# Which Giant is Comparable to Trek Madone 4.5



## GT5050

Hi! I am primarily a mountain biker, but am considering a new road bike to replace my 2008 OCR which is great but a tad big. I ride a Giant mtb and in general like their bikes as the value seems pretty good across the board.

I just ran into a deal where I can get a 2013 Trek Madone 4.5 for just shy of $2k US, regular is 2650. Component wise it sits between the TCR Composite 1&2. However, apples to apples, is Trek's Madone 4 series comparable to Giant's TCR Composite or Advanced? 

MSRP wise it seems more like Giant's advanced, but I'm not familiar with the various grades of carbon and whatnot. Also considering a Defy as well...


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## Cannot

Not familiar with Trek 400 Series OCLV Carbon, but I know Giant uses:

Composite: Toray T-600
Advanced: Toray T-700
Advanced SL: Toray T-800


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## oisiaa

I'd recommend looking at the TCR SL1 $2,225 is MSRP, you can probably find it for $2,000. Better yet, go for the 2013 model which I feel has a better (lack of) paint job. It is an aluminum frame, but absolutely stunning to look at. This build is full Ultegra with pretty good wheels. 

TCR SLR 1 (2014) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States

The 2013 version: TCR SL 1 (2013) - Bikes | Giant Bicycles | United States

Edit: I know a guy who has one and he loves it. When he first got it he complained about how harsh the ride is, but he has since gotten used to it.


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## odearja

I was talking to a buddy a few days ago about this almost exact issue and he said that trek is giving their bikes away for a reason right now. 
However I was looking at the Domane 4.5 vs the Defy Comp 2. 
I am sticking with Giant for now.


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## cobra5514

odearja said:


> I was talking to a buddy a few days ago about this almost exact issue and he said that trek is giving their bikes away for a reason right now.
> However I was looking at the Domane 4.5 vs the Defy Comp 2.
> I am sticking with Giant for now.


Do you think Trek is going to do a redesign of the Madone?


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## odearja

cobra5514 said:


> Do you think Trek is going to do a redesign of the Madone?


I would be the wrong guy to ask, but that is what makes the most business sense. Either a complete redesign or a liquidation which I find to be very unlikely.


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## darwinosx

odearja said:


> I would be the wrong guy to ask, but that is what makes the most business sense. Either a complete redesign or a liquidation which I find to be very unlikely.



Giant makes most of Trek's bikes.
Giant bikes are better specced whereas Trek like to cheap out on some parts and hope buyers don't notice. Since Giant makes their own frames they don't have to pay someone to make them like Trek does. So Giant can provide better specs and lower prices.
A lot of Ultegra bikes are going for fire sale prices right now because the 2014 bikes will have the new 11-speed Ultegra.


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## odearja

darwinosx said:


> A lot of Ultegra bikes are going for fire sale prices right now because the 2014 bikes will have the new 11-speed Ultegra.


Well, there ya go!


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## darwinosx

odearja said:


> Well, there ya go!


And the bike manufactures weren't at all happy with Shimano when they announced 11 speed Ultegra early in April of this year They made it a sure thing that people would either wait to get a new bike until they could get the new Ultegra ( which is exactly what I am doing), or they would expect to get 2013 bikes at a very good price. A friend of mine just bought a 2013 Ultegra Trek Domane at $1,000 off but I think he should have waited and got the new Ultegra especially since he likes electronic shifting and the new Ultegra has a lot of improvements for electronic shifting. He can afford the extra $1,000...


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## odearja

darwinosx said:


> And the bike manufactures weren't at all happy with Shimano when they announced 11 speed Ultegra early in April of this year They made it a sure thing that people would either wait to get a new bike until they could get the new Ultegra ( which is exactly what I am doing), or they would expect to get 2013 bikes at a very good price. A friend of mine just bought a 2013 Ultegra Trek Domane at $1,000 off but I think he should have waited and got the new Ultegra especially since he likes electronic shifting and the new Ultegra has a lot of improvements for electronic shifting. He can afford the extra $1,000...


Well duh! Lol
I've had the bug for a new bike for a while. 
It's killing me to wait for the 2014 stock to come in, but I'm going to manage.


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## charlox5

imo the specs on the frame are going to be hard to compare on the internet. pricing is almost arbitrary or surely tied to the component package/wheels that come from the factory. 

I'm not saying that the TCR comp and the Madone are going to be the same, but when you test ride either one, you should have a better idea.

long story short, i don't think it's worth paying a premium for either frame purely based on carbon type, or brand model hierarchy or even frame weight.


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