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Trek Emonda S6 (2015) : ChooseMyBicycle.com Expert Review

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Introducing Vishnu Sharma, our dedicated Cycling Enthusiast with a long journey of riding and crafting expert bicycle reviews exclusively for ChooseMyBicycle. With an avid passion for Cycling and an unwavering commitment to staying at the forefront of Bicycle Technology,Vishnu Sharma's insightful reviews are your trusted companion in making informed choices for your next ride.

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Things We Like

• Lightweight frame
• Excellent brakes
• Precision gear shifting

Things We Don't Like

• Heavy wheels
• Mediocre handlebar

Lightweight Carbon Frame.

Lightweight and Responsive Carbon Fork.

Shifting on this bicycle feels precise and mechanical, and will be a rarity for the occurrence of any dropped chains or missed shifts.

You know that there is enough power at your fingertips to save you if things get tricky.

Comfortable riding experience

Technical Specifications

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Trek is known for building stronger and long lasting bicycles. This international brand has it strength in making performance packed Road bicycles. We got the oppurtunity to test ride the Trek Emonda s^6 2015 carbon road bicycle and here si what we thought.

Frame, Fit and Comfort

Emonda may be an anagram of the Madone series from Trek, but it is also derived from the French verb emonder, meaning to 'prune and trim away'. So at the core of the design is its lightweight frame with any extraneous material and features trimmed back. The Emonda S6 may not be in the league of lightest road bicycles in the carbon category but it's certainly not all about grams here. This Trek road bicycle features size-specific tubing which is engineered differently depending on the size of the frame. The Bontrager Paradigm saddle is designed so ergonomically that after the initial soreness, you will start feeling the perfect fit of it. The most important and sought after essence of a carbon bicycle's feature is its mix of lightness and handling prowess and the Emonda S6 has that and more.¾

This top level Emonda S6 comes with a complete Shimano Ultegra 11 speed groupset, which is, as always, difficult to fault. The quality and precision of the shifting is pretty much on the same level as Shimano's top-of-the range Dura-Ace groupset, with the only real difference being the slight weight penalty. Shifting on this bicycle feels precise and mechanical, and will be a rarity for the occurrence of any dropped chains or missed shifts. On components, both Shimano and Trek deserve top marks.

Trek has done well lately to fully equip a lot of their road bicycles in these Emonda model line ups with full groupsets of each line, rather than the clich’© 'save some money' by combining 2 different component models.

Brakes and Steering

The brakes deserve a special mention. The Trek Emonda S6 uses the direct mount brakes. The Shimano Ultegra direct mount brakes used in this road bicycle are fantastic. Understood that braking on an alloy rather than carbon brake track helps sometimes, but there is no doubt that these brakes are a bit special, giving you a feeling of control even when you are slinging the bicycle into fast and mysterious bends. You know that there is enough power at your fingertips to save you if things get tricky. We have got nothing but good things to say about these brakes.

Things are more direct at the front end with bumps, holes and gravel do making their presence felt. The Bontrager's Race handlebar could have been shaped better ergonomically. But, even the worst road surfaces feel relatively smooth and will not threaten to knock you off your line.

Ride Quality

The biggest weight penalty on the bicycle comes from the Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite tires that tip the scales a bit, which is both a blessing and a curse. A considerable upgrade in the future could be changing from the stock 23mm to a 25mm tire to tackle those rough road surfaces even more effectively.

Every detail of the Emonda S6, from frame design to component choice, serves the same audacious goal. To give the most comfortable riding experience a road bicycle is expected to offer.

If you happen to stumble upon the Emonda page on Trek's official website you will be greeted with this ambitious headline: Š—…The lightest production road line everŠ—È. We believe that Trek has done justice to their motive with this bicycle. The Trek Emonda S6 is a piece of metal that is great for climbing with excellent handling for coming down the other side. The relaxed geometry makes this a great choice for long rides in the hills. We would like to thank Just Buy Cycles-Elite, Chennai for providing us with this bicycle for the review.

Prices are subject to change by the brand, without due notice

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Search this blog, trek emonda s5 (2015) review.

Thats a great review. I feel like I've been honestly informed. I think I'll buy one. Yep, first bike, maybe crazy but I want to try this go fast on a light thing.

Great review! I just picked this bike up from a friend, and cant wait to try it out and ride this weekend!

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Trek Emonda SL 6 review

The legendary Madone gets another anagram

Robert Smith

Warren Rossiter

Trek’s rivals in the big three bike brands both launched aero-road machines in the form of Giant's Propel and the Venge from Specialized. Trek followed suit in the last revision of the Madone with it morphing into an aero-tweaked race special. With the innovative Domane, with its ‘decoupler’ soft tail design, being a straight-up rival for Specialized’s Roubaix and Giant’s Defy, the Madone was always in direct competition with the big S’s Tarmac and Giant’s TCR. Its aero revisions left a big hole in Trek's arsenal, which the Emonda is here to fill.

• Highs: A ride full of life and excitement, a future classic
• Lows: Average wheels and mediocre bars
• Buy if: You want a true all rounder in the classic sense

Emonda may be an anagram, but it’s also derived from the French verb emonder, meaning to prune and trim away. So at the core of the design its lightweight with any extraneous material and features trimmed back. That’s certainly true of the flagship SLR 10 and its astonishing 690g frame weight and 4.65kg (56cm) complete weight (though its price tag certainly won't appear pared-down to anyone except the super-rich).

This SL6 uses the new 500 series OCLV carbon to create a frame weight of 1050g. That's impressive enough, especially for a bike at this price – the complete weight of our 58cm test ride is a very respectable 7.74kg – but it’s certainly not all about grams here.

The SL6 is well equipped, with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset

The SL6 is one of the best equipped Treks we’ve seen in a long time. In the past we’ve criticised them for their mix and match approach to component specs, which often saw a few lower grade items dropped into the drivetrain to save a few bucks. For 2015 though we are seriously impressed that Trek has gone the complete route with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset that adds an impressive value status to the overall equation.

Though the Emonda is an all-new bike, within minutes of hopping into the saddle we felt right at home. If for a moment we hark back to the glory days of the Madone, when it was one of the lightest in the peloton and winning everything (no matter how tainted those victories are now), the essence of that bike's excellence was its mix of lightness and handling prowess – and the SL6 has that and more.

The familiar H2 fit, slightly taller than the pro-level bikes, and slightly shorter in reach too (our 58cm bike has a 57.3cm top tube) gives a comfortable yet commanding riding position. We were still able to get down in the drops and push the pace without ever feeling cramped, yet rise up onto the hoods and you can push the pedals all day and cover epic distances free of aches and pains.

Climbing is where the Emonda excels – it may not be class-leadingly light, with its average weight wheels and middleweight finishing kit, yet it climbs with the vigour of a spider monkey escaping a hungry predator.

Crest the brow of a hill and point the SL6 back down and the chassis’ liveliness uphill transforms into a compliant ground hugging missile that floats over bumpy and broken surfaces with a limpet-like tenacity for holding its line. The amount of grip it exudes through hard cornering is mighty. The only negative is the alloy bar's narrow diameter, which doesn't offer the most comfortable of holds – and its overly stiff nature is at odds with the rest of this hugely impressive 2015 debut.

The Trek’s comfortable frame doesn’t need wider than 23c rubber

The Bontrager Race wheels are the most basic Trek offers, but even these are tubeless ready (admittedly, we're all still waiting to see if tubeless will ever take off on the road). They're decent enough – under hard sprint efforts we managed to induce a little brake rub, but nothing of any real concern and only apparent because the Emonda is so damn good at everything else it does. The slim 23c rubber they're shod with offers great all-weather grip and proved plenty tough enough in testing, and it's testament to just how smooth the bike is that Trek hasn’t resorted to anything wider for extra comfort.

In all the Emonda is the rightful heir to the classic Madone, blending ride quality, lightness and a whole shedload of riding fun. Its set to be one of the stars of 2015 and fully deserves the accolades that will undoubtedly come its way.

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2017 Edition — Trek Émonda S 5 Road Bike: Review

The Trek Émonda S 5 Road Bike

With 300 Series OCLV Carbon, the Emonda S 5 offers riders the best-in-class weight, stiffness, and strength.

With an H2 fit, this optimal fit is a near-perfect fit for most riders, including Pro Team athletes. The H2 fit gets riders in the correct position for performance and power.

Blendr Stem

The Trek Émonda S 5 features the Bontrager Blendr Stem by Trek. This is a highly integrated system for easy and clean stem installation of computers, lights,and other biking accessories. You simply begin with a Blendr Stem and add the appropriate base and finish with a mount that matches your accessories.

The Trek Émonda S 5 is built with an Ultralight 300 Series OCLV Carbon frame. The frame design down to the component parts were designed to serve a goal — to be one of the lightest performance bikes offered. The ride-tuned balance and handling elevates this Trek Émonda to another level.

OCLV is short for Optimum Compaction, Low Void, which refers to the carbon manufacturing process that Trek engineers developed decades ago. This allows them to produce carbon framed bikes with consistent, high quality that was not possible before.

The 300 Series OCLV Carbon offers best-in-class weight, best-in-class carbon, and gives the rider stiffness and strength. The 300 Series is at the lower end of the carbon scale, but it keeps the price down, areal weight low, and quality of the frame excellent for a nice price.

The 300 Series OCLV is a great choice for this bike’s frame, as it is compliments the stiffness and weight ratio well. With the right relationship of stiffness-to-weight, the performance of the road bike increases. Trek tested every part of the frame extensively to maximize handling and pedaling performance, as well as ride feel of this S 5.

Technical Specifications and Features:

• Frame: Ultralight, 300 Series OCLV Carbon — Ride-Tuned Performance Tube Optimization, E2 Tapered Head Tube, BB86.5, DuoTrap Compatible
• Fork: Emonda Carbon, E2 Tapered Steerer
• Wheels: Alloy Hubs
• Front Hub: Alloy
• Rear Hub: Alloy
• Rims: Bontrager Tubeless Ready
• Tires: Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite, 700 x 25c
• Shifters: Shimano 105, 11 Speed
• Front Derailleur: Shimano 105
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano 105
• Crank: Shimano 105, 50/34 (Compact)
• BB: Press Fit
• Cassette: Shimano 105, 11-28, 11 Speed
• Chain: Shimano HG60
• Saddle: Bontrager Montrose Comp
• Seatpost: Bontrager Alloy, 2-Bolt Head, 27.2mm, 8mm Offset
• Handlebar: Bontrager Race VR-C, 31.8mm
• Grips: Bontrager Microfiber Tape
• Stem: Bontrager Elite, 31.8mm, 7 degree, w/ computer & light mounts
• Headset: Integrated, Cartridge Bearing, Sealed, 1-1/8 inch Top, 1.5 inch Bottom
• Brakeset: Shimano 105
• Using the 56cm size as an example, the size 56 weighs: 19.55 lbs / 8.87 kg
• Weight Limit: Combined weight (rider, cargo, and bike) of 275 pounds / 125 kg

Key Features

• 300 Series OCLV Carbon — Ultimate Light Material
• Excellently Balanced — Ultra Responsive
• The World’s Lightest Road Line with Best Warranty
• Lightweight, but Offers the Robust Performance of Heavier Bikes

Color Options

• Trek Black / Viper Red

As a very solid 2017 edition Trek, the Émonda S 5 with 300 Series OCLV Carbon and Shimano 105 groupset, will only cost you 1,500 GBP or $2,099.99 USD. For such an excellent bike from a brand like Trek, we highly recommend this model to anyone looking for more out of their road bike.

Trek Emonda S 5 Purchase Link:

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The New Trek Émonda Is Faster Than Ever

Already one of the fiercest climbing bikes available, the new Émonda is even faster thanks to a dose of aero.

The Takeaway: The Émonda SLR is a benchmark pro race bike—and it’s surprisingly rider friendly.

• It has 183 grams less drag than the previous generation, but the frame is only 33 grams heavier
• There are 10 models starting at $2,699
• SL models ($2,699 to $5,999) have the aerodynamic shaping and features but in a frame that’s about 400 grams heavier than the SLR
• SLR models ($6,699 and up) use a new carbon fiber composite that’s 30 percent stronger than Trek’s previous top-of-the-line carbon.

Price: $11,999 as tested (Émonda SLR 9 eTap) Weight: 14.75 lb. (54cm) View Gallery

Update: On August 25, 2022, Trek Bicycles and the CPSC announced a recall of this Émonda SLR model to address an issue with the Bontrager Aeolus RSL VR-C handlebar and stem. The bike's carbon handlebar/stem can crack if overloaded, causing the rider to lose control of the bike. Customers are asked to stop using the bike and to contact their local Trek dealer.

For Émonda SLR bicycles, Trek will provide an individual handlebar and stem until an updated handlebar/stem combo is available.

Additionally, all customers who bring in their handlebars for replacement will also receive a $100 in-store credit that can be used toward any Trek or Bontrager merchandise through December 31, 2022.

Remember professional road racing ? It’s that thing where super skinny people go unbelievably fast up and down hills and fly over flat roads for hours at a time. It’s been a while since the pros have beat up on each other for our entertainment, but there might, hopefully, be some races on the horizon. When the races do resume, Trek’s pro riders will be aboard its new third-generation Émonda climbing bike. The new Émonda isn’t lighter, but it is faster thanks to a dose of aerodynamic tuning.

—Five Cool Details—

Now With Aero

The new Émonda gets a major drag reduction with a tiny weight gain.

Simple Seat Mast

The seat mast has lots of adjustment range, and an easy-to-use saddle clamp.

Light and Slippery

The new Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 wheels are light, sleek, and stable.

Wide and Threaded

The T47 bottom bracket has a wide stance, and user-friendly threads.

A built-in chain watcher prevents unwanted derailments.

Making the new Émonda frame more aerodynamic wasn’t exactly a tough hurdle as the previous Émonda had virtually zero aerodynamic optimization. But adding meaningful aerodynamic benefit while achieving the frame stiffness expected of a pro-caliber race bike, maintaining the well-regarded handling properties of the previous Émonda, and adding rider-friendly features like a threaded bottom bracket—all with adding only 33 grams (SLR frame, claimed)—is quite a feat.

Below you’ll find my review of the Émonda SLR—I’ve been on it since early March—followed by a dive into the technology and features of the new bike, and a brief model breakdown.

Ride Impressions: Émonda SLR 9 eTap

The Émonda SLR is a tool made to fulfill the needs of some of the world’s best road racers. This bike will never be as comfortable or versatile as a gravel bike. Going fast on pavement and climbing performance are its only goals. These are obvious facts, but that’s the lens through which it must be viewed. And through this lens, it is one of the very best.

The new Émonda was born out of a request from Trek’s pro racers and pitched as the company’s “fastest climbing bike ever.” So little surprise they set me up with the lightest model (the SLR 9 with SRAM Red eTap ), which also has a build kit almost identical to the team’s bikes. It’s also, excepting customized Project One builds, the most expensive model at a buck under 12 grand.

That massive pile of clams gets you an aerodynamic frame with disc brakes, power meter, and wireless electronic shifting that weighs less than 15 pounds (54cm). And that’s with a hefty T47 threaded bottom bracket unit, lustrous paint , clincher wheelset, a chain-watcher, standard butyl tubes, 37mm deep rims, 160mm disc rotors front and rear, and SRAM’s largest Red cassette (10-33). That’s “Holy shit!” impressive.

By cutting drag a ton without adding much weight, it’s hard to argue with Trek’s claim that the new Émonda is faster than the outgoing generation. But if you have any doubts, they’ll be erased when you ride it. This is an explosive bike: it feels as light as a feather and as solid as a steel girder at the same time.

Trek’s Émonda has always been a raw and rowdy bike that feels a little wild and a bit dangerous in precisely the ways you want a race bike to feel: That’s not lost with the added aerodynamics. If anything, the new Émonda is even crisper and punchier than before, which is saying something.

A small downside to all this fury is the Émonda’s smoothness. Light and stiff race bikes aren’t a smooth-riding lot to begin with, but even measured against a stiffer riding genre, the new Émonda is on the firmer end of the scale. Still, it escapes harsh or punishing labels—I did a six-hour ride on the Émonda on the stock 25 tires and didn’t feel worn down by its ride. Swapping to 28s helped a lot (no surprise) and were on the Émonda for the bulk of my testing. I’d suggest reserving the lighter and more aerodynamic stock 25s for racing or PR attempts—assuming good roads—and use 28s as daily drivers.

The Émonda’s handling is excellent. Well, let me caveat that: Road racing geometry is pretty uniform, so whether I’m on a current race bike from Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, Cervélo, Canyon, Colnago, Wilier, Pinarello, BMC, Giant (etc., etc.), I find the broad strokes of their handling feel and performance quite similar. There wasn’t anything about the Émonda’s handling or cornering performance that set any new benchmarks for me, but there wasn’t anything to dislike either.

It was quick and accurate, diving into corners with a light touch. It offered great feedback, so I always knew where I was relative to its and my limits, and I could count on it to be consistent and predictable. It was maybe a touch less settled in bumpy corners than the Specialized Tarmac, but the Émonda never broke traction or skipped. Overall, for such a light bike, the Émonda is remarkably solid and drama free. I’d have no qualms barreling down a technical alpine descent on the Émonda.

I received this test bike in early March, giving me plenty of time to ride it back to back with its primary competition—a Specialized S-Works Tarmac , what I consider the benchmark for aero-ized lightweight bikes. The Tarmac is smoother over the bumps and has a silkier feel overall, but the new Émonda feels more efficient, like it can go faster more easily.

I’ve also ridden a good slice of the Émonda’s competition, including the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX , Colnago V3Rs, Cannondale SuperSix Evo , Cervélo R5, Wilier Zero SLR , Pinarello Dogma F12 . These are all superb bikes, but I feel the Émonda is the class leader. It feels sharper and more explosive than all of them. It feels faster, and that’s what matters most in a race bike. But I also like that the Émonda is pretty straightforward and rider-friendly.

For example, I swapped the stock one-piece bar/stem for a standard stem and round bar. One, I could run a standard bar and stem on this bike, which you can’t say about every modern race bike. And two, I didn’t have to pull any cables, wires, or hoses to make the swap: Again, something you can’t say about all race bikes. For the record, the shape of the one-piece Aeolus bar/stem is great, and the tops are the most comfortable to grab of all the aero-topped bars I've used. The only reason I swapped is my preferred length and width combination (110x40) wasn't available yet.

The BB is threaded, which makes it easier to service and replace than a press-fit (however, I was getting some noise out of the BB area, which I never resolved). The wheels employ standard offset, and it uses regular thru-axles. It’s compatible with pod-style power meters and mechanical shifting. Its signature seat mast is pretty much the only non-standard thing about this frame, and even then, it’s pretty user-friendly. There’s no cutting necessary, height adjustment is ample, the saddle clamp is easy to use, and it’s travel-case friendly.

I expect so much from a modern high-end pro-level road racing bike that it’s hard to exceed those expectations. It’s rare when a bike does: The Émonda SLR is one of those rare bikes.

Team Request

The new Émonda is partially a result of a request from the Trek-Segafredo race team. “They are one of our primary customers,” said Jordan Roessingh, Trek’s director of road product. “And they started to realize that it’s not just weight, it’s not just stiffness and responsiveness, there’s this other thing—aerodynamics and speed—that’s also really important to be competitive and be faster on the bike. They had been one of the loudest voices saying, ‘We need the lightest-weight, stiffest bike possible.’ And now they started coming back saying ‘We need those things, but we also need the bike to be faster in order for us to be really competitive.’ ”

It is (comparatively) easy to make a light frame, it is easy to make a stiff frame, it is easy to make an aerodynamic frame. Making a frame that’s two of those three things is more challenging: Making a bike more aerodynamic usually makes it heavier, making a bike lighter typically makes it less stiff, etc. Making a frame that is light AND stiff AND aerodynamic enough to satisfy the demands of a top-level professional race team is extremely difficult.

But not impossible. Many brands already make a light, stiff, and aero bike. The Specialized Tarmac is one, as are the Canyon Ultimate, the Cannondale SuperSix Evo, the Cervélo R5, the Wilier Zero SLR, the Pinarello F12, the Scott Addict, and the new Giant TCR . All of them seek to balance the three qualities—light, stiff, and aero—in the pursuit of the ideal race bike, and they all manage the balance differently. The common thread between these bikes: They’re all used by teams that compete against Trek-Segafredo.

Still Light, Now With Aero

The previous generation Émonda SLR Disc , launched in 2017, was an extremely light frame at 665 grams (claimed). But when a frame is already that light, it is much harder to make it even lighter. At least lighter enough to make a meaningful difference.

So, Trek took a different approach to making its climbing bike faster—instead of lighter, it made it more aerodynamic. The new Émonda frame is a touch heavier—yet still extremely light at 698 grams—but the bike has 183 grams less drag than the previous generation.

The important thing to note here is that, though the frame is more aerodynamic, the 183 gram drag reduction is not from the frame only. New wheels and a new aero bar (more info on both below) play a role. The specific setups Trek used to get that 183 gram number are: 2018 Émonda with 28mm-deep Bontrager XXX 2 wheels, and Bontrager XXX Bar/Stem Combo compared to the 2021 Émonda with 37mm deep Bontrager Aeolus RSL 37 Wheels and Bontrager Aeolus RSL Bar/Stem Combo.

Another drag saving upgrade: the housing, hoses and wires for the controls are almost fully inside the frame. They dive into the frame at the head tube passing through the upper headset bearing. The front brake hose runs into the fork steerer and down the left leg before popping out just above the brake caliper. The fork steerer’s flattened sides provide room for the rear brake hose and derailleur control lines to travel down and into the frame. Though it has flattened sides, the fork steerer is still compatible with standard 1 1/8” stems.

The overall drag reduction results in a bike that is 18 seconds per hour faster when climbing an 8.1 percent grade (the average grade of Alpe d’Huez ), and 60 seconds per hour faster on flat roads than the previous Émonda. Trek also claims the new Émonda is 13 seconds per hour faster than a Specialized Tarmac when climbing an 8.1 percent grade (all assuming the rider maintains a constant 350 watts).

Eight Point One Percent

With three qualities—aero, stiffness, weight—that work in opposition to each other, how do you decide how much to optimize one quality when you know it will negatively affect the other two? How aero is aero enough? At what point is improved aerodynamics offset by the weight added to get there?

The team behind the Émonda used a legendary climb to help them decide: Alpe d’Huez. “It represents an extreme example of what most people see on a regular basis when they’re doing a big climbing ride,” said Roessingh, “It’s around an 8 percent grade, and it’s about an hour-long climb for the pros—amateurs might go a little slower. It gives us a good understanding of what the benefit of a drag savings is relative to a weight savings.”

By optimizing the weight and aerodynamic balance around this climb, Roessingh claims the Émonda is faster on Alpe d’Huez and also faster on everything shallower than the famous climb, “which is the vast majority of the environments that most riders are going to ride in, including the team,” said Roessingh. “So if we can say it’s faster up Alpe d’Huez, it’s going to be significantly faster everywhere because the flatter it is, the more aerodynamics benefit you.”

Computer-Aided Optimization

Achieving the weight to the aerodynamic balance of the new Émonda required careful design of each tube shape. Aiding the Émonda’s team was supercomputing horsepower. The abridged and simplified version of the process goes like this: into the computer was fed a rough draft of the shape based on Trek’s aerodynamic experience and other information like UCI regulations. The program then varies the tube’s parameters within a predefined range and spit back several iterations of the shape, each with a different weight to aerodynamic balance. The Émonda’s team evaluated the alternatives and picked the one most suited to its location in the frame and best able to help the frame achieve its overarching goal.

Roessingh says that Trek cannot afford to buy the computing hardware necessary to run the CFD and FEA optimizations (in a timely manner) that helped shape the new Émonda’s tubes. The processing happens in the cloud where Trek rents time on Google, Microsoft, or Amazon’s supercomputers. It’s more affordable than buying a supercomputer. Even so, it is not cheap, “Cloud computing is becoming a relatively significant budget line item for us because we’re doing so many of these optimizations in CFD and FEA and all that processing happens in the cloud.”

The new Émonda’s fork legs, head tube, down tube, seat tube, and seat stays all use a variation of a truncated airfoil. The top tube and chainstays, which have virtually no effect on drag, are optimized almost entirely for stiffness to weight.

In Trek’s line, the new Émonda’s aerodynamic performance is equal to the third generation Domane ; the Madone is still significantly more aero. But while the more aerodynamic Madone is faster in flatter terrain, once the climb hits about 5.5 percent, the lighter Émonda becomes the faster bike. And for many of the Trek-Segafredo team riders—and many amateurs—that means the Émonda is fastest when it matters most: the hardest part of a race or ride, which is almost always on a steep climb.

OCLV 800 Carbon

Getting the new Émonda SLR to be as light as it is while adding aerodynamic shaping would not be possible without employing a new carbon-fiber composite, said Roessingh. The new OCLV 800 composite is 30 percent stronger than Trek’s previous top-of-the-line composite (OCLV 700). Because it is stronger, they can use less: By using OCLV 800, Trek’s team was able to make the Émonda SLR frame 60 grams lighter than if they used OCLV 700.

The Émonda SLR is very cool, but it’s also very expensive (bike prices start at $6,699). For the 99 percenters, there’s the Émonda SL (models start at $2,699).

The SL uses OCLV 500 composite, and the frame is quite a bit heavier than the SLR’s. The SL’s frame comes in at 1,142 grams, with a 380-gram fork (SLR fork weight: 365 grams).

But material (and weight) are the only difference between the SL and SLR.

Aeolus Bar Stem

While a ton of work made the Émonda’s frame tubes faster, a big chunk of the new bike’s drag savings comes from the one-piece Aeolus bar stem. It alone is responsible for 70 grams of the Émonda’s 183-gram drag reduction. This means that if a traditional stem and round bar are installed on the new Émonda, its drag advantage over the previous-generation bike drops to 113 grams. And it means that you can make any bike with a round bar and traditional stem significantly more aerodynamic by merely installing the Aeolus. Retail price is $650.

The integrated Aeolus is made of carbon-fiber composite, of course, with a claimed weight of 297 grams (42x120). It’s offered in 14 length and width combinations, from 44x120 to 38x80. Hoses, housing, and wires run externally for easier service and repairs, but in a groove that keeps them out of the wind. A bolt-on plate keeps the control lines tucked and organized where they turn off the bar tops to run in line with the stem.

The Aeolus employs a mount that works with Bontrager’s line of Blendr accessories for mounting computers and lights.

Aeolus 37 Wheels

Another new Bontrager product rolling out with the Émonda is the Aeolus 37 wheelset. It comes in two models: the Aeolus RSL 37 (1,325 grams/pair, $2,400) and the Aeolus Pro 37 (1,505 grams/pair, $1,300).

The RSL 37 is claimed to be lighter than Zipp’s 32mm-deep 202, yet more aerodynamic and more stable than Zipp’s 45mm-deep 303. Both wheels are disc brake only (only Center Lock interface), tubeless compatible, use DT-Swiss internals, have no rider weight limit, and come with a lifetime warranty.

Surprisingly Rider Friendly

Though the new Émonda is clean and integrated looking and uses high-performance standards, it is also remarkably rider-friendly. Cables, hoses, and housing run externally on the one-piece Aeolus bar/stem for easier repair and service (with one exception: wiring for a Shimano Di2 or Campagnolo EPS bar-end junction box runs partially inside the bar). If you prefer a more traditional cockpit, it can be run with a standard bar and stem with 1⅛-inch steerer clamp.

The bottom bracket uses the threaded T47 standard , which is compatible with almost all common crank-axle standards.

Front and rear thru-axles are standard 12x100 and 12x142mm, and the wheels employ a standard dish. The standard flat mounts for the brake calipers are compatible with 140, 160, or 180mm rotors.

Tire clearance is officially 28mm, but that’s with a ton of extra space. I fit 32mm tires in the Émonda with ease.

And though all models do use a seat mast, it’s a no-cut variety with lots of adjustment range.

H1.5 Geometry

Trek did offer its top-of-the-line race bikes in the aggressive H1 geometry for riders seeking an ultra-long and low geometry, or H2 which was an endurance fit. The new Émonda is offered only in H1.5, which splits the difference between H1 and H2. The result is pretty typical dimensions for a modern race bike—a 54cm Émonda H1’s geometry is remarkably similar to a 54cm Specialized Tarmac.

There are eight sizes starting at 47cm and topping out at 62cm.

There are 10 models of the new Émonda. SL models start at $2,699 and are priced up to $5,999. SLR models start at $6,699 and go up to $11,999.

Only SLR models come with the Aeolus integrated bar/stem stock; and only the Émonda SL 7 ($5,499) and up come with the Aeolus 37 wheelset.

The new Émonda is a disc brake-only platform.

Project One

The new Émonda is in Trek’s Project One paint and parts personalization program. If that’s not luxe enough for you, Trek’s Project One Ultimate program allows you to work with a designer to come up with a one-of-a-kind finish, and Trek will source any parts you want for your new bike.

Trek Émonda SLR 9 eTap

A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling , Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race. 

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• Trek Émonda S 5 2015

Bike summary

Bike components.

Ultralight 300 Series OCLV Carbon, ride-tuned performance tube optimization, E2, BB86.5, 3S chain keeper, DuoTrap compatible

Suspension Fork

Émonda carbon, E2

Rear Derailleur

Shimano 105

Front Derailleur

Shift levers.

Shimano 105, 11 speed

Shimano 105, 11-28, 11 speed

Shimano 105, 50/34 (compact)

Bottom Bracket

BB86/BB92, 86.5mm, press-fit

Bontrager R1 Hard-Case Lite, 700x23c

Bontrager Race Lite, 31.8mm, 7 degree

Bontrager Race, VR-C, 31.8mm

Integrated, cartridge bearings, sealed, 1-1/8" top, 1.5" bottom

Bontrager Paradigm 1

Bontrager Alloy, 2-bolt head, 27.2mm, 8mm offset

Bike geometry

About this model.

Émonda S 5 belongs to the Trek Emonda model. Trek released 251 bikes variations of this model so far. Check out the entire range from 2015 of this model, by clicking this link .

Make sure you wear a helmet on every ride, and that your bike performs well. In short, this means checking the tires, brakes, and chain to make sure everything is in good working order.

Average price for Race bikes

If you want an acceptable Race bike you should know that the average price is 3350 $ . However, you could also get a good Race bike even if you pay a lower amount than the average price. To make sure you don’t pay a higher amount than normal for your bike, always do some components analysis and read reviews.

Overview of components

Fork material.

When it comes to the fork, this bike has a carbon one, so, its weight is considerably lighter than one made out of steel. However, they cost a bit more than steel forks.

The Émonda S 5 2015 bike is equipped with 700c wheels when leaving the factory. There is no doubt, that 700c wheels are very popular on all road bike models. However, these wheels don’t perform so well when passing over obstacles.

Stopping the bike when needed, it’s essential for your safety. This bike has Rim brakes. Rim brakes are cheaper than hydraulic brakes, and also easier to maintain. However, they are not nearly as effective as hydraulic brakes are.

Trek Emonda models from 2024

Trek emonda models from 2023, trek emonda models from 2022, trek emonda models from 2021, trek emonda models from 2020, trek emonda models from 2019, trek emonda models from 2018, trek emonda models from 2017, trek emonda models from 2016, trek emonda models from 2015.

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Wind Tunnel tested: How much faster are aero wheels?

We put some deep-section wheels onto our 2015 Trek Emonda 'baseline bike' to see how close it gets to the fast bikes

Last month, the Cyclingnews tech team spent a day in the wind tunnel at the revered Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, putting the WorldTour's best superbikes through their paces in a head-to-head wind tunnel superbike showdown . 

Alongside the 11 superbikes, with their average price nearing £10,000, we also had our 'baseline' bike`: A 2015 Trek Emonda ALR complete with box section wheels, rim brakes, external cables, round handlebars, and absolutely no aerodynamic optimisation whatsoever. 

As you'd expect, it was slower than the superbikes. In the raw data, taking an average of the two rider-on-bike tests we did on the baseline bike (at the start of the day and again at the end), it was 23.06 watts 'slower' at 40km/h than the average result of our superbikes. What that means is if you were to try and ride at 40km/h, you'd need to put out 23 more watts on this bike than if you were on an average superbike. 

But all of our modern superbikes were equipped with deep-section aero wheels, so what happens if we swap out the wheels on our baseline bike for a similar option? We checked, of course.

We wanted to know how much difference the upgrade would make. Would it close that 25-watt deficit entirely? Would it make any difference at all? Is it a better bang-for-buck upgrade than, say, a new helmet? 

Also, if you own an old entry-level bike like our Emonda, is an aero wheelset upgrade a good place to spend your money, or do they just look cool? Let's dig into the test and find out.

Our wheelset of choice was a fairly budget-friendly option from a now-defunct British brand Prime, an RR-50 V3 model to be precise.

They were 50mm deep, with an internal width of 19mm, and we mounted the same 25mm Continental GP5000 S TR front tyre that was fitted to all other bikes on test by way of standardisation. Prior to the brand's closure, these wheels would retail for around £800.00 / $900.00. 

The results

We tested each bike at seven angles of yaw, which is the angle at which the wind hits the bike and rider. A yaw angle of 0 degrees means the wind is hitting the rider straight on; a perfect headwind if you will. A higher yaw angle means the wind is coming from the side on. 

In this case, we tested from -15 degrees (wind coming from the left side), through to +15 degrees (wind coming from the right), in five degree increments for a total of seven captures. 

The data provided by the wind tunnel is CdA, which stands for Coefficient of drag x Area. The drag coefficient reflects the shape and how easily air flows around an object, while the Area is simply its size. The lower the drag coefficient, or the smaller the object, the more easily it'll pass through the air and thus, the faster it will go for equal effort. 

What's really interesting is that the deeper wheels were actually slower at lower yaw angles. This is likely due to the wheels being significantly wider than our baseline wheels, and thus simply increasing the frontal area of the bike. 

However, as the wind comes from wider angles, the deep wheels come into their own, offering more of a 'sail' effect, catching the wind and helping to propel the rider forward. 

Having averaged the CdA values from the raw data, we found that with the deeper wheels, the rider-on-bike test provided a CdA of 0.3640. This is 0.0062 lower (and thus faster) than the baseline. 

When you take those CdA values and calculate the power required at 40km/h, we start to get an idea of the difference in a real-world setting. 

We can see here that our superbikes require an average of 282.41 watts to ride at 40km/h. Our baseline bike, as explained earlier, is 23.06 watts. Interestingly, the aero wheels don't close the gap very much at all. Ignoring our error margin (which we'll get to below), the aero wheels are worth just 5.89 watts.

To help contextualise that into the real world, that equates to a saving of 25 seconds over 40km if you were riding at 250 watts, or a speed gain of 0.24km/h for equal effort. If you increase your output to 350 watts, your speed gain climbs to 0.27km/h. 

However, importantly, once our error margin is taken into account, the wheels could actually be equal. The error margin for our test (which we calculated using the difference between the two tests on the identical baseline setup at the start and the end of our day), was 3.91 watts. 

As shown in the two bar graphs above, the error bars for the two relevant datasets overlap each other, so comparing the best-case scenario for the baseline bike with the worst-case scenario for the deep wheels, there's a possibility that the shallow wheels are faster. 

Of course, error margins can work both ways, so to flip that round and take the worst-case scenario for the baseline bike and the best-case scenario for the deep wheels, the difference could be as much as 13.7 watts at 40km/h. 

Statistically speaking, due to our error margin, we cannot conclude with absolute confidence that the deep-section wheels are faster than our shallow wheels. 

However, looking at the raw data and using common sense, we're reasonably confident that they are.

From a cost-per-watt point of view, it's notable that the difference is so small for an item so expensive. Using the raw data, the saving is less than six watts, and going off the retail price of £800 / $900, that's £133.33 / $150 per watt saved.

What's more, when we wind tunnel tested wheels in 2022, we found that the difference between the best and worst aero wheelset was just 3.87 watts and that there was no correlation with price. This tells us the additional savings to be found by upgrading to a 'premium' aero wheelset – instead of our budget-focussed Prime wheelset here – is also small. 

Perhaps most interesting of all, though, is that given most of the difference between our deep wheels and our shallow wheels is found at higher yaw angles, which are less common than low yaw angles, the real-world saving is likely even less. 

Of course, aerodynamic improvements aren't the only reason to buy a modern wheelset. Many of them are lighter in weight, wider and thus offer better handling, and more, but if your only motivation for wanting to upgrade to deep wheels is an aerodynamic gain, you should probably think again before investing all that cash... even though they do look cool. 

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Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews. 

On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.

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• Émonda SL 6 Disc Pro - 2022, 56cm

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How tall are you?

To measure your height, stand straight up, barefoot, with your back, heels, shoulders and head all touching a wall. While looking straight ahead, place a book or straight edge on your head and slowly push it against the wall. Your straight edge should be parallel with the floor. Mark the spot where the bottom of the book is touching the wall. The distance from the marked spot to the floor is your height.

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