You know a bicycle is in some respect impressive when the staff on motorcycling mag and website Visordown get all excited about it. This happens surprisingly often, partly because a lot of them ride bicycles, and usually because a cycle either looks superb or has abundant carbon-fibre componentry. We cyclists, of course, get more of the stuff than the moto crowd….
Both are true of the Trek Madone Team RadioShack replica that has just arrived for RCUK’s appraisal, but its real wow factor, apparently, lies in its price. This is a whopping £7,161 as supplied, which is almost as much as a supersport 600cc machine. No wonder the chaps at Visordown looked a bit envious.
What do you get for your money? Much of the price is made up of the cost of the lively RadioShack paintjob, which adds £1,538 to the cost of the 6.9 on which this beauty is based. The standard 6.9 is priced at £5,800 and has Dura-Ace components; this one has SRAM RED – obviously – and Bontrager Race XXX Lite clincher wheels in place of the Aeolus hoops of the standard spec bike. The latest Atom clincher tyres from RadioShack tyre sponsor Hutchinson complete a dream build that weighs, minus pedals, somewhere south of 7kg.
Next step is to get it set up exactly as I like and put in some miles – possibly wearing the RadioShack jersey that came with it. Then again, maybe not…
First Ride report soon.
