- This is the very, very special Canyon Speedmax CF SLX
of World Time Trial Champion Tony Martin of Katusha-Alpecin.
This could well be one of the trickest bikes
at the Tour de France.
Now before we get started with the prototype,
one off components that are littered all over this bike,
let's tackle that paint job.
That is super cool.
So this is a Kraftwerk inspired bike.
Now Kraftwerk, hopefully I don't have to explain
to too many of you
but they were the first electronic band ever, basically.
And their hometown is here in Dusseldorf,
where the Tour de France is starting.
The Canyon founder and CEO, Roman Arnold,
is a big Kraftwerk fan
and so he wanted to take the opportunity
of the tour starting in Dusseldorf
and the fact that he's a huge fan
to do something to pay tribute to them.
So this is it.
This is the creation.
And actually, there's also a small range of bikes
on sale as well.
No word yet as to whether Tony Martin is a fan of Kraftwerk
but even if he doesn't like the band's music,
he's got to love that paint job.
That is super cool.
So the Canyon Speedmax is pretty well established bike.
It's been winning at world tour level for a year or so now.
And actually, it's also been winning in triathlons.
With Jan Frodeno, pretty much dominating the sport
aboard one of these.
But what's been really interesting to me
was talking to the guys at Canyon.
So although Tony is a four time World Time Trial Champ,
when he signed up with Katusha-Alpecin
and therefore swapped bike sponsors,
he went straight back into the wind tunnel
and started refining his position yet further.
And so they are one or two super trick bits on here,
including these armrest mounts, here.
So this is a result of that wind tunnel testing.
They're 3D printed in Canyon's HQ
And they allowed Tony to get his forearms
in a slightly up-tilted position.
But then, his hands are much flatter
and that was the most aero position that they could find.
Otherwise though, the frame and the handle bars
are all actually completely stock from Canyon.
So, you've got these supercool, integrated handle bars there
and complete with the collaboration with Ergon
who's another famous German brand for the contact points.
So, they've got medical grade foam on the armrest pads.
Perhaps less important for 15 minute time trials,
Tour de France but more important for an Ironman.
But nevertheless,
that's gonna keep Tony nice and comfortable.
And also the grips here are on the end of the extension.
So particularly for a wet day like today,
that could well come in very handy.
So, we've already ticked off one piece
of Bespoke component tree with the armrest mounts there
but I'm kneeling right next to another two.
You'll recognise, I'm sure,
the silhouette of Zipp's sore tooth rim profile.
But what you won't recognise is the depth here.
So, previously, Zipp only have the 454.
So that is around a 50 mm deep wheel
with those indentations are about 5 mm deep.
Now, pretty revolutionary
when it was launched back in October
but now, there is this one.
There is no official word as to what it's called.
But, if I was a betting man,
I'd say that looks like a 808 depth
and if we're gonna keep
the same theme running through the range,
I'd say that could well be an 858
and it's also a clincher, as well.
So, Tony's always caused a little bit of controversy
about the fact that he has dabbled with clincher tyres
and he is doing so again today
and it's also a 23 mm width,
which is narrow by today's standards
but from talking with Zipp's engineers,
it is still aerodynamically, the fastest width of tyre.
But, this is no ordinary tyre either.
This is a prototype, Continental tyre.
So it's a Grand Prix TT but we can tell
by the little branding on there
that this is not a stock tyre as yet.
No word from Continental as to quite what it is
but you can imagine from the fact
that it's on Tony Martin's bike,
that it is going to be lightning fast.
Now there isn't a pair of them on here though today.
Because it's so wet,
at the moment, Tony is running a GP Force in the back.
So that's the rear specific tyre
that Continental makes.
But if it dries up
then potentially we could see a pair of these.
This rear tyre is actually slightly wider than the front.
It's 25 mm wide.
So, aerodynamics is perhaps fractionally less important
at the rear of the bike because it has already turbulent.
So you can get away with being slight wider
and therefore benefit presumably
from the slightly lower run resistance
that you do get from wider tyres.
It's mounted to a Zipp Super-9 carbon disc wheel as well.
Now then, let's talk about
the componentry on this bike, as well.
We've still got a couple more completely Bespoke bits there.
We've got this huge chain ring here.
It's a 58 tooth chain ring.
And you'll notice,
there's a definite absence of a front derailleur here
and therefore an inner chain ring.
So if you look closely,
it's actually a SRAM one bike chain ring.
So that's where they've got,
what's called a narrow/wide tooth profile.
So every other tooth is wider
and the other ones in the middle
are therefore slightly narrower
and it means that the chain is held on,
much, much more securely.
You couldn't shift from there
but if you've only got one chain ring, it's perfect.
And that allows Tony to get rid of his front derailleur,
which other riders have tried in the past in time trials,
cause it's more aerodynamic,
but they've lost their chains and therefore lost the race.
I'm thinking about David Miller here in 2003.
What is interesting though,
is normally with a SRAM one bike system,
you'd have a special rear derailleur,
which has got clutch.
They're like a extra strong spring.
Tony hasn't got that, so presumably,
he's banking on the fact
that this is a slightly smoother course,
just so that he doesn't lose that chain.
He's also running, as well a 58 tooth chain ring,
an 11-30 cassette.
Now it's not as big as he does go.
He often rides a 32 cassette.
But 11-30 is still quite a broad range on there
and in order to do so,
he's then having to use a SRAM WiFLi Rear Derailleur,
since it's got a slightly longer cage on there.
And basically, he's banking on the fact
that he's not gonna need a small gear.
The average speed here,
probably could be about 54, 55K an hour.
There is a lot of talk and speculation
around the gear ratios that Tony Martin chooses
to use in time trials.
And 58-11 is a huge gear
and so it's not often that he'll be in it,
even though he does pedal with a reasonably slow cadence.
So the speculation is that he then spends more time
in the middle of the block on the cassette
and therefore, the chain line will be optimised
and that theoretically would reduce resistance
coming from the drive train.
Tony's running 175 mm long SRAM Red cranks on there
and you'll see there's also a Quarq DZero power metre.
I would love to know what kind of data that records.
And then, on the end of those 175 mill cranks,
he's also got Look Keo blades, as well.
Now the way Tony shifts through his 11 gears,
is using the SRAM blips.
So those are the kind of remote satellite shifters
and he's got four on here.
So he's got two on the extensions down here
and then, he's got one very neatly tucked
in either end of the skis there.
Now you remember with SRAM Etap,
that you use your left hand to shift up the cassette
and that you use your right hand to shift down the cassette.
So that will be the same
for all of these four contact points.
But of course, given that there's no front derailleur,
he has no cause to press both at the same time
to shift the front chainring.
Now the last bit of this bike that is unique to Tony,
is the sandpaper that is stuck to his saddle with grip tape.
Now, I'd say this is almost infamous.
A lot of us have seen the photographs of what happens.
Now it's not just the grip tape,
the sandpaper's stuck to his saddle.
It's also the fact, that he has Bespoke skin suits made
by a tailor close to his home
and they actually sew another patch of grip tape
unto his chamois, so that he has really,
really, really firm contact patch
between basically his body and also, the seat.
Apparently, he only gets three uses out of each skin suit
before they have to go in the bin.
Anyway, that grip tape is stuck
to a Selle Italia Team issue Time Trial specific saddle.
Okay, time for some vital statistics, shall we.
Firstly, what is the saddle height on here.
So Tony is running,
765 mm high
and then the drop from saddle to bars.
After a quick bit of mental arithmetic,
I can now tell you that the drop from saddle to bars 145 mm.
Well hopefully after that, you will now agree with me
that this is definitely one of the most tricked out bikes
here at the Tour de France.
Fingers crossed it takes a stage win for Tony.
Now make sure you let us know what you think
about this as well, in the comments section down below.
And make sure you give the video a big thumbs up,
if, like me, you agree
that this is a very, very special bike.
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