question about the Tour de France

[tokamak]

do riders in the tour ride different bikes everyday? like, do they have bikes for mountain stages and bikes for flat stages? or do they just ride the same bike the whole time? also, are the bikes they ride similar to anything that would be commercially available, or are they only for professional bicycle riders?

 

[notfred]

Anything is commercially available if you have enough money.

 

[Fiveohhh]

I believe they ride the same bike. And if you have the cash you can get your hands on one

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: tokamak
do riders in the tour ride different bikes everyday? like, do they have bikes for mountain stages and bikes for flat stages? or do they just ride the same bike the whole time? also, are the bikes they ride similar to anything that would be commercially available, or are they only for professional bicycle riders?

1. No. They often have different bikes for flat stages, mountain stages and time trials. This is especially true when you're talking about the team leaders where the seconds really count....the "helpers" mostly make due with one or two bikes. Mountain stage bike are often the same frame as used for flat stages but with super-lightweight wheels that can run into the thousands per pair. Time trial bikes can get pretty spendy as well since some are full-custom or prototype jobbies made especially for the top riders like Lance.

2. Most of the "everyday" bikes are production bikes you can buy (although they're not cheap). You will see prototype components here and there that aren't on the market, but most of what you see can be yours if your credit card limit is high enough. The one thing most riders have access to that the average Joe doesn't is custom frame geometry. Many companies will do this if you ask, but they'll charge you a crapload of cash for it.

An example of a "You can't buy this yet" time trial bike.

Lance Amstong's 2002 bike. All stuff you can buy almost anywhere.

Team CSC Cervelo. Also an "off-the-rack" bike.

 

[tokamak]

cool. thanks fausto.

 

[WhiteKnight]

My uncle is a serious biker and he has Lance Armstrong's bike. I wanted to try it but my uncle is 5" shorter than me