Pro bike: Chris Horner's Team RadioShack Trek Madone 6.9 SSL ATOC

Trek and renowned graphic artist Shepard Fairey have teamed up for yet another specially painted Madone for the RadioShack squad, only this time all of the riders here at the Amgen Tour of California - including 2010 fourth-place finished Chris Horner - have been given the treatment instead of just Lance Armstrong as in years past.

"This is a big target for the team so we wanted to do something really good," Trek team liaison Matt Shriver told Cyclingnews at the team hotel. "We've done bikes with Shepard Fairey in the past and we have a good relationship with him and the bikes were really successful before."

Trek and RadioShack didn't just want to outfit the rider with fancy bikes just because, though. While Horner and teammate (and three-time Tour of California winner) Levi Leipheimer will use the freshly painted machines throughout the eight-stage event, Trek will put them up for auction shortly afterward with all proceeds being donated to charity.

"The guys will race them all week and then they'll go up on auction around USPRO time," said Shriver.

California's state animal is prominently displayed on the seat cluster. Photo: James Huang

According to Shriver - the former Fort Lewis College cycling coach who famously paced Armstrong to his Leadville 100 victory in 2009 - Fairey designed all of the bike's graphics but the actual task of painting the frames was done in-house at Trek's Waterloo, Wisconsin factory.

"It's a long process," he said. "You have to lay one set of graphics down, do some paint, lay the other set of graphics down, more paint. It takes between twelve and fourteen hours per frame."

Horner's bike is otherwise essentially stock team-issue, including the black-anodized version of SRAM's Red component group, a SRAM S975 SRM power meter, a Bontrager saddle, stem, and handlebar, Look KéO Blade pedals, Enduro XD-15 angular contact bottom bracket bearings, and Bontrager's as yet unnamed 50mm-deep wide-profile carbon tubular wheels wrapped with Challenge Forte tires.

Chris Horner's Trek Madone 6.9 SSL has a SRAM S975 SRM power meter installed. Photo: James Huang

One thing that has always set Horner apart, however, is his somewhat unusually upright riding position. Whereas most of the rest of the RadioShack team opt for Trek's most aggressive 'H1' geometry variant, Horner instead goes with the taller H2 version, which is even further augmented with 25mm of headset spacers for a relatively sedate saddle-to-bar drop of just 55mm.

Taller front end notwithstanding, Horner's bike is still impressively light, however. Total weight as pictured (without bottles) is just 7.08kg (15.61lb).

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar.

Complete bike specifications:

Frame: Trek Madone 6.9 SSL ATOC Special Edition, size 56cm H2
Fork: Bontrager Race XXX Lite
Headset: Cane Creek integrated, tapered 1 1/8-to-1 1/2in
Stem: Bontrager Race XXX Lite, 120mm x -7°
Handlebars: Bontrager Race Lite Anatomic, 44cm (c-c)
Tape/grips: Bontrager Cork
Front brake: SRAM Red Black w/ Bontrager carbon-specific cork pads
Rear brake: SRAM Red Black w/ Bontrager carbon-specific cork pads
Brake levers: SRAM Red Black DoubleTap
Front derailleur: SRAM Red Black w/ steel cage
Rear derailleur: SRAM Red Black
Shift levers: SRAM Red Black DoubleTap
Cassette: SRAM PG-1070, 11-26T
Chain: SRAM PC-1091
Crankset: SRAM S975 SRM, 172.5mm, 53/39T
Bottom bracket: Enduro XD-15
Pedals: Look KéO Blade
Wheelset: Bontrager 50mm carbon tubular prototype
Front tire: Challenge Forte tubular, 22mm
Rear tire: Challenge Forte tubular, 22mm
Saddle: Bontrager inForm RL
Seat post: Bontrager Ride Tuned Carbon seatmast
Bottle cages: Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon (2)
Computer: SRM Power Control 7
Other accessories: Gore Ride-On Professional System derailleur cables and housing

Critical measurements:

Rider's height: 1.8m (5' 11")
Rider's weight: 70kg (154lb)
Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 760mm
Saddle setback: 57mm
Seat tube length, c-t: 488mm
Seat tube length, c-c: 472mm
Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 547mm
Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 55mm
Head tube length: 170mm
Top tube length: 560mm
Total bicycle weight: 7.08kg (15.61lb)

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