00:00 The Tour de France is well and truly underway, and this year seems to have brought a whole
00:04 raft of new tech.
00:06 So I've taken a deep dive on everything our eagle-eyed tech nerds have seen on the
00:11 ground, and I'm going to bring you six of the hottest trends from this year's Tour
00:15 de France.
00:21 One tech trend that seems to have hit this year's Tour quite hard is the desire to
00:25 drop as much weight as possible.
00:28 We first saw Israel Premier Tech use the Doremo seatposts as well as Uno X as they've opted
00:34 for the AX Lightness seatposts.
00:37 Now this isn't something you usually see these days, as seatposts are so often a proprietary
00:42 component from the bicycle manufacturer, meaning that third-party options just simply don't
00:48 exist.
00:49 But in these cases, it's really nice to see the teams embrace the ability to drop a few
00:54 extra grams.
00:56 It doesn't just stop at the seatposts though, because the UAE mechanics have been working
01:01 hard to find extra weight-saving gains.
01:03 Taddei Pogacar's Colnago V4 RS with a full Dura-Ace groupset has been modified with chain
01:09 rings from Carbon-Ti.
01:12 Now this modification does surprise me somewhat, because even though, yes, Pogacar will be
01:17 saving some weight with the use of those rings, the possibility to drop a chain also does
01:23 increase.
01:24 In my opinion, the risk of dropping a chain in a critical race situation is something
01:29 that I would rather avoid compared to the tens of grams that you'll be able to save
01:35 with the change of rings.
01:37 Perhaps Pogacar and the mechanics are really confident with their setup and believe that
01:41 such a risk just doesn't exist.
01:44 The use of Carbon-Ti products doesn't stop there, because Pogacar's bike is also fitted
01:49 with the brand's brake rotors.
01:51 Again, saving a small amount of weight, but when you are battling it up the side of a
01:55 mountain at the world's biggest bike race, you don't want to make any compromises.
02:05 The UAE mechanics have clearly been very busy, not just with fancy chain rings and brake
02:11 rotors, but it looks like the team has been working closely with team sponsor Enve to
02:17 create some brand new unreleased handlebars.
02:21 Now currently this is an unreleased model from the American brand, but something we
02:26 should expect to see commercially available in the next 12 months.
02:30 However, the team that has really upped the levels with its handlebars are team Uno-X.
02:36 It has managed to perfectly integrate the satellite shifters into the handlebar itself.
02:42 As you can see, it looks like the bar has had a small hole cut into it and then the
02:46 satellite shifter has been screwed into place.
02:49 It's this attention to detail that I absolutely love to see.
02:53 And I'm sure for the riders, it's really nice to have a setup which is so clean and lacking
02:59 in random bits of tape and cable ties.
03:07 Another big trend that has been sweeping over the peloton this year is the adoption of 3D
03:11 printing.
03:12 Since the process allows for riders to fairly easily acquire kit which is made just for
03:17 them, I think they've all jumped on the opportunity to ensure everything is as dialed in as possible.
03:23 So first off, we have seen a new saddle from Specialized in the form of what looks to be
03:28 a new Phenom.
03:29 Clearly, this saddle is made of the brand's Mira technology, but has a top layer of material
03:35 to stop the lattice from getting full of debris from the road.
03:38 In a similar vein, Kadex has also shown off a new perch, as spotted on one of the bikes
03:43 from one of the Jayco Aluna riders.
03:45 Obviously it's unbranded, but we expect it to don the Kadex name when it's officially
03:50 launched.
03:51 Mechanics also seem to be enjoying their newfound ability to create parts that they may otherwise
03:56 just not be able to get hold of.
03:59 For example, the UAE mechanics have created this custom upper headset bearing cover.
04:05 Made of thermoplastic, it is going to be a smidge lighter than the carbon fibre version
04:10 that the bike's supplied with.
04:12 Certainly extreme measures are being taken here.
04:20 We have not been disappointed with the number of new bikes that we've seen at this year's
04:24 race.
04:25 No less than three brands have brought new steeds to this year's edition.
04:29 The first being Ridley.
04:31 They have shown us a new bike, but are not commenting on what the model is called.
04:36 However, when looking at the two profiles, they look a lot less aggressive compared to
04:40 the Noah Fast, which is the brand's dedicated aero bike.
04:45 Thanks to the slimmer tubes, we would not be surprised if this new bike weighs a lot
04:49 less than the Noah Fast.
04:51 One other aspect that we've noticed is that Caleb is actually running a couple of spaces
04:56 underneath his stem.
04:58 Since he is a rider that gets famously low, I'm going to assume that he's saving this
05:03 bike to get himself over the mountains.
05:06 Next is the new Factor 02 van.
05:08 This bike has clearly gone on a pretty serious crash diet, with its new slender tube shapes
05:14 and shallow profile wheels.
05:17 It certainly does resemble that of the Giant TCR, with its integrated seat post and sloping
05:22 tube shapes.
05:24 Clearly this bike is built to accelerate quickly and climb mountains like a goat.
05:29 And the new wheels play a big part in that.
05:32 Fitted are some new black ink wheels, which measure 28mm deep on the front and 33mm deep
05:38 on the rear.
05:39 The internal width of these wheels also looks to be quite wide too, meaning we could see
05:44 tyres plumping themselves right out and then creating a fantastically grippy and comfortable
05:50 contact patch with the road.
05:51 For the time being, we will have to await further details from Factor on this new bike.
05:56 But in the meantime, perhaps we could see it grab a stage win or two.
06:00 One of the most obviously new bikes in the peloton is the sticker-bombed BMC.
06:05 What we believe to be the new Time Machine Road, the bike features some pretty aggressive
06:10 tube shapes.
06:11 And, thanks to all of the branding, it has clearly been developed in partnership with
06:16 Red Bull Advanced Technologies.
06:18 Yet another collision between the cycling and F1 worlds.
06:22 Again, no official word from BMC on this new bike, but we expect to hear something pretty
06:28 soon.
06:33 While the bikes might not be new, the paint on them certainly is.
06:37 Custom paint has hit this year's Tour hard, and there's one team that has really stepped
06:42 up its game, that being Little Trek.
06:45 Mads Pedersen has landed himself what might be one of the most outrageous paint schemes
06:50 that the peloton has ever seen.
06:52 A mix of blue, purple and orange chrome fade makes for a pretty eye-catching colourway,
06:58 and one which is only backed up by the bike's specification.
07:02 Claimed to only be available to current and former world champions, the gold chain and
07:07 cassette is the extra little bit of bling that this bike needed to seal its title as
07:12 the most spangly bike in the peloton.
07:14 That's not the only mad bit of custom paint though.
07:17 Since this is Mark Cavendish's last Tour de France, he has been given a custom-painted
07:22 Wilier Philante SLR to signify and celebrate just what the Manx man means to the Tour.
07:29 The special pearl marble finish with deep yellow gold decals make him easy to spot,
07:35 and I for one absolutely love it.
07:37 Now unless he already has, I really hope he gets that 35th victory.
07:42 Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel is another recipient of the custom paint magic, with his beautifully
07:48 simple and clean looking Canyon Aeroad CFR.
07:51 I think brands are clocking onto the fact that creating these custom paint jobs actually
07:56 creates themselves a little bit of buzz and something to talk about, and it probably gets
08:01 those much needed eyeballs on their sponsors.
08:04 So while custom paint is only covering a smattering of the peloton at the moment, I think this
08:09 is one thing which will only become more popular in the years to come.
08:18 Tyre tech may not always be the most exciting thing, but when it's the only component
08:23 joining you and the road together, it's arguably quite an important one.
08:28 This year's Tour has of course brought us some new rubber, but what we've seen has
08:32 left us scratching our heads a little.
08:35 First up, Specialized now seemingly offer a turbo tyre but labelled as being specific
08:40 for wet conditions.
08:43 This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this, and it certainly aids in the movement
08:48 for cycling to become ever more like Formula 1.
08:52 Since this tyre has a very similar, if not the same tread pattern as the newly released
08:56 Specialized Mondo tyre, it's fair to assume that the difference between the two purely
09:02 comes down to the compound of rubber used.
09:04 That wasn't the only other new tyre that was spotted at this year's Tour, thanks
09:08 to our tech nerds.
09:09 Jumbo Visma look to be sporting a new Vittoria Corsa Speed TT tyre in a 28c size, a size
09:17 which hasn't been available for that tyre before.
09:21 Plus it was found that the narrower width was actually a bit more aero.
09:27 So it seems that lightweight components, swanky handlebars, 3D printing, new bikes, custom
09:33 paint and new tyres are the tech trends of this year's Tour.
09:37 Let me know down below, what's your favourite piece of new tech that you've seen?
09:41 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more
09:45 content and I will see you again very soon.
09:47 Thanks.
09:50 (explosion)
09:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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