Trek Emonda SL 5 (2015)

The Trek Emonda SL5 is my first fitted racing bike. My previous hand-me down bike was 9 cm too big, came with a heavy but sturdy frame and an original Shimano 105 gear set and non-clip pedals that were evidently as old as the bike, at least 20 years antique. In short, this bike is a huge improvement in all respects, except perhaps the saddle, as I had been using a very comfortable Rolls San Marco.

I wasn’t planning on buying a bike. A facebook post from an acquaintance showing off his Trek Emonda SLR9 got me interested (read envious). I looked up the model, read the mostly glowing reviews and quickly adjusted my expectations upon seeing the required investment costs. My wife, serendipitously looking through my browser search history, came up with the idea of giving me a bike for my birthday. Yes!!! (Advice: never delete your browser search history).

The very real danger of reading the many opinions in cyclist discussion forums on appropriate gear is in being induced into thinking only high end and pricey gear (lightest and most rigid) is worthwile buying. Also my head was getting dizzy from the myriad choices to be made (paradox of choice). But I learned that frame and gear set are the most important choices, because these are costly items to upgrade. Everything else can be changed later when I have more experience in determining their real-life worth. I also learned that it is much cheaper to lose a kilo of fat than to trim bike weight by 1000 grams.

Still, after having given up on riding over alpine passes due to a paltry 6 gears and oversized heavy bike, I yearned for lightness. Fortuitously the 2015 Trek Emonda S and SL carbon frame models were in my budget range, so I researched bike shops selling them.

A word of advice for bike shops: ensure you have an up-to-date, mobile friendly and well-designed website. Almost all the local shops I found could have done a cameo in The Little Shop of [website] Horrors. A second important decision criteria for me was to get a feel for the experience and passion of the staff. Professional bike shops whose owners use their own produts for racing or/and also support a local racing team were in my opinion probably a good source of competent advice. Offering a free bike fitting session with a purchase is also a big plus. Offering other brands in the same shop was another selling point.

After determining the general bike frame size in shop, I tried out different brands (trial runs of about 20-30 minutes up and down hills and on rough roads). I didn’t want to fight the bike as we’d hopefully be spending much time together on the road and I wanted a reliable and fun partner, so I chose the brand and model that naturally fit me best: based on ride feeling, not solely measurements.

Having banished the SLR from my considerations, albeit reluctantly, I now had the choice between the Trek S and SL models. My thinking is that the 500 Series OCLV carbon frameset, with its ride-tuned seatmast tube and internal cable routing and DuoTrap S integration is a major step up from the 300 Series frame. Also the new Shimano 105 (5800) 11-speed groupset from this year inherited so much from the Ultegra, that I benefit from the technology, without paying the higher price. Which explains my choice of the SL5 over the S6, while staying within my budget limit. My only upgrade from the stock bike were Michelin Pro 4 tyres.

Having no cycling gear at all, I added a pair of Look Kéo 2 Max pedals and white Bontrager RL Road shoes. Both items are mid-priced, but high quality products.

So what do I think of the ride quality of the Trek Emonda SL5? I climbed hills, rode on rough, pebble-interspersed wet asphalt, sped downhill, rode tight corners, was buffeted by passing trucks – and felt safe. It was a comfortable and fast ride, the strong bike evening out most road imperfections, and I also loved the way the bike immediately surged when applying pedal pressure. We're made for each other.

Oh, and why did I chose lime green? Trek only sells the SL5 in this colour in continental Europe. I like it though and have received quite a few compliments about the colour.  Less