[musenglish]

Hello all. I just put a madone 5.2 on layaway and am stoked to start riding. I have a trek 4300 2010 that I have been riding trails with for the last year and a half. Recently, I have taken an affinity to riding on the road. I bought some lighter wheels and put on some ritchey comp slicks and took to the road. I have been doing 23 miles daily in 1:19:00. What should I expect from the madone if I'm riding this already on my mountain bike with slicks? Should I do anything differently in regards to training? Thanks for your help!

 

[Elfstone]

Hey, good on you. I took a look at the 2011 5.2 and liked what I saw, great looking bike. What drive-train are you going with? Ultegra or Force?

In regard to the the switch from 4300 to the 5.2, it won't take much time to acclimate to the road bike. Once you work out the fit and get it tweaked to your your comfort, you should do really well.

Peace

 

[musenglish]

Hey! Thanks for your response! The components are ultegra with a 105 cassette- why can't they just keep it all ultegra??!! I'm really stoked about the 5.2. I did my first group ride this monday for a 25 mile ride. I was satisfied with my performance as everyone else had road bikes, and I had my 4300. I was complimented on my climbing skills, the fact that I wasn't using clip pedals, and that I was one of the front three the entire ride. My hopes are that if I am performing this well on my 4300, then I will do better on the 5.2 with regards to distance, time, and speed. I have been trying to implement the "correct" pedaling technique on my 4300 without clip pedals. Its tough, but do-able. Legs feel great! Come on 5.2! If anyone has any advice, I welcome it! Thank you!

 

[ewitz]

clipless pedals

clip pedals=toe clips

 

[wim]

My prediction is that first time out, you will be able to cover the 19 miles on on your Madone in 1 hour 14 minutes for an average speed of 18.6 mph (19 miles @ 1:19:00 = 17.5 mph average).

As to the cassette, 105 is a little less shiny than Ultegra and weighs an unnoticeable smidgeon less, that's all. It's a wear item anyway, so don't think too much about it. When it's time to toss it, get another 105.

 

[eminefes]

That's pretty good for a mtb with slicks. You'll see a nice improvement in speed when you get the Madone, especially when you get the fit right and start using clipless pedals. :thumbsup:

 

[CoLiKe20]

FWIW, I usually do 15% slower on my MTB (with knobbies) than on my road bike on the same climb.
(I've been timing myself on that climb for the past few years to measure my fitness throughout the year).

 

[pitted]

Be ready to have a much more twitchy, fast, hard-cornering and overall more fun ride than you did before.

Now, most of the time that means more dangerous in all aspects, be careful. That small bump on your route that you used to hit at 32mph will now become a problem when you hit it going 52mph.

 

[Oracle7775]

You'll be faster, even though it will take some time to gain confidence in handling.

Hell, I gained 2.5 mph on my regular loops when I switched from my mountain bike to my 20lb, budget Trek road bike. I can't imagine what the move from a heavy 4300 to a 5.2 will do, especialy since you sound like you're in good pedalling shape already.

Good luck and enjoy the new ride!

 

[NewCyclist]

Just purchased the 2011 Trek Madone 5.2 in red with Ultegra.
What a Beauty, tomorrow I will be putting on my Look carbon pedals and my Selle Italia seat. Without pedals and with the seat that comes with the bike, it weighed just a bit under 16 pounds. Looking forward to taking it out for a spin tomorrow.

 

[simbrooks]

Did the same thing a year ago. Was riding my mtn bike on roads with some amendments, getting good times, but felt i could do better. Found a good deal of speed improvement, although over that loop its only a few minutes at best. Wind still against you, hills too. The weight drop was marginal, but it sure did feel twitchy! Could get confidence to get down in a drops for a little while, same thing when first using aero bars. The gearing can be a little different, a 50 or 53 is much bigger than the 42/44 on your triple, and the 39 on my new crank is just a smidge below the large 44 on my triple as well, so it was like a whole new jump in gearing!

Nowadays i use my MTB for trails or hook up kid trailer to it for a shorter paved ride. Feels very different than the road bike now though.