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Trek Emonda ALR first-ride review: Light and fast, but best on smooth roads

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

It wasn’t all that long ago that aluminum was considered largely obsolete as a frame material: too soft and heavy relative to carbon fiber, not as much zing or “life” as steel or titanium. But the material is nevertheless enjoying a strong resurgence, and Trek is the latest major brand to add fuel to that fire. The new Emonda ALR aluminum road family is reasonably competitive with carbon fiber in terms of weight and stiffness, and new manufacturing methods make it drop-dead gorgeous, too. It’s also comparatively cheap. But alas, there’s still a price to be paid.

The Emonda ALR by the numbers

On paper, it’s hard to argue with Trek’s new Emonda ALR.

At least as far as the scale is concerned, the Emonda ALR is nearly on-par with the carbon fiber Emonda SL. Claimed frame weight for the disc-brake is 1,131g, and 1,112g for the rim-brake edition — just 40g heavier than its fancier (and more expensive) cousin. And according to Trek, the Emonda ALR’s chassis stiffness figures aren’t far behind, either, thanks in no small part to the fact that its 300-Series Alpha Aluminum hydroformed tubes use nearly the same shapes as the upper-end Emondas.

Both rim-brake and disc-brake versions are on tap — naturally — and tire clearances are in-keeping with trends in the road space. Maximum official tire size on the rim-brake version is 25mm; 28mm for the disc-brake models. That sounds decidedly behind the times at first, yes, but keep in mind that Trek’s internal rating for maximum tire size is unusually conservative. Whereas most companies abide by international standards for clearance (at least 4mm of space on all sides of the tire at the closest point), Trek adds another 2mm on top of that, so comparing apples to apples, the rim-brake Emonda ALR will comfortably handle 29mm-wide tires, and the disc-brake bikes will fit 32mm-wide ones. Much better.

Handling-wise, Trek has carried over the same frame geometry as on the carbon Emonda models, which, in turn, were derived from the highly evolved figures of the long-standing Madone range. In other words, it promises truly neutral characteristics, with stable manners at high speeds, a seemingly contradictory willingness to carve through sinuous descents, and reasonable agility at low speeds without having the front end feel too floppy. Trek hasn’t changed its bread-and-butter road geometry much in ages, and that’s a good thing.

In terms of rider positioning, though, Trek will only offer the Emonda ALR in the tamer H2 fit with its slightly taller head tube. Riders who are specifically after a more aggressive posture will still need to look at the top-end Emonda SLR range.

Other features include partially internal cable routing (just through the down tube), 12mm front and rear thru-axles and flat-mount caliper interfaces on disc-brake models, quick-release dropouts and direct-mount caliper mounts on rim-brake models, PF86 press-fit bottom bracket shells across the board, tapered steerer tubes on the full-carbon forks, standard 27.2mm-diameter round seatposts with conventional external seatpost clamps, and a small pocket built into the non-driveside chainstay for Bontrager’s DuoTrap wireless speed and cadence sensor.

None of this sounds remotely groundbreaking. And the focus on stiffness-to-weight means there isn’t a smidgeon of aerodynamic shaping to be found here. There’s not a single mention of wind tunnels or grams of drag or yaw angles in any of Trek’s marketing collateral. In an ever-expanding world of sleek two-wheeled machines that are starting to look more like airplanes than bicycles, the Emonda ALR might seem like a throwback.

But oh, man, you just have to see the thing.

Invisible Weld Technology

The way aluminum bicycle frames are welded hasn’t changed much in decades. With few exceptions, tubes are mitered at the joints and held together in a jig for a close fit, and then the intersections are basically just melted together at high heat, with an additional bead of similar material — the weld bead — added on top for additional structural reinforcement. Sometimes welders take two passes over the joint, and sometimes it’s just one, and sometimes the bead is filed down for a smoother look. But by and large, the process is the same today as it was when people thought Jeff Bezos was nuts for thinking he could sell books over the internet.

Specialized legitimately moved things forward a few years ago with the introduction of Smartweld . Normally, those mitered aluminum tubes fit together kind of like how you would join empty rolls of paper towels together in a grade school art project, with the end of one tube carved out to fit tightly against the unaltered wall of the other tube.

But Smartweld is more like holding the bottom of two soda cans against each other. There’s a natural trough that the welding rod can fill, there’s more surface area to join together for better structural integrity, the weld itself is moved away from the areas of highest stress, the adjoining tube walls can be made thinner and lighter, and the resulting joint ends up more flush with the surrounding tube wall for a smoother finish. There’s more hydroforming work required to initially create that sort of interface geometry on the individual parts, but it’s a brilliant idea that Specialized has used to great effect.

Trek is now doing something similar, calling it “Invisible Weld Technology.” The concept is much the same, at least in terms of the weld joint geometry itself, but whereas Specialized moves the weld further up on the tubes, IWT uses the same weld location as a standard mitered joint.

Details aside, the result is visually stunning. For example, Trek has formed the head tube and top tube of the new Emonda ALR with the same shapes as the carbon fiber Emonda SL and SLR, and unless you look very closely, you can’t even tell where one part ends and the other begins; it’s truly seamless as far as your eyes are concerned.

Other areas of the frame are joined using more conventional welding techniques, and the Emonda’s press-fit bottom bracket shell is a far cry from the bulbous and hollow two-piece clamshell that Specialized uses on the Allez Sprint . But it’s important to note that Trek is just getting started with the IWT concept, and it’ll be very interesting to see where it goes from here.

Off-the-shelf, or build to suit

As good as the Emonda ALR platform sounds, Trek clearly isn’t interested in having it cannibalize sales from the carbon fiber Emonda families based on the build kits on tap. Just five complete models are available, all of which focus more on value than outright performance. Complete Shimano groupsets are featured throughout, along with hydraulic brakes for all disc-equipped models. The one exception are the Tektro brake calipers on lower-end rim-brake models, since Shimano doesn’t make a direct-mount caliper at that price point.

At the lower end are the Emonda ALR 4 and ALR 4 Disc, built with Shimano Tiagra and Bontrager Affinity TLR tubeless-ready aluminum clinchers. The rim-brake version costs US$1,360 / AU$1,500, and the disc-brake version (which won’t be brought into Australia) costs US$1,680.

At the upper end are the Emonda ALR 5 and ALR 5 Disc, built with the same Bontrager Affinity TLR tubeless-ready aluminum wheels, but with Shimano’s 105 groupset. Retail price for the rim-brake version is US$1,580 / AU$2,000, or US$1,890 / AU$2,400 for the disc-brake version.

There will also be a sole women-specific model, the Emonda ALR 5 Disc Women’s. Basic spec is unchanged, and it’s built with the same frameset, but touch points are altered to promote a better fit and feel. Pricing is the same as the standard Emonda ALR 5 Disc, but like the Emonda ALR 4 Disc, Trek doesn’t plan to sell it in Australia.

Trek still isn’t ignoring the performance potential of the Emonda ALR, either; there’s also a bare frameset available for riders that might want to do a higher-end build. Retail price is US$960 for either the rim-brake or disc-brake version, but neither will be imported into Australia.

Pricing and availability for other regions is still to be confirmed.

Bones, shaken

I rode a custom-built Emonda ALR for several hours on the roads surrounding Trek’s global headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, where the rolling hills and seemingly endless expanse of sparsely populated roads provide plenty of opportunity to test a bike’s mettle. Rather than set us up on stock models, Trek went the DIY route, outfitting the frames with Shimano’s latest Ultegra mechanical groupset, low-profile Bontrager Aeolus XXX 2 carbon clinchers, 25mm-wide Bontrager R3 tubeless tires, and an assortment of Bontrager carbon fiber finishing kit. Total weight for my 52cm sample was just 7.4kg (16.31lb), without pedals, but with bottle cages and Blendr accessory mounts.

True to claims, the Emonda ALR felt satisfyingly stout under power, and plenty eager to squirt up short and punchy climbs. Front-end torsional rigidity is good, too, although not quite on-par with top-end carbon models, with some flex detected when you’re really wrenching on the bars.

As expected, handling is picture-perfect, like a well-trained horse that almost doesn’t require any physical input from its rider before doing exactly what you want it to. Set those numbers in stone, Trek.

But as pleasant as Trek’s home roads are, the asphalt is distinctly coarse and lumpy, and the pavement seams impossible to ignore. Trek has successfully showcased other bikes on this stage before, but for the Emonda ALR, it might have been better to choose somewhere with better-quality roads.

The Emonda ALR seems to put up a good fight against more expensive carbon bikes in terms of weight and stiffness, however it’s simply no match in terms of ride comfort. Even with the tires inflated to a modest 70psi or so under my 70kg body, the Emonda ALR offers a rough ride, with little vibration damping to speak of and plenty of impact harshness traveling up through the handlebar and saddle. If anything, it only highlights further the uncanny comfort of the new Madone .

That firm ride will certainly be viewed differently by different riders, and it’s important to note that frame compliance varies proportionally with frame size (and remember that I’m 1.73m tall, weigh 70kg, and ride a relatively small 52cm). Would a heavier and/or taller rider have a different experience? Maybe. But again, stiffness and weight still seem to me to have been the primary design objectives here, and frame compliance strikes me as falling further down on the list. Granted, switching to a more flexible seatpost and tires with more suppleness than the rather stiff-bodied Bontrager R3s of my test bike help, but there are limits to how much you can mask the inherent characteristics of a frameset. As is, the Emonda ALR wouldn’t be my first choice for a long day in the saddle on less-than-ideal road surfaces.

This isn’t to say that I wasn’t impressed with the Emonda ALR overall. I’m a big fan of aluminum bikes in general, and I’m definitely excited to see Trek (and others) devoting more attention to the genre. The Emonda ALR is light and stiff, and an unquestionably good value from a mainstream brand. Privateer racers will unquestionably find much to like here, as will anyone prioritizing stiffness and low weight, and living in areas with good-quality roads.

But just as perpetual motion machines, fountains of youth, and fusion reactors are still the stuff of folklore, the Emonda ALR isn’t quite a tale of getting true carbon fiber performance at aluminum pricing. If you enter into the arrangement with realistic expectations of what you might be getting, you’ll probably be happy with it. And as always, a test ride is probably a good idea before signing on the dotted line.

As much as some of us might like to believe otherwise, material properties are what they are, and as good as the Emonda ALR is, you still don’t get something for nothing.

www.trekbikes.com Disclaimer: Trek provided flights, accommodations, and loaner equipment for this event, and has previously advertised on CyclingTips.

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\"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"results: lauren de crescenzo and keegan swenson win the growler at levi\u2019s gran fondo\"}}\u0027>\n results: lauren de crescenzo and keegan swenson win the growler at levi\u2019s gran fondo\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"the sea otter classic finally has a proper gravel race","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/the-sea-otter-classic-finally-has-a-proper-gravel-race\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/the-sea-otter-classic-finally-has-a-proper-gravel-race\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"the sea otter classic finally has a proper gravel race\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/the-sea-otter-classic-finally-has-a-proper-gravel-race\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"the sea otter classic finally has a proper gravel race\"}}\u0027>\n the sea otter classic finally has a proper gravel race\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"tom pidcock grabs dramatic amstel gold race in four-man sprint","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tom-pidcock-grabs-dramatic-amstel-gold-race-in-four-man-sprint\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tom-pidcock-grabs-dramatic-amstel-gold-race-in-four-man-sprint\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"tom pidcock grabs dramatic amstel gold race in four-man sprint\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/tom-pidcock-grabs-dramatic-amstel-gold-race-in-four-man-sprint\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"tom pidcock grabs dramatic amstel gold race in four-man sprint\"}}\u0027>\n tom pidcock grabs dramatic amstel gold race in four-man sprint\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"amstel gold notebook: pidcock\u2019s redemption, vos\u2019 old-school lesson, and van der poel\u2019s mia mystery","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/amstel-gold-notebook-pidcocks-redemption-vos-old-school-lesson-and-van-der-poels-mystery\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/amstel-gold-notebook-pidcocks-redemption-vos-old-school-lesson-and-van-der-poels-mystery\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"amstel gold notebook: pidcock\u2019s redemption, vos\u2019 old-school lesson, and van der poel\u2019s mia mystery\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/amstel-gold-notebook-pidcocks-redemption-vos-old-school-lesson-and-van-der-poels-mystery\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"amstel gold notebook: pidcock\u2019s redemption, vos\u2019 old-school lesson, and van der poel\u2019s mia mystery\"}}\u0027>\n amstel gold notebook: pidcock\u2019s redemption, vos\u2019 old-school lesson, and van der poel\u2019s mia mystery\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "},{"title":"garmin gravel worlds announces $30k pro prize purse and dfl party for the last finisher","url":"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/garmin-gravel-worlds\/","markup":" \n \n\n\n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/garmin-gravel-worlds\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"garmin gravel worlds announces $30k pro prize purse and dfl party for the last finisher\"}}\u0027>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n >\", \"path\": \"https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/gravel\/gravel-racing\/garmin-gravel-worlds\/\", \"listing_type\": \"recirc\", \"location\": \"list\", \"title\": \"garmin gravel worlds announces $30k pro prize purse and dfl party for the last finisher\"}}\u0027>\n garmin gravel worlds announces $30k pro prize purse and dfl party for the last finisher\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n "}]' > >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>advertise >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>privacy policy >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>contact >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>careers >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>terms of use >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>site map >", "name": "footer-menu", "type": "link"}}'>my newsletters manage cookie preferences privacy request healthy living.

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• Émonda ALR Frameset

"Direct and responsive"

"...a machine with a ton of gritty performance and no small amount of defiant flair."

"It's an incredible update from Trek"

"The updated Emonda packs one helluva punch, and Trek has a winner on its hands. The integrated cockpit is nice and all, but the real win is the H1.5 fit, which makes the Emonda feel more stable while maintaining the aggression and responsiveness of previous Emondas. That, coupled with a lightweight construction, comfortable ride, and aerodynamic shaping, brings Trek's top of the line climber from a very good bike to an excellent one."

"The Emonda is still light, and it’s still stiff, but now there’s an extra dose of free speed"

"Overall, Trek has done a solid job here of updating the Emonda, infusing meaningful improvements in several key areas, but without breaking the basic formula that has made the bike so popular."

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How to: Fix a flat tire

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Product features

H2 is the optimal fit to put most riders, including many of our Pro Team athletes, in the right position for power and performance.

Invisible weld technology

Revolutionary welding technology creates a better connection with each tube junction, increasing strength while using less material.

Direct brake mount

Direct brake mounts connect directly to the frame to reduce redundant parts and increase overall braking performance.

Blendr-compatible stem

Bontrager Blendr stem technology lets you clip your gear directly to the stem for clean looks, maximum user friendliness.

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First Look: Trek Émonda ALR: Aluminum, aero, and light

Third generation frameset includes many features from carbon versions.

On Thursday, Trek officially launched the latest version of its Émonda ALR, which was already available in Europe on April 6, to cyclists in US and Canada. The new aluminum frameset is strikingly similar to Trek’s carbon Émonda, featuring integrated cables and truncated airfoil tubes. It’s also share the same H1.5 geometry, so it’s aimed at racers. The current versions of Émondas SLR and SL have been around since 2020, and the latest version ALR aims to deliver much of the same attributes that have been seen in the pro peloton, but at a much more affordable price.

My test bike, the Emonda ALR Frameset, was custom built with Shimano 105 Di2 and outfitted with Pro components since it will serve as the test bed for a long term review of Shimano’s latest electronic groupset. Same as previous years, the latest 105 received trickle-down tech from its big brothers Dura-Ace and Ultegra, including disc brakes and electronic shifting for the first time. Much like the Emonda ALR, it mimics its higher priced sibling to an impressively high degree, at a significant lower cost. In Canada, the Emonda ALR will also be available in a stock build with complete Shimano 105 mechanical, if building from the frame up is not your thing.

A real looker

First off, I have to talk about the paint job of the ride that I am testing. It’s a stunning white with multiple colours on the logos. But each flourish actually means something. According to Trek, it’s a celebration of the company’s many successes on the road. “The paint job on the Emonda ALR Frameset is inspired by a previous P1 paint scheme called Palmares,” Trek’s Canadian marketing manager, Taylor Cook explains. “The Palmarès paint scheme is made up of quilt-inspired depictions of iconic team kits and champion jerseys from Trek’s vast history of sponsorships and race victories.”

It’s quite stunning and will definitely stand out when you show up to a race. The paint scheme isn’t just on the down and top tubes–you can see little hints on the inside of the fork.

Comfortable cockpit

My test ride is fully Shimano. The 105 groupset was matched with Pro Vibe handlebars and stem. It’s not an integrated bar and stem which is nice, as you’re not beholden to whatever length and width stem and bar that the bike is shipped with. The Pro Vibe bars felt great. I tend to ride on the hoods a lot, but one of my pet peeves with some handlebars is the length. I like to have a decent amount of real estate after the hooks, and the Pro Vibes had just that.

Fast and light

Trek says that the Émonda ALR is its lightest alloy road bike yet, built with 300 Series Alpha Aluminium, the full bike as built comes in at 8.80 kg. Just like its carbon predecessors, it is built with truncated airfoil tubes. So not only does it slice into the wind, but it makes for a lightweight bike when it gets hilly. When I took it out on some of the local climbs here, I immediately noticed the weight savings, but there was no compromise when it came to stiffness or handling. Having ridden several carbon bikes before, including the carbon versions of this frame, that was my initial concern. But after that first ride, it’s responsiveness when I’m out of the saddle, sprinting, or cornering, mirrors it’s carbon siblings. Since it comes with the same H1.5 race geometry, that’s not surprising.

Other aero features include integrated cables, which are practically de rigueur these days. But with Trek’s set up, you aren’t tied to a proprietary setup, nor are you forced to use electronic drivetrains, the Emonda ALR is mechanical shifting compatible. This flexibility paid off with my fit, I actually used a shorter stem on this build than some of my other bikes, but when I was doing the “look at yourself in the store window thing” that we all do when riding (come on, you do it too) and my back was flat and positioning was great.

105 goes electric

The shifting is crisp, clean and precise. Since this was ridden in the spring, I had been using my winter bike before this test, which has mechanical Dura-Ace. One thing that did take me a few days to remember is that the larger paddle clicks down, and the smaller goes up. It’s just a quick adjustment if you’ve been using mechanical STI before, but it may take a few rides to get used to.

I tested braking down some local descents and around a few race courses, and the modulation felt just as exact as Dura-Ace or Ultegra. It’s a nice-looking group as well. All black, which creates a sleek and stunning aesthetic. One of the big differences between 105 12 speed and Dura-Ace or Ultegra is you can’t use the satellite buttons that are so popular. For me personally, that’s not a problem, but if you rely on the extra shifters on other parts of your bars you may be disappointed. There’s also no power meter available, which for me was also not a concern as I have pedals that measure my watts. But it’s something to think about.

Weight-wise, the group comes in at 2,992 g, compared to Dura-Ace which is 2,514 g. But if you’re wanting value in an electric groupset, with disc brakes, the new 105 will certainly achieve this. I should note, that the Emonda ALR 6, that is equipped with 105 Di2, is not coming to North America, there will just be the one Emonda ALR 5 with 105 mechanical.

As far as the rest of the components on my test ride, the Pro Vibe alloy seatpost does its job while keeping things light. The Shimano C46 Tubeless WH-RS710-C46-TL-R wheels are fast and responsive, and do the trick. My hoops came with 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tires, which are grippy and fast, but seem wider, which isn’t a bad thing.

Good bye creaks

The Émonda ALR uses a threaded T47 bottom bracket. Trek says the move from press fit BBs will all but eliminate creaking.

Meant to be raced on

This is a bike that is meant for going fast. Unlike say, the Trek Domane SLR, there are no mudguard mounts or integrated frame storage. The official max tire clearance is 28 mm, but I will say Trek is being pretty conservative, and it will easily clear 30mm tires comfortably, and even larger depending on your comfort with clearance.

If you’re in the market for a bike that has all the qualities of a high-end racing machine, but at an affordable price, check out the new Trek Émonda ALR. The ALR 5 are available in Canada now, in an Azure/Coal colourway, and Black. The The Palmarès is available in Canada as frame only.

They are available to order now through your local Trek retailer. Select colors and sizes are in stock for purchase on trekbikes.com as well.

Trek Émonda ALR with Shimano 105 mechanical, $2,800 Trek Émonda ALR frameset: $1,500

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Trek Émonda ALR 5 review

The new alloy Émonda remains a great alternative to carbon

Simon von Bromley / Our Media

Simon von Bromley

Smooth ride quality; confident handling; easily customisable; Shimano 105 groupset continues to impress; wide range of sizes

Low-end tyres slow the bike down; uninspiring wheels

The Trek Émonda ALR is the American brand’s take on the premium aluminium race bike.

Now in its third generation, the Émonda ALR takes the recipe of the 2021 Trek Émonda but substitutes carbon fibre for aluminium.

This helps cut cost significantly, but (as we’ll come to later) doesn’t noticeably impact performance much.

The Trek Émonda ALR 5 (£2,325/$2,300) is the base model in the 2023 Trek Émonda ALR range, offering a suite of relatively affordable components alongside a frameset and groupset worthy of future upgrades.

As with most bikes at this price point, not every stock part sparkles, but the Émonda ALR 5 nevertheless impresses as an alternative to identikit carbon race bikes .

Trek Émonda ALR 5 frameset

As with the latest Specialized Allez Sprint , the updated aluminium frameset is the headline act on the Émonda ALR.

Like its carbon sibling, it features a mix of round tubing and truncated aerofoil – or ' Kammtail' – shapes.

The frame is constructed from Trek’s 'ultra-light' 300 Series Alpha aluminium, while the fork is made from carbon fibre.

Trek says a painted, size-56cm Émonda ALR frame weighs 1,257g, while the fork is said to weigh 406g.

That’s just 34g heavier than Trek’s Émonda SL carbon frameset (£2,950), which uses Trek’s second-tier carbon layup (Ultralight 500 Series OCLV Carbon) and has a claimed weight of 1,245g and 384g for the fork.

If you wanted to drop any serious weight from the frame, you’d need to step up to the Émonda SLR frameset (£4,900), which features a 760g frame and 381g fork.

The Émonda ALR frame is built using Trek’s ‘Invisible Weld Technology’, which (as the name suggests) helps hide the tube joints for a more seamless look.

Those at the rear dropouts aside, the resulting welds are certainly less prominent than those on the Allez Sprint or Cannondale CAAD13 .

The new Émonda ALR frameset also uses a T47 threaded bottom bracket .

Improved aerodynamics

At the front end of the frameset, Trek has adopted an integrated cable-routing solution similar to that on the Allez Sprint and Cervélo Soloist .

This sees the gear cables and brake hoses route externally of the handlebar and stem, and enter the frame through a slotted headset top cap.

This and the aero tubing are claimed to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the Émonda ALR compared to its predecessor, although Trek doesn’t offer any specific figures to quantify this.

Though I’d prefer Trek to be up-front about the magnitude (or otherwise) of any potential performance boost, I suspect most prospective buyers won’t be overly fussed.

The Émonda ALR isn’t attempting to compete with the best aero road bikes , and the cables and hoses have likely been hidden for aesthetic reasons as much as performance ones.

As I’ve explored before, the performance gains from fully internal cable routing are fairly small and the downsides (such as more complex headset servicing ) can be irritating.

This style of solution does at least allow for a wide range of easy adjustments for bike fit purposes, though, and there’s no denying it lends the bike a premium, modern look.

In fact, it was notable how many admiring comments the Émonda ALR 5 attracted during testing, from cyclists and non-cyclists alike.

While the ‘Azure to Living Coral Fade’ paintjob wouldn’t be my first choice, if you like getting attention for having a 'cool bike', it would seem this is a solid option.

What about mudguards?

One notable omission from the Émonda ALR is mounting points for mudguards or fenders .

While dry-bottom obsessed riders, such as my friend and colleague Jack Luke , have cried foul and made their misgivings on this subject clear, I’m not sure it’s a huge loss.

It’s true that tastefully hidden mounts, such as those on the Trek Domane SLR , don’t add much weight or detract from a bike’s looks when not in use.

However, it’s also fair to say the Émonda ALR (like the Allez Sprint) is intended to be a race bike and – for better or worse – most road racing bikes don’t have mudguard mounts these days.

In any case, if you want an aluminium road bike for year-round riding, Trek also offers the Domane AL , which has a plethora of mounts available for mudguards, extra bottles and more.

Trek Émonda ALR 5 geometry and handling

The Trek Émonda ALR 5 adopts the same H1.5 geometry featured on the latest carbon Émonda and Trek Madone SLR .

This sits in the middle of Trek’s previous pro-style H1 and more relaxed H2 fit geometries. It means most riders should be able to customise the front end to get their preferred fit – whether that’s long and slammed or shorter and more upright.

In terms of its overall aggressiveness, the Émonda ALR sits between the Allez Sprint and CAAD13.

With 391mm of reach and 563mm of stack on my size-56cm test bike, it’s a little higher and shorter than an equivalently sized Allez Sprint.

While the head tube angle is shared with the Allez Sprint at 73.5 degrees, the Émonda ALR has 3mm more fork trail, which slows down the handling slightly.

Overall, the Émonda ALR’s handling still feels light and nimble, though just a touch more mellow than the Allez Sprint’s.

It’s also notable that the Émonda ALR frameset is available in eight sizes, from 47 to 62cm, compared to six sizes (from 49 to 61cm) for the Allez Sprint.

Trek Émonda ALR 5 build

As with most bikes at this price, the Émonda ALR 5’s build is somewhat of a mixed bag.

Trek has wisely specced Shimano 105 R7000 , the Japanese brand’s highly rated 11-speed workhorse groupset.

You get climbing-friendly 50/34-tooth chainrings up front, paired with a short-cage rear derailleur and an 11-30 tooth cassette.

Finishing kit is by Bontrager (Trek’s in-house wheel and component brand), in the form of a basic aluminium seatpost, stem and set of round handlebars.

While it lacks a posh carbon seatpost, the use of a round, 27.2mm post means aftermarket upgrade options are plentiful.

It’s the same story up front – no surprises or odd standards, just a 1-1/8in steerer and a 31.8mm handlebar clamp.

In an era when the use of proprietary parts on road bikes seems to be ever increasing, such simplicity and wide-ranging compatibility feels like a breath of fresh air.

In terms of wheels and tyres, Trek has specced a set of basic Bontrager alloy wheels paired with 700x25c Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite clincher tyres.

While the alloy Bontrager hubs and round spokes are fairly run of the mill, the Bontrager Paradigm SL rims are at least tubeless-ready and have a healthily wide, 21mm internal rim width . This helps plump the tyres up to around 28.5mm at 70psi/4.8 bar.

Trek Émonda ALR 5 ride impressions

Out on the road, the Émonda ALR 5 is an easy bike to get along with.

It has a marginally more relaxed personality than the Allez Sprint, but for many this will be a plus (the Allez Sprint is very racy).

Like that bike, though, the Émonda ALR belies its 9.04kg weight, feeling quick to respond to inputs and generally easy to manoeuvre.

Shimano’s 105 R7000 groupset remains as impressive as ever. Shifts are slick and fast at both ends, with excellent braking.

Unsurprisingly, the low-end Bontrager tyres disappoint compared to the best road bike tyres currently available, and make the bike feel sluggish when trying to ride fast. Upgrading these alone would likely do wonders for the whole package.

The Bontrager finishing kit is nothing flashy, but it all does the job and can be replaced easily if you have particular tastes or bike fit requirements.

The only part I didn’t get on with was the Bontrager Verse Comp saddle. It has a lot more padding than I’m used to and I quickly swapped it out for something firmer and shorter (a Giant Fleet SL).

It’s a shame Trek didn’t spec the excellent Bontrager Aeolus saddle, versions of which come with higher-end Émonda and Madone builds, but that’s a minor gripe.

The ride quality is also impressive, especially at the rear end.

While dropped seatstays and carbon seatposts are often lauded for their comfort-enhancing properties, the Émonda ALR manages to achieve a smooth ride without either.

The front end, with its stiff carbon fork and basic alloy bars, is firmer. Careful adjustment of the tyre pressures went a long way to mitigating this, though.

The Émonda ALRs tyre clearance is officially capped at 28mm, as on the previous version , but in practice there’s ample room for more.

Trek Émonda ALR 5 bottom line

The Trek Émonda ALR 5 joins an increasing number of high-quality aluminium road bikes.

Despite its alloy construction, it’s only marginally heavier than the mid-tier carbon Émonda and offers an appealing mix of classic looks and modern tech.

Likewise, if you want a road racing bike with Trek on the down tube, then the Émonda ALR is one of the cheapest entry points and it doesn’t disappoint in terms of performance.

Hitting this price inevitably means compromises in the build, but (tyres aside) everything does a respectable job, and – best of all – can be easily customised to suit your personal tastes.

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Trek's Émonda ALR Disc Is a Sleek, Affordable Race Rocket

A smooth and stylee aluminum road bike that hauls ass at a great price

Price: $960 (frameset), $1,890 (complete with 105 build) Weight: 16.4 lbs (as tested) Style: Road race Drivetrain: Shimano Ultegra R8020 (as tested) Frame Material: Aluminum Tire clearance: 28mm The right bike for: Rider looking for a fast, and fast looking, road bike but doesn't want to pay carbon prices.

You’d be forgiven for mistaking the new Émonda ALR for a full-carbon race bike at first glance. But it's not carbon: This is Trek’s newest aluminum road racing bike. With other brands producing popular race-ready aluminum frames–such as Cannondale's CAAD12 and Specialized's Allez Sprint DSW–it’s no surprise Trek updated its ALR frames for 2019 .

The Émonda ALR's aggressive geometry and reasonable price (five models priced $1,360 to $1,890) are certainly targeted at the budget minded who still want a performance race ready bicycle and the option to purchase the frameset ($960) opens the door for budget-friendly dream builds.

Years of experience shaping and tuning aluminum, along with new alloys and manufacturing techniques, are allowing bike brands to offer aluminum frames that ride smoother than some carbon frames and cost less as well. With the new Émonda ALR, Trek hydroforms the size-specific tubes into complex shapes, which fit together so precisely that fabricators need less weld material to join them, which produces a sleek looking frames. The welds are so minimal, the Émonda ALR frame almost looks made of carbon.

On the pavement the ALR is no slouch. Overall, it's a smooth ride for an aluminum bike. The road buzz is damped, but on rough roads and longer rides it’s still apparent that this is an aluminum frame (the fork is carbon). Luckily Trek's engineers endowed the Émonda ALR Disc with room for wider tires (officially 25mm, but some 30mm tires should fit), allowing riders the option to smooth the ride with the addition of fatter rubber.

The minimalist welds make the Émonda ALR's headtube look almost like carbon.

Sensor Ready

The non-drive seatstay is provisioned for a Bontrager DuoTrap S sensor.

Magic Paint

The Purple Flip paint takes on different colors depending on the light.

Hidden From View

Housings and brake hose run inside the front triangle and out of sight.

Modern Standards

The Émonda ALR disc uses the flat mount caliper standard and 12mm thru axles.

The Émonda Family

The Émonda ALR is offered in two models (ALR 4 and ALR 5), and two brake options (disc or rim).

The ALR 4 ($1,680 disc, $1,360 rim) features a Shimano Tiagra 10-speed drivetrain, while the ALR 5 ($1,890 disc, $1,590 rim) comes with a Shimano 105 11-speed drivetrain. All other components are identical, which makes the decision-making process simple: Save 210 or 230 bucks, or spend the extra money to upgrade to an 11-speed drivetrain.

Trek also offers the Émonda ALR 5 Disc in a women's version . This bike features the same geometry as the unisex ALR 5 Disc (though the women's is offered in a 47cm and the unisex is not), but is equipped with a women's saddle, shorter stem, and narrower handlebar.

Trek also sells the Emonda ALR frameset in both disc ($960) and rim ($960) versions. The bike Bicycling received for testing was not a stock complete bike, but a flashy bike built up by Trek to celebrate the Émonda ALR's debut. The frame is shown in the Purple Flip colorway ( there's also a black option) and built with Shimano Ultegra mechanical shift/hydraulic brake groups, with high-end carbon Bontrager parts consisting of Aeolus XXX carbon wheels, XXX carbon seatpost, XXX carbon handlebar, and carbon-railed saddle.

A Lot of Bike for the Money

The real selling point of this bike is its performance-to-price ratio. The ALR frame looks an awful lot like carbon, rides great, and costs less. For $419 dollars less than the most comparable carbon Émonda SL model, the ALR 5 comes out swinging with a race-ready package for someone looking for a quality ride without the intimidating price.

The Émonda ALR frames are quite light also. The disc frame weighs 1,131 grams, while the rim frame weighs 1,112 grams. This appears to compare very well with the carbon Émonda SL frame (disc 1,149 grams, rim 1,091), however the Émonda SL frame weight includes part of the seat mast system.

The Emonda ALR frame features internal cable routing through the front triangle, provisioning for the Bontrager DuoTrap S speed and cadence sensor in the non-drive chainstay, press-fit BB86.5 bottom bracket, 27.2mm seat post, and tapered headtube. Disc models use 12mm thru axles front and rear, and flat-mount brake calipers.

Émonda Geometry

The geometry of the ALR is the same as most of the Émonda carbon line. Trek uses its H2 fit, which is geared toward the everyday rider. This geometry falls between the race geometry you'd find on a bike like the Specialized Tarmac, and the shorter, more upright geometry of an endurance bike.

I found the fit to strike the balance between comfort and race quite nicely. Trek's materials say the H2 geometry is a balance of stable-yet-responsive handling and as much as I get annoyed with marketing jargon, I would certainly have to agree with that.

I do wish Trek would also offer its most aggressive race geometry (it's called H1) in the ALR range (the H1 option is offered in Trek's Émonda carbon frames) for riders, like me, who prefer the lower, longer position it offers.

Émonda ALR Disc Ride Impressions

I can learn a lot about a bike by doing what I call the “up, over, and back” test. I take a bike on a ride that's very familiar to me: up the side of the mountain that's just out my door, down the other, and back again. Put to this test I discovered that, yes, climbing on the Émonda ALR still hurts the same as any other bike, so don’t expect any miracles in that regard. But the bike climbs quite well, while I wasn’t able to break any personal records, the bike still feels plenty at home when the grade pitches skyward. Our bike weighed in at 16.4 pounds, quite impressive for a aluminum bike with disc brakes.

After making my way over the top, the less painful/fun part of the test started. Next up, a high speed slightly twisty descent with fresh pavement. Here, the bike reacts predictably at high speeds without feeling terribly unstable even at speeds over 50mph; test passed. The bike is at home on twisty technical descents as well as wide open high speed rippers. While some riders still aren't sold on disc brakes, I’m a convert. Having the Ultegra stoppers affixed to the Émonda ALR was a welcome addition when it came time to not only stop but control speed into and out of corners, and the Émonda ALR feels solid under braking forces.

On the road it is immediately apparent that this bike wants to accelerate. Once out of the saddle, the Émonda ALR reacts quickly and feels well connected to the pavement. This feeling of snappy acceleration can be at least partially credited to the 1,380-gram Aeolus XXX 2 Disc wheels that came on our test rig. With that said, the ALR feels solid under load. During all out sprints the frame feels just as a race bike should and responds with every pedal stroke. On the flip side, this Émonda ALR test bike rode a bit stiffly, even with the high-end carbon wheels.

Still, the Émonda ALR has all the ingredients of a good bike—sleek looks, solid performance, and a easier to swallow price.

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Trevor Raab is the staff photographer for Runner’s World and Bicycling , a CAT 1 cyclocross racer, and, occasionally, a product reviewer for the Test Team. He fits the typical “how I got in to bikes” story: his dad introduced him to mountain bikes when he was a kid, then he had a  stint as a skateboarder in high school, and since 2011 he’s been riding every sort of bike he can find.

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• Émonda ALR Frameset

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Review: Trek Emonda ALR 5, the bike that disc brakes almost broke 

Are the days of the aluminum race bike over? Not quite yet.

I dream of aluminum race bikes. Sturdy, fast, cheap. They’re what most amateur bike racers should be on, if you ask me, but the options are vanishingly few. 

There’s the Specialized Allez Sprint, the current king of the castle, but it’s a $1,700 frameset and is often out of stock. The Cannondale CAAD13 is lovely too, but has been taken about two steps too far away from its racing roots for my liking. Now there’s a third big-brand aluminum option: the Trek Emonda ALR 5. 

I hoped for a bike I could feel confident in recommending to any young or aspiring racer. Something nimble and light, with the right gearing, a ride comparable to carbon, a few nods to modern-day aerodynamic understanding, and clever spec. Not a first road bike, perhaps, but something worth graduating to. Trek came so very close.

This is a bike that will roll off showroom floors for just over $2,000 and looks every bit like a bike three or five times that. The integrated front end, the shapely tubes – from across the street it looks like carbon. 

The Emonda ALR is a cool aluminum race bike. Looks good and rides well. It needs a few tweaks if you really want to get the most out of it, but it’s 90% of the way there straight out of the box. It only misses in a few spots, and that might not even be its own fault. 

The short of it: A good argument for not buying a cheap carbon road bike instead Good stuff: Superb ride quality, excellent handling, great looks Bad stuff: Weight  Total weight: 9.12 kg/20.1 lbs Price: USD $2,300 / AUD $3,000 / £2,150

As aluminum frames go, this one is both good-looking and well-thought-out. It uses Trek’s 300-series Alpha Aluminum and what Trek calls “Invisible Weld Technology,” which smooths out the welds themselves and provides a decidedly carbon-like look. More than one person thought I was on a carbon bike. 

The tubes are hydroformed, a technology that has now been in the bike industry for well over a decade but is crucial to creating the types of tube shapes Trek uses on the Emonda. There are nods to aerodynamics, including a truncated seat tube, big and shapely down tube, deeper head tube, and dropped seatstays. The intention isn’t to compete with the best aero bikes on the market, but a bit of aero efficiency never hurts. 

The frame is light, around 1,260 grams, plus a 400-gram carbon fork. That makes it roughly the same weight (within 50 grams) as the carbon fiber Emonda SL, which sits on the lower end of Trek’s carbon spectrum. And a complete Emonda ALR 5 bike costs as much as the Emonda SL frameset. Behold, the power of aluminum.

Down at the bottom bracket, Trek has gone with the threaded T47 standard, which we have no real problems with. James Huang is a big fan. Dave Rome is sort of ambivalent. I just know it didn’t creak over the last 6 months.

I wish the Emonda ALR had more official tire clearance. This may partly be a limitation of aluminum, but in the end, it’s a decision. The aluminum Domane fits a 40 mm tire. The Emonda ALR will officially only take a 28 mm tire. Now, if you know Trek, you know they have an exceptionally conservative legal department, and you can generally go 4+ mm wider than claimed. But the rear end, in particular, is tighter than I’d prefer on the Emonda ALR. I wouldn’t be comfortable with anything over a 30 (measured). The fork has plenty of room for a 30 or slightly larger. Just know that you’re running afoul of Trek’s official recommendation if you do this, potentially harming things like warranty, which is a shame.

Any modern disc road bike should clear a 30 with no concerns whatsoever. Only 28 is just not enough. Not when pros are winning Milan-San Remo on tires that measure closer to 32. A race bike can and should have clearance for 32s these days. 

Aaargh, integration

I appreciate the thought and care Trek put into bar/stem/brake line integration on this bike. If integrated front ends are truly what consumers are looking for – and the fact that every single road brand is integrating more and more suggests that purchase data shows people want it – then why should we limit such things to the realm of the carbon fiber bourgeoise?

The plebs down here plowing fields in Aluminum Land deserve a clean cockpit too. The Emonda ALR looks great, it looks expensive, and part of that is the fact that Trek bothered to put the front end together with as much thought as they do for bikes five times the price. 

The Emonda ALR runs its brake and shift lines through an entryway at the front of the headset and then down through the frame. All the lines and housing exit right before the bottom bracket and then re-enter behind it. The headset routing is very similar in concept and execution to the design found on the Allez Sprint, though everything stays internal near the bottom bracket on the Specialized.

There are six full pages in the manual dedicated to the headset, brake line routing, proprietary spacer stacking, and all the rest. The fact that James trusted me, the Hammer, to sort this out and put things together properly is a testament to both his trust and his foolishness. Or perhaps this was his plan all along, to put the design to the ultimate test. 

Mercifully the Emonda came mostly built. Unmercifully, it also came with a kinked brake hose right out of the box, which required replacing. And, of course, I would have to do some basic fit adjustments. The kinked line ended up being quite annoying but the fit changes were no big deal. 

The brake lines run down in front of the steerer tube, in between the slightly bulbous head tube and the steerer itself. There are proprietary split spacers to be used instead of round ones. Pulling it all apart and getting it back together is finicky but not impossible, and dropping the bars two cm took less than five minutes. The spacers are annoying relative to some good old-fashioned round ones, but they also allowed me to play with stack without having to run new brake lines.

As internal brake and shift lines go, this is about as good and easy as it gets.

In the end, I ditched all of the spacers and ran the stem “slammed” because the H1.5 geometry (more on this later), in addition to the height necessitated by the cable-entry cap, meant that slammed wasn’t actually that aggressive.

You can use standard round spacers above the stem as you move the stem clamp down the steerer, should you so choose. The sleeker look obviously requires cutting the steer at the new stem height, but for the purposes of setting fit – and because this isn’t my bike – it was nice to be able to throw the ol’ roundies I had floating around my toolbox on the section of steerer above the stem. 

Now, the kinked line. This isn’t really Trek’s fault, except that I’m pretty sure a line that had more than a few short centimeters exposed between the frame and stem probably wouldn’t have had this problem during shipping. Keep that in mind if you travel with this bike: anything with this level of integration needs added care in packing because with such short exposed sections of brake line, the margin for error is smaller. 

Replacing the line was quite straightforward. Lines run down the front of the head tube, inside the upper headset bearing, and then, in this case, down to the front brake via a port in the steerer itself. It all guided through pretty easily. Re-attach, bleed, and I was off to the races. The rear brake would take slightly more effort, as it needs to be fished through a hole near the bottom of the down tube and then on through another set of holes to the caliper, but it’s no worse than any other integrated bike out there right now.

Geometry chart

The Emonda ALR uses the same H1.5 geometry as the latest Madone SLR and carbon Emonda options. It sits, as the name implies, about halfway in between the race-focused H1 geometry and endurance H2 geometry. 

It also sits right in between two of its competitors in this space, the Specialized Allez Sprint and the Cannondale CAAD13. The Allez is more aggressive, the CAAD a bit less so. 

Here’s the full chart: 

I’ll talk about the ride and handling in a moment, but a couple of things to note. The trail is a very standard 56-62 mm for most sizes. The smallest riders, as usual, get absolutely hammered with a 68 mm trail that I’m sure makes the bike feel absolutely nothing like the one I rode (a 56 cm). Sorry, anybody riding a 47 cm.

Wheelbase is about one cm longer than the Allez Sprint, trail is a bit higher, reach is shorter, stack is higher. All these things point to a less race-oriented machine. And that is the case, though not to the point that the Emonda isn’t totally race-worthy. It absolutely is.

Models and pricing

Normally, we drop all the other build options for a given frameset in this section, but because this is an aluminum bike and so few people apparently want aluminum bikes anymore, there are no other build options.

At least, that’s true in the US. The UK market has the ALR 6, which upgrades the 105 mechanical to 105 Di2 for a marginal increase in cost to £2,400. And in the US you can buy framesets on their own for USD $1,200. These have some great paint jobs and would be a fun project.

In fact, if you’re comfortable building bikes from scratch, that’s probably how I would do it. These are really cool frames, extremely well thought out, light, and quite beautiful. But the stock build kits are uninspiring, because Trek had to hit a price point. I would love to take one of these and slowly build it with higher-end second-hand parts over the course of a winter. Total cost would be similar, but you’d end up with a much cooler end product.

As a brief experiment, I put myself into character. The character: me, 20 years old, racing crits every weekend, living on like $700 a month plus race winnings, with $3,000 left over from my student loans. Decison-making: Generally terrible. Acknowledgment that the future exists: Never. FTP: High as it’ll ever be. I popped around the usual buy/sell sites and checked out some deals on groups to see what I could build. This is what I came up with in less than 30 minutes (all prices USD):

Frame : Emonda ALR in one of the cool colors – $1,200 Drivetrain and brakes : Shimano 105 7000 – $700 Wheels : Something carbon that makes a good whoosh noise – $650 on eBay or similar if you’re willing to buy something that isn’t tubeless compatible (go latex tubes for racing instead) Handlebar : Ritchey WCS Neoclassic drop – $99 (eBay) Stem : Ritchey WCS 4-axis – $25 (eBay) Seatpost : Ritchey WCS – $74 (eBay) Saddle : Bontrager Aeolus Comp: $90 Tires : Vittoria Corsa Control 30mm – $35 (not the tubeless version)

Total: $2873 plus $100 or so for cables/housing/other odds and ends. This bike is easily 2.5 pounds lighter than the stock ALR5, makes a better noise, looks cooler, and leaves me about $100 of student loan funds to spend on a week’s worth of post-ride burritos.

Build kit breakdown

My collegiate-racer fever dreams aside, the ALR 5 has a solid, reliable build. It’s a good platform to upgrade off of, if that’s your jam, and it’s perfectly serviceable right out of the box.

I have zero complaints about the Shimano 105 7000 mechanical drivetrain. It shifts, it’s quiet, it’s relatively cheap. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. 

I do dislike the rotors, which are the RT70 from Shimano. They are ugly and look cheap. Give me some of that finned goodness. This is 90% aesthetic but aesthetics matter.

The stock gear ratios should be enough for most, but could perhaps go a bit lower if you live somewhere hilly. A 50/34 front chainring setup is matched with an 11-30 cassette. Ten years ago, that would have been ludicrously low, but the bike industry has since realized we’re not all riding around at pro watts all the time, and these days I’d prefer a 32 or even 34 low gear on the back unless I’m racing.

If I am racing, I probably want a 52/36 with that same 11-30 cassette. But that’s a low priority and can be upgraded later.

The rest of the build is uninspiring but adequate. Trek’s component brand Bontrager provides the seatpost, saddle, stem, and handlebars. All are alloy, all are a bit heavy. The Comp VR-C bars have quite a nice bend to them, on the shallow end of the spectrum but not silly-shallow. The transition from hoods to tops is nice and smooth and the drop curvature is superb. I found them very comfortable.

There are no surprises, integration headaches, or odd standards, just a 27.2 seatpost, 1 1/8″ steerer, and round bars. All of it can be easily upgraded or swapped out.

The Bontrager Verse Comp saddle is too heavily padded for my liking. I did a couple of rides on it and it wasn’t terrible; it just wasn’t great. It’s also quite long, and I’m used to short saddles these days. Bontrager’s excellent Aeolus would have been a better match for the bike and its ambitions.

The Bontrager Paradigm wheels are heavy (roughly 1,750 g claimed) but do feature a nicely modern 21 mm internal rim width, which spreads the 700×25 hotpatched tire out to just under 28mm. The tires are Bontrager R1 Hardcase-Lite with a wire bead. They are hot garbage that should be removed immediately.  Wire bead ? Are you kidding me? Bontrager makes some nice tires these days; the R1 Hardcase is decidedly not one of them.

I took them off, riding only once on those turds of tires before swapping them out to a set of Vittoria Corsa Controls. I went from disliking the bike to liking it with that one switch. Tires are important. Granted, Corsa Controls aren’t cheap.

Ride report

That brings us to the ride. All of the figures and facts above combine in sometimes unexpected ways, mixing and melding into a ride quality that is genuinely quite impressive (once you take the terrible tires off).

I tested this bike with three sets of tires/wheels. First, the stock Bontragers. Awful. Second, the Corsa Controls and butyl tubes on the stock Paradigm wheelset. Great! A better bet would have been a good tubeless tire, since the Paradigm rims are tubeless-ready, but I didn’t have any handy that were narrow enough.

Finally, I put on a set of Continental GP5000s with latex tubes in on a set of Roval Alpinist carbon wheels. The Corsas alone dropped over 200 grams off the stock tire weight, and the Roval setup dropped more than a pound (626 grams, to be precise) off the stock setup. The overall change in ride quality from both changes was dramatic.

As a result, I’m going to ignore the stock tires for this ride quality analysis. The R1s are so bad, and tires are so important, that it feels unfair to besmirch an otherwise-good bike with their wire bead stink. If you’re reading this review, you care enough to swap them out. My opinions here are based on the stock wheelset + Vittoria Corsa Control + butyl tube setup. 

This is a comfortable aluminum bike. Trek has lots of marketing copy on its website about how its hydroforming processes and the Invisible Weld Technology combine to allow its engineers to create a frame with significantly more compliance than the aluminum of old. I would say they aren’t lying. 

The rear end, in particular, cuts road buzz nicely. The 27.2 seatpost helps, and if you upgraded to a carbon post it would further improve flex and thus comfort. The big aluminum handlebars are stiff and the front end feels harsher than the rear. I’m sort of OK with this; a stiff front end feels like it wants to race, to me, and I like that.

The size 56 I tested has a 73.5º head angle and 58 mm of trail. Both figures are about spot on for a bike that wants to be race-worthy but not race-only. The handling is therefore as I expected: predictable, on the twitchy end of the spectrum these days but nothing extreme. Ten years ago, this would have been called endurance bike geometry. But now we know better. 

This is supposed to be a race bike, and nothing in the handling would prevent it from finding success there. It is not a pure crit machine in the way that the Allez Sprint is (that bike has a more aggressive trail figure of 55 mm, plus a lower BB and longer reach). The Emonda ALR is a road racer. It’s well-balanced and goes where you point it. 

The rich get richer, the poor get heavier

Behind this generally positive review is an unshakeable feeling that something is missing. I’m not sure the bike I dream of, and that I was hoping the Emonda ALR would be, really exists anymore. In riding the Emonda ALR and perusing the other options currently available in the same price range, the only conclusion I can draw is that it’s very, very difficult for a big bike brand to build a cheap race bike these days. 

The bike I want is a Cannondale CAAD10 from around 2015. The model with Shimano 105 went for about US$1,700 – roughly US$2,200 in today’s inflated money. In other words, nearly identical to the Emonda ALR 5. That bike weighed in the low-17 pound (7.7 kg) range. It had decent wheels and snappy handling and pretty much everybody who reviewed one or raced one called it some version of a superbike killer. It was so good. 

The Emonda ALR is better in some ways. It’s more comfortable, for one. It’s probably more aerodynamic, simply because of the integrated front end, though we don’t have any figures to prove this. It fits a much bigger tire (albeit not big enough). But it also weighs closer to 20 pounds, has pigs for wheels, and comes stock with the worst road tires I’ve ridden in years. The geometry is a bit softer, a bit more forgiving; the handling is good but I would personally prefer it to be snappier for racing. 

There is one obvious culprit for many (though not all) of these ills, of course. Disc brakes.

I’m about as far from a disc hater as you can find, and would prefer them on almost any bike I build and ride. But there is a reality to them: to build a light, nimble-feeling road race bike with disc brakes costs a lot of money. You can get to 6.8 kg, or well under, but it will cost significantly more than it did back when a rim-brake CAAD10 could get there for $1,700 plus a few smart upgrades. 

Again, the Allez Sprint – the spiritual heir to the old CAADs – is $1,700 for the frameset alone. 

Trek’s little tagline for this bike is “Never heavy. Always metal.” Which is true – if you look at the frameset. Sub-1,300 grams is superb. But the various parts needed to build a bike at this price point, with discs and thru axles and all the other complications of the modern road bike, mean that heavy is exactly what the stock version of the ALR 5 is.

None of this is directly Trek’s fault, unless you prescribe to the Big Disc conspiracy that holds that all big bike brands hoisted discs on us only to sell more bikes (which I do not). But there is no question that discs have made it harder to build a bike I would want to race for a price I could have afforded when I was racing. We have $8,000 bikes with 105 now; where does one turn if you’re racing collegiate crits, living on microwave pizzas, and want to go fast as hell? The Emonda ALR may be among the best of a dwindling bunch, but even it doesn’t quite get there. 

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Trek's latest aluminium Émonda ALR is lighter and racier than before

Trek says that new Émonda ALR is ‘affordable, ultra-lightweight and faster than ever

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Trek has today launched a brand new version of the aluminium Émonda ALR. The third iteration of the the aluminium version of the Émonda, which Trek reckons to be the “highest-value road race bike in the line-up”. Trek has made and number of changes to Émonda - it has shaved off weight, hidden cables, added aero features, altered the geometry and switched bottom bracket standards

It claims that it designed the Émonda ALR in order to help riders "fly up climbs, across flats and through the finish line.” Trek says that the frameset on the new ALR is “lighter than ever before,” - the painted frame set is 1257g, while the carbon-fiber fork is 406g for a claimed frameset weight of 1,663grams.  That's a saving of around 250g on the previous model. 

As for complete bikes, the Shimano 105 Di2 equipped Émonda ALR6 is listed at 8.80 kg / 19.41 lbs while the mechanical 105 ALR5 comes in at 9.00 kg / 19.85 lbs.

An additional change from the outgoing bike is the update to the Émonda ALR’s geometry. The previous design utilised the brands H2 fit, while the new bike opts for the more race focused H1.5 fit.   

If you’re on the market for a new machine, and you’re considering an Émonda, the codes used by Trek may seem daunting. However, we can help clear that up for you. Trek’s carbon Emonda SL currently uses the H2 fit, while the race ready SLR frame that WorldTour team Trek-Segafredo uses is available as an H1 fit. 

Therefore the new Émonda ALR sits nicely between both fits, and is available as a solid compromise between the two.

The Émonda ALR5 is nicely colourful

Compared to the outgoing Émonda ALR, riders can also expect a lower headtube by approximately 1.9 cm - dependent on the size you opt for - which makes for a more direct feeling front end, and helps the rider in being able to adopt slightly more aerodynamic positions. 

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The new Émonda also gets new aero profiles on the frame along with integrated cabling. When comparing the framesets between the old and new generation of the bike, it’s soon evident that the new model is a lot more race focused, with straighter, clean lines and pointier angles.

Finally, by swapping out the previous press fit bottom bracket in favour of a threaded T47 unit Trek says that riders can "say goodbye to creaks". The Émonda ALR5 is available for £2,325/$2,300 and the ALR6 is £3150. The frameset is available for £1300/$1200.

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Tom joined Cycling Weekly in early 2022 and his news stories, rider interviews and features appear both online and in the magazine. 

He has reported from some of professional cycling's biggest races and events including the Tour de France and the recent Glasgow World Championships. He has also covered races elsewhere across the world and interviewed some of the sport's top riders. 

When not writing news scoops from the WorldTour, or covering stories from elsewhere in the domestic professional scene, he reports on goings on at bike shops up and down the UK, where he is based when not out on the road at races. He has also appeared on the Radio Cycling podcast. 

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Kit Cadre Route Trek Emonda ALR Disque Blanc Era 2023

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Description

Quelle taille choisir .

• Choisir la taille de cadre inférieure si vous vous destinez à une utilisation sportive de votre vélo, axée sur la performance.
• Choisir une taille de cadre supérieure si vous souhaitez privilégier le confort et une utilisation loisir.

Voici une question qui revient souvent ! Un vélo qui correspond bien à votre taille vous apportera confort, rendement et plaisir ! Déterminer votre taille ? Pour déterminer votre taille de vélo, nous vous invitons à consulter la grille de correspondance dans le sélecteur de taille du produit

ou dans le tableau de correspondance ci-dessous.

Je suis entre 2 tailles, que faire ?

Dans ce cas, nous vous conseillons de :

Vous n'avez plus ma taille en stock ?

N’hésitez pas à nous contacter et nous ferons le maximum pour la commander dans les meilleurs délais.

Le kit cadre Émonda ALR 5 est un cadre en alliage d’aluminium haut de gamme de course qui vous surprendra par sa légèreté, sa vitesse et son prix bien plus abordable que celui de ses homologues en carbone. Ce cadre léger adopte la géométrie de course sur route haut de gamme H1.5 avec un poste de pilotage intégré et des formes de tube Kammtail pour l’avantage aérodynamique. Vous construisez un vélo de route à disque pour les sorties en club ou les courses, et vous voulez un cadre en aluminium avancé avec l'apparence élégante et les caractéristiques de maniabilité normalement trouvées uniquement dans les modèles en carbone. Un cadre ultra léger en aluminium 300 Série Alpha avec des tubes aérodynamiques de forme Kammtail, une technologie de soudure invisible pour des raccords discrets et un acheminement interne des câbles. Comprend une fourche en carbone Émonda SL avec un pivot en carbone et un jeu de direction. Conçu pour être équipé de freins à disque à fixation Flat-Mount. Aspect carbone et conduite de qualité, prix de l'aluminium. Si vous pensiez que l’aluminium ne pourrait pas concurrencer le carbone, à la fois en termes d'esthétique et de performances, détrompez-vous. Le kit cadre Émonda ALR Disque offre une conduite de qualité, qui s'apparente parfaitement à celle d'un vélo carbone beaucoup plus coûteux.

Les + produit :

• Le tout nouveau cadre est plus léger et élégant que celui des modèles ALR antérieur et il se caractérise par des tubes Kammtail aérodynamiques avec un acheminement de câbles encore plus ordonné.
• Il monte les côtes en un éclair, négocie parfaitement les virages, et permet de dévaler les pentes en toute confiance.
• Il partage la géométrie course du modèle haut de gamme de notre famille de vélos de course Émonda et il vous offre une qualité de conduite qui n’a rien à envier à celle de vélos en carbone beaucoup plus chers.
• Son acheminement interne des câbles rallonge la durée de vie de vos câbles, et contribue à l’élégance du vélo.

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Cadre trek emonda alr 1.5

Très bon cadre. Excellent rendement. Seul incident, un pas de vis flatmount de la fourche mal taraudé. Défaut très rapidement corrigé par un professionnel. Surprenant néanmoins de la part de trek.

• Rapport qualité-prix du produit

Bonjour je mesure 172cm, quelle taille dois je prendre ?

Nous vous recommandons la taille 54.

Cordialement, L'équipe Alltricks

Est-ce-que ce cadre est livré avec tous les butées de cables necessaires pour monter les cables de freins et de dérailleurs ainsi qu'avec l' expandeur pour la fourche?

Bonjour pathfinder68 Oui, toute la visserie nécessaire au montage est incluse. L'équipe Alltricks

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The trains and stations of the Moscow Metro

2 Comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Cities , Travel , Video

The Moscow Metro is the third most intensive subway system in the world after Tokyo and Seoul subways. The first line was opened on May 15, 1935. Since 1955, the metro has the name of V.I. Lenin.

The system consists of 12 lines with a total length of 305.7 km. Forty four stations are recognized cultural heritage. The largest passenger traffic is in rush hours from 8:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 19:00.

Cellular communication is available on most of the stations of the Moscow Metro. In March 2012, a free Wi-Fi appeared in the Circle Line train. The Moscow Metro is open to passengers from 5:20 to 01:00. The average interval between trains is 2.5 minutes.

The fare is paid by using contactless tickets and contactless smart cards, the passes to the stations are controlled by automatic turnstiles. Ticket offices and ticket vending machines can be found in station vestibules.

Tags:  Moscow city

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Tomás · August 27, 2012 at 11:34 pm

The Moscow metro stations are the best That I know, cars do not.

Alberto Calvo · September 25, 2016 at 8:57 pm

Great videos! Moscow Metro is just spectacular. I actually visited Moscow myself quite recently and wrote a post about my top 7 stations, please check it out and let me know what you think! :)

http://www.arwtravels.com/blog/moscow-metro-top-7-stations-you-cant-miss

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