Video: Fränk Schleck introduces his Trek Émonda race bike for the Tour de France
Trek rider on his "very nice bike"
Although the bike had been seen at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Trek finally pulled back the curtain on the new Émonda just days before the start of the Tour de France in Yorkshire with the Trek Factory Racing team to use the bikes throughout the French Grand Tour.
At a claimed 690g for a painted 56cm frame, the hyperlight road machine builds up to a 10.25-pound complete bicycle thanks in part to new Bontrager integrated components like an XXX bar/stem combination and Speed Stop direct-mount brakes.
Fränk Schleck spoke to Cyclingnews about how he is enjoying the bike
"Well first, it's a very nice bike," he said. "Just by looking at it, it makes you want to ride this bike. It's very light, it's very stiff, it reacts very well in the corners. Handling, its big advantage is downhill cornering. Out of the saddle to do a few accelerations, it feels like it's very fast and smooth at the same time and the weight is awesome.
Trek's goal from the outset of the project, 30 months ago, was to build the lightest production road bike on the market. Besides being hyperlight, the bike also had to be an elite-level race machine but as Schleck explains, consumers will be riding lighter bikes than the pro's.
"Production wise, everyone can buy a very light bike but even though the riders will probably have the heaviest bikes of all as we have to stay under the 6.8kg weight."
Cyclingnews spoke to Schlek as the team mechanics were putting together the new bikes as the Luxumbourg national champion explained his interest in bike technology.
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"We are trying to set up the race bikes and the spare bikes so they are the same and I like to be here around the boys and see what they are doing," he said.
"As soon as you stop thinking about technology, you lose, so it's good to move forward all the time."
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