A 'Team Pearl' edition aero bike for the new national champion
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
For many teams, the Tour de France means new kit. Teams are allowed a single kit swap per season, and most opt for the biggest stage our sport has to show off something a bit different. For some teams too a kit swap is necessary; Jumbo-Visma for example are required to change their kit for the Tour as their yellow jerseys are much too close to, you guessed it, the yellow jersey bestowed upon the race leader.
For the Tour de France this year, Team Bahrain Victorious have swapped their usual red out for a new white kit that pays homage to the nation's history of pearling. Freshly minted British national championFred Wright is riding a pearlescent white version of the team's Merida Reacto. He may in due course get a British Champions edition of the same bike after the Tour is over, but for now, we can dive into what he's using for the biggest race of the year.
Gone is the red and black that usually adorns the team bikes of Bahrain Victorious, replaced instead by an all white, pearlescent arrangement with turquoise flashes and gold logos. Not only the frameset, but the wheel logos too have been overhauled to create a thematic continuity across the bike. It won't make it any faster though, that's up to Fred himself. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
For the opening stages, despite the lumpy terrain, Wright opted for the deep Vision Metron 60SL wheels, with the oft seen Continental GP5000S TR providing the traction in what looks to be a 28c width. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The stock vision logos have been replaced by what appears to be a splash motif. Perhaps this is a nod to the peal divers coming back out of the ocean with a stash of bounty? It's hard to say, but the gold inside the fork is a subtle place to add some bling at the very least. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Bar tape is hard to show off for sponsors, so despite the embossed Prologo logo on this pro's Prologo tape, they've added an extra Prologo logo near the bottom of the drops to make sure the TV cameras know exactly who makes the tape (it's Prologo, by the way). (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Like many aero bikes, the seat post features heavy sculpting to smooth the airflow between the frame itself and the rear wheel. With the deeper rear wheel, the effective depth of the frame to the rim is substantial, which makes for faster riding. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
A small pair of carbon wafers are bonded to the seat post in order to hold the race number in the lightest possible way (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Aero bikes, and even climbing bikes nowadays too, have hidden seat clamps that tighten by using a wedge inside the frame. The extra triangle between the top tube and the seat tube, known as a compensation triangle, creates a small aero benefit as well as housing the wedge mechanism. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Pro riders tend to have their names on their frames in order that team mechanics can identify them more easily. Normally it's a small label on the top tube, but here Wright has a quite modern-looking, large label on the seat stays, which themselves are dropped low down the seat tube as is the modern way. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Shimano Dura-Ace for the team. The key thing to note is the bimetallic cassette, with the largest sprockets made from titanium and the smaller ones in the block from steel. This saves a few grams, all of which are important at the top level of the sport. As is also close to standard practice for professional team mechanics, a small strip of inner tube on the derailleur hanger keeps the Di2 cable safe in the event of a crash and stops it from snagging. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Team Pearl, in case any of the riders forget why their usual bikes have been swapped out for white ones. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
A Prologo Scratch saddle perches atop the seat post. Note the cutout below the head of the seatpost though, inside which is inserted an elastomer which aims to add a soupcon of comfort to a deeper seatpost. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Despite the deeper tube shapes all over the Merida Reacto, the bottle cages are at least the moderately skeletal Elite Legerro Carbon bottle cages. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
