Some more images from the 2012 Tour of California. One thing I found interesting was the use of Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR tubular wheels on the Garmin-Barracuda bikes over the Cosmic Carbone Ultimate (used by Liquigas-Cannondale and every other Mavic sponsored team). The Ultimate is a much lighter wheelset so the use of the SLR is somewhat puzzling since wheels are not generally considered a good place to add weight, especially when you consider the depth on the Ultimate and the SLR is almost identical. I also found that the Pro saddles are in fact different than the ones available to consumers. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Fizik “team” model Aliante saddles use a base made entirely from carbon fiber with out the Twin-Flex braided kevlar portion. That means those Aliante saddles literally have zero flex in the base. Great for power transfer, not so much for comfort. Another interesting site was the lack of Di2 on Garmin-Barracuda road bikes. We were beginning to think that Di2 was more popular than “old-fashioned” Dura Ace in the Pro Peloton, but if Garmin-Barracuda’s bikes are any indication, that is not the case. The TT bikes however used Di2 exclusively. To see large images, click through the image below twice. Enjoy.
- Vincenzo Nibali’s Cannondale Slice gets a last minute adjustment
- Luis Leon Sanchez warming up
- Sagan uses a custom Fizik TT saddle. It looks like a stubby Aliante, or a heavily padded Ares.
- Sagan’s Cannondale Slice
- There is no Twin Flex base on Sagan’s Aliante. Instead it’s entirely made of carbon fiber.
- That is the base of a Antares 00 with a Liquigas cover
- Curiously, Sagan still has a 1070 cassette instead of the XG-1090
- Peter Sagan’s Super Six Evo. All the Liquigas -Cannondale riders are on 201 Red rings and 2011 Red Steel Cage Front Derailleurs
- Vanotti rides the Kurve Chameleon saddle
- Allesandro Vanotti’s Cannondale SuperSix Evo
- Daniel Oss rides a huge bike.
- Most integrated brakes look like junk and work about as good. The brakes on the Giant Trinity however look very nice indeed.
- Rabobank Giant Trinity TT bikes
- Nokon housing on Zabriskie’s bike. Look closely and you’ll recognize a lack of Titanium cogs, meaning that is an Ultegra Cassette
- Danielson prefers the Fizik Arione with a carbon base and Kium rails.
- Tom Danielson was the only one we saw with an Cervelo R5ca.
- The Garmin pedals have a low profile. Notice the SRM spider in the background.
- The Garmin pedals look very similar to Look Keo pedals.
- Garmin pedals don”t yet have power meter internals
- Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR wheels have an alloy rim with a bonded carbon fairing and carbon spokes
- The Cervelo P5 certainly looks the part of fastest bike in the world
- The front end of the Cervelo P5
- The rest of Garmin-Barracuda rode the Cervelo P4
- Orica Green Edge is Shimano’s test lab for prototype parts
- Green Edge runs PRO cockpits
- The Prologo Scratch Pro saddle seams to be the popular choice among Green Edge riders.
- Orica Green Edge Scott Plasma TT bikes have almost no external cabling.
- Orica Green Edge Scott Foil road bikes
- Can you guess which one is Zabriskie’s?
- Interesting tread pattern on this “Mavic” tire. Any ideas?
- Mystery Mavic Tire
- Only Andrew Telansky and Dave Zabriskie were lucky enough to ride the Cervelo P5