This article first appeared on Cyclingnews.
Chris Froome (Team Sky) is using the Tour of the Alps to fine-tune his form for the Giro d’Italia and is also using the five days of racing to finalise details on his 2018 Grand Tour race bike.
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Froome is again riding a Pinarello Dogma F10 X-Light frameset, which was introduced in time for last year’s Tour de France.
It is equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 series components, a Pinarello Most integrated cockpit, Osymetric chainrings, Shimano wheels and a Fizik Antares saddle.
Team Sky head mechanic Gary Blem was with Froome at the Tour of the Alps and ready to make minor tweaks to Froome’s position between stages and listen to feedback and suggestions.
Froome is apparently lower on his handlebars this year, but Blem is awaiting a final decision before cutting the extra few millimetres off his steering tube. In 2017 Froome's Dogma F10 ran 15mm of spacers below his stem.
Pinarello claims to have shaved 60g from the F10 frame by using a lighter carbon that has minimal resin and a new mould process. Pinarello says that an unpainted X-Light weighs 760g in a size 53cm.
A minimal paint and decal finish compared to the regular F10, plus other weight weeny tricks, keep the weight down but it is still not close to the UCI 6.8kg limit that other WorldTour teams flirt with.
Team Sky used Shimano Pro handlebar and stem components in 2017 but has switched to Pinarello’s Most brand this year. Froome’s Grand Tour bike has a Most Talon Aero 1K integrated set-up with a deep, forward throwing curve.
Froome has multiple shifting options via the Di2 levers, hood buttons and a carefully deconstructed Shimano Di2 climbing switch
Froome appears to have copied the likes of Adam Hansen and his use of narrow bars for better aerodynamics. For 2018, he is using relatively narrow 38cm bars that splay out a little wider on the drops.
The carbon fibre integrated bar has new cable routing with a thicker central section and integrated bar ends to give a smooth and tidy finish when wrapped in bar tape. Most also provides the smooth black bar tape on Froome’s bike, while K-Edge provides an out-front computer mount.
Froome has multiple shifting options via the Di2 levers, hood buttons and a carefully deconstructed Shimano Di2 climbing switch. The two-button device switch was glued onto the rear of the tops of his bars in 2017 and was activated by Froome’s right thumb.
However, due to the different shape of the Most bars, and after trying other positions, the changer is now on the front of the bars. It is not elegant, but Froome clearly considers it a vital tool on climbs.
The Osymetric chain rings make Froome’s bike easy to spot when lined up with those of his teammates.
The extra chain slap produced by the movement of the oval chainrings has obliged the mechanics to add two carbon fibre plates to the frame. One sits inside the chainrings above the bottom bracket, with another protecting the chainstay where the chainrings pass close to the frame.
The two plates are not pretty to look at, but combined with a K-Edge chain catcher mean there is virtually no room for the chain to slap or jump from the chainrings.
Interestingly, Froome's bike is also equipped with a Shimano Dura-Ace 9070 Di2 front derailleur as opposed to the current Dura-Ace R9100 series component. Shimano says the component's cage better handles Froome's choice of Osymetric chainrings.
At the rear end of the bike the Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 rear derailleur is used in conjunction with a prototype direct-mount derailleur hanger produced by Pinarello and first seen on Geraint Thomas' Paris-Roubaix machine.
The Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 175mm cranks are fitted with a Stages dual-sided power meter, with Froome using 52/38 chainrings and an 11-30 cassette for the mountains of the Tour of the Alps.
The Shimano wheels are fitted with the tried and trusted Continental Competition ALX 25mm tubulars. Froome’s wheel hubs have his name and a Union Jack flag on them to denote his personal race wheels.
Click or swipe through the gallery above for a closer look at Froome's bike.
Full Specifications
- Frame: Pinarello Dogma F10 X-Light
- Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Brake/shifter levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
- Satellite shifter: Deconstructed Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 climber switch
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 with prototype hanger from Pinarello
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100, 11-30t
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 with 52/38t Osymetric rings, 175mm cranks
- Power meter: Stages Dura-Ace R9100 dual-sided
- Wheels: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Tubulars: Continental Competition ALX, 25mm
- Integrated bar/stem: Pinarello Most Talon Aero 1K
- Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Saddle: Fizik Antares R1
- Seatpost: Pinarello Dogma F10
- Bottle cages: Elite Custom Race Plus
- Computer mount: K-Edge
- Other accessories: K-Edge chain catcher
Critical measurements
- Rider height: 1.86m
- Saddle height, from bottom bracket (c-t): 790mm
- Seat tube (bottom bracket centre to seat tube top): 560mm
- Effective top tube length: 565mm
- Head tube length: 165mm
- Tip of saddle nose to bars: 580mm