Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) is yet another rider who has joined the Berner oversized pulley camp. While the frictional advantage over stock pulleys is relatively small, it's still real
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) is yet another rider who has joined the Berner oversized pulley camp. While the frictional advantage over stock pulleys is relatively small, it's still real - James Huang/Future Publishing
Aero drop bars are slowly making inroads in the peloton - James Huang/Future Publishing
A bit of tape helps stop the valve stems rattling inside the rims - James Huang/Future Publishing
Each rider has multiple bikes available during any given stage and it's important to keep them all straight - James Huang/Future Publishing
Wouldn't it be great if you started every ride with a drivetrain this clean? For sure, team bikes get new chains and cassettes very regularly but even parts with significant use on them show up to the line looking like this - every single day - James Huang/Future Publishing
Number plates are trimmed by team mechanics into any variety of shapes - James Huang/Future Publishing
Several teams use these little rubber dots to protect the paint from housing rub - James Huang/Future Publishing
A small sticker covers up the internal seatpost binder bolt head on Omega Pharma-Quick Step's new Specialized S-Works Tarmac - James Huang/Future Publishing
A bit of Lizard Skins DSP handlebar tape on this Look KéO Blade pedal presumably helps with the creaking - James Huang/Future Publishing
Team mechanics glue a lot of tubular tires. Not surprisingly, they've gotten pretty good at it - James Huang/Future Publishing
A serrated brake caliper washer keeps this number plate from rotating on the mount - James Huang/Future Publishing
Front quick-release skewers always face rearward, and rear ones always face forward. This protects them from being accidentally opened in a crash - James Huang/Future Publishing
Lotto-Belisol went local with its bottom brackets, sourcing them from fellow Belgian outfit C-Bear - James Huang/Future Publishing
An additional clamp on the seatpost helps stop it slipping under extreme loads - James Huang/Future Publishing
Not every bike is identified with a tidy name decal. Sometimes just a bit of marker will do - James Huang/Future Publishing
Computer heads are necessarily matched to specific riders and teams have different ways of marking them - James Huang/Future Publishing
Cable tie ends can be surprisingly vicious so most are cut flush, leaving no sharp edges - James Huang/Future Publishing
Sky team mechanics use short sections of heat shrink tubing to neatly tie the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 wire to the rear brake cable housing - James Huang/Future Publishing
Seriously, folks, race bikes are always clean, at least at the start of the day - James Huang/Future Publishing
Sky actually keeps an inventory of all of its Shimano parts. Bits that fail - for any reason - are always sent back to Shimano for evaluation. It's not quite like Shimano simply ships off a giant box of free gear and says, "Here you go"! - James Huang/Future Publishing
Just because there's something that's supposedly lighter/stiffer/faster/better, doesn't mean that every rider wants to use it - James Huang/Future Publishing
Sky buys all of its tires, which leaves it free to use whatever it feels is best for any given occasion. Several other teams also prefer Veloflex Carbon tubulars, although they're often rebadged with other brand names - James Huang/Future Publishing
Svein Tuft handed the pink jersey over to Orica-GreenEdge teammate Michael Matthews after yesterday's stage. Conveniently, though, they're the same height so mechanics were basically able to hand the same bike over, too - James Huang/Future Publishing
Red, white, green, and pink somehow just seem to look right together - James Huang/Future Publishing
Orica-GreenEdge's special Giro d'Italia leader's bike is rife with neat detailing - James Huang/Future Publishing
SRM gets into the game too, with a pink PowerControl 7 computer head - James Huang/Future Publishing
Each stage is graphically depicted on the top tube with an artistic rendition of each day's course profile - James Huang/Future Publishing
Logos aren't always visible from the side so some companies have figured out ways to put them on the front or back - James Huang/Future Publishing
We're honestly unsure if the Tinkoff-Saxo mechanics apply fresh tape each day or are just really good at cleaning the stuff. If it's the latter, though, we want to know the secrets to keeping matte-finish white handlebar tape looking this good - James Huang/Future Publishing
Tinkoff-Saxo's seatposts bear the clamp marks from the team's previous Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 frames - James Huang/Future Publishing
Toe straps provide a little peace of mind for the custom quick-release down tube clamps used atop the team cars. These are typically only used for the higher-speed drives to race starts, though, not during the actual race, where speeds are usually significantly slower - James Huang/Future Publishing
Keep in mind that neither the cassette or chain shown here are brand new. Really, team mechanics are exceptionally good at cleaning bikes - fast - James Huang/Future Publishing
Gore's 'grub' seal keeps water and grime out of the full-length cable liner, making for more consistent shift performance over time and fewer cable replacements for the mechanics each day - James Huang/Future Publishing
The longer cages on SRAM's WiFli rear derailleurs allow mechanics to install extra-large cassettes for steep mountain stages without having to swap out anything else - James Huang/Future Publishing
Team wheels are often marked to make them easier to retrieve if a rider receives help from neutral support or even another team - James Huang/Future Publishing
Sencillo's saddle-mounted mini-fenders have been pretty popular here in rainy Ireland - James Huang/Future Publishing
Luca Paolini's (Katusha) SRM PowerControl 7 is clearly marked with his name. It's critical not to mix up riders' power data - James Huang/Future Publishing
The Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela team puts these FSA decals on the front of the bars so they've visible in finish line photos - James Huang/Future Publishing
Even Bar Fly has figured out a way to make its computer mounts more visible - James Huang/Future Publishing
We spotted more than a few teams that weren't sponsored by Campagnolo but were using the Italian company's brake pads - James Huang/Future Publishing
Huge logos on the underside of the down tube can easily be picked out in photos - James Huang/Future Publishing
Team mechanics use all sorts of different methods to ensure timing chips don't get separated from their bikes - James Huang/Future Publishing
Note how the end of this quick release lever sits inboard of the chain stay - James Huang/Future Publishing
The Colombia team is using iBike's Newton computer, which calculates power output instead of measuring it directly - James Huang/Future Publishing
Team Colombia's iBike Newton computer mounts are a bit clunky but a solid foundation is a key requirement to getting a reasonably accurate power calculation - James Huang/Future Publishing
The iBike Newton computer mount on Colombia team bikes can be switched to stem or handlebar use - James Huang/Future Publishing
Inline adjusters allow this Colombia rider to tweak the front derailleur tune on the fly - James Huang/Future Publishing
Bardiani CSF's MCipollini Bond frames feature built-in chain catchers - James Huang/Future Publishing
The Bardiani CSF team uses zipties (and toe straps!) to secure the quick-release bike mounts while traveling on the highway. One quick clip, though, and the setup is pretty much race-ready - James Huang/Future Publishing
Even cable ends are neatly crimped - James Huang/Future Publishing
The Trek Factory Team uses these neat custom number plate holders that are bonded behind the seat tube - James Huang/Future Publishing
A rubber cap helps prevent at least some water from running down into BMC's Impec frames. Given the weather teams have experienced at the start of this year's Giro, though, those bikes are going to need a lot more than just that - James Huang/Future Publishing
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) started stage 3 on a Cervélo S3 equipped with mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace shifting, Nokon segmented aluminum housing, and 3T's new Aeronova road bar. A -17-degree stem and omitting the headset cover allows for as low a bar position as possible - James Huang/Future Publishing
Shiny! - James Huang/Future Publishing
Garmin-Sharp rider Nathan Haas warms up with his back to the crowd to give himself at least some semblance of privacy - James Huang/Future Publishing
Garmin-Sharp team mechanics have set up Ryder Hesjedal's bike with crossover cable routing - James Huang/Future Publishing
Color-matched saddles lend a very cohesive look to team bikes - James Huang/Future Publishing
Campagnolo carbon-specific pads are mounted here to a Shimano Dura-Ace caliper - James Huang/Future Publishing
Ever wonder what a pro rider wants to see on his computer screen? Here's what Lampre-Merida rider Winner Anacona sees. And yes, that's really his name - James Huang/Future Publishing
Stuffing a rain jacket into a cut-up water bottle for a Lampre-Merida rider - James Huang/Future Publishing
We would love to know how long ago these Christophe toe straps were made - James Huang/Future Publishing
With the advent of electronic shifting and tightly spaced 11-speed cassettes, it's more important than ever that rear derailleur hangers be stiff and stout. The ones used on Canyon's Ultimate CF SLX use a two-piece, sandwich-type layout and a thick profile - James Huang/Future Publishing
There's an impressive amount of fabrication work involved in these custom roof racks - James Huang/Future Publishing
Movistar is quite strict about how the team's bikes must look. Team colors only, all the time - James Huang/Future Publishing
This cassette and chain aren't new but you'd be hard-pressed to tell judging by the cleanliness - James Huang/Future Publishing
It's regular practice for mechanics to leave a little bit of steerer tube sticking up through the stem. This produces the maximum clamp surface area between the stem and steerer tube for the most secure interface possible - James Huang/Future Publishing
Cannondale team mechanics feed a few O-rings onto the rear section of derailleur housing to protect the paint - James Huang/Future Publishing
Whoops! This cable is missing the requisite grub seal to keep water and dirt out of the liner - James Huang/Future Publishing
Another set of Campagnolo brake pads, this time on a SRAM Red caliper - James Huang/Future Publishing
Cannondale team mechanics not only wrap the edges of Ivan Basso's seatpost clamp with electrical tape but they also completely wrap the saddle rails with it - James Huang/Future Publishing
A short section of segmented aluminum housing makes for a smoother path for the rear brake cable - James Huang/Future Publishing
With so many power meter cranks and solid chainring spiders in the peloton, this one almost looks like it's missing something - James Huang/Future Publishing
Mechanics regularly use a lot of tape to secure housing to the bars - James Huang/Future Publishing
Notes like this make it very clear what needs to be done - James Huang/Future Publishing
No static electricity shocks on the Astana bus, please! - James Huang/Future Publishing
Even team vehicles are incredibly clean - every single day - James Huang/Future Publishing
Hats off to Northern Ireland for putting on a great show - James Huang/Future Publishing
By and large, just about any bike currently being ridden in this year's Giro d'Italia can be bought by anyone with the financial means to do so. What makes these bikes special, however, is more than the sum of brand names and models. It's that they're built and prepped by some of the best and most seasoned mechanics in the world, and nearly everywhere you look there are small details that set these machines apart.
We've been profiling pro riders' bikes for years, and one trait has repeated itself time and again: these bikes are consistently and predictably perfect in terms of their mechanical and functional setup. Sure, mishaps and errors happen, but with far lower frequency than with typical enthusiast bikes, particularly given the amount of use and hard they're ridden.
Quick-release levers are always in the correct spot, brake pads are aligned exactly as they should be, gears shift with robotic precision (often literally, as is the case these days), and every little bit is finished with the utmost professionalism. Even cable ends are tidily trimmed and neatly crimped, and there's nary a squeak or creak ever to be heard.
Race bikes are about more than just being reliable and safe, though; they also have to be fast. Much of the work is hidden away with higher-performance bearings and lubricants that can't be readily seen. However, one spin of any crank or wheel here will reveal that there's something quite special going on inside. In the most fastidiously prepped rigs, it's a dramatic difference.
Ryder hesjedal (garmin-sharp) is yet another rider who has joined the berner oversized pulley camp. while the frictional advantage over stock pulleys is relatively small, it's still real:
Ryder Hesjedal is now using a Berner derailleur pulley and cage setup on his Cervélo. Lab tests have shown modestly lower friction than stock setups
Every bike is also highly customised to each and every rider. Fit dimensions are, of course, the most important aspect with every touch point set just so: saddle height, tilt, and setback; bar tilt, bend, and width; hood height and angle. In some case, bars are even taped in a preferred style. Not surprisingly, such customisation is quite time-consuming and can be hard to keep straight, so nearly every team has an expansive spreadsheet that records every key figure.
Aero drop bars are slowly making inroads in the peloton:
Every rider has their own preferences for bar and lever position
Finally, as the saying goes, "look good; feel good; do good". These bikes are incredibly, remarkably, almost otherworldly clean each and every time they hit the start line. In many cases, they're also hyper colour coordinated for a final appearance that simply looks fantastic. Mechanics go to quite great lengths to keep them looking this way, too.
Svein tuft handed the pink jersey over to orica-greenedge teammate michael matthews after yesterday's stage. conveniently, though, they're the same height so mechanics were basically able to hand the same bike over, too:
There are few better ways to make a rider feel special than with a custom paintjob -– especially when you're leading the Giro d'Italia!
Ultimately, the goal is that each rider has to do nothing but pedal, shift, and brake; everything works as it should with no further thought or effort needed. Sadly, a mechanic's most consistent sign that they've done their job properly in this arena is that the bike becomes somewhat of an afterthought. But that doesn't mean the rest of us can't admire their work.
Wouldn't it be great if you started every ride with a drivetrain this clean? for sure, team bikes get new chains and cassettes very regularly but even parts with significant use on them shows up to the line looking like this - every single day:
Clean, clean, clean! And the bikes look like this each and every day
James Huang is BikeRadar's former technical editor. After leaving BikeRadar in 2016, he worked at CyclingTips and Escape Collective. He now runs the Substack cycling publication N-1 Bikes.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
