Tour de France bikes vs the bikes you can buy in the shops — are they actually the same?

You may have heard that professional road cyclists use extra special bikes, and you may be wondering what exactly they are getting that you aren't. Let's have a look at what sets pro bikes apart from the ones you can buy at your local bike shop, what makes them so eye-wateringly expensive, and finish off with some tips and tricks on how to emulate the pros. 

An appealing part of professional cycling is that you can walk into a bike shop and ride away on a road bike very similar to the ones ridden by the likes of Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar.

Broadly speaking, the answer to the question of whether pro bikes are the same as the ones that you or I can buy in the shops is: yes. All you have to do is spend a lot of money - pretty much north of £10,000 nowadays -  and you'll be presented with something very similar to the ones being raced around France. 

> Want a pro-inspired bike without the pro price tag? Check out our round-up of Tour de France bikes on a budget

But, let's take a look at what makes these bikes different to the ones ridden by the pros. It's not a case of saying that these bikes will be identical; there may be similarities in terms of the brand and model, but the pros often have custom-built or specifically modified bikes that cater to their needs and preferences. 

Nothing is as simple as yes or no, so let’s dive a little bit deeper and look at the individual parts that make up a pro bike. There are plenty of tips we can take away, too... 

Frame

> The bikes of the Tour de France

The main component of any bike is the frameset, and the top-end models you'll see in bike shops are always the same as the ones that the pros are riding, unless its a bike that is yet to be officially released.

Pro bikes have the lightest, stiffest versions of those frames, and they often have them well ahead of general sale, with the Tour de France being a showground for many new bikes. 

Even if you can't have it right at the moment you see it in the Tour, you should eventually be able to get your hands on a frame that's the same as your favourite riders. That's because anything used in the Tour de France must be released to the public sooner or later, as per UCI rules. 

Paint job

One area where pro frames may differ from those you can buy is in the paint. Professional cyclists often have custom paint jobs unique to them or their team, and the Tour de France showcases many new limited edition designs for the occasion.

For example, although you can buy the same Cervelo S5 aero road bike as Van Aert, you may have to leave the Jumbo-Visma paint job behind, unless you get your hands on one at an end-of-season auction for a sizeable fee.

You can, however, get Mark Cavendish's custom paint job on a Wilier Filante SLR, but this will cost you an additional €2,000 on top of the starting price of £9,710. 

Every gram counts in professional cycling, so manufacturers go to great lengths to reduce weight wherever possible, including in the paint. The paint is often lighter, as standard paint can add 100 grams or more. In a Grand Tour, this weight is better utilised for other areas, such as aerodynamics, rather than in the paint.

Yann Le Fraillec, the Chief Product Officer at Van Rysel says: "The paint is very important when you buy your bike.

"Sometimes it's not understood by customers why we decide to have a raw frame on the RCR, because when you purchase the white one, you sometimes have almost a 100g gap.

"So, for the RCR Pro, the design was to be the lightest possible. So, this is the main difference, just the paint". 

Geometry

Despite being able to get your hands on a frame that's the same as your favourite rider's, there have been some instances where riders have requested their sponsors make one-off bikes with special geometry just for them.

That list includes names like Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan, who both previously had custom-made versions of their team’s race bike because they didn’t like the geometry (the frame’s measurements) of the standard issue bike.

When you're one of the biggest names in the men's professional peloton, you can request things like that. But on the whole, pro riders generally ride the same frames that you can buy. 

Bike position 

This isn’t strictly a difference between shop bikes and pro bikes, as you can set your bike up in any way that you choose; but professional cyclists often have more aggressive positions. The number of pro riders with long, low and narrow positions is greater than you’d see on the average club ride.

The bikes in a shop will be set up differently for one key reason, and that is comfort. Generally, they will feature a wider and higher handlebar position that is also closer to the saddle. This will often be more comfortable for the average person who is buying the bike.

Pro riders have access to regular bike fittings to ensure an ideal fit and to maximise their efficiency and comfort, while also stretching every day to keep them comfortable in what can look like back-breaking positions.

They may also have personalised adjustments to their handlebars, stem, saddle, and pedals based on their riding style and body proportions.

A good shop will always adjust the position for you, so you can replicate those super-low racer positions if you want. 

Components

One significant difference between the bikes available in bike shops and those seen in the Tour de France is the flexibility in component selection. We can mix and match components, wheels, and tyres to suit our preferences, whereas professional cyclists are required to use the equipment provided by their team's sponsors. 

There are occasions when riders discreetly use equipment from other brands and cover up the logos, but generally, they adhere to their team's sponsors. For example, Ineos Grenadiers have been known to use Lightweight carbon fibre wheels instead of Dura-Ace wheels. 

Groupsets

As with bike frames, there's rarely any groupset component on display that you won’t find on high-end bikes in your local bike shop. Although, pro riders often have access to the latest and most advanced versions of these groupsets, before they are made available to us. 

The choice of groupset depends primarily on team sponsorship, and of the 18 WorldTour men's teams, 14 use Shimano groupsets and four are on SRAM. No WorldTour teams are currently using Campagnolo groupsets for the first time in over 70 years. 

You might find the odd pro bike sporting a power meter that isn't sponsor-correct, but the electronic shifting provided by the main three groupset manufacturers is so good that we rarely see anyone stray from their sponsor products.

> Best power meters

Riders may also opt for swapping out the standard outer ring for one with more teeth, particularly if a stage is set to end in a fast sprint or in a flat time trial stage, or ditch the outer ring altogether, switching to a single chainring setup. 

The shifters are an area where pro bikes may differ from one you can get off the shelf, but it doesn't mean you can't make the same modifications. Back in 2019, we did see some of the SRAM-sponsored Trek-Segafredo riders using Shimano’s Di2 sprint shifters instead of the SRAM Blips. 

These modified satellite shifter buttons allow riders to shift gears when resting their hands on the tops of the bars, and you can certainly buy these special shifters with your new bike. We'd recommend asking the mechanic if they could fit them for you, though. 

Wheels 

> Best road bike wheels

Many of the bikes in your local bike shop are likely to come with more affordable aluminium wheels, whereas you won't find stock aluminium wheelsets anywhere near a pro bike.

Carbon fibre wheels are the only option for the pros because they offer superior performance. They are often lighter, more aerodynamic and stiffer, all of which contribute to increased speed. 

While the wheel choice of the teams comes largely down to the sponsors, it's not uncommon to see non-sponsor wheels used. As we've already mentioned, Ineos have used wheels from boutique German brand Lightweight in the mountains, while Aerocoach wheels often featuring in time trials. In 2023, we also saw some Astana Qazaqstan riders using Hed wheels instead of their sponsor-correct Corima ones. 

Tyres

As with most other parts of a bike mentioned here, unreleased tyres are often found on the pros' bikes before they are available to the public. For example, we saw many riders on Vittoria's Corsa Pro tyres before they were released. 

These prototype tyres are typically tested and refined during races to gather performance data and feedback from top cyclists before being launched onto the market. 

Weight

> 8 upgrades to make your road bike better than a new one

Professional cyclists have to adhere to the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) weight limit regulations, which is currently a minimum of 6.8kg for UCI-sanctioned events. As a result, pro bikes are often built to just meet or slightly exceed this weight limit. 

On the other hand, for those of us not constrained by UCI regulations, there's greater flexibility in bike weight and you have the opportunity to explore lighter bike configurations than the pros, which is particularly advantageous if you enjoy hill climbing or just want the lightest bike on the group ride. 

Some tips and tricks to get a 'pro' bike

Electrical tape is your best friend

A team's mechanic will always have electrical tape to hand, and it can be very useful for stopping rattles and unwanted movement. For example, riders will use tape inside their computer mounts to stop their bike computer from going walkies.

The pro team mechanics will also put bar tape on the riders' pedals to stop any unwanted movement. Both are neat tricks that you can employ yourself.

Bike too light? Use aluminium parts

As mentioned above, the UCI enforces a 6.8kg minimum weight limit for bikes at UCI-sanctioned events. 

If a pro bike is a bit too light, riders will often opt for an aluminium handlebar or stem to bring the weight up. These are also less likely to snap when there is a pile-up... and there are lots of pile-ups in the Tour de France.

The versatile Sharpie 

Aside from signing autographs, looking closely at some pro bikes - especially the tyres and saddles - you'll see that a whole load of fun has been had with a Sharpie permanent marker. 

If a rider doesn’t like the sponsor’s saddle and they’re an important rider, then they will sometimes just use their preferred perch and scribble out the logo. Tyres are a big culprit for this too. 

Sponsorship logos... everywhere 

While paint jobs on pro bikes aren't always as distinctive anymore, the sponsors of the jersey, groupset, wheels, power meter, brake pads and even the team owner's family plumbing business get their logo somewhere on the bike. 

Pro bikes often start with the same design that you can buy in the bike shop, but can end up looking a bit of a mess after the sponsors have got to work. 

Pic: Zac Williams/SWpix.com

So, to summarise, brands want pros riding and winning on their bikes to make them more appealing to consumers, and this means many manufacturers offer versions of professional bikes for sale to the general public. They are inspired by their professional counterparts, but may have slight modifications to suit recreational riders. 

While you may not be riding an exact replica of a professional cyclist's bike, you can get pretty close. 

Which pro team bike would you most like to buy? Let us know in the comments section below.