Disc brakes and tubeless tyres mark a new-look Ineos Grenadiers
(Image credit: Future)
Geraint Thomas and the rest of the Ineos Grenadiers team have been riding the Pinarello Dogma F in the Tour de France since the road stages began on Stage 2 and they relinquished their new model Bolide F time trial bikes. We've got a detailed gallery of Adam Yates' Bolide F as ridden on Stage 1.
The team's switch to disc brakes and the reasons for this were widely understood as down to the added weight that discs provide. We've not weighed Thomas' bike - covid rules prevented us from touching the bike at all - but we'd expect that unlike its predecessor, the Dogma F12, this new model can get much closer to the UCI's 6.8kg weight limit.
Ineos Grenadiers continue to take steps to keep their bikes light though, including having them painted by Silverstone Paint Technology, who specialises in lightweight paint for Formula One cars. With a standard paint job adding between 50g and 100g to a bike's weight there's a marginal gain to be made here.
Thomas continues to run the older, 11-speed Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 groupset rather than the new 12-speed Dura-Ace R9200 version, but he's kitted out with a 54/46T chainrings rather than the 53/39T that was the usual pro-level option with that groupset. They're marked 11S.
As with the switch to disc brakes, pros can be slow to change what works for them. We'd be surprised if Thomas didn't have a 12-speed option available to him, but it could also just as easily be due to stock shortages, which are still affecting the industry.
Thomas and Ineos Grenadiers have abandoned the pros' favourite tubular tyres in favour of Dura-Ace C50 tubeless-ready clincher wheels shod with Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tyres. They're fitted with valves from Muc-Off, also a team sponsor.
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In previous years, Ineos Grenadiers have switched out to sponsor-incorrect wheels for mountain stages, but Thomas appears to be riding Shimano wheelsets throughout the Tour this year, and was seen using the lighter Dura-Ace C36 (again, tubeless) on stage 11 in the Alps.
The lightweight extras continue with the team's 17g-a-piece Elite Leggero Carbon bottle cages and Elite Fly waterbottles. Even the Most Superlight bar tape on the Most Talon Ultra Fast integrated bar/stem is claimed to save a few grams at 50g a set.
Pinarello has never got into Pressfit and the Dogma F continues the brand's threaded bottom bracket interface. (Image credit: Future)
Thomas is still on 11-speed Dura-Ace R9100 rather than the new R9200 12-speed groupset. He's running 172.5mm cranks. (Image credit: Future)
Thomas has Shimano's latest 54/46 tooth chainrings, as introduced with the R9200 groupset, but in this case it's an 11-speed version. (Image credit: Future)
Clincher wheels are progressively taking over the pro peloton and Thomas is no exception, here riding the latest generation Dura-Ace C50 wheels shod with Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tubeless tyres. (Image credit: Future)
Muc-Off is a sponsor of Ineos Grenadiers and supplies the team's tubeless valves, lubricants, cleaning products and we'd guess the sealant too. (Image credit: Future)
The Ineos Grenadiers were the last WorldTour pro team to switch to disc brakes but the Dogma F dropped system weight sufficiently that a disc brake bike is closer to the UCI 6.8kg weight limit. (Image credit: Future)
The Dogma F uses the Flatback aero tube profiles which Pinarello first introduced with the Dogma F8. (Image credit: Future)
Fork Flaps have been a feature of Pinarello's bikes since the Dogma F10 and are designed to smooth the airflow over the junction between the fork and the axle. (Image credit: Future)
Pinarello and Grenadiers logos on the tapering top tube of Thomas' Dogma F bike. The bike's paint job is by Silverstone Paint Technology, which specialises in lightweight paints for Formula One cars. (Image credit: Future)
The Most integrated bar/stem sits on a headset top cap that's recessed into the Dogma F frame and turns on 1.5in bearings top and bottom. (Image credit: Future)
Most's Talon Ultra Fast bar/stem combo provides fully internal cable routing. (Image credit: Future)
Even the rear of the Most Talon Ultra Fast stem has an aero profile. (Image credit: Future)
Thomas' Garmin Edge 830 computer sits on a custom out-front mount for the Most Talon Ultra Fast bars. (Image credit: Future)
Thomas' bike is kitted out with a pair of the 17g Elite Leggero Carbon bottle cages. Like many pro teams, Ineos Grenadiers use the lightweight Elite Fly water bottles. (Image credit: Future)
Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
