2025 Trek Topfuel 9.9 Long Term Review

A couple of years ago I was doing a long-term review on the latest Trek Top Fuel, and the opening line talked about how many big changes had been made to the platform. This time around, the changes are much more subtle, as the bike seems to be settling firmly into the light trail category rather than the cross-country category in which it was born. How does it compare to the last generation? Let’s dive in to find out.

Geometry-wise, not much has changed compared to the previous version. Two generations ago, at 6 feet tall, I had to ride an extra large to get the appropriate amount of reach but, like the previous generation, I’m on a large now. The head tube angle drops to 65.5 degrees, not from a difference in the frame but from bumping the front fork up to 130 mm of travel, whereas the previous bike came outfitted with a 120 mm fork. We’ll talk more about the fork change later, as travel isn’t the only thing that changed. The reach has grown 22 mm out to 482 mm, a welcome change, as I prefer my bikes to be longer than most since my arms are disproportionately long for my body. The wheelbase has grown by 10 mm, as has the bottom bracket height. These changes are very hard to differentiate from the old frame.

One of the biggest selling features of the new Top Fuel is that the frame is 250 g lighter than the previous version. Lighter, stronger, stiffer: pretty standard claims across the board from any manufacturer these days. I know that in-frame storage can be divisive, but I am a huge fan of it. Not only did they retain it while making the frame lighter, there is quite a bit more of it, including a larger opening, which is great for accessing whatever you might have stowed inside. Making the frame lighter helps overall, but this bike has gained weight in other areas, much more than the 250 g they shaved off the frame. The frame can still only take one water bottle, which, as I’ve said in previous reviews, is a negative for me. I realize this is a limitation of the shock placement but at this point in time, I’d trade this suspension design for another water bottle, as this is a bike that is equally at home on rowdy trails as it is on epic endurance rides.

One of the biggest changes on the 2025 Top Fuel is that it now comes with a 130 mm RockShox Pike, whereas before it came with a 120 mm RockShox SID. This accounts for most of the geometry change and adds an extra 400 g of weight to the bike. Ouch. This is the move that firmly brings the bike into the trail category and out of the cross-country category in my eyes. The Pike is not only significantly stiffer, the damper is far more robust with proper tuning options. On the SID Ultimate, you could adjust preload with air and rebound. That’s it. If the stock tuning didn’t work from the factory, c’est la vie. Outside of the additional tuning options, what I noticed most with the Pike is how much better it handled small bumps on the trail. In Edmonton, our trails are about as rooty as you can get, and small bump compliance is a really big deal. With the front wheel being more planted through the smaller, rougher sections, you can maintain higher speeds with more comfort and control. The fork also feels like it dives less under heavy braking; this is likely due to the adjustable low-speed compression. Again, this is super noticeable on the Edmonton trail network, as our trails are very undulating with a lot of corners that require heavy braking.

The buttercups are a large part of why the fork feels so supple on the smaller bumps.

The rear shock, an Ultimate Deluxe, is effectively the same as it was on the previous Top Fuel. The shock performs quite well but is less adjustable than the piggyback-equipped shocks you’d find on the Fuel and other enduro bikes. I’ve never felt the need for extra tuning on rear shocks for my XC bikes, as I’m not a rider who spends a lot of time in the air or seeking out big drops. Around Edmonton, the shock never feels overworked and performs flawlessly. With that being said, when you’re in the mountains, the Top Fuel is so capable that it’s easy to find yourself on terrain where the shock starts to struggle. When the descents are long and rough, the shock does not feel as responsive. This is likely due to the minimal amount of fluid and air in the shock heating up, making the damper feel quite different. The Pike up front only encourages you to head to larger terrain, so it’s easy to see why some riders opt to put a piggyback-equipped shock on the back. The 120 mm of travel has never felt insufficient, and the bottom outs are soft enough that I can’t say exactly how many or how few I’ve had. I don’t even think about it, which speaks to how well the damping curve suits this bike.

High and Low geometry options available thanks to the flip chip.

Four pot brakes and 180mm rotors ensure lots of stopping power.

The groupset is the other large change on this model, as the bike comes equipped with SRAM Transmission. Typically, I buy XX-equipped bikes, but this year I decided to roll with the lower-tier XO. The extra couple thousand dollars for the few hundred grams saved just didn’t make sense to me, especially with the shifting performance being the same. The XO came with the same seatpost, bar, suspension, and wheels, so there was no other reason to consider stepping up to XX. I did add the XX power meter and a 34t chainring, as the 30t it came with doesn’t suit my riding style. The new Level brakes, formerly the Guide brake line, have been flawless, although I miss the pad contact adjust that my previous brakes had. This is nitpicking, but it should be mentioned, as that is one less adjustment you can make to really dial in the feel of the bike.

Notice how the hoses now come out inline with the bars. This keeps things nice and tidy looking and likely futureproof when the hoses get routed through the bars.

Initially, the shift performance of the groupset was extremely underwhelming. Sure, you could shift while sprinting, but if you needed to grab or drop more than one gear at a time, you’d need to schedule it in your calendar and plan for it. As I mentioned earlier, the trails in Edmonton are either straight up or straight down, so you’re always shifting through the entire cassette in a hurry. If you hadn’t ridden the previous generation AXS, you probably wouldn’t be as disappointed with the performance, as you wouldn’t be used to the shift speed. Thankfully, SRAM released a firmware update this fall that significantly improved shift speed. At last, the derailleur is shifting as fast as you’d expect an electronic one to. The firmware entirely changed how the bike felt, especially when riding at race pace. Being able to shift under load takes some time to get used to after years of easing off the pedals when you shifted. How much time this saves on the trails is hard to measure, but it does feel faster. The Reverb post is the older style, as the new version was released after the bike was shipped. I had a few issues with sag on my previous bike, but so far this post hasn’t exhibited any of those symptoms.

The wheels are one of my biggest gripes on the Top Fuel. They are Line Pro 30s, Trek’s enduro wheel. While this bike is capable of light trail riding, these wheels are absolutely overkill and really take away from how the bike could feel. Kovee Pro wheels, at least for Alberta riding, would be a much better choice. Despite being much lighter, they are still plenty strong and would really increase how snappy the Top Fuel can be. I’m running the same wheels that I had on my last bike, Kovee RSL. These are sub-1200 g wheels and have entirely changed how this bike feels, bringing it much closer to being an endurance XC bike than a light trail bike. Two generations ago, Trek specced the Kovee Pro wheels, and I’m really not sure why they’ve since changed this.

Other than the wheels, the only other thing I changed was the cockpit. The Top Fuel ships with a shorter stem with a rise which, if you’re using this as a trail bike, makes a lot of sense. I swapped it out for the more aggressive version with a negative rise and longer stem. This poses a bit of a problem, as Trek has removed Knock Block from this generation. This means the bars can spin all the way around, and with my lower stem, the shift pod hits the top tube. I’ve added a few layers of paint protection film here, and it has saved my bacon a couple of times, not when riding, but when I’m washing the bike and the bars spin around or the bike falls over trailside.

Armour from the factory gives you an idea of what they expect this bike to see on the trails.

With the Top Fuel being the next bike up in terms of travel and geometry after the Supercaliber, it has big shoes to fill in terms of the gap between this and the Fuel. If you’re looking for an all-out XC race bike, this is likely not the bike for you. It doesn’t come with remote lockouts and is a bit portly when you weigh it. With the RSL wheels, mine weighs just over 26 pounds with pedals. If you’re looking for a bike that is fast enough to chase cross-country KOMs on Strava while making the odd trip to the mountains, where the terrain is quite a bit gnarlier, then this would be a very good option for you.

Despite this generation of Top Fuel continuing to get slacker, it hasn’t given up any of its climbing prowess, and I believe this is largely due to the steeper seat tube angle. This really keeps your weight forward when the going gets vertical. The Pike is noticeably better when it comes to the slow speeds of climbing on technical terrain, thanks to its small bump sensitivity. With the previous generation, I found the SID fork to be harsh at the slower speeds associated with technical climbing.

The greatest strength of the current generation of Top Fuel is that it is extremely versatile. Wheels and tires can take this bike from a trail machine to an XC ripper. Trek has since released the Top Fuel RSL, which swaps out the 130 mm Pike for a 120 mm SID Ultimate with Flight Control, as well as adding Flight Control to the rear shock. The cockpit is swapped to what I changed mine to, and it comes with Kovee wheels, not Lines. Had this been an option available when I ordered my bike, I would have gone this route.

Where is the Top Fuel headed from here? I hope that they bring this bike closer to its XC roots, as the Supercaliber is a pure XC bike that I’d argue isn’t enough bike for modern XC courses, and the Top Fuel, without modifications, isn’t as racy as it could be. I look forward to seeing what they come up with, likely released in the fourth quarter of 2026 as a 2027 model.

Photos and words by Nick Croken

2025 Croken Classic

Halfway through the summer, we didn’t even know if we would be able to pull off the Croken Classic for 2025, so when it turned out to be the biggest year on record, we were thrilled. Our previous venue let us know that they were no longer renting to us, as their local pickleballers were not keen on us blocking their pickleball court that’s painted on the venue parking lot.

Sure, we could move to the other side of the lake where there are more venue options, but that would mean needing to reconstruct a route that took years to piece together, a task I did not have time to take on this summer. Thankfully, after a couple of phone calls, Rundle’s Mission, just 2 km from the old venue, was more than willing to work with us. The only downside was that it was booked for the first two weekends in October, which meant we’d be gambling with the weather on the third weekend of the month.

The forecast leading up to the event was, as always in October, quite dubious. After going through a summer where we went two months without any precipitation, it was no surprise that significant rainfall was supposed to hit the day of the event. Thankfully, that forecast vanished and was replaced with 70 km/h winds. The crowds didn’t seem to mind, as there was a massive increase in registration the week of the event. You can imagine how thrilled everyone was on race day when there was only 25 km/h of wind and nothing but sunshine.

In our typical fashion, we welcomed riders at Rundle’s Mission, where we signed racers on and then did our prizing. Yes, we do our prizing before the gun goes off. While there’s no doubt that the folks at the front are racing, many of our riders are out to enjoy the scenery or push their personal limits. In Alberta, the same few guys are always winning anyhow, and you can only have so much swag sitting on a shelf in your garage. This is why all of our prizing is given out at random, with every racer receiving a ticket with a number when they sign on. This gives everyone a fair chance of winning while also driving engagement with the sponsors, as racers have a chance to view the prizes before we begin the draws.

All smiles as I announce the draw prize winners

After the prizes were given out, the crowd started to gather at the start line. One of the unique aspects of the Croken Classic is that everyone starts together. We have a neutralized start to ensure that nobody pulls any tomfoolery while surrounded by over 100 other riders. This race is never won in the first 10 km anyway, no matter how hard people might try. This year, the pace was fast and furious from the third kilometer, earlier than ever before.

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PERSONAL RACE REPORT

Keep the pace high with a smile at the front

Racing this event is always a mix of emotions for me, as the days and minutes leading up to the gun going off are fraught with me doing my best to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. I try to greet as many people as possible as they arrive, ensure the venue setup is going smoothly, all while trying to shift my brain from race host mode to bike racer mode. This usually happens about thirty seconds before the race begins. Heading to the start line without a warm-up is always interesting, but I wasn’t too concerned, as the first 20 km of the race are usually pretty mellow.

The hurt was already setting in for some

That was not the case this year. The race was neutralized for the first mile until we crossed the large highway intersection. After that, all hell broke loose. Within seconds, the speeds were well over 40 km/h, and the watts were pumping. The wind was from the west, which was a saving grace for many riders, as the draft they were getting off the guys pushing the pace was much larger than if it hadn’t been windy.

There were many chase groups after Battle Lake

As soon as we pointed south, we were treated to a crosswind, and the first attack was launched. While I didn’t know the guys who made the move, I knew that with how the gravel and wind were this year, it wouldn’t stay away. Sure enough, about 10 km later, we had regrouped with the attackers. The next attack would no doubt come when we hit the 14% climb at the 28 km mark.

While I’ve attacked on this climb every year, it’s never stuck due to how fast the next 12 km are when in a group. I stayed at the front, staying on the attackers’ wheels in case we did manage to break away, but nobody seemed keen to keep the power down over the top. Heading into Battle Lake, the most beautiful part of the course, we were picking up speed again. There were four or five of us at the front driving the pace, and until I looked back, I had assumed that we were on our own. Looking behind me, I quickly realized that that was not the case. We kept the pace high to induce as much fatigue as possible into the legs of the guys hanging off our wheels.

The hill into Battle Lake is relentless.

So steep that people often have to walk it.

Following Battle Lake is about 9 km of rolling hills that never let up, and this year, we were riding directly into the wind for this entire section. This is where it was clear that the guys in the front were motivated to drop the rest of the group. We were taking turns cranking the power up, and it was working. Every crest in the road resulted in more dropped riders, which was just what we wanted. Following this section, we were treated to one of the few descents where we had a chance to recover before the next nasty climbs.

Dan indicating what was about to happen to the pace.

The four guys who’s attack I could not match.

On the next two big climbs, my race basically fell apart. In July, I was hit by a car while on a training ride, and the recovery process has been extremely slow. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to race this, and it was only a week before the event that my physio cleared me to try it out. The next attack, the one that would end up being the move that stuck for the three guys on the podium, went. I attempted to go with them, but the second I hit the big wattage, my lower back locked up. I tried again about 15 seconds later, but the result was the same. As I watched the guys ride away, I realized that I’d be riding with three of my best friends and a guy from Calgary. Not a bad way to spend the last 35 km of the race. When we realized that there was nobody in striking distance behind us, we decided to keep the tempo high and enjoy the rest of the day. We all rolled across the line within seconds of each other, leaving me with fifth on the day. Not what I had wanted, but better than expected given the circumstances.

RACE RECAP FINISHED

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1000m of climbing is the offical number but it really feels like 100km of climbing.

Following the race is always my favourite part of the event: the beer garden and burgers. The new venue, Rundle’s Mission, was perfect for this. Not only did we have more room for everyone, but their property is elevated, so everyone got to enjoy the amazing lake view. The post-race social is part of what separates the Croken Classic from any other race on the calendar. With everyone starting at the same time, the experience is truly shared. This was made clear after the race, as you could see racers socializing with folks who were out not for speed, but to push their limits or just enjoy the course. Experiences are best when shared, which was the whole reason behind starting the Croken Classic in the first place.

As I’m writing this, I’ve just been informed that the Croken Classic was voted the best gravel event in Alberta for the 2025 season. Without all of the riders, sponsors, and volunteers, Albert and I would never be able to pull this off. 2026 will mark the 10th anniversary of the event and the 5th year as an official event on the ABA calendar. We’ve taken all of your feedback to heart and look forward to hosting a better-than-ever Croken Classic. If you’d like to support the event in 2026, I’d love to chat with you more.

Thank you again,
Nick Croken

The sponsors for this year were

Hardcore Bikes

Trek

United Sport and Cycle

Blindman Brewing

Good Goods Co

Little Brick Cafe

Edmonton Road and Track Club

All photos taken by Cody Shimizu and the entire gallery can be seen here https://www.codyshimizu.com/croken-classic-2025

Gen 8 Madone SLR Longterm Review

Less than a year ago, I was writing about the seventh-generation (Gen 7) Trek Madone, wondering where Trek could possibly take the next generation. Having now spent a few thousand fast kilometers on the eighth-generation (Gen 8) Madone, I’m ready to dive into it for a proper review. To get an idea of where I’m coming from, you can read my reviews on the Gen 6 Madone SLR, Emonda SLR, and Gen 7 Madone SLR.  

When spy shots of this bike first started leaking, everyone, including myself, was expecting it to be the new Emonda based on how slim the tubes were and the fact that the Gen 7 hadn’t been out that long, whereas the Emonda was quite long in the tooth. The industry was shocked when Trek dropped the curtain and released it as a Madone. Immediately, the cycling community was up in arms, claiming that Trek had killed their aero bike in the name of one less bike in the lineup. Again, I was skeptical that this bike could hold a light to the Gen 7 Madone, especially considering how much I preferred the Gen 7 Madone over the Emonda SLR.  

It’s hard to beat Treks paint jobs.

The gold foil logos really pop.

By and large, the biggest change with the Gen 8 has been the reduction in the weight of the frame and fork. The Gen 7 SLR frame weighed in at 1,478 grams, whereas the new Gen 8 comes in at 1,146 grams. A 332-gram reduction is significant in the cycling world when you consider that people swap derailleur cages from plastic to carbon in an attempt to save grams of weight.  

Shy of the groupset, SRAM Force D2, and me bringing my RSL62 wheels over from my Gen 7 Madone, there are no other shared components on the bike. Everything has been redesigned and is a system that works together.  

The most noticeable difference for me between the previous-generation Madone and this one is that the frame transfers minimal road vibrations through to the rider. The Gen 7 was not uncomfortable at all—in fact, I found it to ride almost as comfortably as the Gen 6 with the infamous IsoSpeed. IsoSpeed started as a way to dampen road vibrations without affecting the stiffness of the bike. On the Gen 6 Madone, that resulted in a cloud-like feel but at the cost of a heavy, complex system that often failed. The revised IsoFlow has been made a fair bit more svelte than before, introducing more dampening qualities without sacrificing stiffness when you’re putting power down. When IsoFlow first came out, I wasn’t entirely sold on it, but that changed after experiencing multiple IsoSpeed failures on my Gen 6 Madone and Checkpoint SLR. IsoFlow has been trouble-free on both of the bikes that I’ve owned with it.  

Weight reduction has been taken to the extreme, right down to the axles

The bike comes with one, removable 5 mm tool that takes care of the common bolts on the bike.

They are using a similar seat clamp system to the previous generation bikes.

With how light Trek has managed to make this frame, I was worried that it would ride more Emonda-like than Madone-like. The Emonda was feather-light, but it didn’t handle sprints with high power well at all. I was happy to be proven wrong. After a few sprints and hill repeats, it was clear that despite its new form factor, this bike was every bit a Madone. This is largely due to how beefy the bottom bracket area of the bike is, as if it were transplanted from the Gen 7.  

The one-piece cockpit looks nearly identical to the previous generation, visually. The only change is that the flat portion of the bar is just a bit thicker and is said to help with airflow. Similar to before, and not unlike what we’re seeing on other superbikes on the market, the handlebars are narrower at the hoods than at the drops. Fear not—they are not flared to the same degree as many gravel bikes. I opted for the cockpit that was 39 cm at the hoods and 42 cm at the drops. This is largely where the aero gains are happening on modern bikes, as the UCI rules prevent dramatic frame changes. I’ve enjoyed the narrower cockpit so much that I ordered the same one for my Checkmate (review to come). With the slightly thicker bars, Trek created a lower spacer for their bars that allows riders to replicate the same position as their Gen 7, as the new cockpit sits about 5 mm higher. I opted to fit this on my bike as I prefer my bars as low as possible.  

Moving behind the cockpit, Trek has outfitted the Madone with an Aeolus saddle. I’ve said it before and will say it again—this is the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden. I have one on my Checkmate as well as my Kickr bike, with a high probability of putting one on my Top Fuel. Unlike most saddles, where you want it to be level, this saddle needs to have the nose down a pinch—4 degrees in my case. The snub nose allows for a much more natural hip angle when you’re in a low position, and for me, this has translated to more power for longer when in the aero hoods position.  

If you buy the bike as a complete build, Trek includes a computer/light mount, which is easily the sleekest solution I have ever seen. It’s light aluminum yet still rock solid. If you’re buying the cockpit independently, you’ll need to buy this separately. Considering the cost of the cockpit, it’s a bit surprising that the mount isn’t included—it seems like a small but valuable addition that would enhance the experience.

Earlier, I mentioned how Trek has created the new Madone to work as a system, which brings me to the most polarizing feature on the bike: the custom-tailored bottles and cages. These special bottles and cages, included on the SLR models but not the SL models, save you a few watts as they create a foil when matched with the down and seat tubes. In my experience, these bottles are not practical at all for training rides. Not only are they small, at less than 600 ml, but the opening on them is so tiny that I needed to 3D print a special funnel just to get my carb mix into the bottles. Another issue is that they don’t stand upright, so if you’re filling them with mix, you need a third hand as they don’t stand on their own. My first three bottles also leaked, which I discovered when I went to take them out of the fridge before my ride—my drink mix had leaked out and made a mess.  

About the only way you can get the bottles to stand up.

Thankfully, these cages also hold normal round bottles, and they do a great job of it. For anyone with an SL model bike, save your $300 and get normal cages and bottles—you won’t notice a difference on your rides.  

As I’ve done with my previous road bikes, I opted to stick with SRAM Force and not bump up to Red. The price difference for the negligible weight savings has not been worth it for me. The gearing up front is a 48/35 combination, which is plenty for most people. A 10-33 cassette came with the bike, which I would typically swap to a 10-28. I’ve been running the 10-33, and except for slightly larger gear steps near the top of the cassette, it allows me to stay in the big ring for most of my riding, which is great.  

The bike ships with Aeolus Pro 51 wheels, which are a great all-rounder, and if I didn’t have a set of RSL 62 wheels to put on the bike, I’d have no issues running the stock 51s. Both of these wheels have internal widths of 23 mm, which is perfect for running higher-volume tires. Officially, Trek says you can fit 32 mm tires on the Madone, but I’ve seen countless photos of pros running larger tires on cobbled courses.  

RSL Aeolus tires come equipped on Trek’s latest road bikes, and for the first time, I haven’t ditched them for another tire. At last, Trek’s OEM tire offering is one that you actually want to run. In fact, it’s currently testing as the best race tire over at Bicycle Rolling Resistance. Having run a lot of high-end tires over the years, these compete with or outperform any that I’ve ridden. They feel most similar to the Vittoria Corsa Pro tires, without being as delicate.  As you can see, I had Corsa Pro Tires on when these photos were shot as they were nearing the end of their life. I have the RSL tires on now and plan to run them for the foreseeable future.

With all of that said, where does that leave us with the bike? I believe this Madone is the most complete race bike Trek has ever released. You get all the speed of an aero bike, the svelte weight of a climbing bike, and the comfort of an all-road bike. Sure, the haters will say the Gen 7 Madone was faster because it had deeper-profile tubes, but this has not proven to be the case. If you have any doubts about what I’ve said in this review, go test-ride one of these machines—I assure you, there isn’t much out there that can compete with it.

If you’re in Canada and looking to pick one up for yourself, reach out to the fine crew over at Hardcore Bikes.

All photography and writing by Nick Croken /Redline Photography

Jasper Vision Quest Gravel Ride

Every year, I cook up a ride for our group that should be challenging and leave us in shambles by the end of it. Last year, we did all of the paved climbs in Jasper which netted 203 km and over 3000 m of climbing in under 7 hours (https://www.strava.com/activities/9328353662.) This year, I wanted to return to Jasper and do something bigger, better, and harder. Since we had ridden all the roads the previous year, a gravel ride was the only logical choice. I started looking at maps and realized that the gravel riding in Jasper was more akin to old-school mountain biking. No problem! We often joke that our gravel bikes are akin to 90s mountain bikes so what could go wrong? It was at this stage that any one of my friends probably should have spoken up about the silliness of the planned route and saved us all some suffering. Alas, I’m in the company of fools, and no such logic was applied.

The route overview

Before I get into how the day went, I’ll give you a breakdown of the gear that I used on the ride.

Trek Checkpoint SLR (review here)

Bontrager Aelous RSL 37V wheels

43 Panaracer Gravelking SS (review here) with Cushcore inserts (review here)

Force AXS Xplr with a 40t chainring. Normally, I run a 44t or 46t but was wishing for smaller than a 40t on this ride

3 bottles on the bike and one in my jersey with my homemade sports drink (100g carbs/bottle)

Homemade pizzas and Fruit source bars in the frame bag for extra calories.

The route started at our site in Wapiti campground, then made back towards Snake Indian Falls; from there, we headed up the valley, checked out the falls, and came back towards town. Next we rode up Signal Mountain to where the old fire lookout tower was, quickly descended and rode across the valley to ride up to the Palisades lookout on Pyramid mountain: 200km and 4000m of elevation, let’s go.

We started at 7 am, which in retrospect, wasn’t early enough to beat the heat or get back to camp at a reasonable hour. All of us were checking forecasts, largely to get a sense of the heat we’d be dealing with throughout the day as that would dictate hydration and fueling strategies. There was no rain in the forecast which was a nice change from the previous year where we skirted storms the whole day.

We rolled out of camp with our spirits high and the pace on the tame end of the spectrum despite a subtle push from the westerly winds. Knowing that pacing was going to be one of the make-or-break variables for the day kept us all in check. The pavement was buttery smooth as we rode along Highway 16 toward the Snaring Campground turnoff. This was exactly the warm-up that we needed for the rest of the day. Soon after you cross the Snaring River bridge, the pavement quickly turns to gravel and the fun begins. Should you want to skip the ride from town, you could park here.

A rare one of me on the bike.

As you head up the gravel road, you’re treated to views of what is left of the forest after the Chetamon wildfire that happened in 2022. As scary as it is to imagine the road during the fire, the beauty of the emerging wildflowers and fresh growth is undeniable. The gravel through this section is delightful for the most part with some incredible vistas as you move further east. Having not seen the valley from this side before, we were all awestruck by the views. Had we not known where we started, this could easily have passed for an alpine road in Europe. Remember how there was no rain in the forecast? The radar was wrong and we had three rain storms converge on us as they came down the valleys.

Despite the hot weather, hydration was not something we struggled with.

Eventually, you dip down to Snake Indian River where you’re treated to a great view from the bridge. After the bridge, the adventure gets started. The trail is a variety of double and singletrack, none of which were too much for our gravel bikes. While there are a few climbs as you work North towards the falls, none of them are overly challenging. What was challenging were the 35 downed trees (yes, we counted,) that we had to hump our bikes over on the way up and down. These trees added approximately 45-60 minutes as we were unable to build momentum.

There was some interesting terrain along the way. You can see the logs on the right side that will be used to make a bridge for this washout.

As you approach the falls, there is a lovely creek where you can fill up your bottles. I’d have no hesitation drinking straight from this creek due to the volume of water and where it comes from but you may want a filter or tabs, just to be safe. 

You meander in and out of the trees across the most interesting terrain, including skirting the river at times. Boredom is not an issue. You’ll know that you’re approaching the falls as you can feel them before you hear or see them. Descending to the falls on our gravel bikes was possible but I’d suggest most riders leave their bikes up top as this is not where you want to go over your bars.

After a quick walk over to the falls and a few downed snacks and bottles, we started making our way back down to the gravel road. This is where the downed trees slowed us down more than expected. While the terrain isn’t buttery smooth, you would be able to ride quite quickly, even on gravel tires. 

Thanks for the photo, Isaac.

The descent out of Snake Indian River was pretty uneventful as the pace was kept in check by trees which allowed us to digest the food we crushed at the falls. From here, we rode the same gravel back to the highway. Despite being an out-and-back, the gravel rode entirely differently than on our way out. The views heading west were just as spectacular and the climbs felt a bit more technical in this direction.

The expected easy pedaling on the highway was, unfortunately, negated by a 40 km/h headwind. It was at this point that we had the first glimpse of our bodies being more tired than we had anticipated. Turning off the highway and towards Maligne Lake brought us towards our next objective: Signal Mountain.

Thankfully, Nina met us here so that we could top off our bottles, grab more food, apply fresh sunscreen, and possibly most importantly, reapply chamois cream. The terrain we had just come off, while rough, was no match for what we’d be heading up.

We knew that Signal was going to be tough as it’s typically done on a mountain bike, likely for the gearing. With an average gradient over 9% for 10 km, we were in for a treat. While there is some shade, this climb is largely in the sun, which at this point had our Garmins reading north of 30 degrees. We quickly settled into our granny gears and got to work. The Jasper trail crew was leapfrogging us, clearing downed trees as quickly as possible, which was greatly appreciated. As you can see in the video, this climb is largely treed in on decent gravel and grass until you pass the tree line. You’re instantly treated to an alpine meadow filled with wildflowers and views. The terrain flattens out and you can almost enjoy the push to the summit where you can take in Jasper townsite from an entirely different perspective. At the top of this climb, the talks of not doing the next climb, the Palisades, were rampant. Everyone was feeling the effects of the heat and our legs were on fire. Descending Signal was about as much fun as climbing up it was. Usually, descents are rewards for the climbing portion, but when you’re on a gravel bike descending a mountain bike trail, they feel more like a punishment for sins committed in previous lives. If there was a part of your body that wasn’t sore on the way up, rest assured, it will hurt on the way down. I’ve never experienced such wild discomfort in my wrists and hands before, not even when riding downhill bike parks.

Isaac on the way up.

At the Signal parking lot, I managed to convince Rob, Steve, and Isaac that we should pedal over to Pyramid Lake, just to have a little looksie at the Palisades climb. Once we were up the road, a little bit of sweet talking had the guys joining me on the final climb. That’s about where the sweetness ended for the rest of the ride. On paper, Signal and the Palisades look similarly difficult in terms of distance and elevation; in reality, they hit differently. There are a few flatter sections as you head up the Palisades which feel great until you realize that the average gradient can’t be cheated and that you’re going to pay for the flat spots. Sure enough, the sustained 18% grades hit and we were running on overdraft. Unlike Signal, which is fairly gravel bike-friendly in terms of the trail, the Palisades were pretty gnarly near the top with large sections of baby head rocks and extremely loose gravel. You desperately wanted to stand up but then you’d be out of traction. For both Signal and the Palisades, I averaged 48 rpm and 260w which seemed to be the minimum to keep the bike upright. There were sections where walking likely would have been the smart move but at this stage of the ride, any sense of smart was long gone and my stubbornness kept me on the bike. As we neared the top, the trail narrowed to a tunnel of trees which had us on our toes as there was no shortage of fresh bear droppings the entire way up the mountain. In fact, on our descent, we saw droppings that had been deposited within 5 minutes of us passing by on the way up. Perhaps it was due to our mental and physical state at this point but the views from the top were not quite as spectacular as the ones we were treated to on Signal. There were also a wild amount of mosquitoes which none of us had patience for at this stage of the ride. With the sun starting to dip, we cautiously and again, painfully, descended back towards Pyramid Lake. This is where a mountain bike would have been great as the descent was quite a bit more rough than Signal and took its toll on our tired bodies.

The top of the Palisades.

Smiles? Grimaces? We’ll never know.

Hitting the smooth pavement for the 10 km back to camp was one of the most glorious feelings I’ve had on any ride. It was essentially downhill all the way back to our camp on roads that didn’t hurt any part of our battered bodies.

Smiles the whole way back to camp.

We rolled into camp just before 9 pm which netted us a 14h elapsed time with 12h of that, moving. This had been the most tiring ride of our lives and it was finally over. To say that the beer tasted better than after any other ride would be putting it lightly.

So, would I do this ride again, all at once? Hell no. Not a chance. This was a one-and-done for all of us. The terrain was much, much harder than anticipated and two of the climbs would’ve been much better with a mountain bike. I would gladly ride the Snake Indian Falls portion of the ride again as it was some of the best gravel terrain that I’ve had the pleasure of riding. You can check out the ride with all of the data on Strava here, and should you feel like taking yourself to a different level of fatigue, help yourself to the route.

Support provided by Hardcore Bikes in Edmonton and Trek Bikes.

All words and photos (except where indicated) are by Nick Croken www.redlinephoto.ca

The video of the adventure can be found below.

Gen7 Madone SLR Long-Term Review

Two and a half years ago, I had my first experience with a Trek Madone SLR. Back then, I had been waffling between the Madone and the Emonda but ultimately, I ended up with the Madone. I’m now writing about the Gen7 Madone SLR from a place of privilege, having spent serious time on the Gen6 Madone, which you can read about here and last season on the Emonda SLR, which you can read about here.To put it simply, the Gen7 Madone is the best of both worlds. With the price remaining the same as the previous bike at $11,949, you’re getting a lot of bike for the money.

Unlike the first time I reviewed a Madone, where I had come from mid-tier bikes, I was now coming from world tour racing machines. My expectations were extremely high as my previous Madone was an incredible machine and, as a skeptic, I was still determining if the changes made to the new generation would be noticeable.

The first and most obvious change is that Trek has removed the adjustable isospeed system from the bike and replaced it with a much more simple design, IsoFlow. The Isospeed is what made the ride quality of the previous Madone so special. You had a bike that was stiff when you were out of the saddle yet as smooth as an endurance bike with high-volume tires. The cost of that was weight and complexity. My first Madone had a defect with the isospeed that required the frame to be replaced. While Trek, as always, was quick to fix the issue, having to get a frame replaced is never ideal. Trek suggests that isoflow feels similar to the Gen6 isospeed when in the firmest setting and I would agree with that. The Gen6 was likely the most comfortable bike I’ve ridden when it was in the softest setting, not what you’d expect from a race bike. With that being said, the Gen7, while firmer, is still significantly more comfortable than the Emonda SLR. The roads in Alberta are atrocious at the best of times which only amplifies frame comfort, one way or another. The lack of isospeed also shaves about 250g off of the frame weight, a rather significant mass.

There’s not much bike exposed to the wind.

Isoflow makes the bike that much faster, right? Not quite. While they claim there are aerodynamic benefits from the isoflow, most of the aerodynamic gains are from the new cockpit. Like most top-tier road bikes, the Madone comes with a one-piece bar/stem combo with fully hidden cables (sorry mechanics!) Where the new cockpit differs is that the hoods are narrower than the drops by 3 cm. Ew, flared bars, right? Wrong. Unlike gravel bars, your wrists will be in a neutral position and the only thing you’ll notice is the increased wrist clearance when sprinting from the drops. I was very skeptical of this having always ridden 42cm bars, 39cm hoods seemed incredibly narrow. Much to my surprise, I fell in love with the narrower hoods immediately (Cody at Flexion Bike Fit is likely saying, I told you so.) Not only are the bars more comfortable but they shave a claimed 19w of drag off compared to the Gen cockpit. With all of that being said, you need to make sure that the cockpit sizing will work for you when you order the bike, if not, talk to the shop about swapping it out for one that fits. At nearly $1000 to order a new cockpit, you want to be sure it’s going to work for you.

You can opt for a traditional top cap, should you be experimenting with needing spacers under the stem.

The geometry, outside of the cockpit is Treks H1.5, which is standard across the entire Madone and Emonda line-ups. In the past, Trek had included the short seat mast on the 56 cm frames which meant that I had to spend another $400 for the long version. Thankfully, they are now shipping 56 cm and larger frames with the taller mast. While Trek suggests that I should be on a 58 cm frame, I do not believe that that is correct. Having worked with a bike fitter, there is no way that I can get the position that I need, on a frame that is that large as the stack height is too tall. With that being said, at 6’ tall with a saddle height of 800 mm, I am approaching the limit of the seat mast height, thanks to my long legs. As per usual, I suggest that you get a bike fit before dropping a large sum of money on any bike.

The seat mast utilizes a flip clamp which gives you a much broader size range than the previous seat mast system on the Gen6 Madone.

The Aelous is still my favourite saddle to date

The Gen7 Madone feels great when sprinting, which was one of my biggest complaints with the Emonda. The Emonda always felt skittish under power whereas the Madone is rock solid. The easiest way for me to explain it is that it feels like driving a car with a lot of downforce, the more power you put through the bike, the more planted it feels. Despite being an aero-focused bike, I have been pleasantly surprised with how smooth it rides over our less-than-ideal roads. Very little chatter makes its way through the bike to the rider, a nice change from the aero bikes of yesteryear. Trek Lidl raced Madones this year during the Paris Roubaix, the roughest course on the entire calendar.

Similar to my previous two bikes, I opted for Sram Force again to take care of drivetrain duties. I’ve found Force to be the sweet spot in terms of weight and value as grams saved by going up to Sram Red aren’t worth it. Curiously, Trek specs their bikes with 10-33 cassettes which I’ve always found to have fairly large gaps compared to the 10-28 counterpart. If the Madone were supplied with 50/37 chainrings and not the 48/35 combination, I would’ve kept the 10-33, instead, I swapped it out for a 10-28. The dual-sided Quarq powermeter that comes with the bike is also brilliant. It’s great to see most bikes coming with powermeters these days, especially with most road riders not willing to ride without one.

Dual-sided power is always nice to have

The stock wheels that come with the SLR7 builds are Aeolus Pro 51s. These are significantly different from the previous generation, Aeolus Pro 5s. The Pro 51s now have a 23 mm internal width which is great as the trend for high volume tires continues. Not only are these wheels wider but the profile on them is much more ellipse-like than previous wheels. The lack of brake tracks has allowed wheel manufacturers to further optimize the wheels for crosswinds, a difference that is immediately noticeable if you have had the chance to ride the wheels back to back. I’ve been running my RSL62s since the day I picked the bike as they are a bit faster, and to me, really round out the look of the bike. They share the same ellipse cross-section and internal width of the Aeolus Pro 51s which means they handle crosswinds significantly better than most wheels, despite being 62 mm deep.

Redline Photo 2023

Trek has, for some reason, equipped the bike with tubed, 25 mm tires. Those were the first things to go. I swapped on 28 mm Panaracer Agilest tires (review here) and ran them tubeless. At this point, the time spent setting up tubeless tires pales compared to the convenience of not having flats on rides. I’ve finished rides and it wasn’t until I was washing the bike afterward, that I noticed sealant on my downtube or seat tube from a puncture that sealed without me noticing it.

Just for fun, I tried another set of wheels with 32 mm Gravelking Slicks on them, that measured 34 mm. Shockingly, there was at least 5 mm clearance, measured, around the frame and fork.

The fork is even more aero than the previous generation.

Since I don’t have a wind tunnel to test for absolute values on whether or not the bike feels faster than the gen6, you’ll have to take my word for it. Most of the gains on this generation of the Madone are made through the revised cockpit, which, in theory, you could retrofit to a Gen6 Madone. Riding at 45 km/h is where you really feel the speed that this bike is capable of. With drag being exponential, the higher speeds are where this bike shines. That isn’t to say that it’s not comfortable loping around at 30 km/h, it just feels at home the faster you go. Compared to the Emonda, the Madone is in a different league when you’re at the front, eating wind. The Emonda was quick but I certainly had to work harder at higher speeds, despite using the same RSL 62 wheels on both bikes. 

The view that most people will see if you’re on one of these machines

With the addition of the SL models of the Madone being released now, there is a price point for nearly everyone to get onto one of these superbikes. When you drop down to the SL model, the frame uses 500 series carbon instead of 800, you get a two-piece cockpit instead of an integrated one, and the groupsets available are either Shimano 105 or Rival. The wheels remain the same though.

Would I buy the Madone again? Absolutely. With many brands combining their climbing and aero bikes into a singular model, it’s great to have a dedicated aero bike for those who want it. At 17lbs, ready to ride, the Madone is less than a pound lighter than my Emonda which had the same build kit, virtually nothing, when you factor in rider weight. If you’re a club rider who loves to go fast or race at the top of your category, you won’t be disappointed with the speed you’ll gain on this bike.

For more information, check out https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/madone/c/B213/ and if you’re looking to pick one up and are in Canada, give the fine folks at Hardcore Bikes a call and they’ll take care of you!

Images and words by Nick Croken / Redline Photography

Mount Broadwood Gravel Traverse

Our stop in Elko, British Columbia, was initially intended as an overnight stay on our road trip heading north. The day before, we had spent a glorious day mountain biking in Fernie with some friends and were chugging along on our road trip. Ioverlander, our go-to app for finding unique camping spots outside of campgrounds, recommended a perfect riverside spot in Elko for an overnight stay.

As we were sitting by the river, I was browsing various mapping apps to see if the closed road beside us led anywhere that could be worth exploring. At sunset, we walked up the road for about a kilometer to see if the chunky, baby-head-sized gravel improved. Unfortunately, it didn’t, but the presence of a road at some point was sufficient for my exploration. The next day, we were heading to mountain bike in Cranbrook so I’d be getting up early to get this ride in and hope that nothing went wrong as the route I had mapped out would leave me without cell service and far from any proper road where I could be picked up.

Our cute, camper alarm system.

Following a quick breakfast, I geared up and hoped for the best, considering there wasn’t even the slightest glow on the Strava heatmap for the area I was heading to. As expected, the initial climb on the large rocks proved to be quite challenging, as gearing down wasn’t an option due to how loose the rocks were. If you were mid-ride and came across rocks like this, it would be very disheartening. Luckily, the chunky gravel does become more manageable to the point where you can actually enjoy the ride!

The views on this ride kick off within the first 250 meters. As the terrain pitches up, you gain the ridge that follows the river. As this is an abandoned section of road, there are no guardrails or anything like that, so you’ll want to proceed with caution if you’re looking to peer over the edge.

At 5 km, there is a fork with a “road” that goes down and to the right and another “road” that is gated and trends up to the left. Stay left or you’ll shed elevation quickly and be off course. After this fork, the gravel road quickly deteriorates into more of a OHV trail that seems to lead into the middle of nowhere. This is where wider gravel tires are going to be your best friend, as it’s very much so “unmaintained”, as you can see in the photos. When you’re not picking your line through the varying terrain, you’ll be blown away by the vistas you’re riding into.

Despite being only 10 km from a major road, the sense of remoteness is tangible, as if transported to a different planet—a planet with prime gravel bike terrain. If you’re up here, you should plan to be self-sufficient in terms of bike repair because there is no shortcut out of here!

At this point in the ride, you’re starting to come around the backside of Mount Broadwood and the scenery just keeps getting better. After you pass through a meadow, you’ll start losing elevation as you descend off of the ridge you’ve been on. This descent will likely feel spicy for most people on gravel bikes and is a large reason you want higher-volume tires for this ride. I would strongly discourage you from riding this portion on something like a CX bike with 33 mm tires.

After negotiating a couple of washouts, you’ll find yourself on a more trafficked trail nearing the forestry road. A few people were hiking in with fishing gear but that was about it. You’ll pass through another gate and pop out onto a very well-maintained gravel road. If you were simply riding this as an out and back to this point, I would say that a mountain bike would be the tool for the job as the loose descents you just finished would be very challenging on a gravel bike.

The hard work of the route is over now and it’s time to enjoy some fast, smooth gravel. This is an active logging road, based on the signage that I saw in the area, so be prepared for truck traffic. On roads like this, it’s best if you pull off the road and give the trucks room. If there is a lot of dust kicked up, wait a minute or two to let it settle as truckers are not expecting cyclists on a road like this. I didn’t see a soul on this road but that could’ve just been luck, as when I got back to our camper, we noticed an uptick in trade traffic.

Should you find yourself passing through this area of British Columbia with your gravel bike in tow, I strongly recommend checking out this route. You get all of the aspects of a big adventure ride despite the loop only being 43 km long. I’ve since spent more time mapping out the roads in the area and there is a lot of potential to link this route up to Fernie or to head east and have a beautiful 160-180 km day on the bike. Again, if you’re riding in this area, and have everything you need for the full-day in terms of water, food, and repair tools; nobody is going to be able to help you but yourself if you get into trouble.

I ran 43mm Panaracer Gravel King SS tires on this ride and my gearing was a 46t chain ring with a 10-44 cassette. There are some sections on the route where you’ll likely want a smaller chainring so that you can enjoy the steep sections.

For those interested in my ride, you can view it on Strava here or the Strava route here.

As always, explore and enjoy at your own risk,

Nick

2023 Trek Emonda SLR Review

When I started the review for my Madone SLR two years ago, the big decision at the time was whether or not I should have bought the Emonda SLR. Now, I’m writing from the privileged place of having ridden the Gen6 Madone SLR, the current Gen Emonda SLR, and a Gen7 Madone SLR. In the fall of 2022, I sold my Gen6 Madone, with the hopes of ordering a Gen7 Madone. Unfortunately, pandemic supply chain issues were still a factor, so I used the opportunity to pick up a 2023 Emonda SLR 7 AXS to hold me over. With the Emonda being $100 less expensive than the Madone at $11,899 cad, price will not be a deciding factor between the two bikes.

The Emonda’s claim to fame over the Madone is that it is quite a bit lighter. As I transferred my RSL 62 wheels over from my Madone, the weight difference ended up being just over a pound. While that sounds like a lot on its own, it’s very minor when you look at system weight, the combined weight of the rider, and the bike. In my case, the difference between the Madone and Emonda, when looking at system weight, was only half a percent. Your weight is going to vary daily, far more than that based on hydration levels alone! I fully realize that at 79 kg, I’m not built like a cyclist who wins mountain stages. For the 50-55 kg riders, the system weight difference will be more noticeable. I’ll touch more on how the weight affects the rider later in the post.

The Emonda SLR was designed to be much more aero than the previous generation. How much more aero? We will never know because Trek hasn’t released the white papers with that data, and only speaks to the claims on certain real-world climbs. The fork has become more bladed, similar to the Madone’s, and the downtube has taken on the kammtail design that Trek made famous generations ago with the Madone.

You can clearly see the Kammtail shapes on both the down and seat tubes.

The Emonda SLR comes with a new, single piece cockpit with hidden cables, this is another area where the bike has become more aero. The previous generation had partially exposed cables which recent wind tunnel testing has shown to be a much larger cause of drag than you would expect. One perk of the cables not going through the stem is that it makes packing the bike for travel into bike bag much easier. Before you buy an Emonda or any other bike with an integrated cockpit, get a bike fit. With cockpits costing $700 or more and having to cut brake hoses to route them through the bars, you want to be sure the cockpit your bike is coming with is going to work for you.

The brake hoses both enter through the head tube.

I chose, as I always do, the Sram Force AXS kit. This was the original Force AXS as the new version had not been released yet. This bike was also the first one that I had an issue with AXS. The rear derailleur servo stripped out in 500 km. In tens of thousands of kilometers on AXS, this was my first issue. Once that was resolved, the groupset was predictable and left me wanting nothing. The bike did come with a 10-33t cassette which I changed to a 10-28t to reduce the steps between gears. In the photos, you can see that I also added wire blips, allowing me to shift from the drops during sprints. Another perk of the AXS groupset is that it comes with a dual-sided, spider-based power meter. I’ve used Quarq products for years and have never had any issues with their reliability or accuracy. 

Wired shift blips allow shifting from the drops during sprints.

Despite all of the photos of the bike being with the Bontrager RSL 62 wheels, it came with Aelous Pro 37 wheels. These are a 37 mm deep wheel measuring 21 mm internally which means you get a great tire profile with 28 or 30 mm tires. Unlike the previous generation of wheels, these now come with Dt Swiss 350 hubs. While the star ratchet is only 18t, this system is much better than any pawl-based hub. Should you find that 18t isn’t fast enough engagement on the road (I doubt you will), you can easily upgrade this by ordering a 36 or 54t ratchet upgrade kit that doesn’t require tools to change. At 1505 g, they aren’t ultralight but they are no slouch in the weight department. I swapped my RSL 62 wheels over to this bike as there was no weight penalty, they are more aero, and they look great. I’m a sucker for deep wheels on traditionally shaped frames and that will likely never change.

As you may have noticed in the photos, I am not running the stock tires. Trek has, for some reason, not changed the tires that they have been shipping their bikes with in years. The wheels coming on their bikes are tubeless ready, designed around 28 mm tires and yet, they ship the bike with tubed 25 mm tires. With the new wheels being optimized for 28 mm tires, there is no scenario where someone would run a 25 mm tire. The Emonda frame, while officially limited to 28 mm tires, has ample clearance for 30-32s while still having the 4 mm of clearance on either side that Trek abides by.

The head tube is very similar to the current Madone frame.

With that out of the way, we can jump back to talking about the frame. At 1141 g for the frame and fork, this is a light frame. As you’ve likely noticed by now, Trek has opted for the traditional double triangle frame whereas most other brands have opted for dropped seat stays. With traditional seat stays, you end up with a stiffer frame with much less flex in the seat tube area. Quite simply, that means you’ll be feeling more road chatter through the bike than most dropped seat stay designs. While the Gen6 Madone had Isospeed, which was heavy, it was unbelievably comfortable on the rough roads here in Alberta.

While I found the bike less compliant than my Madone, that stiffness was lost when it came to sprinting. The Emonda was never built to be a sprinters bike but the lack of stiffness for high wattage efforts caught me off-guard. During both finish line sprints and sharp kicks up hills, I found the Emonda wandering around on the ride whereas the Madone tracked perfectly straight. This meant that instead of focusing on pouring all of my energy into my sprint, some of my attention and energy was spent correcting the course of the bike. Most people buying an Emonda are looking for a hill climbing machine where the hills are long and the efforts are steady. As I spend most of my time riding on the prairies of Alberta, my fun comes from sprinting.

The bottom bracket is beefier than the previous generation but not as stiff as the Madone.

The bike climbs exceptionally well though and was an absolute joy to ride on a 200 km, 3000 m ride I did in Jasper this summer. If long, sustained climbs were what I rode regularly, the Emonda would make more sense for me than the Madone. With the frame and fork being so light, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the bike descended. The front end isn’t quite as stiff as the Madone which, in this instance, was wonderful. There were fewer vibrations coming through the bars yet the extra compliance did not decrease my confidence when taking sharp turns at north of 70 kmh.

While I don’t have any hard evidence that can objectively back up my claim, I found that the Emonda didn’t hold its speed as well when cruising above 40 km/h. Here in Alberta, the wind is often punishing and relentless. With most of my time riding spent in the wind, it’s pretty easy to pick up on the subtleties of how a bike carries speed. This is where I wish that Trek had released their data on the aero benefits of the Emonda when compared to the Madone because I have a feeling there is a fairly big gap there.

If you’ve read this far, you’ve likely made up your mind on whether you should be purchasing an Emonda for your next bike or not. If you are a lighter rider who spends their days chasing long climbs, this is definitely the bike for you. If you spend most of your time on long, flat sections of road, I would be inclined to push you over into a Madone. With that being said, both of these bikes continue to win grand tour stages, something that none of us will ever have the chance to do. Buy the bike that makes you want to ride, realistically. Riding your bike more will far outweigh the differences between these incredible machines.

2023 Croken Classic

After last year’s Croken Classic, we all thought that the bar was set too high in terms of the weather not getting better and the gravel never being faster. We couldn’t have been more wrong. The weather in Alberta during October is usually on the cooler side with variable precipitation, after all, the entire Croken Classic was based off of difficult, cold, and wet October rides. With no rain in the forecast and the temperature forecast to soar over 20 degrees, we were in for another treat.

With 120 registered riders in 2022, I wasn’t sure what to expect for 2023. To see that 165 riders were registered was quite a shock. When I first started hosting the unofficial Croken Classic, the most riders we had show up was under 30. The last two years have brought riders from the Edmonton area with this year drawing riders from all of Western Canada with a couple of riders showing up from Washington.

Winners get to choose their prize.

While the Classic is a race, the community aspect of the event is far by the biggest draw for most riders. With riders showing up well ahead of registration and prizing, new friendships were already being formed. One of the unique aspects of the Classic is that prizing is done before the race. Why? There are no podium prizes. Every prize is a draw prize. With two distances and a wide range of skills, this drives home that everyone is pushing themselves and deserves a chance to win a prize. After all, showing up is half the battle.

After all of the prizes were awarded, it was time to move to the start line. There are two unique aspects to the start of the Croken Classic with the first being a poem crafted by James and the second being the mass neutral roll out. Not only does the neutral start allow for self-seeding, it also gives everyone a chance to ride in one massive group, all while respecting the speed limits of the lakeside community speed limits.

All smiles and cheers during the neutral roll out..

Within a few kilometers of hitting the gravel, we quickly realized that this year was going to be different than any other. Typically, the roads are covered in inches of deep, slow gravel that tests your legs and line selections. This was not the case this year. We were rolling at road race speeds with no need for line selection, the roads were hard-packed dirt. The hills still hurt the legs but the speeds we were hitting were surreal. Having ridden the gravel around Pigeon lake for years, I’ve not seen conditions this fast, ever. 

The first hill has never been ridden as fast as it was this year.

You know it’s hot when the jerseys are wide open!

As riders started rolling in, the grill was ready with burgers and the tables stocked with snacks varying from nanaimo bars to pumpkin pies. Unlike most races where the riders disperse as soon as the cross the finish line, our riders stick around to socialize. Everyone finishing the event has pushed themselves and sharing their stories from the day is a huge part of the post ride festivities. 

Not everyone was out for a race!

None of this would have been possible without our volunteers and sponsors. Having a strong team allowed me to not only organize the event but also race the event. The sponsors, listed below, provided generous prizing and support as well. Keeping the Croken Classic affordable is our goal while not coming up short on any of the features you’d expect at a race that costs 3x as much. If you would like to support our sponsors, you can find links at the bottom of the page. If you would like to sponsor the event for 2024, please reach out to me.

Thank you again to everyone involved, both on and off of the bike and I look forward to seeing you next year! The event will still be held on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend which will be October 12. With it being a week later, we’re hoping that the weather will cooperate and deliver less than ideal conditions for the race.

See you all in 2024!

Nick Croken

ERTC , Edmontons premier Road, Track and Gravel club https://www.ertc.org/

Hardcore Bikes, The shop that meets all of your bike needs from curating the best bike brands to having the best wrenches in town. www.hardcorebikes.ca 

Blindman Brewing, a craft brewery out of Lacombe with delicious alcoholic and non alcoholic options https://www.blindmanbrewing.com/

Good Goods Co, an Edmonton start-up curating and supporting small makers from across Canada. www.goodgoodsco.ca . 

4iiii, Cochrane based 4iii power meter manufacturer https://4iiii.com/

Flexion Bike Fit, Cody is an Edmonton based bike fitter who is keen to help you with pre or post purchase bike fits on anything with two wheels https://www.flexionbikefit.com/

Trek Bikes, Do they even need an introduction? https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/

Transrockies, Transrockies is the organization behind The Golden 24, Singletrack 6, The Gravel Royale amongst many other events https://www.transrockies.com/

Seven Summits Snacks, an Edmonton based sports snack company https://sevensummitssnacks.com/

Eliel Cycling, top tier cycling kit created in California https://www.elielcycling.com/

Panaracer Agilest TLR Review

For the past few seasons, I, like many other cyclists, have exclusively used Continental GP5000 tires on my road bikes. However, after experiencing unexplained sidewall failures on numerous tires and witnessing the same issue during many group rides, I began searching for an alternative. It was at this point that I started a conversation with Panaracer about becoming an ambassador for their brand, having relied on their gravel tires for years. These talks eventually led to the opportunity to test their new Agilest tires on my new road bike. While these tires were provided for me, I want to clarify that this review, like all of my others, will be an honest and unbiased evaluation of these tires. Retailing at $90 in Canada, they’re $40 cheaper than their primary competitor, the Continental GP5000 S TR. This price difference intrigued me, and I was curious to see how the Agilest tires would measure up.

The Agilest TLRs mounted up on my Emonda.

The Agilest line includes four variants: the Light variant, which, as you might expect, weighs less but provides less puncture protection; the standard Agilest variant; the TLR variant, which is the same as the standard variant but is tubeless; and the Duro version, which is more heavily armored and necessitates the use of tubes. In my opinion, tubeless tires are the optimal choice right now, offering both speed and reliability, so the Agilest Tubeless TLR is the focus of this review.

The tire/rim interface is very smooth on modern wheels.

Panaracer took into consideration the growing popularity of hookless wheels when designing the Agilest series. These tires can be used on both hooked and hookless wheels without any issues. Personally, I’ve been running them on a pair of Bontrager RSL 62 wheels, which are hooked and have an inner width of 23 mm. With the increasing prevalence of wider wheels, the indicated tire width may not always be accurate. When inflated, the 28 mm tires expanded to a substantial 30 mm. While modern disc road bikes will easily accommodate this tire size, rim brake users should verify the actual width before heading out for a ride. It’s worth noting that tires measuring larger than indicated isn’t unique to Panaracer; I’ve observed this phenomenon with many tire brands over the past few years.

The tread pattern of the Agilest tires is non-traditional, lacking visible grooves or markings. Instead, there’s a subtle texture, as shown in the photo below. Despite having no conventional tread, the traction of these tires has been exceptional even in wet conditions. While I initially had concerns about their performance on wet descents due to the absence of tread, those worries proved to be unfounded. Having logged over 4000 km on them in various conditions, I can confidently state that you’ll never find yourself wanting for more traction.

A significant factor contributing to this traction is the ability to run lower pressures with tubeless road tires. With the 28 mm TLR tires and my weight (78-79kg), I maintained 64 psi for the rear tire and 60 psi for the front. Contrary to expectations, lower tire pressure actually translates to greater speed, as the tire conforms better to the road and doesn’t bounce off every imperfection it encounters. Bicycle Rolling Resistance conducted tests comparing these tires with various others and found them to have only a couple of watts difference in rolling resistance compared to the Continental GP5000 S TR – a distinction that no rider would discern (https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews/panaracer-agilest-tlr). Of course, there’s a limit to how low you can go before the tire becomes unstable and unsafe. Opting for a lower pressure not only enhances traction but also delivers a significantly smoother ride. The contrast between comfort at 80 psi and 60 psi is striking; the latter feels like gliding on a cloud. To find a suitable starting point, tools like the SRAM tire pressure guide can be incredibly helpful (https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure).

My rear Agilest tire lasted approximately 3600 km before needing replacement, which aligns with the lifespan of other high-performance road tires I’ve used. In contrast, the front tire still has ample tread life left, and I anticipate it lasting nearly twice as long as the rear tire. The roads in Alberta, where I mainly ride, are far from smooth; many are chip-sealed or even worse. Such road surfaces are harsher on tires compared to the well-maintained roads often found in Europe. If you’re a lighter rider or primarily ride on pristine roads, you can likely expect a longer lifespan from your tires. Throughout all those kilometers, I encountered only one puncture, which sealed almost instantaneously. While there are visible signs of road debris damage on the tires, none raised significant concerns and nothing that I haven’t experienced with any other brand of tire.

Having spent an entire summer riding these tires through diverse conditions, I can confidently deem them a worthwhile purchase, especially when considering the cost savings compared to other competing tire options. If you’re located in the United States, you can order directly from Panaracer. If you’re in Canada, simply reach out to your local bike shop to have them ordered for you.

Mountain Biking with a Powermeter

Riding with power meter equipped bikes has increasingly become the norm over the last few years. Many manufacturers are even including them with certain groupsets on their drop bar builds. Having ridden with power on my road bike since 2016 and gravel bikes since 2018, it’s safe to say I’m familiar with power numbers and training loads. The one bike I’ve never had a power meter on has been my mountain bike as I figured that the numbers wouldn’t really matter and I certainly wouldn’t be able to look at my head unit to see how much power I was putting out while riding. Earlier this year, I was chatting with Andrew, from 4iiii about this. 4iiii provided me with a factory-installed Precision 3 Powermeter (https://4iiii.com/canada/products/pdp/left-side-precision-powermeter-factory-install/) on my Sram XX1 cranks. This post is not so much about the power meter as it is about the insights that I’ve gained from riding with power on my mountain bike. If you have any questions regarding the installation process, accuracy, or anything else, let me know.

Measuring the crank clearance to ensure that the addition of the powermeter won’t hit the frame.

4iiii is the most local cycling brand that I can think of to Edmonton as they are based out of Cochrane, only two and a half hours south of us. They are an Alberta company through and through but make no mistake, they are not small players in the game. They have been the power meter of choice for many pro teams including UCI WorldTour organizations Lotto-Dstny (men’s team), EF Education-Tibco-SVB (women’s team), and MAXXIS Factory Racing, team of 2022 Lifetime Gran Prix winner, Haley Smith. 

With the ability to install a power meter on most crank makes and models, this saves you the expense of buying new ones. If you’d prefer to buy a crankset with their power meter already installed, that is an option as well. As mentioned beforehand, I went with the option to have 4iiii install one of their Precision 3 Powermeters on my Sram xx1 crankset on my Trek Top Fuel, the bike review can be found here.

The power meter is very slim.

Having ridden with power for many years both in the real world on Zwift, I had expectations of the numbers that I was hoping to see on the mountain bike during efforts. You can imagine my surprise when the power on my sustained efforts was significantly lower on my hard mountain bike rides than on road and gravel rides. The trails that we have here in Edmonton consist of very sharp climbs and descents with very few sections of trails that allow you to settle into a steady pace. 

How different were the numbers? A steady effort on the road and gravel for me is around 340-350 watts so you can imagine my surprise when I did a 40 minute race pace effort on my mountain bike over various trails and my normalized power was only 301 watts and the average was 260 watts. Not only was my average power lower, but my heart rate was significantly higher than it would have been for the drop bar effort. The peaks of power were actually higher than I had anticipated, rivaling that of my sprints on my road bike, just much shorter. All of this data gave me an objective way to show just how hard Edmonton trails are

Having the power numbers also gives you an idea of how much more of a full-body workout, mountain biking actually is. Power is power so when my heart rate was easily 30 bpm higher on the mountain bike for the same power than on the road, you know that the rest of your body is working much harder as well. Of course, we all know that this is the case with mountain biking but it is nice to be able to quantify how much of a difference there actually is.

You can see how erratic the power is on a trail ride compared to a road ride.

Another huge benefit of having a power meter on your mountain bike is that it allows you to accurately calculate your training load. Up until recently, all of my training stress scores for my mountain bike rides have been estimates which meant that it was unlikely that I was pushing hard enough or worse, not taking the appropriate recovery after certain efforts. Having an accurate picture of what your total training load looks like is very critical when you’re looking to make fitness gains, peak for a race, or are just trying to avoid burnout.

A single CR2032 battery provides hundreds of hours of battery life.

Lastly, having power data from each ride and effort allows me to look back on the areas where I need improvement. For example, here in Edmonton, most trails require no more than a few minutes of hard effort before you get some sort of mini breaks, such as a descent or flowy section where pedaling doesn’t offer as much of a benefit as resting does. With most mountain biking being on trails like this, I can tailor my intervals to mimic this scenario quite easily. If I were riding in Canmore or Bragg Creek, many of the trails require 20-30 minutes of sustained effort followed by long descents. Again, tailoring your efforts to the terrain you plan on riding will not only set you up for success but you won’t be hurting as much when the terrain changes.

After having spent some time with the 4iiii power meter on my Top Fuel, it’s safe to say, I won’t have another mountain bike without one. If you’re keen on maximizing your training, optimizing your recovery, or just like data, I would strongly suggest you consider adding a power meter to your mountain bike. With 4iiii coming in under $400 Canadian, it’s likely one the least expensive pieces of cycling gadgetry that you’ll buy!