Today I bought a 2008 Trek Madone 5.2 Pro road bike. This is Trek’s mid-level full carbon fiber frame with Shamino Ultegra SL components.

I decided to get the Pro fit, rather than the Performance fit, primarily because its closer to what I’m already used to. The only slight negative to the Pro fit model is that it comes with a traditional 53/39 double chainring, whereas the Performance fit model comes with a compact 50/34 chainring.

I deliberately went after the traditional chainring instead of a compact or a triple to help build additional strength and speed. I’ve been using a triple (52/40/30) in my Trek 2100 for 5 years now and have rarely used the lower front gear, so I think this will work out okay. And if I wind up doing some serious mountain climbing, I’ve always got the 2100 with its triple waiting in the wings.

Right after picking it up I took it out for a quick ~22 mile workout. Oh.My.God. The bike is absolutely amazing. My 2100 was, and still is, an incredibly fun bike to ride, but the Madone is an absolute dream. The lightness (I weighed it as 17 lbs with the extras on), amazing handling, and power are all dramatically better than any bike I’ve had the pleasure of riding.

My 2100 just crossed over 8,000 miles last week and I’m looking forward to doubling that or more on the new Madone… and hopefully in a lot less than 5 years.

Great work, Trek!

Trek Madone 5.2 Pro with the Trek 2100 in the background