2023 Trek Emonda ALR Review | Cycling Weekly
Trek has just released the update to the Emonda ALR, now, in its third edition. It features a number of changes such as a new geometry, a lighter weight, a threaded bottom bracket and newly integrated bar and stem combo. There really is a lot to like here, but it does have its problems, such as limited build specifications and fairly narrow tyre clearance. This bike makes up one third of the holy trinity of premium aluminium bikes, alongside the Allez Sprint and the Cannondale Caad13. Sam Gupta dives into the nuances between the three and offers his opinion on which he believes is the best bike in the space. Which would you choose out of the three?
Transcript
00:00 Today, Trek has launched a brand new Émonda ALR.
00:03 And while there is plenty to like about the new bike,
00:06 there are also a couple of problems with it,
00:09 which I'll get onto very soon.
00:11 But for those that don't know,
00:12 the ALR is the aluminium version of the Émonda,
00:15 which Trek created to be the highest value
00:18 road race bike in the lineup.
00:21 Before we get onto its problems,
00:23 let's take a look at the changes to this new model.
00:25 Firstly, Trek has swapped out the press fit bottom bracket
00:28 in favour of a threaded T47 unit.
00:31 The frame is now claimed to be lighter
00:33 than it ever was before.
00:35 So to put some numbers to that,
00:37 the new frame set weighs a claimed 1,667 grammes,
00:42 while the outgoing version came in at a claimed 1,910 grammes,
00:47 around a 250 gramme difference.
00:50 Now, while that does sound good, and it is,
00:52 the full build weights are slightly less impressive.
00:56 The ALR5 mechanical Shimano 105 build
00:59 is only maybe 40 grammes lighter,
01:02 which on a bike that totals nine kilos,
01:05 isn't going to be noticeable.
01:07 An important change to the outgoing bike
01:09 is the update to its geometry.
01:11 The old Émonda ALR utilised Trek's H2 fit,
01:16 while the new belies for a more aggressive
01:18 and slightly more race-focused H1.5 fit.
01:22 So to help make sense of some of these weird codes,
01:25 the carbon Émonda SL currently uses the H2 fit,
01:29 while the race-ready Émonda SLR frame
01:32 that the pros can be found racing on
01:34 is available in an H1 fit.
01:36 So this new Émonda ALR sits very nicely in the middle.
01:40 Compared to the outgoing Émonda ALR,
01:42 you can expect a lower head tube
01:44 by around 1.9 centimetres, depending on the size.
01:48 And that should then provide
01:50 a more direct feeling front end,
01:52 which should also result in the rider
01:55 becoming a little bit more aero.
01:56 Last on the list of changes is the new aero profiles
02:00 that the frame features,
02:01 along with a newly integrated bar and stem combo.
02:04 Now, when you compare just the frame sets
02:07 from the old to the new generation,
02:09 it really does look a lot more focused,
02:11 with straighter lines and pointier angles.
02:14 It does cut a pretty ordinary shape,
02:16 but personally, I quite like that.
02:19 Some may say boring and uninspiring.
02:22 I say timeless and classic.
02:25 In terms of changes, that's it.
02:27 It's not a ravenously long list,
02:29 and for once, it's enjoyable for a bike to be launched
02:32 without the endless list of numerical claims
02:34 about how many seconds you'll be able to save
02:36 over 40 kilometres when riding at speeds
02:39 most can only achieve with an engine.
02:41 But like I said at the start of this video,
02:44 there's a problem with this bike.
02:45 In fact, there's a couple.
02:47 And the first one is the tyre clearance.
02:50 Trek says it created the Emonda ALR
02:52 to help riders fly up climbs, across flats,
02:55 and through the finish line.
02:56 So their intended audience for this bike is pretty clear.
03:00 Racers, on a budget.
03:02 Trek claim the new Emonda ALR only has clearance
03:05 for up to 28c tyres.
03:08 Now, in a world where the pros are running anything
03:10 from 25 to 30c tyre widths,
03:13 it does seem like a little bit of a miss
03:15 not to open it up by a few more millimetres.
03:19 My next problem is the builds
03:21 which Trek are offering the bike in.
03:23 It will be available as a 105 mechanical build,
03:26 a 105 Di2 build, and as a frame set.
03:29 No longer are Trek going to offer a Tiagra build
03:33 or anything costing less than £2,325 here in the UK.
03:38 If you want a Trek road bike that costs less,
03:42 then you'll have to look towards the more endurance focused
03:45 Dumane range of bikes.
03:46 And that's not ideal if your preference
03:49 is something that is a little bit more performance focused.
03:52 This is a real shame,
03:54 as those who want a more dynamic geometry
03:56 but can't stretch to the cost of the full build
03:58 or the £1,300 frame set,
04:01 well, they'll now be forced to look elsewhere.
04:03 The premium aluminium race-ready road bike space
04:08 is not a new one.
04:09 In fact, there are a couple of fan favourite bikes
04:12 that occupy the space.
04:14 Firstly, the Specialized Allee Sprint,
04:16 which saw an update in March of last year.
04:19 It too had a geo-change as it adopted all of the numbers
04:23 from the Tarmac SL7.
04:25 It also focused on dropping some weight,
04:27 improving its aero credentials
04:29 and upping the stiffness of the frame.
04:31 The other key bike in the same space
04:33 and the one which is undoubtedly the OG of premium aluminium
04:37 is the Cannondale CAD 13.
04:39 It's been through more iterations
04:41 than either the Émonda or the Allee Sprint
04:43 and as such has a real cult following.
04:46 The CAD 13 was released back in 2019,
04:49 so it is well overdue an update.
04:52 Could we see a new CAD 14 soon?
04:55 Potentially.
04:56 Could Cannondale implement the new Lab 71 moniker
04:59 on an aluminium bike and really spice things up?
05:03 Well, only time will tell
05:04 and best believe I would love to see that happen.
05:08 But with what's currently on the market,
05:10 these three bikes line up
05:12 to make a rather interesting comparison.
05:15 As the Allee Sprint was updated most recently,
05:17 this is a fair place to begin
05:19 as it's representative of what the current crop is offering.
05:23 The easy numbers are price and weight
05:25 and in this table, you can see how they match up.
05:28 What we can understand from this
05:29 is that the Émonda is coming in between 500
05:32 and 575 pounds cheaper than the Allee.
05:36 However, the Allee is claiming to come in half a kilo lighter
05:40 in the Shimano 105 mechanical build,
05:42 so it really depends on what you value here,
05:45 money or weight.
05:47 The good thing from Specialized though
05:49 is that it currently offers an Allee
05:51 which does embody a lot of the same characteristics
05:54 as the Sprint but at a lower price.
05:57 This of course is in contrast to the Émonda.
06:01 The Allee doesn't come in a 105 Di2 build
06:03 and maybe that's not a bad thing
06:05 because if you follow the same kind
06:07 of price difference structure,
06:09 it could end up costing anywhere
06:11 between 3,600 and 3,700 pounds.
06:15 Now, I think that's a good call on Specialized's side
06:17 to not offer such a thing.
06:19 The other obvious comparisons are that the Allee Sprint
06:22 features more aero sculpting.
06:24 For example, it plays host to an aero carbon seat post
06:27 rather than a standard 27.2 unit as found on the Émonda.
06:31 The new Émonda Gio is almost identical
06:34 to the Allee bar a millimeter here and there.
06:37 The biggest difference is that the Allee
06:39 has a six millimeter lower front end
06:42 which will help the rider get a little bit more aero.
06:45 But the same effect can be achieved on the Émonda
06:48 with the addition of a greater negative dropped stem.
06:51 I think the big difference most people will focus on
06:54 is the fact that the welds on the Émonda
06:56 are far less controversial than they are on the Allee Sprint.
07:00 When you bring the CAB 13 into the mix,
07:01 there's only one key area where it starts to show its age
07:04 and that's of course the lack of an integrated cockpit.
07:07 It all but matches the new Émonda for price
07:09 but sadly lacks the group set correct chain set.
07:12 Cannondale has not claimed a weight
07:14 for the CAB 13 disc 105 build
07:16 so it is hard to compare it against the other bikes.
07:19 And sadly, it no longer offers the CAB 13 as just a frame set
07:24 to more easily allow consumers to create their own builds.
07:28 And I believe it's that latter reason
07:31 that's meaning that we're seeing less of the CAB 13
07:34 amongst the junior road racing ranks
07:36 resulting in that scene really adopting the Allee Sprint
07:39 despite the higher costs.
07:42 To define a clear winner is tough
07:44 but I'm gonna give it my best shot.
07:46 When you boil it down, the aim of all of these bikes
07:50 is to be a budget race bike.
07:52 For that very reason, on paper at least,
07:55 I think the Émonda takes the win.
07:57 It may be half a kilo heavier than the Allee Sprint
08:01 as a full build but it is around 500 pounds cheaper.
08:05 And if you put that saving
08:06 towards some spanky racy wheels,
08:09 you'll have instantly made up for that extra weight.
08:11 The CAB 13 is very good.
08:13 However, the fact that it is not available as a frame set
08:16 makes it harder for that custom build market to adopt.
08:20 Now, you may all be shouting at your screens
08:22 getting ready to type up a furious comment
08:25 surrounding the cost of these bikes.
08:27 No doubt, there will be people telling me
08:29 that for the same price,
08:31 you can go out and buy yourself
08:32 something made of carbon fiber.
08:34 And you're absolutely right, you certainly can.
08:37 For example, the Vetus Xenium
08:39 or the Giant Defy Advanced 2,
08:41 which dons a Shimano 105 groupset.
08:45 My response to that is, why do you want carbon fiber?
08:49 If it's for weight, then you may be disappointed.
08:52 The Giant Defy comes in at acclaimed extra 100 grams
08:55 compared to the Émonda in the same specification.
08:59 If it's for the improvement in ride feel,
09:01 then yes, you may have a point.
09:03 But if your objection solely resides in the fact
09:06 that an aluminum bike should just not cost that much money,
09:09 then I would remind you that top-end aluminum
09:12 is better than value carbon.
09:14 It will be stiffer, it will last much longer
09:17 as long as you keep it clean.
09:19 In some cases, it will be lighter.
09:21 And if you crash it,
09:22 it won't shatter into a whole bunch of fragments.
09:25 And there is the chance that in some cases,
09:28 the quality control and manufacturing process
09:31 will be better.
09:33 I won't claim that the new Émonda ALR is perfect.
09:36 I really would have loved to have seen more build options
09:39 and clearance for a minimum of 30C tires.
09:42 But for those who want to go racing
09:44 and don't want to drop 5,000 pounds plus
09:47 on a carbon equivalent,
09:49 this really is a very enticing new addition to the market.
09:52 Let me know your thoughts
09:53 on the new top-end aluminum bike down below.
09:56 What would you opt for?
09:58 An Alé Sprint, a new Émonda, or a CAD 13?
10:02 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like.
10:04 Subscribe to the channel for more content
10:06 and I will see you again very soon.
10:07 (whooshing)