From tyres to lightweight climbing bikes, we’ve taken a good look at all of the 2024 Tour de France road bikes and equipment and here are 10 things that you perhaps are better off not copying off the likes of Pogacar, Mark Cavendish and Vingegaard if you want to be quicker and more comfortable on your road bike.
The Tour de France is home to some of the best 2024 road bikes and best road bike equipment in the world but it doesn’t mean that we should copy all the choices from the world of pro cycling. Will you be purchasing any of these road bike upgrades? Let us know in the comments section below…
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⚫️ In this video
0:00 Introduction
0:34 Massive Chainrings
1:22 Race Tyres
2:08 Top-End Groupsets
2:56 White bar tape
3:24 The Bikes!
4:32 Aero beaks!
5:17 Super lightweight bits
6:10 Ceramic bearings
6:52 Integrated cockpits
7:47 Fueling
8:35 Outro
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the toall of France is the world’s biggest cycling event where the fastest riders in the world come to battle it out last year the 3,45 km route was completed at an incredible average speed of 41.4 km per hour that’s 25.7 mph so if you’re looking to go faster or further on your bike then you might think that there’s some things that you can copy off the Tour of France Pros but there’s also plenty of things that we think you shouldn’t here’s 10 of them unfortunately it’s very very unlikely that us mere mortals are traveling at anything like the same speed as the pros we’ll blame that one on not having a nice Pelon sit in shall we this year most of the pros are running massive 54 to chain rings but the team mechanics actually changed them in between stages to best suit the terrain the pros want to be in the middle of the cassette block for the majority of the race as this is the most efficient chain line and hence they’re not losing Watts copying the pros gearing in the real world is a Sure Fire way to either blow up your knees or have a horrendously inefficient chain line instead most of us Amateur Road Riders will be better suited with a compact group set something like a 4835 or 5034 tooth chain set on a flat Road there’s two main things slowing you down aerodynamics and rolling resistance now the easiest way to reduce your rolling resistance is by switching to a set of faster TI tires for example you can see here that paga and his UAE team Emirates team are using continental’s GP 5000 TT Tire the problem with tires like this is they’re not only more prone to puncturing but they also don’t last very long at all usually less than half the time of an allrounder Tire now if you’re a very rich cycling team looking for every marginal gain then that might well be worth it but with the current eye watering prices of tires we’d recommend giving up a few watts in the name of durability after all we don’t have a team car following us around if we do get caught out by the puncture fairy look around the Tor France Paton in 2024 and you’ll see two things Shimano duras group sets and Sham red ax group sets both are very very good and you can find our full comparison between them in the description below however when building our own bikes we wouldn’t actually spend our own money on either of them no it’s not because we’re Die Hard campanola fans but rather because the lower spec group sets are just so much better value take the 12-speed tgra group set for example you won’t find it being used in this year’s tour but it’s only about 200 g heavier than duras has exactly the same Motors and all the other Tech and yet costs over ,000 less just to put that weight difference into perspective it’s less than two medium siiz bananas for some reason or another this year’s tour to France is absolutely inundated with white Bart tape presumably for reasons of fashion and Pache I have to admit it does look really rather good however from personal experience I’d recommend not trying this one at home when I tried it I got some lovely comments on the first few rides and then BL and behold it got ruined by Road spray no amount of cleaning could bring it back and after a few months I gave in and went back to black you might think that all you need to ride as fast as the pros is the same bike and we are quite lucky that unlike in other sports you can for a price by the exact same equipment being used by the world’s best chances are though this probably isn’t the most sensible purchase in fact there’s a whole host of bikes that are more suitable for the majority of us than the race machines that the Uber flexible Pros use for example team mistar Ander quip set Riders will be using a bike just like this Canyon ultimate CFR in the tour to France however rather than just copying the pros another bike in the range such as the endur race is likely better suited to most amateur Riders an endurance bike like this one is still performance focused lightweight and has top end components the main difference being it’s higher at the front end which will probably mean that us M mortals can ride it in more comfort and for longer now before we dive into the final five things not to copy remember to subscribe to the channel if you’ve been enjoying it so far it really does help us out and we’ve got lots more cool cycling test de to show you I am a fan of Arrow but the 2024 Tour of France has seen some seriously bizar Tech created in the pursuit of cheating the wind things that unless you want to get some rather odd looks are probably left to the pros how about this $300 aob beak for example that Sprinter Dylan Gro ofen was spotted using and one a stage using it’s probably enough to get you laughed out of your local Cycling Club though I know my riding IES would never let me live that one down taping up your Bowers like C also probably best not copying or how about this TT style Pock helmet complete with visor that EF team have been wearing let us know your thoughts on that down in the comments below now this one I just know is going to be controversial and to be fair there is a few exceptions to the rule for example if you live somewhere really mountainous most of us don’t live in a mountainous terrain though for example I live in the mendip hills in the UK it is quite hilly but I know that sacrificing a few extra grams to get something more aerodynamic is well worth it if I want to go as fast as possible the pros take on some of the hardest climbs in the world so of course they’re going to try and shave every gam and ride bikes like this Vila vertical a bike that is right on the 6.8 kilo UCI weight limit personally though I would much rather ride something like this willia filante yes it’s a few hundred G heavy heavier but I don’t think that this will make the foggiest bit of difference are you team Arrow or team lightweight let us know down below if you were to pull apart the bikes of the pros then on nearly all of them you’d find ceramic bearings residing in the bottom bracket the wheels and even the headsets ceramic bearings claim to be the best of the best but quite often this performance comes at a premium here’s an example take Hunt’s latest sub 50 Wheels they’ll set you back 1,849 with steel bearings and a whopping £440 more for the same Wheels with ceramic bearings this might save you a few Watts out the box but a it’s not a very cost-effective upgrade B bearing maintenance will reap far larger rewards than the fancy ones and see that money is probably much better spent elsewhere over the past few years there’s been a shift from just a few sprinters using integrated cockpits to a very large proportion of the TOA France pelaton integrated cockpits look absolutely great and are probably a tiny bit faster too however for adjustments they’re not so good now if you’re a taller France Pro then you’ll have a whole team of people analyzing your position bike fits multiple times a year and access to an unlimited supply of very very expensive cockpits for most of us though we don’t get all of that we often need to find a more fit and forget solution not to mention that some Brands don’t even offer the the same widths and lengths of cockpits to Consumers as they do to the pros Comfort is key for most of us not only to enjoy cycling to the full but also to be fast which is more likely to be on a conventional bar and stem professional cycling takes quite some fueling and riders in the Tour of France will be consuming upwards of around 6,000 calories a day this will be made up of gels high carb energy drinks and the pros old favorite of rice cakes fueling is just as important for us amateurs although we’d recommend not ingesting quite the same quantity of gels and energy powder in your drinks the pros have spent years optimizing their fueling strategies building up their carb intake and ensuring that they can get enough calories down in as short a time as possible if we tried to eat the same as a probe then all what would happen is we’d feel very sick and potentially regret it even more the day after if you really want to copy a pro then build up your carb intake overtime and ever try something new on event day let us know whether you agree or disagree with my choices down in the comments section below if you enjoyed this content then please give it a like subscribe to the channel to stay up to date with all of our cycling Tech during the tour France and Beyond and we’ll see you next time
40 Comments
And remember, if you hear a loud vehicle coming up behind you, move right over as far left as you can, because it could be a loaded truck with a wide load, or some crazed person like me with 250kg worth of bullbar I'd gladly make you an ornament upon.
You should mention bike computer.
Crazy, I have a 53/39 and it has been great for me
Flats are pretty rare in my area but I’m a scaredy cat so I’ll always go grip first, then speed, then robustness
As an older rider 73 I actually use a 48/32 crankset with an 11/28 cassette it's perfect for me. A cadence of 100 gives about 50kph after that just freewheel!
You're way too busy worrying about what people think.
The part of integrated cockpits are true.. but unfortunatly the majority of bikes already bring it!
The Poc helmet is a cool piece of kit!!!! Why ppl talk down on it idk.
I do 54/40 best I’ve ever done. I could go bigger as well.
100% agree
I’ve been wearing Cav’s £1k aero socks 🧦 and I’ve gained 100 watts!
I always ride with a 60t chainring with a 10t on the rear. I never change down 👍💪👍
Two "medium size bananas"? It all depends how big the bananas are.
Q: is beer a performance enhancer most amateurs can afford?
GP 5000's are great. I live where every plant is trying to puncture your tires and I RARELY get flats. Everyone here runs GP 5000's. They last a long time. What are they even talking about here
Pretty sure Cav is using unmarked NoPinz Hypersonic Tovershoes boa covers, not tape. They're only £39.99.
This whole publication needs referring to Rule V
I bought Primoz Roglic’s old 2021 team bike thinking i could ride it..the handlebars were that far below the seat height & that stretched out forwards I quickly realised it was impossible for me…it’s now wall art in my kitchen..
White bar tape is awesome.
Neither lightweight nor aerodynamic…
When I reach 10000 rpm, I will use ceramic bearings…..😂
I am 100% on Team Comfort .. I dont Race my bike or try to win anything I just love riding my bike to burn off the Cake stay healthy and to push my self a bit.. 2-3 times a year I will join a 5-9 hour Race but my goal here is just to push me to the limit if what I can do I do not care if I spend 20 min more or less ..
visma Helmet will ALWAYS be funny and a meme! 😂
Massive 54th chainrings ? 53-39 was standard 10 years ago and cassettes of the time use to be 11-23. 54 vs 53 is the same (2 % difference) and climbing gears are actually lower know. The middle of the cassette thing is true in TT with 60+ chainrings. Same bias with Track bike and the 64t used in pursuite : rear cogs is also bigger making the ratio not very different that 53×11 you have on road… a proper cycling myth.
Most of the increased speed comes from more aero equipment, gear ratios increased less than average cadence did over the past decade.
As a rider that is blind as a mole, a visor helmet was my choice to see and have sun protection, without having to buy new glasses for sportive sunglasses once per year to match my eyesight (or lack thereof…).
You can still opt for one that doesn't look like straight off a scifi movie too😅
If you want to claim that "integrated cockpits look great" you should not show footage of the Cervelo wishbone stem, because it's the prof for the exact opposite!
What shoes are you wearing in the beginning of the video?
Team light weight.
Integrated cockpits looking great? Obviously the beauty is in the eye of the beholder…
And again you fool anybody by suggesting that we can buy the pro equipment. That’s a lie. We can only buy lookalike frames produced for 250 quid somewhere in the east and sold to morons for a fortune. Look may be at least of a better quality than the other crap that is sold to you. But you’ll NEVER get the pro stuff!!!
As a 40+ years of experience as a cyclist, I agree with all of this.
I still prefer a race geometry and a flat back to a raised front-end and tall jead tube. Get as low as you can get being confy and efficient, train your flat back on the trainer in winter. Make sur you can ride in the drops.
Aero is free…
I run a 54/40 with an 11-34 no problem great from the rolling roads of the south of the UK.
In Majorca however this changes to a 52/36 maybe a 50/34. No slammed stem have about 20mm spacers. Pretty flexible but I am not sure I want to try a slammed stem I’m not in my 20s!
Black bar tape is the flag that says you started riding bikes 3 years ago.
I don’t have my stem slammed on my 2013 Trek Madone , I ride in the drops a lot I try to maintain fitness and flexibility, which I don’t see a lot of riders being able to stay in the drops a long time and I also have a 53 , 39 group set w 11-25 cassette . Probably the thing that bothers me the most for the past 13 years of road cycling at my age is hand numbness, mostly my left hand. Yeah, I could probably ride a bike with a slammed stem, I’m flexible enough to, but how is your neck and shoulders gonna feel especially in a long ride or maybe if there’s some bumps you’re not gonna feel comfortable.
I may not be riding as fast as the Tour de France pros, but I also don't ride in the Alps and Pyrenees. Where I live, large chain rings keep me in the middle of the cassette most of the time.
48/35 with 10 in the back is not a compact set it's a bigger ratio then 52/36 with 11 in the back.
10 thing they say not to copy that actually are perfectly fine.
Waste of time and bandwidth
Good info but there are new options. My 3ddtransitions Svelte bars angle drops inward, ultra aero and more hand positions.
Ceramic bearings also need far more frequent regreasing maintenance.
Had to laugh regarding getting the best chain line like it was a new thing. I remember Barry Hoban doing this for Paris roubaix but he changed the cassette to get the ideal chain line sprocket.
Dude… my endurace is ALOT slower than my Noah fast… the comfort the bike offers is northing compared to the speed You sacrifice. I use my endurace for gravel of bad weather rides. But in a fast groupride its worthless