc are all basically made in the same Giant Taiwan factory. So the bikes are all of similar qualty, just some individual style differences engineered or painted on them to differentiate them at the time of sale. All basically good decent bikes


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