Daemon

While I would have liked a Trek Deamon, I was allowed to buy a Trek Émonda.

This post is about how I got away with that…

In 2020, I traded my Sensa for a Trek.

I got the Domane SL 5, which is just above entry level for Trek 😂

(It wasn’t even € 3,000 at the time, they are more expensive now…)

When I got my SpeedMax CF8 a year later, which came with Sram eTap AXS electronic shifting – and “wireless” at that – I was sure I’d never go back to mechanical shifting.

Okay, yes, I got my Sonora MTB this year and it has mechanical shifting, but that was just an extra “fun bike”, costing less than the fork for my SpeedMax…

Anyway, I was pointed to a nice Trek Émonda on sale by a colleague, but (sorry Volkan) I didn’t like the color very much.

The bike itself was exactly what I would like to have, though.

I mean, I would – obviously – really like to have a Daemon (Modane, Émonda, Madone – you get it), but Trek so far hasn’t decided on building that.

And there surely was no way in hell Paula would allow me to get another bike, even if I would trade in my current one, right?

Well, yes and no: she told me that the price was just to steep, but she would allow me to look for an alternative.

Yes, I know. I’ve said this before: I do not deserve her…

Which doesn’t mean I didn’t start looking 🤪

So, today we travelled to my favorite “not-so-local LBS” down south, Jean Habets – the other one retired – talked about the options, pros and cons, and we started browsing the online catalog.

My Canyon SpeedMax has a Sram eTap Force AXS group, where the blip box replaces the drop bar – it doesn’t even have a drop bar – manual shifters.

As I really like that and Paula agreed that I didn’t want to “take a step back(wards)” to the Rival group, this meant we were looking at the SL(R) 7 series.

The R quickly dropped off the radar, as that means € 10,000 for a bike and even Paula has her limit(s).

So, I “settled” on the Trek Émonda Sl 7, which made choosing from available colors easy, as it only has the “Galatic Grey/Trek Black” as an option 😎

Which, for most of my bikes, is my preferred color/combo anyway…

It doesn’t come with the blip box and nifty press buttons to shift gears, but I can live with that.

Besides, no matter the configuration, I believe it beats Di2 and I already have an extra – less expensive than Shimano’s too – rechargeable battery for the derailleur(s).

After all, I expect to be using the front one a lot more than I do on my SpeedMax, which would have sufficed with three gears.

Well, that’s not entirely true: I did use the smaller chain ring a few times when riding the “Only For Men” (take 1 and take 2) earlier this year.

However, you won’t see me riding on my Trek Émonda anytime soon, as it won’t be available before March/April 2023.

Just in time for the training week in Hochsauerland as preparation for my Tour de France 2023…