when i bought my checkpoint last october there was barely enough clearance for the stock ultegra r8000 crank arm. there was no way a stages ultegra arm would fit. i had a xtr stages arm laying around and it fit with room to spare. it may bump out the q-factor but has never been an issue mechanically or on my knees.
How does a Checkpoint have anything to do with a Madone?
The Checkpoint is Trek’s gravel bike and fits up to a up to a 700 x 45c tire. That has nothing to do with the Madone that tops out at around 700 x 28c (stock with 25c). The clearance issues are likely very different because of the tires.
Of course we are talking crank to chainstay clearance.
But you must recognize that crank arm to chainstay clearance is VERY related to available tire size.
That’s because the chainstays will almost certainly be spaced wider to fit wider tires.
Therefore, the outside position of that chainstay will be wider to accommodate the wider wires.
Main point being that comparing a narrow road bike to a wide gravel bike for clearance is nearly as misleading as including a MTB in the mix. They have little if anything in common.
Hey guys. I don’t have a good pic to show the clearance on my Madone, but I did swap to a pioneer single sided and the clearance was VERY close with the pioneer pod without any spacers. Uncomfortably close. I added a crank spacer and got better clearance, still not a ton, but probably a few MM and haven’t had any issues with all kinds of efforts both on the trainer and on the road. I’ll try and remember to grab some pics tonight and post them up here.
I don’t have a Pioneer, but I did put a Stages left sided on my 2019 Madone SLR6 and I don’t have any problem with clearance. No spacers, either. It’s probably real tight but it fits.
If I may chime in… trek is known for having their chainstays pretty wide near the bottom bracket.
On a previous bike of mine (Trek Emonda SL) I had to use a couple spacers (total of 1mm) on the non-drive side of the spindle to get enough clearance for my pioneer.
You want to get the .5mm pack
Also check out this spreadsheet from Pioneer for exact Trek model clearance and spacers…
I have Madone 9.5 with dual side Pioneer installed. Using for 2 years now without any issues. There is a Trek compatibility chart on Pioneer’s web site. Madone and most of models has zero issues.