- This is the very trick, very customized Factor 02
of AG2R La Mondiale rider, Romain Bardet.
Now, I'm gonna start with the frame.
Of course, it is the Factor 02 model,
it's their lightweight climbing bike.
It's the one that Romain uses, most of the time, even though
he does have an aerodynamic option in his quiver as well.
And although the frame is stock, well, I say stock,
I mean it comes in at less than 800 grams,
he has got his own custom paint job on there.
So, this one is new for the Tour de France.
It's got a graphic there of a warrior from
his hometown of Clermont-Ferrand,
who apparently fought Julius Caesar.
Kind of ironic that he was fighting the Romans,
but anyway there we go.
He's also got a graphic of the Puy-de-Dome,
which is a really iconic climb from that region.
Apparently, he can see it from his house,
and it's also where he does a lot of his fitness testing.
Then finally, on the top tube, he's got his slogan.
His motto, take the risk or lose the chance.
Now, a little bit of a geekery for you here,
the black is actually raw carbon, and not black paint.
So, it saves a little bit of weight, meaning that this frame
is a little bit lighter than his previous one.
Coming from the same stable as the Factor bike,
is the black box seatpost, and then integrated bar and stem.
So, he's got quite a bit of lay back on there, you can see,
and then, it's quite a stretched out position.
All told, it's got a 130 millimeter stem on there,
and a 40 millimeter wide bar,
and on top of that seatpost,
you've got a Fizik Arione 00 saddle,
so that's the one with the carbon rails,
super, super lightweight.
Now then, let's have a look at the drivetrain, shall we?
There's quite a lot of kit on here,
that is relatively unfamiliar to the Pro Peleton.
So, we've got an SRM chainset on there, with the
old Dura-Ace chainrings on, and then, although we have got
Dura-Ace shifters and a Dura-Ace derailleur, front and back,
we've got this enormous, oversized, CeramicSpeed
pulley system, and this isn't just the bog standard
ceramic speed, if there is such a thing,
this is the 3D printed, titanium one.
So, ridiculously light and super, super trick.
Now, of course, CeramicSpeed don't just provide the
oversized pulley wheels, the derailleur cage, they've got
their own bottom bracket bearings in their as well.
They're in headset bearings, and you'll notice as well,
this chain looks filthy, but it's not.
So, this has got their own, super fast coating on there.
So, underneath is a Shimano 11 speed chain,
but they treat it, and then apparently you can save
between 10 and 16 watts with the full kit,
so that's not to be sniffed at.
I mean really isn't to be sniffed at, is it?
Although, I have found out, that actually the more power
you put out, the fewer the savings that you make.
So, actually close to the 10 rather than the 16 watts.
I thought that was quite interesting.
Right, he's also in full-on climbing mode at the moment.
So, that's an 11 to 30 cassette at the back.
Then, the other thing I want to draw your attention to,
before we leave the group set, are the STI levers.
So, if you'll see, they've kind of got this really bulbous
protrusion on the top, and that's because underneath
the rubber there's like a stack of kind of foam pads.
So, he's customized the feel of his STI levers,
which is pretty cool and apparently he can change them
on a daily basis, depending on how he feels, so there we go.
Personally, I like slimline grips.
He's gone for a slightly padded version,
and actually, it feels quite good.
In terms of gear ratios, this bike is very much
in climbing mode at the minute.
You can probably tell from our location,
that we are in the Alps, but interestingly,
he's running a 53/36 up front;
now before you say, well it actually says
53/39 on the big ring,
Shimano chainrings, the big chainrings, always say 53/39,
because that's the gear ratio they recommend,
but clearly AG2R reckon you can get away with a 53/36.
So, that has got a 36 in a ring on there, giving you
a pretty small bottom gear for a climb tomorrow
that averages 11% for six kilometers.
Quick change of location, I'm going to talk about
the wheels now, so these are Mavic Cosmic Ultimate.
Unbelievably light, at 1250 grams for this tubular version,
and if you come close, you'll see that these have got
pretty rad graphics on there, yes I did say the word rad.
This is Mavic's limited edition, Tour de France
specific graphic that's on a small number of these wheels,
and some cheaper ones as well, that are available,
and indeed, Romain's shoes.
I like that, very cool, very subtle, but very bling.
Now, we've got obviously the pro mechanic's touch,
with a little piece of electrical tape there,
just to make sure there is no possibility
of these valve stems rattling around.
Now, these tubular versions, at the moment,
still have an alloy rear hub, but actually the latest
Cosmic Ultimates, that were released just prior
to the Tour de France, of an all carbon hub.
But, they're not available in a tubular yet,
they're only available in tubeless clincher versions.
So, hence why Romain's still running that alloy rear hub.
Now, what I thought was kind of interesting about
the AG2R bikes, is that their break pads are blue,
and Mavic break pads are yellow.
And so, what they've decided, is that they're going to
void their warranty on all their wheels.
So basically, Mavic's say that they choose their break pads
accordingly to maximize the longevity of the rims,
but also to provide maximum breaking power and maximum feel.
Whereas, AG2R, clearly don't mind about the longevity of
the wheels and what they've gone for is a pad that they feel
gives them the maximum breaking performance.
So, interesting then, that they've gone for blue.
I wonder whether it's just because they make a nice
blue streak on the wheels, and that matches their kit.
Glued on to these wheels, are 25 millimeter wide
Continental Competition pro-limited tubulars.
So, those are the ones that are actually not available
for you and I to buy in the shops.
These are pro-edition only,
and so what Continental will say they've done with these
is to actually put a latex inner tube inside,
and then actually change the carcass of the tire
ever so slightly, so they're a bit less durable,
they don't last as long, but they say they roll
a little bit quicker.
Swapping out the inner tube for a latex one,
saves you about five watts, at least.
Finishing touches now, we've got Look Keo blades on there.
These are the Tour de France edition ones, and if you look
closely, there is actually the interesting addition
of some Lizard Skin handlebar tape
that's been glued onto the metal area
which normally interfaces with your cleat.
So, I'm not entirely sure of the reasons why,
but one would imagine it changes the feel of your cleat
on the pedal, so, that is an interesting one.
We've got Elite bottle cages on there,
and then up front we've got a mount for an
SRM power control head unit, so no Wahoo,
no Garmin on here for AG2R La Mondiale.
Right, I haven't got our GCN trusty scales with us today,
but I asked the mechanics, because I assume that this bike
is super, super light, and therefore they must be putting
weight in there, but no, they say actually it comes in at
six point eight three kilograms.
So they've got to be pretty chuffed about that,
haven't they really?
They don't have to faff around with weights,
but they're pretty much on the nose.
And now, of course, we have to hear the freehub.
(fast clicking)
Nice, it's a subtle one, that one, isn't it?
And interestingly, it sounds a little bit different
to the new Cosmic Ultimate, with the carbon hub,
cause they've redesigned the freewheel.
Well, high-fives all around to Romain Bardet
and his team for one of the coolest and trickest bikes
in the Pro Peleton.
In fact let's not stop at high-fives,
let's go for a big thumbs up for this bike.
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