The new Trek Madone Gen 8 is better than I expected and the Emonda is...GONE??

Trek ANZ very nicely invited me to their launch event of the brand new Trek Madone Gen 8 which is launching today. Their event has really fun with canapes, drinks and some free goodies. The best part was seeing the new bike in all its different colourways, hearing the Trek manufacturing experts talk about the bike and also hearing first hand experience from Richie Porte! This video documents my night from beginning to end, some observations I made of the new Madone and also comparison to the older Gen 7 Madone. Its a bit early to review the bike but I am keen to give it a ride one day and see how it compares to the current gen Emonda, and the Gen 7 Madone. Also there is a little bit of news about the Emonda I am sure you will be shocked to hear. Enjoy!
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[@fabianmolyneux2308]

Great id Josh. Best part was clearly the after-function dinner. It looked so delicious. Being a Trek rider and an Emonda at that I'm sad to see it go. I'm not sold on the new Madone and of all the reviews I have read and seen about it no-one seems to be genuinely impressed. I'm sure the next iteration of Madone, which is on the drawing board will be a real game -changer. Thanks for your work putting this together. It's very good

[@joshkwan]

Hahaha! It was super yummy and also quite cheap too 😛 I am sad to see the Emonda go too, I ride the Emonda and have always been a big fan of it. I am keen to give the Gen 8 a go though

[@RichardLi-vf2xo]

Top shelf stuff Josh, love your work, especially the interview with Richie Porte. I know it is sad that they are discontinuing your bike, but on the bright side, your bike is even more valuable now as limited edition. Looks like you guys had an awesome time, wish I was there with you. Look forward to the next soju event :)

[@joshkwan]

Richie Porte is a class act and true Aussie legend. As a new cyclists I didn’t realise he had so many more accomplishments than Tour De France 2020. I love your positive spin on every situation, others might say my bike is now antique and outdated ;) See you next time 🥰

[@jamespham888]

Thanks for the footage Josh 👌 the Gen 8 looks 🔥

[@joshkwan]

I’m very keen to review it

[@peteralyssayoong7798]

Thanks Josh for the video. I sadly couldn't make the launch due to other commitments. A great early glimpse into the new Trek and a massive bonus to see the great Richie Port there as well.

[@joshkwan]

Sorry you couldn’t make it, but glad you could enjoy the video and experience it through YT!

[@chrisvisvis]

Awesome vlog, I love we got to hear the changes from you and not the presenter, thanks for making this! I wouldn't have watched any trek event coverage if if wasn't for your content:)

[@joshkwan]

Appreciate you dropping by and checking out the video! I also saw some juicy looking Giant paint jobs on your IG 😬

[@Jay-nt2ew]

sick content and covered the event well. ty

[@joshkwan]

Thanks mate!

[@Preset1]

Yesterday after work I went to that store for some tyre kicking. Saw all of these and fell in love with the iridescent oil slick & the two to the right of the staircase, blue one which looks like clouds. Thanks for the VIP North Shore perspective!

[@joshkwan]

Glad you got to see it too, one thing I’ve got to give to trek is their awesome paint jobs. Thanks for watching and commenting

[@jonc2037]

Awesome Josh! Great content

[@joshkwan]

Thank you :)

[@AMGJason]

Excellent coverage!

[@joshkwan]

Thank you for watching :)

[@nicholasfitzgerald1999]

Thanks for the content

[@joshkwan]

Thanks for watching!

[@Gamblor24]

Thanks for sharing content like this, it's rare to see bike launches in person. Now for my next bike, Madone SLR Gen 8 or Factor Ostro VAM....

[@joshkwan]

that is a very very hard choice haha. The Factor Ostro VAM is a fantastic bike. You can see the RCC one at the start of the video.

[@Cliffy29]

Solid effort with the interview hahaha

[@joshkwan]

First pro rider on the channel Next up….Pogacar?

[@veryboringname.]

Getting invited to VIP launches now... someone's going places! Those are some pretty nice colours... but boring me still likes matte black. Glad to see the onigiri storage space is still there. Nice interview with Richie, he probably wasn't expecting to talk about fruit buns!

[@joshkwan]

Haha, I am the same as you. Matte black, nice and discreet. I think I like the idea of a loud bike, but in the end I’ll always ride something a bit more under wraps. The smaller frames have a very small onigiri storage, I would not rely on them to hold your snacks 🤣 Hahaha Richie was a really humble and down to earth guy

[@anthrology123]

"Stiff and hard to pull out" What about the bike josh?

[@joshkwan]

Come over and I’ll show you my bike ;)

[@zeuszuki6698]

Richie was a nice touch 👍 "One bike to rule them all", it even has a 'speed sniffer' 😅 The one with the yellow seat stays reminds me of a Look 695.

[@joshkwan]

Richie is an Aussie legend Tbh if a Madone can be sub 7kg there’s no point to having an Emonda. Unless they decide to make it ultra light below UCI weight limit

[@caneye]

Great but brief interview with Porte. He's a legend of the sport and Froome's super domestique. Never had the best fortune in TdF (see 2017 sickening crash). Good to see him enjoying his Trek ambassador role.

[@joshkwan]

I would have loved to interview him longer but I didn’t want to take up too much of his valuable time. He did talk a bit about being domestique for Froome and it was interesting.

[@Omnis2]

Gotta say I love that gen 8 Mad One branding.

[@joshkwan]

Thanks !! They did a good job :P

[@KolzManz]

Great video as always Josh! Is AK your sister? 😊

[@joshkwan]

Haha, I have three younger sisters but AK is not one of them. She is a sister in cycling 🤣

[@parkingfineattendant]

THAT OIL SLICK 🔥🔥🔥

[@joshkwan]

It’s juiiiiiiccyy

[@ItsMaxMann]

I can see you on the white pearl model... when is the second bike coming?

[@joshkwan]

Haha maybe soon ;) Trek pls 🙏

[@HeyWattsUpCycling]

times must be tough at trek to make a bike worse than either and have it be the new dedicated bike.....

[@LashanPerera-m2w]

yooo just a question i recently started cycling and im saving up for a trek bike !! anyways i live in meadowbank so i wanna try that olympic park course sometime, and whenever i watch ur vids towards the end of any chop you do a little sprint outputting like 1000?! watts which is insane... i just wanna know if this 1000w is per second? or per 3 seconds or per 5 seconds?? cuz whenever i hop on my gym's exercise bike for wattage even when sprinting i only get up to 400w EVEN WITH ALL MY ENERGY... idk if im just really terrible rn or if the 1 second measurement of the exercise bike is different to ur power meter.. also power meters are soooo expensive wth!!

[@LashanPerera-m2w]

IM 18 ASWELLL AND I CAN DEADLIFT 100KG SO SURELY ITS NOT ME?!

[@joshkwan]

Hey mate, glad to hear you’ve started your cycling journey. Whatever you’re seeing on the screen is the power I am doing. I can do just under 1100w for about 10 seconds. It’s decent for my weight (64kg) but definitely nothing pro. The gym bike is much harder to push out the big watts. You can’t rock the bike side to side, also don’t have the added benefit of momentum etc.

[@LashanPerera-m2w]

@@joshkwan thanks this cleared up a lot of confusion, ill keep grinding !! (do u have a video or any tips on what bike i should buy?, currently considering an aluminium domane)

[@joshkwan]

Not right now but that’s a good idea for a video. Depends on your budget and if you’re willing to buy second hand too. You might find the Domane a bit too relaxed geometry for your riding style. Sounds like you want to ride fast, I would recommend something more aggressive.

[@roa5359]

Bike manufacturer should give the option to have a minute logo frame (think tiny batch on head tube) unless they pay to ride it. Do we drive cars with the make written large across the sides?

[@joshkwan]

Not disagreeing with you, but a big part of branding and expensive stuff is that people want to be associated with it. I’d warrant a lot of people like it

[@DoneAndDustedCycling]

Oooft that oil-slick looks mint. You gonna upgrade?

[@joshkwan]

I would love to but the wallet does not allow Maybe they’ll loan it to me ;) Btw the oil slick one is $25,000 AUD 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@DanTuber]

how did you get the invite?

[@joshkwan]

I ride with Stephen the district manager sometimes. He invited me.

[@wilsonrobb10]

Bit sad that they are reducing their range. There is big gap from Madone to Domane now. Cool vid though bro.

[@joshkwan]

Thanks very much mate From what I gather they believe that gap is filled by the ALR version of the Emonda. I haven’t looked at the prices but I think the jump from ALR Emonda to SL Madone isn’t too crazy?

[@wilsonrobb10]

@@joshkwan unfortunately couldn't find one at Nelson Kmart

[@densyoh]

i remember Richie left Trek after his podium finish that TdF year…why is here at a Trek event?😂

[@joshkwan]

I think because he got the podium on the trek bike. So he is still associated with the trek brand

[@ekm3820]

The sizes are confusing so beware. Try before buying. I’m 5.7 and ordered small with longer stem

[@joshkwan]

Thanks for the heads up. Currently I ride a size 50 Madone with a 110mm stem. So I think a S would fit me with a normal stem. Thoughts?

[@ekm3820]

@@joshkwan yeah 👍🏾

[@ekm3820]

What’s your height?

[@joshkwan]

170cm I think that’s 5’6

[@fen2453]

5 foot 6 and ride a 52 Gen6 with the seat at its lowest setting. A small gen8 with a 110 stem fits perfect.

[@syazwanabdull4835]

Nice already subscribe your channel 🎉

[@joshkwan]

Thanks mate!

[@Peter-pn2sz]

The new bikes don’t rate compared to my 2005 Trek Discovery Channel. 😎

[@joshkwan]

Hahhaha the OG just hit different

[@Albin111]

Limiting the choice to one do it all bike, coz the bike market has an oversupply of prev stock and not enough buyers! Still doesn’t solve the oversupply problem… it’s hard to sell obsolescence of an older model when riders build attachments to their steeds!!

[@joshkwan]

Yea I agree. But I think the start to solving the problem is on the manufacturing side. So they’re going in the right direction.

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

A major problem is the cost of these bikes. The Madone, as an example, is too expensive. £12,000 is too much for a bike. £9000 isn't much better. Superbikes need to be priced at £5000 max.

[@joshkwan]

Pricing for these bikes is through the roof. But people continue to pay, so I guess it’s just a free market 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

@@joshkwan Yes, too many silly people with more money than sense!

[@daniel.s8126]

@@joshkwan The emergence and rise in popularity of 'bike finance' is just enabling this stupid pricing trend by manufacturers. Bikes shouldn't cost as much as a perfectly decent second-hand car.

[@christophershi5605]

Juicy

[@joshkwan]

Share to the Atlassian slack, thanks

[@christophershi5605]

@@joshkwan exposed 💀

[@joshkwan]

Do it

[@BoomsRiddico4868]

sounds like you were a little 'taken in' by the press event! That is obvs their plan but you need to take it all with a pinch of salt and not get sucked in. I would have liked to see you critique the bike a bit more!

[@joshkwan]

Haha, I did thoroughly enjoy myself. I will reserve critique for when I can ride the bike and see how it feels. Don’t worry I have plans to do that soon :)

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

As he says, he needs to ride if first. This was just a launch.

[@Jay-nt2ew]

I think he remained pretty objective. I mean he didn't really state any of his own opinions, just kinda showed what the event was like and summarized what the Trek guys said🤷

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

I’m glad they’ve combined models. Too much choice. And nobody wants the “slow” Émonda when they can aspire to the Madone, now at a lower price. 👍

[@vietle8157]

Now they've made a slower bike to replace both!

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

They say it’s as fast as the previous Madone… 🤔

[@joshkwan]

Weight is the same as the Emonda now. Looking at it I would say it is more aero, but obviously can’t compare till they are side by side in a wind tunnel. Overall, I do like the look of it more than I thought I would.

[@paddymurphy-oconnor8255]

@@joshkwan I find it hard to believe it is as fast as the previous Madone.

[@omarkreidieh3623]

It's not, it's a little slower even in the curve their marketing team shows.

[@josephreilman8527]

Less aero and barely lighter. If it ain't broken don't fix it. Once again Trek puts marketing ahead of what the customer wants.

[@joshkwan]

I think if you look at it from more of a wholistic perspecitve of combining two lines of bikes it make sense. For example if the Madone is 7kg there is no point having the Emonda. What does the average customer want? I'm not sure since I think I'm in a bit of a bubble haha

[@omarkreidieh3623]

But it's not 7 kg... Most videos I've seen show it at closer to 7.4 - 7.5 in a ML build ... Specialized are def hitting much lighter

[@joshkwan]

I think you need to do your homework. A specialized SL8 pro is 7.7kg Only top spec builds are below 7kg. Most midrange (Ultegra etc) is around 7.5kg.

[@ekm3820]

@@omarkreidieh3623you can even get it to 14 pounds. I wish I could upload a picture to show you. It’s definitely possible to spec the bike and make it light.

[@BrianAndTheBike]

So Trek just needs to invite to eat a Random chinese to sell a bike

[@kabobsyea9985]

Know you know this overrated 😂