Émonda
Émonda
With all the furore around the Madone, it’s easy to forget what a jaw-dropper the Émonda was when Trek launched it just last year.
The Émonda SLR 10 was the lightest road bike in the world at the time, with the full build coming in at a dazzling 4.65kg built around a frame weighing just 690g. And although that title has since been snaffled by Merida, the Émonda is still a trailblazer.
The aforementioned SLR 10 remains top of the range and comes in sizes between 50-62cm and H1 fit only. What marks out the SLR 10 (other than the 4.65kg weight, of course) is that it comes with SRAM’s Red 22 drivetrain, a Tune Komm-Vor plus saddle and Tune wheels (MIG45 front hub and MAG150 rear joined to Syline carbon tubular rims). The RRP stays at £11,000 though, so you’ll probably have to get that second home on the market to buy one…
Below that comes the SLR 9 at £7,800 which does away with the off-brand weight saving touches of the SLR10 in favour of a Bontrager XXXL Paradigm saddle, Aeolus 3 wheels and a Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain. Then comes the SLR8 (£5,800), which goes mechanical with the Dura-Ace and swaps out the Aeolus 3 wheels for Bontrager RXL aluminium clinchers. The SLR 8 drops the Aeolus wheels from the 9 for a set of Paradigm Elite wheels and gets a change of finishing kit, too, as well as swapping out the Dura-Ace Di2 drivetrain for it’s mechanical equivalent.
The final model in the SLR range is the SLR 6 which comes in at £4,300. It’s the cheapest full bike in the Émonda range that comes with the 700 series frameset, and this one matches that with a Bontrager RL wheelset, Ultegra 6800 mechanical groupset and a Paradigm RL saddle. It’s also worth noting that the SLR9, 8, and 6 are available in either the H1 or H2 fit, depending on preference. There’s also a frameset-only option on the SLR, and that’ll set you back £3,300 and comes in 47cm and 50-64cm sizing in the H2 fit or 50-64cm in H1.
Beneath the SLR range comes the SL, four bikes built around a 500 series carbon frame and the 8, 8 Red, 6 and 5 come with Dura-Ace, SRAM Red, Ultegra and 105 drivetrains respectively. But that’s not the end of the carbon Émondas at all, the S comes in models named 6, 5, and 4 that all use 300 series carbon in the chassis with the S4 the cheapest at just £1,100.