Trek unveils world's lightest production road bike a day before the Tour de France

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Trek Bicycle Corp. on Friday unveiled its newest bicycle, the Trek Émonda SLR 9, one day before the start of the 104th Tour de France.

The Waterloo, Wisconsin-based company says it is the lightest bike it has ever made and the lightest production road bike in the world. The 56cm Émonda SLR 9 frame weighs 640 grams (1.41 pounds). Trek said the bike, with the build above but in size 56cm, weighs just 13.4 pounds (without pedals). The bike will retail in the US for $11,000.

It is the same bike that two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador and his Trek-Segafredo teammates will ride over the next three weeks in the sport's biggest race. Because the bike is so light, the team will need to add weight to meet the minimum weight of 6.8 kilos (14.99 pounds) set by the UCI, the governing body of world cycling.

Business Insider got a peek at the ultralight offering, and you can see photos below.

Trek sent Business Insider a 58cm rim-brake version of its new Trek Émonda SLR 9. (The bike also comes in a disc-brake version, the SLR 8.) Trek says it is a year-round bike for serious competitive road cyclists.

The tapered headtube is a standout design feature of the Émonda, and the bike is available with all-new Bontrager Speed Stop Pro rim brakes. The fully tunable, direct-mount brakes weigh in at only 95 grams. You can fit tires up to 28mm wide.

The new Émonda SLR 9 will retail in the US for $11,000.

The Émonda features a new 700 Series OCLV Carbon layup that the company says significantly reduces the bike's weight while increasing stiffness.

The curved frame tubes are not just sleek but also aerodynamic. There are two versions of the bike, known as the H1 and H2 fits. The H1, featured here, has a more aggressive frame geometry designed for serious racers.

The Émonda SLR fork weighs 313 grams (0.69 pounds).

Trek says it improved the stiffness of the frame over its previous iteration and made it more comfortable to ride.

The superwide BB90 bottom bracket helps make power transfer more efficient. (Trek says the new bottom bracket is 7.4% stiffer than the previous iteration.)

The build we received featured Shimano's high-end electronic-shifting system, Di2, and Bontrager's lightweight Aeolus Pro 3 TLR clincher wheels (656 grams front and 850 grams rear).

Our build came with Shimano Dura-Ace, one of the best component groups on the market.

The Shimano Di2 junction box sits neatly and out of the way under the Bontrager stem.

Trek's Ride-Tuned seat mast makes it easy to remember the exact height where you want your saddle.

Trek's DuoTrap S feature is integrated into the frame in order to keep your cycling computer or power-meter sensors and magnets in the right place without the use of zip ties. It offers Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity.

Our bike came with Bontrager's carbon XXX saddle, which is extremely light at 68 grams.

Trek says that new Émonda SLR has benefited from improved carbon layup and long-term testing by the pros of Trek-Segafredo.

Check back for a full review of the new Trek Émonda SLR 9.