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Bikes at the Spring classics - Part 2
By Paul Mirtschin with Jeff Jones and Chris Henry
Bikes at the Spring classics - Part 1
Forks
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When it comes to the pave, a fork breakage is the last thing you want. So some teams tend to beef up the front of the bike, either using a stronger fork or swapping out to a completely different fork than normal. Although still not anywhere near the majority, a few bikes were seen running RockShox's Ruby road suspension forks, perfect for smoothing out the bumps. Others went for the road-buzz removing properties of carbon-fibre, and a few just stuck to good-old aluminium forks.
Photos
Images by Jeff Jones & Chris Henry
- Vanlandschoot's Vlaanderen-T Interim Eddy Merckx
- The front of Marc Wauters Rabobank Colnago
- Some of the Cofidis bikes at the Paris-Roubaix ran Avid cantilever brakes
- Stronger forks on the USPS Trek
- The Domina Vacanze team's spare bikes
- Tied and soldered spokes on Cipo's bike
- More carbon on the Specialized Roubaix
- The forks on Marc Wauters Rabobank Colnago
- The front wheel of Chris Wherry's Navigators Colnago
- Another look at the suspension forks on the Scotts
- What the posties get to look at for far too long
- Cipo's Specialized bike computer
- Since computers won't mount easily on oversized bars, other means are persued
- The oversized 3T bar/stem combo and the computer mount
- I don't think that was the warm-up ride
- The pointy end of the Cofidis Decathlon
- Campagnolo Chorus brakes on the Vlaanderen-T Interim Eddy Merckx
- Polar HRMs are also found on the Vlaanderen-T Interim bikes
- ITM bars and stem on Wauters Rabobank Colnago
Groups and components
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One thing that does not change much for these races is the componentry on the bikes. While some teams run stronger (and heavier) bar/stem combinations, most are happy enough with what they run on a daily basis to leave it as is.
We did notice a few teams running lower specification derailleurs than normal; possibly having to replace them after one muddy race was enough reason to do this.
Photos
Images by Jeff Jones & Chris Henry
- Campy 10-speed on the Telekom bikes
- Shimano parts are found on Cipo's bike
- Nine speed Dura Ace is used on Cipo's bike
- Dura Ace up front too
- The Cofidis bikes use Time's Impact Ti pedals
- Chorus on the Cofidis Decathlon
- The Cofidis Decathlon has nicely machined drop-outs
- The cranks and front deraileur on the Vlaanderen-T Interim Eddy Merckx
- Some weight-reduction on the Dura Ace rear derailleur
- Just can't get enough of the Colnago paintwork
- Curvy carbon fibre on the Telekom Pinarello
- Smooth welds on the Specialized
- The rear of the Specialized Roubaix
- A look at the elastomer/carbon interface
- Down south on the Decathlon
- Easton Scandium carbon fibre?
Wheels and tires
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Tires are where things start to get a bit messy. Most companies produce a tire for most conditions, but very few make a tire that will hold up to the rigorous pounding that the pave dishes out. So what tends to happen is teams will run a tire that they know will hold up, and apply a sneaky bit of marker to cover up the brand; don't want your sponsors to get upset now do we?
One thing that was immediately noticeable was the lack of paired-spoke wheels. All teams were using 32 or 36 spoked wheels, built around the strongest rims they could get their hands on.
Photos
Images by Jeff Jones & Chris Henry
- The Cofidis team used Vittoria Special pavé tubulars
- Hutchinson rubber on the USPS bikes
- I guess Vittoria don't sponsor this team
- Mavic Reflex rims were found on more than one bike
- Cipo was running a Mavic Cosmic Carbone rear
- It even had the little World Champion sticker
- Is there anything that Cipo doesn't have the rainbow stripe on?
- All Weather; just like Belgium
- Vittoria Corsa EVO-CX on the Decathlon
- Continental Comp's on the Merckx
- Vlaanderen-T Interim were running a Chorus rear derailleur
- Rabobank also ran the Vittoria Corsa EVO-CX tires
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