Tech Specs - What I ride

I am one lucky boy! Most cyclists would give their right arm to get a free bike out of someone. Luckily I get all my bikes supplied to me.

With Condor being the sponsor of the team I race for, they supply the bikes I ride on all year. Condor will provide me with four bikes in tota. At the start of each year these consisted of two road bikes and one Time Trial bike.  I am soon to complete the set and be given a specialist Condor Track bike ready for the start of my track season. More about this particular bike will follow in a future blog.

The Road Bikes

The First bike is the Rapha condor Leggero in which is the one I ride the most. I will ride this all year, both in races and in training. The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) regulate professional cycling and this bike is as close to the legal limit as possible, which means that it cannot weigh less than 7.1kg.  To get the bikes to such low weight, carbon is used in a variety of different parts on the bike as it allows the manufacturers to be able to create a very light product which is also very stiff. The frames are all hand built in Italy, which is rare in this day and age with most being made in bulk in Taiwain. The fact they are made in Italy enables Condor to be able to make us truly custom bikes rather than the off the peg versions, which many teams have.

 

 

Frame: Condor Leggero full carbon standard 57cm

Wheels: Duarce C35 Full carbon wheels. Continental Tubs

Gears and brake: Duarce DI2 10 speed

Cranks: Duarce 7900 srm.

Handlebars, stem, seat post: Pro Vibe

Saddle: Fi'zi:k Aliante

Pedals: Shimano SPD Sl

 

Cost £9000

 

 

When training I ride standard wheels, with normal tyres and inner tubes, similar to what you will probably have at home. However when I am racing we don’t need the ability to repair a puncture. We have quick release wheels and can just get it swapped out in the case of a puncture. Not as easy though as I make it sound I can assure you, our race mechanics are highly skilled and well practiced at what they do. My race wheels are full carbon with what we call tubs, which is a full tyre that is sewn up and then glued on to the rim of the carbon wheel. These roll a lot quicker than the standard tyre and are the preferred choice of any racer.

 

One very special thing about my road bike for this year are the electronic gears, called Durace DI2. Normally gears run using a cable system where the cable is pulled and released via a lever on the handlebars. However on this bike I have an electronic system. It is powered by a battery which is situated on the bike. This electrical system offers a quick and more responsive gear change. As well as the afore mentioned it also does something called auto trimming, which means Unlike on some cable geared bikes you get chain rub (where the chain rubs on the derailleur which is the part that changes gear) I get none of this as the computer on the bike adjusts everything. This new electronic system means one less thing to think of when you are going full gas in a race.

 

The final thing on my road bike, which differs, from what most of you will have is that my bike has special cranks (the part that your pedals attach to), these are called SRM’s. An SRM crank is just like any ordinary one, except they contain strain gauges. These measure the amount of force I am putting through the pedals, this information is sent wirelessly to a box on my handlebars and provides me a reading in watts of the power I have output. This information is downloaded when I get home and sent to my coach, which then enables me to tailor my training to what I need to do for my particular event. I will be putting some of this data up on my twitter feed (@tennanto) from The Tour of Britain this year. I also ride clip less pedals, which require special shoes to lock into the pedals this allows you to push up and pull down giving you a more efficient pedal stroke through each rotation.

I am provided with two of the above bikes.  One is provided as a spare in case of any problems during a race.

 

 

 

 

The Time Trial Bike

My other bike is something we call a Lo pro. These bikes are built for pure speed, not comfort. They have a special type of handlebar, wheels and a more aerodynamic frame. 

 

The UCI make rules on these bikes which are continually changing. With the aim to cheat the wind and make the bikes as aerodynamic as possible, manufacturers are constantly changing their profile to meet and maximise whatever UCI rulings come into place. One of the ways we try and get as much speed as possible is by using a specific TT bars (see the picture below) this allows for you to be in a low stretched out position with your arms in front of you, simply this enables you to get as small and low as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frame: Condor TT prototype

Wheels: Pro Disk in rear and 4 spoke in front

Gears and Brake: Durace 10 speed

Cranks: Durace 7900 SRM.

Handlebars, stem, seat post: Pro

Saddle: Fi'zi:k Aeroine

Pedals: Shimano SPD Sl

 

Cost: £8000

 

The frame again is full carbon for both weight and stiffness. The frame is often smaller as there are all sorts of restrictions regarding all aspects of the position a rider can adopt. The wheels are slightly different with the Rear wheels being what we call a disk wheel. Simply put, it is a solid filled wheel with no spokes this is because it is more aerodynamic and rolls better.  The front wheel is also built for speed with only 4 spokes to again reduce drag. On the road though we have to pay special attention to the wind, as if it is a crosswind then the solid wheel becomes a real problem.

This bike is also equipped with Durace equipment but is the standard cable type.

I also have SRM on this bike again for enabling me to get the best out of my training. A set of these alone cost £3000.

So I’m you can begin to understand why all this amazing kit comes at a very nice price and why I consider myself to be one lucky boy!

 

 

 

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