Tour de France Bike Technology Breakdown

Tour de France Bikes: What the Pros Actually Ride

Tour de France equipment choices have gotten complicated with all the bike types and tech flying around. As someone who watched the Tour for years before understanding why riders were on different bikes on different stages, I learned everything there is to know about professional setups. Today, I’ll share what goes into racing at the highest level.

Multiple Bikes for Different Days

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. A Tour rider uses three or four different bike types:

All-around road bike: The default. Balanced weight, stiffness, and aerodynamics. Used for most stages.

Lightweight climbing bike: For mountain stages. Every gram matters when racing up 2,000+ meters of climbing. Lighter wheels, lighter components.

Time trial bike: Extreme aerodynamics for individual TT stages. Aero bars, disc rear wheel, completely different geometry.

Spare bikes: Identical copies on team cars. Mechanical issues get fixed with a bike swap in seconds.

The Cost Factor

A single Tour bike costs $12,000-15,000+. Frame, groupset, wheels, power meter, computer — everything. Teams travel with dozens.

That’s what makes pro wheels endearing to us equipment enthusiasts — $3,000-5,000 per set. Different depths for different conditions. Deep aero for flats, lighter climbing wheels for mountains.

Why Carbon Dominates

Carbon lets manufacturers engineer specific characteristics into different frame sections. Bottom bracket stiff for power transfer, seat stays flex for comfort. Try doing that with aluminum or steel.

Carbon frames are the lightest way to meet UCI’s 6.8kg minimum. Some pro frames are so light teams add weights to hit the legal limit.

Electronic Shifting Everywhere

Manual shifting has disappeared from the Tour. Everyone runs electronic — Shimano Di2, SRAM eTap, Campagnolo EPS. Perfect shifts every time, multiple button positions.

Some riders customize button mapping. Satellite buttons on the drops configured to shift both derailleurs. Personal preference.

Disc Brakes Won

The rim vs disc debate lasted years. Safety concerns, neutral support complications, tradition. But discs won. Better stopping in rain outweighs small weight penalty.

Teams add weight elsewhere if needed to hit minimum anyway.

Tire Width Evolution

Tour bikes used to run 23mm tires at 120psi. Now 28-30mm at lower pressure is standard. Research proved wider tires at lower pressure are actually faster on real roads while being more comfortable.

Tubeless increasingly common, though some teams still use tubulars glued to rims.

Power Meters and Data

Every pro bike has power data streaming to team cars during the race. Directors see who’s suffering and who has energy left. Tactics adjust based on real-time numbers.

Riders target specific power outputs for different parts of stages. The pacing is scientific now.

Custom Everything

Nothing is off-the-shelf. Saddle, handlebar width, stem length, crank length, cleat position — all tailored. Some riders have had the same saddle model for years.

What This Means for You

Tour tech trickles down. Electronic shifting, disc brakes, wider tires, integrated cables — all started in pro racing.

But you don’t need a Tour bike. A $2,000 bike today is better than what Tour riders had 15 years ago. The fundamentals matter more than marginal gains at the highest level.