Do all professional cyclists use carbon framed bikes?

[Cyclopathic]

I imagine that all of them on the pro tour do because they all get sponsorship from manufacturers. Or is that incorrect? I wonder though if any of the lowlier professionals use bikes made from other materials, either out of personal preference or because they are perhaps sponsored by a manufacturer that uses something else?
Thanks to anyone kind enough and knowledgeable enough to humour me on this point of idle curiosity.

 

[fossala]

Team madason are riding on 953 (reynolds steel) volants, they are being released soon as well.

 

[montage]

Philip Gilbert used an aluminium canyon in 2010 (I think) for the cobbled classics

 

[Hacienda71]

A few of the guys on the tour series were riding steel framed bikes in some of the rounds.

 

[thom]

Team madason are riding on 953 (reynolds steel) volants, they are being released soon as well.

Is that the Genesis team : http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/team
Reynolds 953 & 951
They are kind of a proof of possibility team.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Am I right in thinking that bikes can be too light in the TDF and that if they are the riders can be disqualified ?

 

[Hacienda71]

The UCI do have a minimum weight.

 

[Hill Wimp]

Interesting thanks for confirming that for me.

 

[smutchin]

I imagine that all of them on the pro tour do because they all get sponsorship from manufacturers.

I read in Reg Harris's biography last year that although he rode "Raleigh" bikes (because they sponsored him), they were actually another make with Raleigh badges. I believe this kind of thing is quite common in pro cycling. Or used to be. Maybe less so now that bikes have more distinctive appearance (eg Pinarello's wavy forks).

One of the reasons Cav's move to Sky was so drawn out was that he had a deal to ride Specialized bikes while Sky had an arrangement with Pinarello...

On the whole, pros just have to ride whatever the team/sponsor gives them. They don't own the bikes and they have to give them back at the end of the season. They'll be given the latest kit because the manufacturers want the public exposure, but the riders themselves aren't always so keen...

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/04/the-secret-pro-the-spring-classics/

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2013/05/the-secret-pro-2/

 

[Hill Wimp]

Yes I read the same in Wiggos book about them not being able to keep the bikes which amazed me.

 

[thom]

I read in Reg Harris's biography last year that although he rode "Raleigh" bikes (because they sponsored him), they were actually another make with Raleigh badges. I believe this kind of thing is quite common in pro cycling. Or used to be. Maybe less so now that bikes have more distinctive appearance (eg Pinarello's wavy forks).

My impression is that this sort of thing wouldn't happen now, first since as you note the look of bikes are too distinctive to mask but second because I kind of doubt there is really that much of a difference between what the top pro-bike makers produce, although perhaps it can be more exaggerated when it comes to TT bikes.

In times past, in the days of steel bikes, hand crafted by yoda like frame builders in deep caves under the Italian alps, individual frame builders definitely did create bikes for specific riders that would get rebranded with someone else's badge when it came to racing. It probably happened deep into in the 80's - LeMond's winning TdF bike may have been a rebranded Serotta.

 

[oldroadman]

Reference query on UCI minimum weight limit, it's currently 6.8 kg. Madison Genesis team bikes are a little heavier, but not muh, around 7.6 I believe. And they look beautiful. Us old blokes love steel frames simply for ride quality, and now you can get them really light, why not?

 

[montage]

Reference query on UCI minimum weight limit, it's currently 6.8 kg. Madison Genesis team bikes are a little heavier, but not muh, around 7.6 I believe. And they look beautiful. Us old blokes love steel frames simply for ride quality, and now you can get them really light, why not?

I know of one of their riders in particular that doesn't enjoy racing those bikes - too heavy and too harsh apparently, stiff in all the wrong places. I'm sure a mere mortal like myself could race just as unsuccessfully on a steel frame, but at the top it does seem to make a difference - there is a reason steel isn't in the pro peloton anymore. Though I agree, they do look bloody beautiful.

 

[raindog]

The massive carbon fork spoils the elegance a bit, though

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Rapha-Condor's James McCallum uses a steel frame.

McCallum said he favoured his steel bike over the Leggero thanks to its smoother ride quality over varying road surfaces on the UK criterium scene. “We’re hardly riding on glass all the time,” he explained.