{"id":43587,"date":"2025-08-04T16:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T16:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/43587\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T16:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T16:18:11","slug":"so-light-its-illegal-trek-releases-its-lightest-madone-yet-and-its-under-the-uci-weight-limit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/43587\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSo light it\u2019s illegal\u201d: Trek releases its lightest Madone yet and it&#8217;s under the UCI weight limit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Trek has released the new Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8, its lightest-ever Madone with disc brakes, at 6.4kg.<\/p>\n<p>Trek says its new bike is \u201cso light it\u2019s illegal\u201d, weighing 400g less than the UCI\u2019s minimum limit with a medium\/large frame. Trek says fitting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/reviews\/bikes\/road-bikes\/trek-madone-7-slr-gen-8\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Madone<\/a> with pedals, Trek\u2019s RSL aero bottles and cages, and a computer mount will still leave it under the weight limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the UCI\u2019s rules only apply to professional racing, so nobody who purchases the \u00a310,000 bike will have to report to cycling\u2019s governing body. But marketing spiel aside, the new Madone will likely appeal to weight weenies and those who like the reactive feel of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/advice\/buyers-guides\/best-climbing-bikes\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">climbing bikes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>How is it so light?<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1631\" height=\"1087\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TK25_LAUNCH_1xMAdone_Features_1xSRAMCrankw_powermeter.jpg\" alt=\"SRAM Red 1x drivetrain on Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8.\" class=\"wp-image-933233\"\/>The new Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8 gets a SRAM Red 1&#215;12 drivetrain. Trek<\/p>\n<p>Trek released the eighth-generation Madone last year and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/news\/2025-trek-madone\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">killed off the \u00c9monda<\/a> in the process. It said the new Madone was a \u201cfusion of its fastest road race bikes\u201d, being as aero as the outgoing Madone and as light as the \u00c9monda.<\/p>\n<p>The Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8 takes that concept one step further. Trek has specced the bike with a weight-saving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/reviews\/components\/groupsets\/groupset-road\/sram-red-axs-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SRAM Red<\/a> 1&#215;12 drivetrain, carbon wheels and TPU tubes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is the first time the Madone has been available with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/advice\/buyers-guides\/1x-drivetrains\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">1x drivetrain<\/a>, and it eliminates the extra weight of a front derailleur and second chainring, while simplifying shifting and offering an aerodynamic advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IsoFlowFront_Fin_OS.jpg\" alt=\"Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8 seat tube.\" class=\"wp-image-933232\"\/>It still has Trek&#8217;s notable IsoFlow seat tube, which is said to improve compliance and aerodynamics. Trek<\/p>\n<p>The Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 wheelset has shallow 37mm-deep rims and a claimed weight of 1,325g.<\/p>\n<p>The wheels are wrapped in Pirelli P Zero RS tyres and Pirelli\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/advice\/buyers-guides\/latex-tpu-inner-tubes-versus-tubeless\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TPU inner tubes<\/a>, which can be lighter than conventional butyl tubes and tubeless setups, once you factor in sealant, rim tape and tubeless valves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Available through Trek\u2019s Project One custom programme, the bike comes with the option of four colours. The lightest is \u2018matt deep smoke\u2019. The programme also enables you to upgrade to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/reviews\/components\/groupsets\/gravel-groupset\/sram-red-xplr-axs-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">SRAM\u2019s Red XPLR AXS<\/a> 1&#215;13 drivetrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The same frame<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/16x9_Madone8_Tech_03.jpg\" alt=\"Trek Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8 frame detail showing internal carbon.\" class=\"wp-image-933230\"\/>The frame is said to be as light as the \u00c9monda&#8217;s. Trek<\/p>\n<p>For context, this new lightweight bike is 600g lighter than the Madone SLR 9 AXS Gen 8, which has a 2x SRAM Red drivetrain and deeper Bontrager Aelous RSL 51 wheels set up tubeless. However, the two bikes still use the same frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Made from Trek\u2019s 900 Series OCLV Carbon, the frame is said to be lighter and up to 20 per cent stronger than the previous 800 series layup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A painted Madone SLR frame in a size-medium\/large is said to weigh 796g, while the one-piece fork adds 350g. Trek says this is 320g lighter than the previous, seventh-generation Madone.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Trek has released the new Madone SLR 9 AXS 1x Gen 8, its lightest-ever Madone with disc brakes,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-43587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}