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TECH NEWS
Pro Bike: Alberto Contador's chrome Specialized S-Works Tarmac race bike
Another race, another custom painted bike. This one belongs to Alberto Contador, and it’s a Specialized S-Works Tarmac that he is racing in the Criterium du Dauphine at the moment, a race which he is currently leading from Richie Porte and Chris Froome.
conApparently, the graphics people at Specialized took inspiration from Contador’s “storied career” to create this custom polished chrome paint job.
"We set out to create a bike graphic that would stand out from the rest of the peloton,” stated Ron Jones, Lead Road Designer at Specialized .
And stand out it certainly does. The front half of the frame is coated with a mirror finish and complemented by a high-contrast black rear triangle and fork, blending into the chrome along the top tube.
- 2016 Pro Bike: Michael Rogers’ Tinkoff Specialized S-Works Tarmac
Interrupting the monochrome finish are flashes of yellow, red and pink, colours that are a nod to his victories in the three Grand Tours. The Specialized and S-Works decals stand out against the chrome background due to their flouro yellow, and this colour is matched by the custom finished SRM head unit and FSA stem and seatpost and Prologo saddle.
“The intention was to create a bike visually striking and bright, which could require sunglasses to view,” adds Specialized.
- Review: Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc
Custom paint job aside, the bike is standard Tinkoff team bike build, though Contador has bucked the electronic trend and opted for a mechanical Dura-Ace groupset. There seems to be a bit of trend for mechanical groupsets at the moment with several big names (Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan) making the switch back from electronic shifting. Whether it's purely down to feel or due to a weight reason, we don't know.
The bike is finished with Roval CLX 40 carbon fibre tubular wheels with Specialized S-Works Turbo tyres, FSA handlebars, stem and seatpost, and a Prologo saddle.
Photos ©BettiniPhoto
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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I thought the X was for the Elon - which doesn't make things any better...
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Double points for that photo backdrop Mark1a, and for anyone that has a shelf bracket for their air duster canister.
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This risks turning me into a hanger and flogger....
- wtjs 7 hours 44 sec ago
In SE London, psychopath riders are the majority of people on bicycles Oh dear! another festive stealth anti-cyclist ☃️
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Well, you know the BMW drivers' saying: knock that house (hospital, social housing, care home, hospital...) down, could save 30 seconds on the trip!
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I had the pleasure of owning two of the featured builders here, in my history. When I joined the Army in 1971, I took with me my curly Hetchins:...
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Could Siobhán paint it red and noone would notice it?
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To paraphrase Field of Dreams, "Build it right and they will come: and use it!"
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9 comments
Easy - 50/36 for training, 53/39 racing
In easy crit circuits when you are in 53x16 or 15 you are cruising at 100 rpm and 42 / 45 kph. My last crit at Hillingdon, I averaged 103 rpm.
Spinning up from 100 to 110 makes for good acceleration when a break attempt goes. Spinting at 120rpm in 53x13 gives you 62kph.
Works for me.
Contador ran a compact (34) and a 28 cassette for the uphill TT. Shows that amateurs don't really need standard cranks. I know loads of people who ditched their standards for a compact and never went back because 50×11 is plenty big enough even if you are a good sprinter.
I just swapped out my compact for a mid-compact because I wanted to give myself more work. If you're not disciplined you can drop way down when you really don't need to. That was what I was doing anyway. I now force myself to keep it in the big ring on the 52 for the whole ride just to try and work on strength a bit because it's really not hilly enough where I live. Any real grades are very, very short.
That said, the 50 was more than enough for me on the flats. I couldn't make the best of it, not even close the only time I could possibly spin out would be on some rare descent.
What is the deal with mechanical now. I prefer it because it's cheaper but why would someone choose it if it was free and it gave your mechanics less hassle with internal routing?
Some people just seem to like manual groupsets, most obviously Cancellara - he chats about that a bit here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKw2LeSa52U
..and there used to be a slight advantage with mechanical for taller riders/riders wanting more reach in TT due to the slightly odd UCI regs about where the reach was measured (forward end of lever for electronic, pivot for mechanical) - that's changed now. Interesting that Fabian has gone back to mechanical now after a brief time on electronic. Love to have the choice myself..
Huh interesting, though it's a Shimmy video, which makes me suspect. I haven't got the choice either, I'm stretched and feel lucky to have my mechanical groupset! So whatevers
I'm usually no fan of Specialized, or plastic bikes, but that paint job looks so hot you could cook a steak on it!
Looks like the 1960s mass produced frames that Raleigh sold under the Carlton name as entry level sports bikes. There is nothing like garish graphics for making a bike look naff.
Regarding top riders opting for mechanical Dura-Ace; I think this is more likely to be a question of reliability rather than weight.
You say that, but then you look at the podium for Paris-Roubaix this year, arguably one of the most demanding races on parts and equipment, and Di2 dominated