​19 Mechanic Tips and Tricks From The 2017 Tour de France

Here are 19 ways Tour mechanics try to give their riders every winning edge—and how some could work for you, too.


Matt Phillips |

Here are 19 ways Tour mechanics try to give their riders every winning edge—and how some could work for you, too. – By Matt Phillips

1

Sticky Bottle

A little bit of Lizard Skins DSP bar tape helps keep a water bottle in the cage when the tarmac is bumpy.

2

These Boots Are Made for Washing

Bikes are washed daily at the Tour de France. Many mechanics wear coveralls or waterproof overalls during the wash process, but almost all will slip on a pair of waterproof boots to keep their feet dry.

3

Morgan Blue Chain Roller

There are about 100 mechanics representing 22 teams at the Tour de France, but almost all of them wash a bike the same way. The process involves removing both wheels, but mechanics install a roller in the drive-side dropout so they can turn the cranks to apply degreaser and blast the drivetrain completely clean.

4

Tighter Pedals

This modification to Look pedals seems to be growing in popularity every year. One mechanic told me that riders request the modification because they (the riders) want less movement between the cleat and pedal.

5

Tracking To The Second

Tour mechanics are responsible for mounting two tracking devices on every rider’s bike. Starting at the 2015 Tour, many bikes sprouted a black GPS tracking device under the saddle rails. This device is used by Dimension Data (a sponsor of the Tour de France in addition to the Dimension Data team) to provide real-time speed and position information. In addition to this new technology, the rider’s main bikes are equipped with timing chips (shown here at the Quick Step Floors truck) similar to the ones used in events all over the world.

6

Keeping it Simple

When all else fails, hammer and duct tape come to the rescue.

7

Keeping Communication Going

A Tour de France team will have several mechanics (Trek Segafredo brought four this year), and responsibilities are divvied up for maximum efficiency, and rotated to minimise burnout. With so much churn, communication is crucial to ensure no detail is missed. Team Sunweb’s mechanics use masking tape and a marker to ensure this bike’s power meter is paired to the rider’s computer.

RELATED: 2017 Tour de France Tech: Wheels and Tyres

8

Multiple Spares

Almost every rider in the Tour has at least two bikes: a main race bike, and a spare on top of the team car following the stage. But some higher-profile riders may have more than two spares at the ready, just in case. The spare bikes at the Tour are often a rider’s main race bike from earlier in the season (many riders, especially the top riders, get brand new equipment for the Tour). Teams usually use stickers to ensure there’s no mixup between the main and spare race bikes.

9

Beyond Slammed Stems

The stems of the Tour are almost universally slammed. And when slammed isn’t enough, mechanics will make modifications to get the bars even lower. Here a headset’s top cover has been machined to shave off a few millimetres.

10

Using Whatever Works

Finding a good spot on a TT bike for Shimano’s Di2 junction box is a particular challenge for mechanics. I’ve seen many creative solutions: some elegant, some ugly. This one isn’t particularly pretty, but it’s simple, effective, and keeps the box out of the wind.

11

Custom Tool Carriers for the Road

To facilitate on-the-fly repairs, Katusha-Alpecin mechanic Roger Theel made this custom seat back leather tool carrier for the team car.

12

Post-Stage Inspections

After every stage, a team’s bikes are washed and inspected. Cannondale-Drapac mechanic James Griffin combs tyres for cuts or embedded flints. If he spots anything suspect, the tyre will be replaced.

13

No Lost Computers

New Garmin Edge cycling computers are shipped with an emergency tether that secures the computer should the Edge be jostled out of its mount. Though it is a simple and almost weightless way to protect a valuable tool, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the tether in use by a professional team.

14

Precise (and Sometimes Proprietary) Pressure

Every bike’s tyre pressure is set and checked before every stage. A major reason for this: most bikes in the Tour use tubular tyres with latex tubes, and they leak down much more quickly than butyl tubes (which most bikes likely run on). However, a latex tube has lower rolling resistance, is a bit lighter, and may be more flat resistant than a butyl tube, so it’s worth the extra effort. Some mechanics consider tyre pressure tactical information that should be kept secret, while others are more forthcoming. Overall though, the tour riders roll on higher pressures, even though they have generally moved from 23 to 25 millimetre wide tyres. 7.8 bar for the front and the rear tyre’s pressure was probably higher.

15

All The Cassettes

Cassettes of all sizes are easily accessible inside the Quick-Step Floors tech truck. Drivetrain manufactures—Shimano and SRAM in particular—continue to expand their gearing options with ever-wider-range cassettes, which team riders may choose for the steepest and hardest mountain stages. For flatter stages, riders still prefer close-ratio cassettes.

16

Heat-Shrinked Tubing

Heat-shrink tubing is a popular way for mechanics to wrangle unruly electronic shifting wires and make a bike look nicer. Note the precise cut in the tubing for the Campy EPS drivetrain’s shifter in and interface out wires.

17

Saddle Height Stickers

Mechanics mark a rider’s saddle height so it may be quickly reset if the seatpost is removed, and to provide a quick way to check if the seatpost has slipped. Some mechanics use paint or permanent marker, but a small sticker works just as well for UAE Team Emirates mechanics.

18

The Art of Wrapping Tape

If you have dreams of becoming a Tour de France calibre mechanic, practice your bar wrapping. Tour mechanics not only wrap fast, they wrap pretty, and they have a variety of techniques at their disposal. I saw top down; drops up; drive side clockwise/non drive counterclockwise; drive side counterclockwise/non-drive clockwise; small, medium, and large tape overlap; multi-layer wraps. This Direct Energie bike was wrapped drive side counterclockwise/non-drive clockwise with medium overlap. The tape stops just past the hoods so as not to ruin the aerodynamics of the Vision Metron 5D integrated handlebar.

19

Not For Home Mechanics

Power washers and powerful degreasers are the secret to the spotlessly-clean bikes the riders mount at the start of every stage. It’s not a good idea to wash your bike this way unless you get free parts, and unlimited grease and chain lube.

READ MORE ON: bike advice road Tour de France

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