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Madone 4.5 or Pilot 5.0

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Lazyrider 
#1 ·
Which bike would you rather have the Madone 4.5 or the Pilot 5.0? I have ridden them both and could not tell much difference. I liked them both. The components are the same on both bikes.

Since they are both Trek I am having a hard time deciding.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I think the Madone was developed more for racing type of riding and the pilot more for recreational riding, though you could both on both bikes...I'd get the Madone
 
#4 ·
enak said:
I have read the the OCVL carbon is better than the TCT carbon. does anyone have any comments on that?
Yes according to my LBS which is a Trek dealer, the TCT is composite and the OCLV is not..I think that's what they told me :skep:
 
#5 ·
enak said:
Which bike would you rather have the Madone 4.5 or the Pilot 5.0? I have ridden them both and could not tell much difference. I liked them both. The components are the same on both bikes.

Since they are both Trek I am having a hard time deciding.

Thanks.
I've got a Pilot, bought it in December 2004. The first bike I bought in 34 years (my last bike was a Schwinn Varsity that I used on a paper route and to go to.from school on).

Maybe you need to ride each of them for a longer distance? The Madone may be a little more "edgy" than the Pilot. You may or may not like that.

The only thing I have changed out on my Pilot was to replace the front DR after I bent it up hitting it in a stumbling maneuver with my bike shoe and a IRD cassette replacement to give me 27 teeth on the high end to help with the hill climbing. In the past three years I have ridden it about 15K miles and have had no issues with the bike frame. The wheels that came with it are another story. After 4K miles the rims split where they meet the spokes. I replaced that set of wheels with the Mavic Krsyrium ES wheel and then got a set of Mavic Open Pro with DT Swiss hubs for general training and knocking around.

I'd say go for the Pilot, but I think you need a longer ride to decide which one is better for you. Both of them are way too expensive to not like after you have purchased them.
 
#6 ·
The Pilot is almost obsolete

A nice bike nonetheless, but with the Madone 4.5's "performance fit" geometry, they phased out some of the Pilot options from last year. They made the Madone's geometry fit the needs of most riders for comfort and performance.

My buddy has one on order and actually had one ready to be picked up but was damaged and he needs to wait for a replacement. OCLV is good stuff, but the TCT carbon rides just the same. The Madone 4.5 tubes are BEAUTIFUL and the bike is very advanced compared to the Pilot. Aesthetically, it is on a different level IMO. You give up nothing in comfort with the Madone and get a much more advanced machine.


ColoradoVeloDude said:
I've got a Pilot, bought it in December 2004. The first bike I bought in 34 years (my last bike was a Schwinn Varsity that I used on a paper route and to go to.from school on).

Maybe you need to ride each of them for a longer distance? The Madone may be a little more "edgy" than the Pilot. You may or may not like that.

The only thing I have changed out on my Pilot was to replace the front DR after I bent it up hitting it in a stumbling maneuver with my bike shoe and a IRD cassette replacement to give me 27 teeth on the high end to help with the hill climbing. In the past three years I have ridden it about 15K miles and have had no issues with the bike frame. The wheels that came with it are another story. After 4K miles the rims split where they meet the spokes. I replaced that set of wheels with the Mavic Krsyrium ES wheel and then got a set of Mavic Open Pro with DT Swiss hubs for general training and knocking around.

I'd say go for the Pilot, but I think you need a longer ride to decide which one is better for you. Both of them are way too expensive to not like after you have purchased them.
 
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