Trek and renowned graphic artist Shepard Fairey have teamed up for yet another specially painted Madone for the Radioshack squad, only this time all of the riders here at the Amgen Tour of California – including 2010 fourth-place finished Chris Horner – have been given the treatment instead of just Lance Armstrong as in years past.
"This is a big target for the team so we wanted to do something really good," Trek team liaison Matt Shriver told BikeRadar at the team hotel. "We've done bikes with Shepard Fairey in the past and we have a good relationship with him and the bikes were really successful before."
Trek and Radioshack didn't just want to outfit the rider with fancy bikes just because, though. While Horner and teammate (and three-time Tour of California winner) Levi Leipheimer will use the freshly painted machines throughout the eight-stage event, Trek will put them up for auction shortly afterward with all proceeds being donated to charity.
"The guys will race them all week and then they'll go up on auction around USPRO time," said Shriver.
California's state animal is prominently displayed on the seat cluster
According to Shriver – the former Fort Lewis College cycling coach who famously paced Armstrong to his Leadville 100 victory in 2009 – Fairey designed all of the bike's graphics but the actual task of painting the frames was done in-house at Trek's Waterloo, Wisconsin factory.
"It's a long process," he said. "You have to lay one set of graphics down, do some paint, lay the other set of graphics down, more paint. It takes between twelve and fourteen hours per frame."
Horner's bike is otherwise essentially stock team-issue, including the black-anodized version of SRAM's Red component group, a SRAM S975 SRM power meter, a Bontrager saddle, stem, and handlebar, Look KéO Blade pedals, Enduro XD-15 angular contact bottom bracket bearings, and Bontrager's as yet unnamed 50mm-deep wide-profile carbon tubular wheels wrapped with Challenge Forte tires.
A SRAM S975 SRM power meter measures the watts on Horner's bike
One thing that has always set Horner apart, however, is his somewhat unusually upright riding position. Whereas most of the rest of the Radioshack team opt for Trek's most aggressive 'H1' geometry variant, Horner instead goes with the taller H2 version, which is even further augmented with 25mm of headset spacers for a relatively sedate saddle-to-bar drop of just 55mm.
Taller front end notwithstanding, Horner's bike is still impressively light, however. Total weight as pictured (without bottles) is just 7.08kg (15.61lb).
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Trek Madone 6.9 SSL ATOC Special Edition, size 56cm H2
- Fork: Bontrager Race XXX Lite
- Headset: Cane Creek integrated, tapered 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in
- Stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 120mm x -7°
- Handlebars: Bontrager Race Lite Anatomic, 44cm (c-c)
- Tape/grips: Bontrager Cork
- Front brake: SRAM Red Black w/ Bontrager carbon-specific cork pads
- Rear brake: SRAM Red Black w/ Bontrager carbon-specific cork pads
- Brake levers: SRAM Red Black DoubleTap
- Front derailleur: SRAM Red Black w/ steel cage
- Rear derailleur: SRAM Red Black
- Shift levers: SRAM Red Black DoubleTap
- Cassette: SRAM PG-1070, 11-26T
- Chain: SRAM PC-1091
- Crankset: SRAM S975 SRM, 172.5mm, 53/39T
- Bottom bracket: Enduro XD-15
- Pedals: Look KéO Blade
- Wheelset: Bontrager 50mm carbon tubular prototype
- Front tire: Challenge Forte tubular, 22mm
- Rear tire: Challenge Forte tubular, 22mm
- Saddle: Bontrager inForm RL
- Seat post: Bontrager Ride Tuned Carbon seatmast
- Bottle cages: Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon (2)
- Computer: SRM Power Control 7
- Other accessories: Gore Ride-On Professional System derailleur cables and housing
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.8m (5' 11")
- Rider's weight: 70kg (154lb)
- Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 760mm
- Saddle setback: 57mm
- Seat tube length, c-t: 488mm
- Seat tube length, c-c: 472mm
- Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 547mm
- Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 55mm
- Head tube length: 170mm
- Top tube length: 560mm
- Total bicycle weight: 7.08kg (15.61lb)