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Dream of getting a new bicycle recently. Yeah, I know it is quite insane…especially when my cycle year is not even 1 yet. Bought my first Giant bike just few months back.

It is like a restart of my photography journey. Got crazy into it and got addicted with those fancy new hardware and toys.

It is a school holiday now. So got a bit of free time and I went to the local Trek store in Johor for a look. It is the Treknology3 branch, they are the distributor of Trek bicycles in Singapore and Malaysia.

Not really a big store, but they do have the bicycle that I want (abide the little brother version).

I was initially aiming for Trek Madone SLR 8 Disc, but surprisingly they do not have stock, and even Singapore also they are not bringing that model in.

They only have the entry model Madone SLR 6 Disc available, and this one is reserved. Nah, the colour is not to my favor. Too dull. However, I take a good look at the bike, it looks sleek and nice.

I chit chat with the nice salesman, Hilmi, on how to order SLR 8 or SLR 9 if I wanted. He said they do not keep stock of the high end series, and it has to go through Project One by Trek (which means custom made according to your own design and specifications).

I did found out that the price in Malaysia is actually cheaper than Singapore. Their standard discount is 5% from Trek website USD price, but can be further discussed…

I left the store with his name card and went back home to play around with the Project One custom page at Trek website. Quite interesting I must say, and below is what I have in mind.

https://projectone.trekbikes.com/us/en#bikerack/1409371

This is the standard available colour from Trek. I like the upper sunburst colour. However, it does feel a bit ordinary though.

I then play around with custom mix and match colour, which required additional US$1000.

Black Gold

Red Gold

I think I prefer the Red Gold more. It is the Iron man colour! Quite striking but at US$1000 extra…hmm…that’s quite hard to swallow…

For the bike, I chose SRAM latest eTap AXS system, which has 12 gears and wireless gear connection. Sounds neat, and I have never try such groupset. My current Shimano 105 R7000 is actually already very good. I doubt Ultegra or Durace mechanical will make a big difference, so I hope to try out the electronic type. Shimano Durace Di2 is nice, but I think the SRAM latest eTap AXS 2019 is nicer! (Shimano shall come out one to compete this year)

Then the Power Meter. Should I get one? I would love to see and record my power during riding. I have the data when riding indoor on my bike trainer. It is actually a good way to monitor your performance. Adding a Quarq power meter is another US$1000, which is quite pricey. I did check Quarq website, and buying the power meter separately is only US$820, and I get an extra chain ring. Maybe I should bought that separately.

OK, below are the Iron Man bike version specifications and price. I was hoping to keep it below RM50k…making it RM4xxxx maybe still possible to pass by my wife…but now it has reached nearly RM60k…

I guess it is time for me to go back to work HARDER…or continue dreaming…