New team, new bike for Russian Grand Tour contender
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Veteran racer Denis Menchov made the switch to Katusha this year, along with new bike sponsor Canyon.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Batteries are mounted beneath the chain stay on Katusha team-issue Canyon Aeroad CFs.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Denis Menchov made the move to Katusha after his previous team, Geox-TMC, pulled out of the sport.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Denis Menchov (Katusha) will put the power down through a set of Shimano Dura-Ace carbon-bodied SPD-SL pedals.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR uses aluminum hub bodies front and rear but bladed carbon fiber spokes.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Katusha team bikes get internal routing for the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 wiring.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Selle Italia looks to have made a switch in its Team Edition colors from white with a red stripe to black with a white stripe.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The seatpost clamp is neatly integrated into the Canyon Aeroad CF's shape. Team mechanics had better exercise care with those bolt torques, though.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The Aeroad CF uses a more compact rear triangle than on Canyon's more traditionally shaped Ultimate CF SLX.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Canyon uses a slightly narrower 1 1/8-to-1 1/4in steerer (relative to the OneOneFour on most other models) to decrease frontal area.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Ritchey provides not only the bars and stems but also bar tape, too.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Katusha team bikes are equipped with Mavic clincher wheels and tires for training.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Denis Menchov's Katusha Canyon Aeroad CF is fitted with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Katusha has switched from Focus bicycles to Canyon ones for 2012.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Elite will provide the Katusha team with bottles and cages for 2012.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Clamped between the seat tube and bottle cage is Canyon's own chain watcher.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Like many pros, Katusha veteran Denis Menchov opts for an all-aluminum cockpit.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 chainrings are mounted to an SRM power meter.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Canyon has worked to minimize frontal area on the Aeroad CF. Many of the tubes also boast aerodynamic profiles. (Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Not surprisingly, Denis Menchov's (Katusha) bike is built with a lot of handlebar drop.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Katusha training bikes are fitted with Mavic clincher wheels with Exalith-treated sidewalls and aerodynamic carbon fiber caps.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Shimano Dura-Ace calipers are fitted with extra-hard Exalith pads for use with Katusha's Mavic training wheels.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
The Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR wheels look like carbon tubulars but they're actually aluminum clinchers with carbon caps.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Most amateurs would be thrilled to race on Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR clinchers but Katusha will only use them for training.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Former Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov returns to his Russian roots for the 2012 season after just a single year with the ill-fated Geox-TMC squad but he'll do so on bikes from German company Canyon instead of his previous Fuji. Menchov will likely have any number of Canyon's road and time trial bikes at his disposal this year but for now, his primary machine is the Aeroad CF – the same chassis that Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) rode to huge successes last season.
Canyon didn't design the Aeroad in the wind tunnel, instead focusing on building the frame with nominally aero tube profiles and minimizing frontal area. As compared to Canyon's more traditional Ultimate CF SLX, the Aeroad isn't as stiff either in torsion or at the drivetrain – particularly with the downsized 1 1/8-to-1 1/4in steerer instead of Canyon's usual OneOneFour fork – but it's still up to the task and clearly didn't seem to slow Gilbert down.
Frame weight is a touch heavier than the Ultimate CF SLX at just over 1,000g for Menchov's medium size – not an especially impressive number as compared to true lightweights but given the realities of the UCI's minimum weight rule, Katusha will still have no problem keeping Menchov's new bike right at that mark. Even with an SRM power meter, an SRM PowerControl 7 computer head, Elite bottle cages, and Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR training clinchers installed, claimed weight is still just 7.19kg (15.85lb) according to team officials.
Other key components include a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group and carbon bodied pedals, a Ritchey WCS aluminum semi-anatomic bar and forged aluminum stem, a Selle Italia Flite Team Edition saddle, an Acros integrated headset, and Canyon's own shock-absorbing VCLS carbon and basalt fiber aero-profile seatpost.
Canyon uses a slightly narrower 1 1/8-to-1 1/4in steerer (relative to the OneOneFour on most other models) to decrease frontal area.
Menchov's biggest result came in 2009 when he won the Giro d'Italia but subsequent years were less satisfying – he wasn't even able to contend last year's Tour de France as Geox-TMC didn't receive a wild card invitation. The Russian has publicly declared the Tour to be his main objective this year, however, so we can expect to see more of this Aeroad – along with Canyon's new time trial bike – later this season.
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Rider's height: 1.78m (5ft 10in) Rider's weight: 67kg (148lb) Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 761mm Saddle setback: 75mm Seat tube length, c-t: 531mm Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 587mm Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 80mm Head tube length: 150mm Top tube length: 560mm (horizontal) Total bicycle weight: n/a
