This is Lance Armstrong's new Trek Madone 6.9, complete with Livestrong livery.
It's a stock Trek Madone 6.9 which has been graphically customised for the seven-time Tour de France winner's return to professional cycling.
"This is a stock bike, we pulled it right off the line," said Trek’s team liaison man Ben Coates. "There’s no special person that builds Lance’s bikes, no special process they go through. Someone went to the back of the factory in Waterloo, Wisconsin and took the bike off the line and painted it up."
The bike was finished in ten days following a simple brief from Lance to “think about how long I’ve been retired”.
This detail can be seen in the finish. The number 1274 represents the number of days Armstrong was retired before making his comeback at the Cancer Council Classic in Adelaide, whilst 27.5 represents the millions of people who have died from the disease in the time since the seven-time Tour de France champion stepped off the podium in Paris after sealing his last Tour crown.
The Livestrong message is clear
Coates explains that all the work was done in Waterloo, the paintjob by Project One, the custom bike building branch of the company.
"It’s not the Project One of old," he says. "It’s which cranks and gruppo you want, what colour paint you want, what colour housing, brake hoods, saddle… the works. It’s the next evolution of Project One. This bike was done completely within the group."
Trek is working on a commercially viable version of the bike, although that won’t be an easy task, given the 31 hours of painting time involved for one frame alone. "It’s all paint - no decals - and there’s no production process for a bike this intricate," Coates added.
Full specification
- Frame: Trek Madone 6.9, size 58
- Fork: Bontrager XXX
- Front brake: SRAM Red
- Rear brake: SRAM Red
- Brake levers: SRAM Red
- Front derailleur: SRAM Red
- Rear derailleur: SRAM Red
- Shift levers: SRAM Red Double Tap
- Cassette: SRAM OG-1090 (11-21)
- Chain: SRAM PC 1090 Powerchain
- Crankset: SRAM PowerMeter Pro, 175mm, 39/53T
- Bottom bracket: SRAM GXP Team
- Wheelset: Bontrager Aeolus 5.0
- Front tyre: Hutchinson tubular, 700x22c
- Rear tyre: Hutchinson tubular, 700x24c
- Bars: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 44cm
- Stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 120mm
- Headset: Cane Creek integrated
- Tape/grip: Bontrager
- Pedals: Shimano Dura Ace
- Seat post: Integrated
- Saddle: Bontrager
- Bottle cages: Trek
- Computer: SRM
- Other accessories: SRM
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.79m (5' 10") ; Weight: 75kg (164lb)
- Seat tube length, c-c: 500mm
- Seat tube length, c-t: 598mm
- Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 750mm
- Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 565mm
- C of front wheel to top of bars (next to stem): 605mm
- Top tube length: 572mm (horizontal)
- Total bike weight: 7.26kg (15.98lb)