Shamrock

I enjoy watching the tour,my wife rolls her eyes but lets me be.I wished they talked about what bike they are riding,tires,wheels,gears.there seems to be no info about the bikes at all.Is there some reason for this I just don't get?

GlennR

Bikes and components change from stage to stage.

Retro Grouch 

Bike information is broadcast but it tends to be less detailed than I'd like. It also depends on which version of the broadcast you see. The early morning edition has more such asides but it's much longer and not every marriage can handle that much bicycle racing coverage.

Wogster

I think there are 3 reasons for this, first is that if a team is riding a certain make/model that is before the team experts get a hold of it and make all kinds of changes to it. So it doesn't resemble the bike you can buy at the store.

Second, there may be components that the team does not want to have identified, because they feel it gives them an advantage over other teams.

Third, a team that is sponsored by say Raleigh don't want it to be known that the bike under the teams but is built by Giant.

big john

I think it makes little difference to most viewers, too much tech talk wouldn't be of interest. While there will be personal preferences I don't think it matters much what brands anyone is using. Years ago there was a lot more "rebadging" but I don't think so much these days.

I think most of the guys can use the same gearing for everything except for super-steep stuff and they still have the same weight limit so nobody is using anything super light.

chasm54

The Eurosport coverage frequently discusses equipment issues in response to tweeted questions from viewers. But for obvious reasons they tend to do so at uneventful parts of the stage, and those tend to get cut from highlights shows. So unless you can sit and watch extended coverage of whole stages you're likely to miss them.

Plus there is a limited amount to say. All the bikes are the same weight to within a few grams, because all the manufacturers can produce bikes below the UCI weight limit and many of them have to be weighted to stay at or above that limit. Everyone's on electronic shifting. The differences between Campy and Shimano are pretty meaningless in performance terms. Differences are pretty subtle - a particularly aerodynamic braking unit here, an elliptical chainset there. The gearing changes from day to day depending on the climbing, some might make different wheel choices in the longer TT stages, but for the most part they are riding very similar equipment

Phil_gretz

SPOILER ALERT!


...secret about to be revealed...




The bike doesn't really matter. Tactics matter. Genetics matter. Conditioning matters. Mental toughness matters. Teamwork matters. Luck favors the prepared...

Otherwise, the bike is irrelevant. That's why it's not discussed.

The exception is for the time trial stages, where there usually is a brief introduction to the differences between versatile road and single-purpose TT bike.

/rant

berner

I recently read a Team 7-11 'biography' that covered many of those same issues as well as building and sponsoring a pro team. It was much more interesting than I would have expected.

John E

To quote the late track champion Jack Disney, "The most important component by far is the man on the saddle."

John E

I was shocked to see a 33% grade (Jenkin Road, at the start of the last climb) in this year's tour. Does anyone know how long the 33% segment was?

(The Los Angeles Wheelmen's annual race up block-long 33% Fargo St. in Los Angeles is a big deal.)

fietsbob

Cycling News geeks out on the bikes racers ride .. Cycling News & Race Results | Cyclingnews.com

I have changed my focus, and watch the background to see the countryside they are riding through ..

Retro Grouch 

It was only a tiny stretch on the inside of a curve.

Dudelsack 

It still looked steep to me.

GlennR

Me too.

Mountain Mitch

I dunno about the bikes. I'll bring my own. I just keep waiting for the call!

Retro Grouch 

I noticed the car in the picture happens to be an all wheel drive model.

Wogster

I think the timing of the tour is poor, do you watch the tour, or do you watch the world cup?

Retro Grouch 

My DVD relieves me from having to make that decision. Actually today there was no decision because there are no World Cup games. A more common frustration occurs when The Tour runs long and my DVD cuts off right at the end of the stage. That happened today even with an extra 1/2 hour of record time..

mercator

My wife had the same reaction to my interest, but when we were in France last year we went out and stood on the side of the road as first the caravan and then the peloton went by.
Now she's a fan.

surfjimc

+1
We went to Paris in '06. Rented a car and drove to the Alps for the Alp d' Huez stage and the next day's stage start. My wife has been a fan ever since. We got back to Paris and went to the final day on Champs-Élysées to see Floyd "win."

Here is a good article about team bikes. TDF Team Bikes

Shamrock

Last sat I watched the tour,Indy car racing and the cup.the grass is getting long.

fietsbob

Here the world cup was at 1pm, (7:1 D) TDF on NBCSN is run a few times a day

A German is hammering, there too..

BluesDawg

Tour de France bikes from the 2014 Grand Départ paddock

Road Bikes of the 2014 Tour de France | Bicycling Magazine

The bikes of the Tour de France | road.cc

GCN Video: Best new bikes and tech at the 2014 Tour de France

Jim from Boston

Frankly, while I note the Tour is occuring, I don't follow it much. I have declared to myself that the last day of the Tour is the peak of summer, so during the Tour I try to savor the summer by riding my bike as much as possible.

OldsCOOL

I do the same. When the Tour is over our summer is on the glide downhill.