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FEATURES: BIKES OF THE TOUR OF CALIFORNIA PART 1
Philip Booth
May 20, 2010
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(Photo: Ken Conley)
With the season in full swing and the biggest teams in the world landing on American soil for the first time this year, Road Bike Action takes a look at the fastest bikes in California. LIQUIGAS Arguably the coolest bike at the Tour of California was the Cannondale SuperSix of stage four winner Francesco Chicchi. The bike features a wild west paint scheme to celebrate his Chicchi’s win into St. Louis at last year’s Tour of Missouri.  Francesco Chicchi's nickname is the "The Sheriff" due his love of wild west movies.
 The oversized downtube features Cannondale written in an old western font on a wanted poster style background complete with bullet holes.
 "The Sheriff" of St. Louis and now Modesto, Chicchi’s bike stands out from the team’s green and black team bikes. Like the rest of the team bikes it feature a Campagnolo drivetrain mated to Cannondale’s own BB30 bottom bracket and crankset. Speedplay provides the pedals, FSA the cockpit, and fi'zi:k the saddles. Francesco Chicchi’s custom fi'zi:k saddle features a custom fuzzy cow insert to complete the bike’s wild west theme. Mavic continues to supply the wheels wrapped in Schwalbe tires.  HTC-COLUMBIA
The HTC-Columbia team continues to ride Scott bicycles. The team comes to California on Scott Addicts with full Shimano Di2 electric or Dura Ace components. All of the team riders are using SRM PowerMeters. The Scott Addicts of HTC-Columbia are outfitted with PRO handlebars and stems with fi'zi:k saddles. Hed wheels wrapped in Continental tires complete the HTC-Columbia team bikes. The bike of Bernhard Eisel shown here uses a deeper section rear wheel for improved aerodynamics, while the lower profile front provides precise handling.
GARMIN-TRANSITIONS
With there hopes pinned on David Zabriskie and Tom Danielson, the Garmin-Transitions hits the roads of California on Felt F1 SL framesets mated to Shimano Di2 Electric or Dura Ace components. One major change is that the team made the switch to Mavic wheels for the 2010 season. Despite having their choice of wheels the team riders seem to favor the Cosmic Carbone Ultimates. 3T supplies the handlebars, stems and seatposts, while fi'zi:k provides saddles. Vittoria tires round out the team bikes.
JELLY BELLY P/B KENDA
For 2010 Jelly Belly has switched from GT to Focus bikes. The team is racing on Focus Cayos outfitted with SRAM Red components. 3T is another new team sponsor for 2010 and supplies the team with Ergonova PRO handlebars, ARX PRO stems and Doric TEAM seatposts. The ARX PRO stem is custom made for the team and features the Jelly Belly logo. fi'zi:k is another team sponsor and outfits the team with red and white saddles. RTS wheels is the official sponsor, but due to limited quantities most of the team was on unmarked Zipp wheels with Kenda Volare tubular tires. Cateye supplies the team with custom Strada Wireless computers.
RABOBANK
The steadiest team in the peloton when it comes to bikes, the Rabobank team comes to California with little changes from last year. The team races on Giant TCR Advanced SL framesets with full Shimano Dura Ace components and wheels. The riders appeared split between the Dura Ace C35 and C50 wheels. A few bikes even had C35 on the front with the deeper section C50 on the rear. PRO will again provide the team with handlebars and stems. fi'zi:k saddles and Vittoria tires round out the spec.
TEAM TYPE 1
For 2010, Team Type 1 has made the switch from Orbea to Colnago. The team is riding Colnago CX-1 carbon frames. The CX-1 features a monocoque front triangle using Colnago’s proprietary Alfa carbon blend. The main tubes feature a unique polygonal cross section design to increase frame stiffness. Shimano provides the team with Dura Ace components and wheels. Most team riders have chosen to ride Dura Ace C50 wheels. Kenda has also come on board as tire sponsor and provides the team with Volare Tubular tires. PRO equips the bikes with alloy stems and handlebars, while Colnago supplies the seatpost. Selle Italia saddles finish out the bikes and Cateye provides the team with custom Strada wireless computers.
SAXO BANK
The Saxo Bank team rolled out on special edition American Flyer bikes that are built around Specialized’s SL3 frames and feature SRAM red drivetrains mated to Specialized FACT carbon cranks. The team continues with Zipp wheels that are wrapped in Veloflex tubular tires. FSA provides the K-Force Light seatposts and Energy alloy handlebars while Specialized uses their own stems and saddles. The team continues with Speedplay pedals. Click here to see Road Bike Action’s exclusive look at the team’s American Flyer bikes.
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