INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
When a cyclist sees the Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS Gen 8 for the first time, the following thoughts run through their head, usually in this
order:"What a beautiful bike.""Damn, that looks really fast.""The owner of this bike is extremely serious about cycling and has a very
generous budget for fitness gear."Indeed, almost every conversation I had while out and about on the Madone started and ended with the
bike's looks and price tag
And for good reason.Let's get the obvious out of the way
This is an expensive and very high-tech bike, retailing at $15,999
(And if $15,999 doesn't break your budget, there's an even fancier Icon "Stellar" paint scheme for an extra $1,000.) That's a pretty penny
but not an unusual price point in the world of high-end road bikes
performance-oriented road bike, and the Gen 8 is the latest and greatest from the Wisconsin-based bike manufacturer
It's more aerodynamic than the Gen 7 (with a pair of aero water bottles) and a few hundred grams weightier than Trek's recently discontinued
Emonda climbing-focused bike.I put nearly 1,000 miles on the Gen 8 Madone over a two-month period, riding it on the roads around Chicagoland
Yes, the land around here is pretty flat, but out to the northwest there are some nice rollers, including a couple of short climbs with
grades approaching 10 percent
Those climbs gave me a sense of the Madone's ability on hills.
