This article first appeared on BikeRadar
Chris Froome rode onto the Champs Élysées and into the overall Tour de France victory astride a Pinarello bathed in yellow paint with chainrings covered over with black tape. Here we take a look at his machine from the beginning of the 2015 Tour de France, before the paint and tape. We also talk to power-meter sponsor Stages Cycling about Team Sky's claim that non-round rings can cause power meters to read six percent high.
Team Sky enjoys a reputation as the most fastidious squad in the WorldTour, and the team's mechanics do nothing to dispel this perception. BikeRadar watched Sky bikes being assembled, cleaned and tuned before the Tour kicked off, and we were impressed by some of the detail work, such as small drops of superglue being laid underneath the ends of the handlebar tape, allowing for minimal use of finishing tape while keeping the wrap job showroom-perfect during racing.
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Like all Team Sky riders, Froome had three Pinarello Dogma F8s ready to go at all times during the race. His #1 bike was what he started each day on, with the #2 and #3 bikes on his team cars in the caravan behind. Each bike is identical.
Sky mechanics mark two points on the top of each saddle for consistent measurement. There is no eyeballing here. Similarly, there is no taking component manufacturers at their word; each Shimano PRO stem is measured and labeled. As with most other brands, PRO stems come in 10mm increments. Sky has found there to be variances of a few mm in stems, though, and marks them accordingly.
Froome's trademark component is his O.Symetric chainring setup. While mechanics dutifully taped over the logos during the race, there is no mistaking the oblong shape. Proponents of non-round rings argue that the design eliminates the deadspot in a rider's pedalstroke and adds leverage for the the downward part of the stroke, resulting in more power for the same effort.
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