Price Paid:
$1750.00
at J E James Cycles Model Year:
2007 Favorite Ride:
Anything with hills Bike Setup:
56cm frame. Upgrade the wheels to Shimano RS80's (carbon laminate). Tyres are Schwalbe Ultremo's. Utlegra STI's. Kool Stop break pads. Summary:
I've got the 2009 model (£1750 GBP), which I've had for a year now. Primarily used for training and a few sportives. At the latter the bike really excels; the frame really soaks up the buzz from the road, and makes the UK's potholed streets almost European smooth.
The upright riding position takes a little getting used to, but there are plenty of options to tune position with the adjustable stem (heigh and angle). The bars are shallow drops, so again gears up for comfort. With all this comfort technology you'd think the bike would be slow, but it does have a turn of speed when you put your foot down and climbs very well both in and out of the saddle. This is probably down to the huge down tube profile and massive bottom bracket area. The chain stays are also large box section affairs.
For a comfort bike you'd think the saddle would provide an arm chair like place for your behind, but I just couldn't get on with the Toupe. My sit bones would be screaming after 50 miles, so I changed it for a Charge Knife, which is fantastic. But, I appreciate that saddles are subjective.
Stock roubaix 25c tyres were ballon like and slow, so I swapped for Schwalbe Ultreamo's which are support fast.
The wheels are low end Shimina RS10's; fine for winter training, but nothing else. I replaced with the carbon laminate RS80's and instantly went noticably fast around training rides. Strengths:
Comfort, yet lateral stiffness when you want to sprint out of the saddle.
Climbs like a dream with a wheel upgrade.
Looks the part, if you like carbon weave. Weaknesses:
Ouch that Toupe saddle. Stock 25c tyres were too slow for me. I also broke an STI shifter after 6 months, and arranging a replacement from the dealer remotely turned into a real headache, so I simply replaced with Ultergra. I've found the shifting much more precise. Similar Products Used:
Trek Madone 
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