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Pro Bike: Nicole Cooke's Halfords Bikehut Boardman Pro

The diamond profile of the top tube's front end is to maximise stiffness.

  • Nicole Cooke has been a multiple British champion but hopes this year to take an Olympic title
  • Cooke's Boardman Pro has a triple butted 7005 aluminium front triangle and carbon seat/chain stays
  • Big tidy welds join an ovalised down tube and a round profiled seat tube to the bottom bracket shell
  • More tidy welding joins the top tube and a short monostay to the seat tube.
  • Unlike the off the peg bikes the Halfords Bikehut team have aggressive geometry and 100mm head tubes
  • Downtube is ovalised in the vertical plane at the headtube and the horizontal at the bottom bracket
  • The top tube is almost round at the seat tube but changes to diamond profile towards the head.
  • The diamond profile of the top tube's front end is to maximise stiffness.
  • Carbon chain stays arc inwards towards the spokes before flaring out to the rear hub.
  • The Boardman Pro fork is an all-carbon bit with carbon blades, crown and steerer.
  • The Boardman Pro drivetrain is a mixture of Shimano and Truvativ
  • The Truvativ Rouleur 2.2 Carbon chainset is a standard feature of off the peg Boardman Pro bikes.
  • The groupset is mostly Dura-Ace but Cooke has a lower budget Ultegra chain.
  • A Dura-Ace cassette with 12-23T sprockets is all Cooke needs here.
  • Wheels are unmistakably Bontrager but all the decals are covered with tape.
  • The front hub is Bontrager made by DT-Swiss.
  • Continental Competition tubulars are the tyre of choice for so many.
  • Nicole Cooke uses Ritchey Logic WCS bars with an anatomic bend…
  • …held in place by a matching WCS 4Axis stem.
  • The chrome front plate of the Ritchey WCS 4Axis stem is held in place by four stainless steel bolts.
  • Shimano Dura-Ace STI levers offer clinical shifting performance.
  • The Ritchey finishing kit is completed by a 27.2mm WCS seat post.
  • Cooke's choice of saddle is a titanium railed Selle Italia SLR.
  • One of the biggest names in the women's peloton.
  • Nicole won three rainbows as a junior but her main focus this year is Olympic gold
  • Like a lot of women, Cooke uses Speedplay pedals. This titanium-spindled set seems brand new
  • Boardman has a number of branded accessories including these carbon bottle cages.
  • Cooke keeps an eye on her speed thanks to the wireless sensor of her VDO A4+ computer.

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The diamond profile of the top tube's front end is to maximise stiffness.

© Ben Atkins