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- Now the Tour de France is a wonderful time
because it helps nerds like me stalk,
I mean check out the pros' bikes.
And the very expensive tech and equipment
that they've got especially for this race.
So right now,
let's go and have a look at some of the bikes
which I think you should keep a close eye out for
during this year's big race.
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Now Jakob Fuglsang of the Astana team,
he's a pretty lucky guy.
Because well, he's got himself one of these.
An Argon 18 Gallium Pro.
But it's not just any old Gallium Pro.
This one is painted up especially for him.
So if you look here on the top tube,
we've actually got,
well a picture.
Half of it's his face
and half of it looks to be a robot of some kind.
I'm sure someone out there
will be able to tell me exactly what that is,
but I'm not that sure myself.
Also on the down tube,
even got his own logo on there too.
An integrated J and F,
standing for of course, his initials.
And then well, this paintwork.
It's done by a company called Colourburn Studio
who have collaborated with Argon 18
for a number of bikes so far this year
for the team Astana.
And I personally,
I think this one is my nicest one.
Yes, my favorite.
Now, if you look as well on the handlebars
where they meet the stem,
there's just a little bit of white paint.
So basically that enables the mechanics
to know exactly where to refit those handlebars.
If for any chance
they did have to take those bars out
for maybe dismantling during travel,
that kind of thing.
Also, pretty customized and pretty trick,
that Oversized Pulley Wheel System down there
on the Shimano Dura-Ace rear derailleur.
Now, Astana themselves
are actually sponsored by CeramicSpeed.
So maybe if we were saying,
"He's gone out and spent his pocket money
"to get a little marginal gain
"so he can maybe save himself a few watts
"by using that Oversized System."
All in all, I think this is a really trick bike.
I've just been past this bike.
This is the brand new Scott Addict
belonging to Adam Yates of the Mitchelton-Scott team.
And I'll tell you what,
this bike is a beauty.
Do you know why?
Because this colorway is literally just been released.
The riders who are riding for Mitchelton-Scott
in this year's Tour de France
are the first batch of riders
to get this gray and silver matte edition bike.
And the yellow really kicks out well from it.
So interestingly as well,
I've just found out that Adam rides a size small frame,
and his identical twin brother Simon rides extra small.
So there we are,
a little bit of trivia for you.
I wonder why exactly that is.
Now if you look at the cockpit of this bike,
it's not decked out with carbon
or a one-piece integrated setup.
Instead it's really traditional aluminum components.
What is most striking about the front end of it is this.
The climbing shifter is reverse
onto the front of the handlebars
as opposed to being thumb-operated.
So you're gonna use your forefinger
and maybe a middle finger
just to actually be able to change gear.
I do like that.
It's covered throughout in Shimano Dura-Ace 9150 Di2.
A little number meant there and there.
And a Shimano Dura-Ace power meter on there too.
I've just weighed it, have a guess at home.
What do you think it is?
Close.
6.8 kilos on the dot.
Absolutely beautiful.
Let's not forget though,
those brand new Pirelli PZero tubular tires too.
First time they've been used in competition
at the Tour de France.
Now one of the bikes
which you commonly see at the Tour de France
but not that commonly used is one of these.
One of the Mavic neutral service bikes.
So these are provided by race neutral service sponsor Mavic
to any rider who encounters a problem out in the road
and can't be helped out by his own team.
So what's so special about it, then?
Well for a start,
it's a Canyon bicycle underneath this yellow paint
and the Mavic stickers.
And it's got a full Shimano Ultegra 6800
mechanical groupset.
You've got yourself Mavic Cosmic Carbon wheels too,
tubeless tires from Mavic also.
And get this, a dropper post.
That's right.
So a rider doesn't need to faff around with an Allen key
or anything like that to adjust his saddle height.
Instead, at the side of the road
they can easily just raise or lower it as they wish.
Now they do have different bikes
with different pedal types on there as well.
But most commonly used in the Peloton
are the LOOK pedals as well as the Shimano SPD-SL.
So generally, most of the bikes come fitted with those.
And finishing kit,
well for a start we've got a Fizik Aliante saddle.
We've got Fizik handlebar tape.
And get this, two ENVE carbon fiber bottle cages.
I think most people at home
would be more than happy with this as their bike.
Let alone a neutral service spare bike.
Now another bike which you should definitely
keep a very close eye out for
during this year's Tour de France is this.
The brand new Trek Madone Disc
as used by the Trek-Segafredo team.
So this is the first time
it's officially being used in competition,
although we have seen spy shots of riders using it
in a few races leading up to the event.
But what's so different then?
Well naturally, it's got disc brakes on it.
But importantly,
gone is the quite over-engineered,
perhaps some would say,
flaps on the front head tube of the current Madone,
so that's the rim rails.
So previously when you turned the handlebars,
those flaps would actually open up as you turned
to allow the brake to do its job correctly.
Don't need to do that now though.
Because you've got disc brake hoses.
Then the handlebars, well they are a two-piece affair.
So previously they were a one-piece
integrated unit handlebar and stem.
But these ones, two separate pieces.
So you can run different stems and bar widths,
and really mix and match to your heart's content.
As well as importantly for some riders out there,
actually angling them around a little bit
so the drops aren't necessarily parallel to the floor.
And then it's fully decked out
in a Shimano Dura-Ace 9170 groupset.
And using those Bontrager Aeolus XXX
60-millimeter-deep wheels.
Keep a close eye out,
because this isn't the only version you're gonna see.
I tried to arm wrestle John Degenkolb earlier on,
but have you seen the size of his guns?
I have no chance.
Look out for their pearlescent white ones,
they are stunningly beautiful.
So there we are.
A few bikes which I think you should keep a close eye out
this year during the Tour de France,
and my personal favorites thrown in there.
Now let me know which one's your favorite.
And also, which ones have we missed?
Let me know in the comments.
And as ever,
make sure you like and share this video
with your friends too.
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