Home-brewed noodle-pipe arrangement on Contador’s top tube…	… replaced by neater cable run for production model
Bottom bracket cluster moulding shows beefy proportions	Bearing sockets moulded to precise dimensions

With the new Trek Madone already exciting an eager buying public, the production version differs only slightly from the examples ridden by the Discovery Channel team during the Tour de France. The visible change concerns rear brake cable routing, which on the Disco bikes ran on the underside of the top tube and required a V-brake style noodle pipe arrangement. The production bike gets a cable run out of the top of the tube. Unlike our pic, the little bung filling the hole doubles as the outer casing stop and is screwed into place using a tiny Torx screw.

The socket for the outboard bottom bracket bearing is moulded to precise dimensions under extreme pressure, allowing the bearings, which are available to fit all current cranksets using the outboard system, to be a light sliding fit without, according to Trek, any risk of later wear to the seating surfaces. The mouldings are then co-moulded into the frame section prior to frame assembly.