All the new bikes we expect to see at the Tour de France
All the new bikes we expect to see at the Tour de France
Whether the result of two years of covid delayed development or simply an exciting coincidence, 2022 is shaping up to be a fruitful year for new bike launches. Several brands have jumped the Tour de France start gun, making for a busy spring for new bike spotters the world over.
As more and more brands opt to have pro teams or the UCI frame list accidentally intentionally leak new bike news, the appearance, and equally the non-appearance, of new bikes often creates much speculation. Speculation on design merits, speculation on aero properties, good old speculation on how much it will weigh. We love to hypothesise what said bikes will offer if/when their existence is ever confirmed.
Known unknowns
One thing is still for certain, all the brands, teams, and riders want their best equipment ready for the Tour de France. If a World Tour team bike is currently in (re)-development with a completion date expected this year, you can bet your bottom dollar everyone wants it for the Tour de France. Nobody wants to go into the biggest race of the year with the disadvantage of leaving their so-called new, better, faster, equipment still in the paint shop. As such, the Tour de France is still and likely always will be the hotbed for new cycling tech.
So what can we expect from TDF 2022? Well, as already mentioned, 2022 has been a busy year for new bikes and as such was can expect a whole fleet of confirmed new bikes, unconfirmed new bikes and unconfirmed-confirmed new bikes. Here’s what we know, starting with the known unknowns:
Cervelo
The entire Jumbo-Visma squad is already racing on a still-to-be-announced new Cervelo S5 and will do so for any flat or rolling stages at le Grande Boucle. Although it looks largely similar, the new S5 does feature several potentially significant updates as we discussed when it was first spotted. A confirmation on the new S5 is expected soon and we can expect Cervelo to announce all manner of aero updates.
Shortly after the new S5 broke cover, we had the re-emergence of the classic Cervelo Soloist name in an all-new frame. Again, the Soloist is still officially unannounced but the name is confirmed and the Jumbo-Visma development team have raced the bike throughout the 2022 season so far. We don’t expect to see the new Soloist at the Tour, but it is nonetheless an exciting bike expected to enjoy an official launch over the coming months. Fingers crossed for affordable, light, aero.
New Treks
Within weeks of those new Cervelos, CyclingTips was reporting on the appearance and then disappearance of new Trek Domanes on the UCI list. Then, said new Trek Domane re-appeared at Paris-Roubaix, before disappearing again awaiting an official announcement.
Expect the new Domane to visit the cobbles of Northern France again ahead of the peloton hitting the pave again on stage five of the year’s Tour. One could assume we should get an official announcement on the new bike around the same time. John Degenkolb took the stage honours aboard a Domane the last time the Tour de France tackled the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix, and Trek will be hoping for a similar result to launch the new frame in style.
Just this past weekend, Trek-Segafredo accidentally intentionally unveiled the new Trek Madone at the Criterium du Dauphine with several riders spotted on the new bike. The new bike sticks to the Madone’s recent aero-focused heritage but its appearance and the wild new seat post design raise countless questions and seemingly already splits opinions. Expect to see the new Madone throughout the Tour as we eagerly await an official launch from Trek.
Cannondale and a host of time trial bikes
Along the way, we had news of a new Cannondale SuperSix Evo3 Limited Edition, we hope might be a super lightweight offering for the uphill specialists. Only time will tell. We have also seen a host of new time trial bikes from Merida, Colnago, BMC, Scott, and Wilier this spring and rumours are abounding of a new Pinarello in the works set for a Copenhagen debut. No photos or even rumours of updates just yet, but we do know Ineos Grenadeirs riders have already tested the new bike. It’s clearly been a big year for TT development and that’s without even mentioning the new Cadex triathlon bike, highly unlikely to ever make an appearance on the UCI list or the Tour de France.
Colnago
Colnago then joined the new light-aero road bike party with Tadej Pogacar spotted aboard a prototype new bike which appears to be the successor to the V3Rs currently used by the two time Tour champion. The current V3Rs is known to be well down the list of fastest World Tour bikes and the team struggles to get the disc brake variant down to the UCI 6.8 kg weight limit.
We often see Pogacar opt for a rim brake bike for high mountain stages and recently the Team UAE Giro squad opted for new lightweight Campagnolo wheels all in a bid to get closer to that 6.8 kg limit. Still, a new, lighter, faster, probably stiffer, pricer, fancier, all the “ers” frame is needed and it seems Colnago could deliver on time for this year’s Tour.
None of this matters if Colnago won’t offer the new bikes in true Colnago Art Decor, finishes the Italian brand teased with Nathan Haas’ AD10 paint job G3-X for Unbound Gravel.
A new Cube Litening?
One last bike we have already seen and should expect to see more of at the upcoming Tour comes from the German brand, Cube. With definite aero cues in the form of the deeper head tube, dropped stays and truncated tubing, alongside what looks like an all-around lighter package, the new frame is most definitely a light-aero one frame solution from Cube. The bike has already made a successful debut at the Giro and it seems logical we could expect an official announcement on the new bike come July.
Of course, to be used in a UCI sanctioned race the new bike requires UCI approval and although the new Cube has not yet appeared on the list close up shots reveal the UCI frame approval logo on the seat tube.
Less known unknowns
It’s been a busy year by any measure, and thankfully it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon as we reach peak new development season at the Tour. A recent update to the UCI approved frame list suggests this year’s Grand Depart is set to be a tech corker.
An update to the UCI approved frame list published over the weekend unveils several exciting new bikes on the way. The latest update to the list features new frames approved for use in UCI events from Canyon, Giant, and Factor.
Given that the UCI now offers manufacturers the option to decide when a frame appears on the list, we can assume this recent update means confirmations from the brands on the new bikes are imminent. Unfortunately, no photos have emerged just yet, but we are keeping our eyes peeled and will update this article as we get them.
New Canyon Ultimate
Fans of the Canyon Ultimate have been anticipating an update for the better part of three years or more already. The last update to the Ultimate range was back in 2020 with the new CFR (Canyon Factory Racing) lightweight offering. That was very much an update to the already-current Ultimate with a new carbon layup used to further increase the stiffness to weight ratio of the more traditionally shaped and lightweight machine. The Ultimate design hasn’t seen a complete overhaul since 2016 and as such the news of a confirmed new model will be exciting for many.
Following that UCI update, a photo has emerged on the WeightWeenies forum of a bike assumed to be the new Canyon Ultimate.
Canyon has its Aeroad offering for those seeking aero gains and so, to the relief of many, the new Ultimate seems to retain its lightweight focus with only minimal aero tweaks at most. Like it or loath it, the new Ultimate now features fully internal cable routing for some not-insignificant aero gain. further keeping with modern perceived wisdom, the new Ultimate now seemingly features clearance for significantly wider tyres.
It seems unlikely that Canyon will go the do-it-all light-aero all-rounder route. We only have this one head-on photo to work from, but it seems from the traditionally high seat stays and round-ish down tube Canyon has again gone all-in on low weight with the Ultimate platform. Given Enric Mas of Team Movistar is riding the new Ultimate in the one photo we have seen so far, it seems likely he and other Canyon equipped riders might race the new frame on the mountain stages of the upcoming Tour.
Giant Propel
With the Ultimate on the way for the weight weenies, Giant is on hand with something for the aero weenies. The UCI update lists an MY23 Propel Advanced and an Advanced SL from Giant confirming speculation of a forthcoming new Propel almost certainly due to make its debut at the Tour de France with Team BikeExchange-Jayco. The Propel is Giant’s dedicated aero frame and is another bike almost a half-decade on since its last major overhaul.
Giant has so far done a frustratingly good job of keeping the new Propel under wraps, with not a single photo (that I am aware of) emerging thus far. However, it is unlikely a mistake that the new Propel has appeared on the list this weekend and if it does not make its debut in the upcoming Tour de Suisse it surely will come at the Tour de France.
In other giant news, rumours on a new Trinity TT rig seem to suggest we may have to wait until 2023 for any update on that front.
Scott Foil?
Eagled eyed or well connected WeightWeenies forum member Mustafah009 may have spotted a new Scott Foil in the background of this recent John Degenkolb picture. The bike bears no decals or clearly Scott-identifying characteristics, but is carrying Team DSM bottles and is pictured behind Scott-riding Team DSM’s John Degenkolb. The current Foil has seemingly fallen out of favour at DSM of late and a new one is expected this year.
If this is the new Foil, it is a significant redesign from the existing model which dates back to 2016. The bike we can see here features deeper tubes and more aero profiled tubes all around, seat stays dropped even further and seemingly features a more profiled junction with the seat tube and what appears to be a quite aggressively aero cockpit. Again, if a new Foil is to appear anywhere, it is at the Tour de France.
Factor OG – G is for gravel?
One bike that we probably won’t see at the Tour de France but is seemingly on the way soon is a new gravel bike from Factor. The Factor OG appeared on the same recent update to the UCI list. Simultaneously Adam Roberge rode an unidentified Factor gravel bike with more than a few similarities to Factor’s Ostro VAM aero road bike.
Presumably, the bike we see Roberge working on in the video below is the new Factor OG which in turn is presumably a new dedicated aero gravel racer from Factor. No official word from Factor yet on the OG, but its appearance on the UCI list and at Unbound suggests a launch is imminent.
Gravel aero anyone?
Unknown unknowns aka daydreaming
That’s everything we have seen or heard of so far, although the Tour has a knack for throwing up a few more unknown unknowns. What those could be this year is anyone’s guess right now. Could we see a new Colnago Concept dedicated aero bike? Unlikely given all the other development Colnago has done of late, but certainly not impossible. Sticking with that theme and with so much dedicated aero development of late, could we see Specialized revive the Venge platform under the new relaxed UCI frame regulations? Again, unlikely just yet, but one can hope. Let us know what you would like to see or think brands should do.
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