Spotted at Stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the new Trek Madone bike just about broke the cycling internet with its ‘remarkable’ new design that features a split seat tube.
Trek have yet to confirm whether true or not but many commentators have already decided this is not in fact a design feature to improve aerodynamics but actually a designated ‘Onigiri Storage Space’ (that’s a rice triangle btw)… or rather one commentator has, and that’s me.
But I mean look, put 2 and 2 together:
Let’s flip it:
… and you get Trek’s revolutionary OSS™.
Which will no doubt be fully customisable.
One things is for sure, it’s not a looker, this bike.
But what’s a bicycle brand to do when dropped seat stays have been done and replicated to within an inch of their poor lives? Shrug its shoulders and give up finding a new gimmick to flog on to the poor (ok, not so poor) unsuspecting lycra-bedecked masses?
Heck no. Dust off that mouse and flex those CAD muscles and come up with something new and improved.
I mean, someone will buy it, right? No matter how clunky, inelegant, insincere (yes I just wrote that) a bike looks, someone, with a penchant for onigiri, will indeed buy it…
The Trek Madone Tri Bike with on-board OSS™. If you can’t beat it, eat it.
Ugly AF. Haha. Seriously, though, all these proprietary designs are a real pain and just add to the huge prices we see now…
Yep, exorbitant is the word that springs to mind. If you make it tho, they’ll buy it.