German Giant-Alpecin rider John Degenkolb has already notched up an impressive set of results this season, and it's clear that the Giant Propel Advanced SL he's done it on is an effective bit of kit.
We take a closer look at his 2015 aero machine in the video below:
Pro bike: john degenkolb's giant propel advanced sl
Pro bike: John Degenkolb's Giant Propel Advanced SL
The majority of the components fitted to Degenkolb's frame are not new – but when it works, it works. Shimano provides the Dura Ace Di2 groupset, the all-carbon C50 wheels and the finishing kit, in the form of the aluminium Pro Vibe handlebars and stem and Turnix saddle.
Shimano hasn’t had it all its own way though. Giant-Alpecin has opted for Fourier’s DX005 as the brake of choice for its team-issue frames.
SRM’s dominance in the power meter market seems to be waning, as Pioneer has stepped up this year by providing Giant Alpecin with its SGY-PM910H system.
Degenkolb obviously can’t get enough of shifting – he has no fewer than three different systems for sending his chain up and down the block. The somewhat traditional Di2 brake shifters, the often-seen button shifters that sprinters favour, and the handlebar-mounted climbing shifters that we've seen previously on bikes ridden by pure climbers, such as Chris Froome’s Dogma F8.
Shift option number three – handlebar-mounted climbing shifters
Multiple shifting options clearly haven’t confused him though, as he’s beaten the likes of Alejandro Valverde and Philippe Gilbert already this year.
