(logo booms)
- This is the Argon 18 E-118 Pro
time trial bike of the Astana team.
And it's particularly exciting for me
because I've not seen it before it's a brand new model.
Now before I go into all the details
of this hot brand new bike then be sure to subscribe
to the GCN Tech channel if you haven't already
for the latest bike tech.
(lively music)
This particular bike belongs to Dario Cataldo
his name badge kinda gives it away.
And the first thing to note
is that it's a disc brake equipped time trial bike.
Which is kind of unusual,
most teams are still using rim brake time trial bikes
in the pro peloton in 2019.
And we've got 160 rotor at the front
and 140 rotor at the back.
And among the teams that do use disc brake bikes
we're seeing this as a trend, 160, 140
and it's something that neutral service
is starting to do as well so this could become the standard.
Interestingly, Argon 18 claims that the new model
is lighter despite having disc brakes.
This is a surprise because normally disc brake bikes
are about 1/2 a kilo heavier
than their rim brake counterparts.
But in the exact same build,
they reckon that this bike is 250 grams lighter
than the previous rim brake equipped model.
Now owing to the disc brakes that means that the front end
is much cleaner and you have more tire clearance as well
as well as the better braking performance.
And speaking of tire clearance,
we've got these Wolfpack Race Tubulars on here.
Wolfpack being quite a relatively new brand in pro cycling
but I've heard good things about these tires
in terms of rolling resistance
and the team mechanics and riders
seem to really like them as well.
There's often a commonly held perception
in cycling aerodynamics that disc brakes
aren't as aerodynamic as rim brake bikes
but Argon reckons that that isn't the case here either.
So they believe that the new bike is faster
than the previous one and lots of aero testing
went into the development of this particular new model
so they began with CFD which is computational fluid dynamics
that's designing it on a computer
to be as aerodynamic as possible.
And then there was lots of real-world testing
which took place in velodromes
but also out on the road as well.
And they were able to do this properly and quantitatively
by using a Notio Konect AeroPod sensor
mounted at the front of the bike.
Now the exact wattage savings that you get on this bike
compared to the previous rim brake model
depends on the rider and varies slightly.
But generally speaking
when you look at the data that Argon presents
it's about 10 watts at 50 kilometers per hour.
Now 10 watts might not sound like much to you
but at the top echelons of the sport
where time trials are often won by just seconds,
10 watts can make all the difference.
So according to Argon,
10 watts in a 40 kilometer time trial
at 50 kilometers an hour which is typical
of what the pros can amazingly achieve
represents about 25 seconds in time difference
which is huge.
Argon 18 also tell me that they've tweaked
the handling and also worked on the handling characteristics
of the bike to improve it is they also feel
that this is an area where the bike can be improved
to make it faster because it's not
just about being as aerodynamic as possible.
A bike has to handle well so that it can be faster
in technical situations on courses
so it will be interesting to see
how it fares once it gets raced.
Astana's wheels are supplied by Corima
and there are very bling indeed.
And these are actually special edition 30-year anniversary
ones which are particularly tasty.
So at the front we've got the very slippery-looking
tri-spoke and at the back we've got a disc disc, yep,
that's cause it's got a disc brake rotor on the other side.
In terms of gears we've got big ones
cause this is a time trial bike.
So Dario Cataldo is running 55/44 tooth at the front.
And this is a solid Vision chainring
and that's because it's a little bit more aerodynamic
than have one with lots of gaps in it
being a time trial bike.
And that's bolted on to a powerbox power2max power meter
with FSA powerbox carbon cranks, very nice.
And then at the back we've got an 11/30 cassette.
Now this is normally probably typically be an 11/28 cassette
but this bike's been set up for the time trial
on the opening stage of this year's Giro d'Italia
which features a climb at the end.
So he's got that extra gear
at the back there to help on the climb.
So we've got the shifters on the extensions
and also the shifters on the base bar as well
so you can change gear in both positions.
And these really nice pads as well
they feel really soft and squidgy.
And a really cool detail I've just spotted
is the junction box integration.
So you don't have a scruffy junction box hanging out
which isn't very aero, it's integrated really neatly
into the headset cap there and that makes
charging the Di2 really easy as well.
And another advantage of having disc brakes
on a bike like this is that you don't have
those quick-release levers sticking out into the wind
which can account for a couple of watts
at 50 kilometers an hour.
So you've just got really neat flush,
allen key sockets so if you need to change a wheel
the mechanics just have allen keys ready.
Final little details of the bike,
so we've got a nice Tacx aero bottle cage on there
and some Look Keo blade carbon pedals with titanium axles,
very tidy indeed.
And this Prologo Dimension saddle,
I've not actually seen one of these before
but it's got this really intriguing
textured surface on the top
to help keep the rider in position.
Right, got to give the people what they want
or I know you'll all complain so freehub soundcheck time.
Nice, quite like that.
There we go.
The weight of it when I pick it up,
it's actually surprising light
for a time trial bike with discs.
And mechanics just weighed it over there,
it's 8.3 kilos which is pretty competitive
for a disc brake time trial bike.
Now I hope you've enjoyed this video
and if you have then give it a thumbs up.
And let us know in the comments sections
what you think of the new bike.
I think it looks absolutely stunning.
I love this fade as well in the paint job, very nice.
And to see more time trial tech from the Giro d'Italia
click on the bike.