2013 Trek Madone 7.0 Review - No Flex, Efficient Race Machine

 

The 2013 Trek Madone 7.0 Aero Road Bike - "Like Getting 25 Free Watts

Trek says you can shave 2 minutes off a 60 minute ride:  “We based the all-new Madone frame on our groundbreaking KVF (Kammtail Virtual Foil) tube shape. KVF minimizes drag using a truncated airfoil shape. The virtual tail of the airfoil bends to respond to the angle of the most common crosswinds, significantly reducing drag in the real world, where it really matters. It's like getting 25 free watts.”
Here is what Ron Koch as Bicycling Magazine had to say about his test of the 2013 Trek Madone Aero Road Bike 7 Series:

I rode the bike in Belgium, just a few days before the Tour de France was set to roll out. We followed a 60-kilometer test loop that toured the hilly Ardennes region. The new Madone is a stiff, efficient race machine, even stiffer than the non-aero 2012 Madone—I couldn’t get this bike to flex at all, even when scaling a 20-percent grade on the famed Stockeu climb. Descents gave me the chance to take advantage of the bike’s crisp handling, which is just as sharp as you’d expect from a bike at this level. On rougher patches of pavement, and while passing over Belgian cobbles, the ride was very firm, but this may have had as much to do with Bontrager’s latest Aeolus carbon clincher wheels as the frame.

Bicycling Mag points out The rear brake caliper is hidden below the chain stays and bottom bracket.

 Slowtwitch did their normal fantastic visual shots of the new Trek Modone 7 series.  Here is one example of the closeup shots they provided showing the Shimano Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting:

If you were waiting for Trek to get into the Tri market, your wait is over.  Trek stated that they didn't want to enter until they had done something worthy of the brand.  This bike certainly has crossed that hurdle.