Trek Madone SLR 9 Disc Review

At the pinnacle of technology, the Trek Madone SLR 9 Disc is a concentration of innovations designed to provide both comfort and performance. Aerodynamics, Di2, disc brakes, and custom vibration filtering make it one of the most desirable bikes of the moment. But is the bike’s €12,000 price tag justified on the road?

The Madone is Trek’s other high-end carbon model, alongside the Emonda, which is more suited for climbing, and the Domane, which is more for long distances (note the anagram for the names of the three models!). The sixth iteration of the series, this “new” Madone (actually unveiled last July), goes even further than its predecessor in terms of aerodynamics, without sacrificing weight, user comfort, or aesthetics (a prerequisite for commercial success, let’s be honest).

It is one of those modern bikes that concentrates all the latest technologies, first in terms of integration, then in the field of pure efficiency. On the Madone, almost nothing protrudes in this test version with disc brakes, as brake hoses and electric wires for the drivetrain are perfectly concealed. A pleasure for the eyes, but quite a few complications for mechanics or whenever maintenance is needed.

It should be noted, however, that Trek has the good taste not to impose the Madone with discs, and an almost identical version of the SLR 9 is offered with rim brakes, also neatly concealed behind the fork and seatstays, for 310 g and… €1000 less.

We also bet that this less expensive version is more aerodynamically efficient, even if it’s impossible for us to verify this concretely. The fact remains that, like the Specialized Venge S-Works or the 3T Strada Pro Disc for example, or conversely the Pinarello Dogma F10 Disk or the BH G7 Disc 5.5, disc braking is perfectly integrated into the machine’s philosophy here. Its operation is flawless. Only a few parasitic rubbing noises from the rotors in the calipers sometimes disturb the comfort of the rides. We sometimes wonder if the 3bikes.fr testers are the only ones to notice this on disc bikes. Anyway, let’s move on!