Top Tech of the Tour de France

Green Jersey? Medium Mountain Stages? Classics and Cobblestones? The Tour de France can be a bit of a puzzler, but one thing we can all understand is that high-tech bike stuff is cool.

Let’s be honest, the Tour de France can be a bit of a confusing spectacle with all its different stages, teams and colourful jerseys.

However, we can all grasp the idea of incredible athletes pounding around Europe on some of the most advanced leg-powered transport technology in the world. So let’s have a look at some awesome bike stuff.

Wheely Fast

Used by the Liquigas team, Mavic wheels are pretty much the ultimate, and these iO front and Comete rear wheels are the best they make for time trial (TT) bikes.

Aerodynamics are favoured over lightness, although being carbon fibre they still don’t weigh much. The bladed front wheel has spokes akin to aircraft wings and the dish-shaped back wheel, woven from honeycomb carbon fibre, has a ‘lenticular flange’. Whatever that is, we should all have one.

Google Eyed

The HTC-Columbia team teamed up with sponsors HTC, web giant Google and SRM for the 2010 Tour de France. SRM sensors on the team’s bikes collect data, such as speed and rider’s heart rate, then feed this data through Android HTC smartphones. The data is then displayed by Google alongside extra information provided by apps such as Google Maps and Street View.

Sit Hot

Selle Italia make some of the best saddles around, including those used by the Rabobank team. This mildly torturous-looking carbon bumrest was developed for ultimate aerodynamics, and features an integrated drinks holder for a nice flask of tea.

Hard Hat

Leading helmet makers Giro created a stir this year by custom-moulding Lance Armstrong’s time-trial helmet using a scan of the rider’s head and a precise model of his torso in the riding position.

The product, developed by Giro’s Advanced Projects Group, was then tested through over 100 prototypes in the wind tunnel, and is said to shave 3 seconds off a 9km time trial compared with previous designs. Lance’s main helmet for the Tour is a Giro Ionos helmet, which is lighter and better ventilated for long rides, and can be bought off the shelf for around £160.

TT Bike

The Cervelo Team uses the Cervelo P4 for time trial stages, and it’s one of the most aerodynamic bikes ever created. Woven from carbon fibre, every millimetre of this steed is shaped for minimal wind resistance. Seems a shame to then sit a big lump of a man on it really, but wrap him in clingfilm and cut off any unnecessary parts (elbows, head, etc) and it all works OK.

Road Bike

For the road stages of the Tour, riders need a light, stiff bike for climbing hills with decent aerodynamics for the faster bits. These bikes are lighter than the TT bikes but manufacturers are managing to incorporate better aerodynamics all the time, although the UCI (International Cycling Union) keeps a careful eye on bike design in this area. Scott’s F01 road bike for 2010 claims to offer the best of both worlds, and is the choice of the HTC Columbia team.

Electronic Shimano Shifters

Shimano pioneered the use of electronic shifters for changing gears and they are now available to anyone needing smoother, faster gear changes so they can get to work a few milliseconds quicker. Levers and steel wire are replaced by servo motors and solid-state switches, and the derailleur (the bit that moves the chain across the gears) adjusts itself to save chain wear.