Do you plan on doing TTs and triathlons on this bike? If so, then I'd go option 1. The aerobars are going to give you more speed than the enve wheels.

If not, I'd go option 2 personally.


edit: I thought about this some more. I'd go option 1 IF AND ONLY IF the bars and stem are the right size for you (there are limited options). The SLR comes in some better paint options (in my opinion Navy carbon smoke blue looks cool). The bars and stem on the SLR are cooler (if they fit). I had an SLR Emonda and it was a good bike. I always felt good knowing that the people who designed and built that bike made it as good as they possibly could (on the marginal gains podcast one of the carbon repair guests even said it was the best built frame they ever cut into). I'm sure the SL is nice too, but it was built with more compromise in mind between quality and cost. I don't know if the SLRs are still made in the USA or not (i'm thinking not), but I bet the Madone SLR is still really well built.

option A as frame will be lighter/stiffer (even if only slightly), and clip on tri bars are a great way to get aero if you're not wanting a dedicated tt/tri bike. Yes the enve wheels will be better but your not getting a bad set of wheels in the bontragers, and then looking to the future you have a new set of wheels to save up for ; )

It so silly but my head swims thinking it all over.

I'll probably be doing max 2 Tri's a year, short course, and I already have a set of aerobars I could put on option B.

I keep going back and forth - great frame with good wheels or good frame with great wheels. It's really driving me quite mad. Which is completely absurd.

And I don't want to have to wait 2-3 years to upgrade anything as there are always other spending priorities I have in mind like - new golf clubs, New laptop, etc...

But there I am. And for what its worth, I would imagine this will be the only bike of this kind that I ever intend to buy.

A.
Will the bike shop give you a credit for the Bontragers towards the Enve wheels? Or just give you a credit for the wheels and go buy a set of HED wheels

I looked at this bike a lot before my last purchase. I'm a sucker for aesthetics so I would prefer the SLR with the hidden cable stem/handlebar and integrated aerobar much more than the SL with Enve wheels.

I have a pair of the 5.6's and I like them a lot, but the Bontragers are fairly good wheels and I imagine any performance gains from the 5.6's are pretty marginal.

Anyways, I view it as much more of a known gain aesthetically with the SLR than potential performance gain with the Enve's. Plus the frame would be an upgrade with the SLR, which may make up for some of the Enve gains.

I can’t understand why anyone would you choose option b and have 2 sets of very similar wheels but $2,500 less in your pocket?? If you plan to race Tri, there should be an option C, buy a third wheel which is a rear disc for races.

No interest in a disc wheel that I would use twice a year maybe. To be clear I would potentially sell the stock Aeolous wheels that came with the bike and ride the Enve's as my everyday wheel as well as race on them.

I think this is where I'm heading, just always curious to hear what others have to say.

I believe the SL models are more than 1 lb heavier than the SLR models, all things being equal. The Madones are a heavy, unnecessarily so in my opinion, bike to begin with, the SL's weight will probably be telling unless you are riding mostly flat terrains. For me, the Madone fits a very narrow niche as an aero road bike, with the potential of using it as a race bike for sprint or olympic distance races by adding aerobars. I am sure you thought about this already, but I would personally go with the new Emonda all days long.

Well you didn’t say that....if you do that, your total price will then be a lot less :)....

A all day. I'd rather have the better bike frame and lighter one with good wheels than a ok bike that's heavier just to overspend on wheels.

I wouldn't even think twice about it.

Wheels all the way. Frame weight is a non issue. Go Enve for sure as the stability and handling is so much better. Add some awesome tires ( I currently prefer Vittoria Corsas) and you'll love the handling so much you'll forget any weight issues.

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Kiwami Racing Team

Handlebars:
Size: 50, 52
Trek Madone adjustable aero VR-CF, OCLV Carbon, invisible cable routing, 93mm reach, 123mm drop, 40cm widthSize: 54, 56
Trek Madone adjustable aero VR-CF, OCLV Carbon, invisible cable routing, 93mm reach, 123mm drop, 42cm widthSize: 58, 60, 62
Trek Madone adjustable aero VR-CF, OCLV Carbon, invisible cable routing, 93mm reach, 123mm drop, 44cm width

Stems:
Size: 47, 50, 52, 54
Trek Madone aero, invisible cable routing, 7 degree, 90mm lengthSize: 56, 58
Trek Madone aero, invisible cable routing, 7 degree, 100mm lengthSize: 60, 62
Trek Madone aero, invisible cable routing, 7 degree, 110mm length

The sizes above are for the SLRs. Have you calculated what you need yet?

It looks like Trek does have longer stems as a special order item. I'd make sure that you know exactly what length of stem and width of bars you want before you order the bike, and make sure that the shop gets it all correct the first time. Otherwise with all of the internal cable routing it will probably be a pain to make any swaps later. Plus those Madone SLR stems and bars are crazy expensive to buy on their own.