Trek Mad One: the race bike of the future, with three electric motors
Three electric motors, assistance up to 100 km/h, a superconducting motor cooled to −270°C and Pitot tubes on the cockpit. Meet the Trek Mad One, a concept built for the brand’s 50th anniversary: a one-off that will never be sold… and doesn’t even ride.
Commercial collaboration with Trek
Three motors, three jobs
Torque at the crank, top speed at the rear hub, and up front, an energy recovery system inspired by Formula 1’s KERS: brake to store energy, press a button to overtake.
Aero first
The rider accounts for 80% of total drag. Pitot tubes, borrowed from aviation, feed real-time aero data to the rider. Trek’s vision: closed-circuit racing, F1 or MotoGP style. John Russell, lead designer at Trek, explains why the brand built a bike it will never sell.
Thanks to John Russell and the Trek teams. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe to the En Roue Libre newsletter.
