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If I spend £6K om a Trek Madone 6 series, is it really what the Schlecks are riding. Or are the bikes we can buy out the show room about as far removed as a ford focus is from a Formula 1 car?
Surely they must be lighter, better made, etc etc, and the show room models are just painted/designed to look like them?
Thanks
MM
there is a bigger difference on your legs.
SOme will be similar but some may have prototype parts and special made stuff
Most of them are pretty much off the peg these days, with a few exceptions. Some sprinters have their frames beefed up around the bottom bracket for example.
Component specs will usually vary depending on sponsor deals etc.
I think you can buy pretty much exactly what they ride, if money were no object of course. But I reckon once your're spending £2-3k it's basically the same thing, and at half that again you'd probably be hard pushed to tell the difference.
Pretty much the same. Hardly anyone is on custom frames these days and the weight limit on pro bikes means their bikes are heavier than a lot of posh shop bought bikes.
If you are willing to throw enough money at an off the peg bike it will pretty much be the same as what the pros are riding. Same can be said of top spec DH and XC MTB's
There will always be a bit of customisation for the top riders but a top end off the shelf bike is a hell of a lot closer to a pro bike than a Focus RS is to a WRC Rally car
Most of them are pretty much off the peg these days, with a few exceptions. Some sprinters have their frames beefed up around the bottom bracket for example.
Bearing in mind the minimum weight limit, and the fact these guys are the creme de la creme, makes lots of sense to add any weight by beefing up the frame in crucial areas really.
You can build a road bike to be sub 10lb if you've got the dosh, making one exceed 15lb is easy.
You're quite possibly able to buy a lighter bike than the pro's would ride for your £6k or so, certainly lighter frames. But...
I think you can buy pretty much exactly what they ride, if money were no object of course. But I reckon once your're spending £2-3k it's basically the same thing, and at half that again you'd probably be hard pushed to tell the difference.
How many seconds per stage would the top riders be if you swapped out their Dura-Ace for Ultegra or 105? The difference would be absolutely minimal. Wheels and frames are of course more important, but I'd say that road bikes as good as they are today, £2k will buy you a bike more than capable of being competitive on off the shelf. It's the rider that makes the difference!
Yes, that was my point.
A lot of teams are inventing new ways to add weight these days, to get them up to the minimum weight limit. See astana's chainset axle weights for example. Apparently they used to just shove bits of chain down the seat tube but it seems to have gotten a bit more sophisticated recently!
It is very easy, with enough dosh, to be riding a bike lighter than the pros are on.
depends on the manufacturer - the specialized venge is a pretty much one-off (the venge models that will be in the shops soon won't be the same as cavendish's current bike) - the Canyon and Cervelo are stock models that can be bought off the website
as richmtb said, there isn't much in it, just a bit extra carbon slathered round the bb or headtube, or a slightly longer top tube
Why on earth would anyone ad rotating weight to a bike to get it above the minimum weight limit?
They don't, they're using SRM or other power meters to both bring the bikes up to weight and give them valuable data feedback.
They put the weight in there because it keeps the COG low, apparently.
Probably find some stuff is just next seasons model. Think the pros has electronic shifting before the masses etc. etc. - basically road testing stuff for the dentists to buy next year to replace last years oh so out of date SRAM Red....
I've heard it said of the latest models of cervelo R5, the seat stays are to hang the brake off and conform to uci standards - the chainstays are so stiff they would be able to hold the wheel in place on their own
[url= http://www.bikeradar.com/road/racing/article/tour-de-france-tech-looking-through-the-magnifying-glass-30925 ]http://www.bikeradar.com/road/racing/article/tour-de-france-tech-looking-through-the-magnifying-glass-30925[/url]
Link for BB weights, it's Leopard Trek, not Astana, my mistake.
The whole point is that they have to ride bikes that can be bought off the shelf.
I've heard it said of the latest models of cervelo R5, the seat stays are to hang the brake off and conform to uci standards - the chainstays are so stiff they would be able to hold the wheel in place on their own
Arent the GC riders riding R3s?
Lots of subtle differences like red label Campagnolo and such things as FMB tyres badged as popular brands.
They don't have to but they do, then they can then sell them to mere mortals "as ridden in the TDF"