For three weeks in July, the eyes of the cycling world are on the Tour de France, making it a great stage for the cycling industry to show off its latest, lightest, fastest, and lustiest equipment.
A few teams get new bikes for the 2019 tour—Michelton gets a color-changing and sparkly Scott Addict RC, and Total Direct Énergie rides a soulful blue Wilier Zero SLR—and SRAM's sponsored Katusha and Trek are aboard SRAM's 12-speed Red eTap AXS group.
But the biggest equipment news seems to be the continued penetration of disc brakes into the peloton with more riders using hydraulic disc brakes more often. Still, expect to see rim brakes widely employed on the toughest climbing stages as riders seek out every advantage, even if it is only in their head. With new disc-brake-only frames regularly coming in under 800 grams, it's not hard for teams to hit the 6.8kg weight limit even with a disc-equipped bike.
This mix of rim and disc brakes is probably a nightmare for team mechanics, and raise a glass to the poor neutral support crews having to sort out rim or disc, 11 or 12 speed, when trying to get a rider a wheel.
Prior to the proliferation of disc brakes and aero road bikes, bike selection during the Tour was pretty cut and dried. Most riders had one style of road bike and a time trial bike.
That relative simplicity has gone by the wayside now as many bike companies supply their athletes with multiple options. The two basic styles are: climbing bikes optimized for stiffess-to-weight ratio, and aerodynamic bikes which have features that let them cut through the air more efficiently which are typically used on the flat stages. But thanks in a large part to the UCI-mandated 6.8kg minimum weight, the weight difference between these two styles of bikes—built in race dress—is usually quite small.
And we haven’t even broached the topic of the most specialized bikes of all—the time trial bikes. They'll be used twice at this year's Tour: for stage two's team time trial (TTT), and stage 13's individual TT.
While team mechanics are being inundated with piles of equipment to maintain and new tech to keep up with, we simply see it as more cool stuff to geek out over. Here’s a rundown of the coolest bikes at this years Tour de France.
Which one would you like to ride? Let us know in the comments.
Team Dimension Data BMC Teammachine SLR01 Disc
Dimension Data's riders are aboard BMC bikes for the 2019 Tour. Team riders will use the aero optimized Timemachine, or the feisty stiffness-to-weight optimized Teammachine SLR01 Disc seen here. Team DD's drivetrain is less homogeneous than most teams'. Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo's sponsorships are (usually) contingent upon a team using an entire group—crank, chain, derailleurs, shifters, brakes, and often wheels—with no exceptions. Dimension Data's sponsors include Rotor (chainrings and 2InPower powermeter cranks), KMC (chains), and Enve (wheels and handlebars). With those brands on board, DD won't get official sponsorship from one of the major drivetrain brands. So the team purchases the bits it needs to fill out its bike builds from Shimano. The team uses Dura Ace Di2 shifters, derailleurs, and brakes (hydraulic discs in the example here) mixed in with parts from its official sponsors (some of DD's bikes also have aftermarket derailleur pulleys). Other bits include Selle Italia saddles, Vittoria tires, Garmin GPS units, with computer mounts and chain watchers from K-Edge.
Lotto Soudal Ridley Noah Fast
Like most teams in the Tour, Lotto-Soudal's riders have two different road bikes at their disposal. Depending on the stage and/or the rider's preferences they might use Ridley's Helium SLX climbing bike—used by Thomas de Gendt to win stage eight, or the Noah Fast aero-optimized bike seen here and used by Caleb Ewan. Despite being a Belgian team riding Belgian frames, Lotto-Soudal's team bikes are built with a heavy dose of Italian parts: Campagnolo's Super Record EPS 12 speed drivetrain and Bora wheels, Deda Elementi bars and stems, Vittoria tires, and Selle Italia saddles. Other Italian sponsors include Rudy Project eyewear, and Gaerne shoes. Rounding out the equipment are SRM power meters sending data to a SRM PC8 computer, C-Bear ceramic bearings, Lizard Skins bar tape, K-Edge chain watchers, Jagwire segmented brake housing, and Tacx bottle cages.
Arkea-Samsic BH G8
Warren Barguil, Andre Greipel, and the rest of the Arkea-Samasic wildcard team ride BH bikes into the 2019 Tour. The riders might choose the Ultralight Evo climbing bike, or BH's new G8 aero-optimized frame seen here. The team uses Shimano drivetrains and brakes (though it isn't an officially-sponsored team) with FSA chainrings and Powerbox power meter cranks, FSA bars and stems, wheels from FFWD, Vittoria tires, Prologo saddles, and Wahoo GPS computers.
Trek Segafredo Trek Madone SLR Disc
Richie Porte and his Trek-Segafredo teammates have their choice of Trek's Emonda climbing bike, or the Madone aero bike (shown). For the Tour, the team's bikes get a finish that resembles magma, a finish not yet offered through Trek's Project One customization program (but likely will soon). The team rides SRAM's Red eTap AXS wireless electronic group, and appears committed to disc brakes, though we'll see what happens when the riders get to the hardest mountain stages. Tires come from Vittoria, Garmin GPS units track the riders' power, and most of the other parts come from Trek's Bontrager division. Trek's bikes are one of the few available off-the-shelf in almost exactly the same build as the team races.
Team Ineos Pinarello Dogma F12
The cyborgs on Team Ineos will metronomically strangle the life out of the rest of the peloton aboard the latest iteration of Pinarello's Dogma—the F12. Pinarello claims the F12 offers a 7.3-percent aerodynamic and 10-percent lateral stiffness improvement over the already-formidable F10. Though there is a disc-brake version of the F12, Ineos, so far, continues to use rim brakes. Ineos uses Shimano drivetrains, power meters, and wheels, with Continental providing tires, and Pinarello's MOST house brand taking care of bar, stem, and seatpost. For climbing stages, expect to see riders aboard an X-Light F12 (simply a lightened F12 frame) equipped with made-in-Germany Lightweight carbon wheels.
EF Education First Cannondale SuperSix EVO
EF is another team that has a couple frames to choose from. In its case it's Cannondale's aerodynamically-optimized SystemSix, or the lighter SuperSix EVO (shown). Either way, the team uses Shimano drivetrains, though it's one of the team's without an official drivetrain partner, leaving Cannondale free to use its SiSL2 cranks set with Power2Max power meter (a Shimano drivetrain sponsorship would require the team to use Shimano cranks and power meter). Handlebars, stems and chainrings come from FSA, with Vision providing wheels (Vision is a division of FSA). Prologo provides saddles and bar tape, Garmin GPS units keep track of power, with Vittoria serving up its lovely tires (the rare 26mm size on this bike).
Bora-Hansgrohe Specialized S-Works Venge
Peter Sagan's Bora-Hansgrohe team enters the 2019 Tour on much the same equipment it used for the previous edition. Specialized likes to provide its teams with a quiver of bikes from which to choose, and riders on Bora-Hansgrohe will have both the Venge and Tarmac at their disposal. Specialized also provides the team with tires, saddles, and Roval wheels. The team uses Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 9170 components with Specialized power meter and Wahoo GPS units.
Ag2r La Mondiale Eddy Merckx Stockeu69
Romain Bardet and his teammates will race aboard bikes from new sponsor Eddy Merckx at this year's Tour. Expect to see riders on the Merckx 525—named after Eddy's unparalleled 525 victories—and the new Stockeu69—named after a notable climb along the Liege-Bastogne-Liege route—shown here. The use of small diameter round tubes says the Stockeu69 is designed to be as light as possible with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio—in other words, it's a climber's bike.
Though it has no official drivetrain sponsor, most of Ag2r's bikes have Shimano bits—Ultegra Di2 on this bike— though Campy drivetrains have been seen on Ag2r bikes also. Either way, the drivetrains get dressed up with parts from sponsors Rotor (cranks), and Ceramic Speed's OSPW pulley system and UFO treated chains. Other sponsors include Vredestein tires (though note blacked out front Continental tire on this bike), Deda Elementi bars, stems, and seatposts, Mavic wheels, Fizik saddles, and Lezyne GPS units.
Movistar Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
Movistar's riders will use much the same equipment for the 2019 Tour as they did last year, with the exception of Campagnolo's 12-speed Super Record EPS drivetrain (the team used 11-speed last year). Movistar riders can choose between two models from Canyon, the Aeroad CF SLX and, for when things get climby, the Ultimate CF SLX (pictured here). The bikes sport Canyon’s own bars, stems and seatposts. Longtime team sponsor Campagnolo supplies the team with drivetrain and wheels, and the package is rounded out with Power2Max power meter, Garmin GPS unit, Look pedals, Fizik saddles, Continental tires, and matching Lizard Skins DSP bar tape.
Mitchelton-Scott Scott Addict RC
Michelton-Scott's riders are aboard sparkly new bikes for the 2019 Tour. While the glorious chameleon paint steals the show, the bike underneath is impressive also. The new Addict RC is enhanced with improved aerodynamics by hiding the hoses, housing and wires inside the proprietary bar/stem system, as well as dropped seatstay attachment, and aero shaping to the downtube, headtube, seat tube, seatpost, and seatstays. Scott claims the new Addict RC is over 14 percent stiffer than the previous model, and that this disc-brake-only bike hits the UCI minimum weight of 6.8kg in sizes medium and below (with team build).
Other than the new frame, the team's equipment is similar to last year. Syncros, Scott's house brand, provides the bars, stems, seatposts, saddles, while Shimano serves up its Dura Ace Di2 drivetrain with power meter, and wheels. Tires are from Pirelli, and the team will watch its watts on Garmin GPS units.
Total-Direct Énergie Wilier Triestina Zero SLR
Total-Direct Énergie should sail up the climbs on their new Wilier Zero SLR frames, which are dressed in a fetching shade of blue. The disc-only Zero SLR's frame is made up of simple rounded tube shapes in its quest for low weight—claimed 780 grams—while the integrated bar/stem tidies things up and improves aerodynamics by hiding brake and derailleur lines. The team uses Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 electronic components and FFWD provides wheels shod in Hutchinson rubber. The riders will be pounding on Look pedals and resting atop Prologo saddles as they make their way through the French countryside.
Deceuninck Quick Step Specialized S-Works Tarmac
Other than paint, the Specialized bikes of Deceuninck Quick Step are almost identical to the bikes of Bora Hansgrohe. Its riders also use both the Venge and Tarmac (shown) dressed with Shimano Dura Ace Di2 drivetrain Specialized saddles, and tires, and Roval wheels. Deceuninck's Tarmacs are fitted with bars and stems from Shimano's PRO component line, (the Venge uses the Specialized bar and stem system designed for the bike), while Shimano's Dura Ace power meter which sends data to Bryton GPS units.
Team Katusha Alpecin Canyon Aeroad CF SLX
The biggest equipment change for Katusha's riders is the new SRAM Red eTap AXS 12-speed group on their bikes. Otherwise, the team is aboard the same Canyon bikes as Movistar—the Aeroad CF SLX aero bike (shown) and the lighter Ultimate CF SLX. Rounding out the build are Zipp wheels, power meters from Quarq, GPS units from Wahoo, Selle Italia saddles and Continental tires.
Team Sunweb Cervelo S5
Sunweb's riders are aboard Cervelo frames for the 2019 Tour. Cervelo was formerly found under Dimension Data's riders—they now ride BMC—while Sunweb's former frame sponsor Giant now sponsors the CCC team. Got all that? Good. Sunweb riders will choose from Cervelo's lightweight R5, or the aerodynamically optimized S5 seen here. The S5's integrated cockpit means it's an all-Cervelo affair, while drivetrain and disc brakes are Shimano's Dura Ace Di2 group with Dura Ace powermeter and wheels. Saddles are from PRO, tires from Continental, and the GPS units are supplied by Sigma.
An intriguingly nerdy detail is the paint. Developed by Silverstone Paint Technology (SPT), the new finish is said to be over 17 percent lighter than the bike's previous finish.
UAE Team Emirates Colnago C64
UAE Team Emirates rides the most desirable, and most Italian, bikes in the peloton. Riders can chose from Colnago's lightweight V2-r, the Concept aero road bike, or the incomparable made-in-Italy C64 seen here. No matter what frame, riders use Campagnolo Super Record 12-speed components, Campagnolo wheels, Deda Elementi bars and stems, Prologo saddles, and Vittoria tires. UAE apparently employs the best soigneurs—check out the massive saddle-to-bar drop raced by Norway's Vegard Stake Laengen.
Groupama-FDJ Lapierre Xelius SL
Based on the bike shown here, Groupama-FDJ will use disc brakes for the 2019 Tour. For some stages at least—we'll see if riders switch to rim brakes for the climbing stages. Shown is the the Lapierre Xelius SL Disc frameset, though some riders may use the French brand's Aircode aerodynamic frame. FDJ's long partnership with Shimano continues, with the Japanese brand providing Dura Ace Di2 disc brake groups, the Dura Ace power meter, and Dura Ace wheels. Bars, stems, seatpost come from Shimano's PRO brand, while other bits include Continental tires, Prologo saddles, and Garmin GPS units.
CCC Team Giant Propel
Having parted ways with long time partner Team Sunweb, Giant's bikes are now found under the riders of CCC Team. The team will use either the stiff and light TCR Advanced, or the aerodynamically optimized Propel Disc (a rim-brake version of the new Propel exists on the UCI's approved equipment list but has not been seen in the wild). Giant recently rolled out a high-end parts brand called Cadex, which supplies wheels and saddles, while Giant-branded parts are used for the bar and stem, and even the bottle cages. CCC uses Shimano Dura Ace drivetrain and brakes, Dura Ace Power meters, Giant GPS units, and Vittoria tires. Sharp eyes might notice the 26mm Vittoria Corsa tubulars, which is not a size the brand currently offers to the public.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
