Happy 3rd Birthday Miss Madone!

My Trek Madone is celebrating becoming my most travelled bike! The first commute of the new year took it beyond the 14,000 mile mark and it is still going strong.

I bought the bike from South Downs Bikes in Goring at the end of January 2012. Averaging 400 miles a month it has stood the test of time and is still ferrying me backwards and forwards to work 3 or 4 times a week; plus holding its own during regular weekend social rides. It has dabbled with timetrials, a road race, several Sportives and century rides. It’s tackled local roads as well as trips to Tenerife and France. Admittedly apart from the frame a lot of components have been replaced or upgraded, but the heart of the bike is the same. Amazingly the original bottom bracket is still going strong, despite fording floods and swollen rivers several times over the years. 

Back from another evening commute!

The Madone was one of those bikes that just felt immediately ‘right’. Even a professional bike fit only subtley tweaked the set-up by a few millimetres.  As much as I love riding it, truth be told I can’t bring myself to spend money on what I view as the commuting bike. Although the Shimano 105 groupset has just about survived intact as parts wore out and were replaced, the wheels are a very cheap and equally heavy (robust!) pair of Campagnolo CX’s. The contact points match the mountain bike, so Eggbeater pedals and a Specialized Romin saddle, which just seems to suit me perfectly. The bike fit did move me to a longer stem and lower bar height, leaving the Madone feeling like an old comfy slipper, getting on with the job of efficiently moving me from A to B.

The Trek is beginning to look its age, with a scuffs from mudguards on the seatstays and cable rub marks around the top of the forks. When it does finally come time to say goodbye a switch to disc brakes is about all I’d want to really change.