2012 trek madone 4.5 blue book

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2012 Trek Madone 4.5 H2 (Triple)

A carbon frame aero bike with upper mid-range components and rim brakes.

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A bike with lower gearing will be easier to ride up steep hills, while a higher top end means it will pedal faster down hills.

Madone 4.5 H2 (Triple)

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• 6'3", size 62cm, Just right
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Dec 2013 · R BA

More improved than new, we rediscover the Madone one part at a time

Read Review

Jun 2013 · William Tracy

The Madone 7 isn’t a whole new bike; it’s just one step closer to what Trek sees as perfection

Aug 2012 · Mat Brett

Lightweight, very fast and comfortable - a super-high performance bike that won't disappoint, if you have the cash

Jun 2012 · Ron Koch

Trek enters the aero road market with the lightest, fastest Madone yet

I've made it here to Liege to chase a little bike race around France, but before I begin Trek was kind enough to invite me to their new Madone launch. And I'm glad they did. Besides having a lot of fun, I've had the opportunity to meet many of the people behind Trek and the innovative products they produce. Back in

Jun 2012 · Caley Fretz

We give our first impressions of the all-new Trek Madone and an expanded Domane line

Jan 2010 · James Huang

A racier and brawnier feel for the new Madone

Last updated June 29 Not listed for 2,555 days

The 2012 Trek Madone 4.5 is a bike with a carbon 400 Series OCLV frame. The frame has a   Starry  Night  Black  /  silver finish.

It was released in 2012 and costs $2,099 brand new. Due to the frame materials and other factors, we estimate that this bike weighs around 15 pounds. The Madone 4.5 2012 is fully rigid.

The Madone 4.5 2012 comes with various bike components, including a Bontrager Race Lite stem, an integrated headset and Shimano shifters.

The Madone 4.5 2012 has a Shimano 105 derailleur.

It comes with Bontrager R1 tires (622mm x 23mm) and aluminum Bontrager rims.

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Trek Madone 4.5 Compact review

Affordable and ideal for longer rides

Guy Kesteven

Trek's multi Tour de France winning Madone family has been around for years, and the 4.5 is the most affordable member for 2010. it does mean you get Oriental TCT carbon, rather than the pricier US-built OCLV carbon of the 5 and 6 family bikes, but it’s the overall ride, not the origin, that matters here.

Ride & handling: Agile and confident handling complements friendly overall feel

While Trek don’t do a specific sportive bike, Madones have always been a popular choice among high-mileage riders, and we can see why. It’s immediately obvious this bike is smooth from fork to far end, sitting on the road quietly over rough sections that rattled many price rivals.

Despite sharp and snappy-looking angles on paper, it’s got a neutral stability too, letting us ride no-handed without worry when fishing energy bars out of back pockets.

It’s not just the easy mid-picnic handling that encourages you to put those extra miles in either. This bike just melts away underneath you, barely registering the tactical tarmac conditions that are a real issue on stiffer bikes.

The Bontrager tyres are usefully smooth rolling without being worryingly slippery in wet corners. The short stem makes exploring the traction limits fun on descents, with an agile twitchy feel through the steering when you’re flicking between manhole covers and potholes, or changing lines mid-corner.

Stability and the stiffness of the front end means this never develops into anything nasty on long, fast descents though, with only the soft brakes acting as a mental parachute.

While it’s a great smooth, ‘go the distance’ choice for longer rides, the pliable smoothness of the Trek can work against it as workload goes up. Its buoyant, floated ride when you’re tapping out a tempo develops into a real bounce as you press the pedals harder.

This results in a definite rubber-chain effect if you’re fighting the hill. The compact chainset ratios mean you can spin rather than stomp most of the time though, and the light wheels hold speed towards summits well too.

Chassis: Smooth and comfy frameset, but weight limits upgrade potential

At 1,250g the frame isn't the lightest at this price, but the reasonably light tapered alloy steerer fork puts it back into the right ball park. The extended hourglass profile E2 head tube puts stiffness and accuracy into the steering.

The triangular top tube gets a flattened centre section to feed some comfort back in, and while the down tube is broad, it’s also relatively shallow to suck out some road sting. The seat tube is single diameter, which means a conventional front mech fits fine.

The bottom bracket is an external screw-in rather than oversize push-fit type. Mid-size multi-section rear stays meet at simple alloy dropouts, with a scalloped wishbone section morphing smoothly into the seat tube/top tube area.

The polished seat collar matches the similar-finish Shimano 105 gear and you get twin bottle cage mounts. A metal plate protects the chainstays if you drop the chain off the back, and there’s even a socket for Trek’s Duotrap computer speed and cadence sensor unit.

The unusual crossover brake cable routing under the top tube gives a clean look with a UK-style left-hand front brake. With no fewer than seven sizes they'll fit most riders, although you have to hop up to the Madone 4.7 (£1,900) to get Women's Specific Design versions.

Equipment: Bontrager kit shaves weight and Shimano transmission performs well

Like most bikes at this price, transmission is predominantly Shimano 105 with a similar-quality FC600 compact chainset. A 27-tooth big sprocket on the cassette means a proper crawler gear for climbs, with the option of a triple chainset.

Shimano Tiagra brake callipers feel soft, but the combined STI levers and shifters are 105, and fitting cartridge brake pads will make a big difference to feedback. Gear adjusters next to the levers make in-flight tweaking easy. The rest of the bike is a selection of Trek’s Bontrager house-brand kit.

Saddle and seatpost kept everyone happy, while the well-shaped handlebars sit on a big stack of carbon headset spacers for easy adjustment. The Bontrager kit – particularly the wheels – is light enough to offset the extra frameset mass and put the Trek back into contention on weight.

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You Are Here: Home > Trek Road Bikes > Trek Madone 4.5 2012 Review

Trek Madone 4.5 2012 Review

Trek have completely redesigned their Madone 4 series for 2012 to ensure every model in the range reaches Trek’s high standards. One model that has undergone some exciting changes is the Trek Madone 4.5.

Built using Trek’s high quality but affordable 400 series OCLV carbon fibre, the Madone 4.5 frame encompasses strength, rigidity and lightness, factors riders often only find within a manufacturers elite range. The frame alone features a number of Trek’s pioneering designs, in particular Trek’s BB90. Measuring 90mm Trek’s Madone 4.5 features the widest carbon bottom bracket available on a road bike, which lightens as well as stiffens the entire frame for significantly quicker acceleration. Another design feature Trek models have and are well known for is their H2 fit design. This exclusive design ensures the Madone 4.5 retains the look, handling geometry and ride quality of elite models; however the higher head tube of the H2 fit ensures a more comfortable ride as less strain is placed on a riders back and neck. Fixed to the Trek Madone 4.5 frame is a Bontrager Race Lite fork with E2 aluminium steerer, this E2 steerer tapers from 1.5″ to 1-1/8″; this tapered design not only creates more durable bearings but also results in confident and responsive handling.

The components included on the Trek Madone 4.5 help to develop the sporting quality of this model. Trek have utilised a number of Shimano components to create a unique groupset that will meet the needs of an enthusiastic rider. The alloy dual-pivot brakes with Shimano 105 levers are designed to provide riders with swift braking even in the wettest conditions. The Madone 4.5 2012 model is available with either a H2 fit triple or compact crankset so that riders can choose a crankset more appropriate for their needs. While Shimano 105 shifters and derailleurs, which include Trek’s direct-mount front derailleur provide a fast and accurate shifting performance. Trek have explained that the Madone 4.5 is a bike built for ‘the rider who values performance and demands value’ and looking at the specifications of this model its difficult to disagree with their statement. The strong carbon frame and race ready components make this a performance bike that is sure to please the most demanding cyclists.

Trek Madone 4.5

Related reviews:

• Trek Madone 5.9 2012 Review
• Trek Madone 3.1 2012 Review
• Trek Madone 3.5 2012 Review

Written by: Quatos

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