Sky's 2012 bikes soldier on into the 2013 Tour Down Under
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Does Geraint Thomas's (Sky) Pinarello Dogma 2 look familiar? It should - it's last year's bike but as is usually the case, it's now being used to kick off the next season at the Tour Down Under.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
A little Sky team decal marks the seat height on Geraint Thomas's Pinarello Dogma 2.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The aluminum PRO Vibe 7s Anatomic handlebar is clamped by a carbon-wrapped forged aluminum PRO Vibe stem.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Power meters are practically standard issue for both racing and training these days and Sky is heavily invested in the SRM system.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Sky is using Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 across the board. We expect the team to make the switch to the newer 9070 generation components later this spring.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Sky first used these then-prototype 50mm-deep Shimano carbon tubular wheels last year. Veloflex Carbon tires are well known for their impressive durability. (Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Shimano has already introduced a new Dura-Ace Di2 group teams won't be switching until they have sufficient stock on hand to outfit everyone - plus spares.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Geraint Thomas (Sky) prefers an anatomic bend bar that's turned slightly upwards.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
The front end is marked by a tapered 1 1/8-to-1 1/2" head tube. Note how the back of the fork crown is blended into the down tube, too.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
More often than not, the dropout is where a huge chain stay meets a tiny little seat stay. On Sky's Pinarello Dogma 2, though, the ends of the tubes are nearly equal in size here.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Shimano Dura-Ace crankarms rotate on a conventional threaded bottom bracket on Geraint Thomas's (Sky) Pinarello Dogma 2.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
This is an interesting credo for sure but we can't help but wonder how many Sky team riders actually read this during a ride.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
There's simply no mistaking the swoopy rear end of a Pinarello Dogma 2.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
Shimano Dura-Ace PD-7900 clipless pedals for Geraint Thomas of team Sky.(Image credit: Jonny Irick)
If the Team Sky Pinarello Dogma 2 Geraint Thomas has been using at the 2013 Tour Down Under looks familiar, it should – it's essentially the same machine he raced last season.
We have also featured this bike in our Geraint Thomas bike archive in an overview of all the Welshamn's race machines over the years.
Typically, teams at the Adelaide race who are still using the previous season's sponsors bring last year's machines as a last hurrah before there's sufficient stock of new gear to justify switching over. While Thomas' bike might not be new, it's still nothing to scoff at – and it's the legs that do the talking, anyway, as he proved with his stage 2 win.
Thomas is using a stock 56cm Pinarello Dogma 2, covered in Sky's standard gloss black and blue livery. Even without that color scheme, though, it would be hard to mistake the bike for anything other than a Dogma of some sort, with its trademark swoopy lines and curiously squiggly seat stays and fork.
Pinarello says those bends – and the unusually asymmetrical design used throughout the frame, from head tube to rear dropouts – are essential to the bike's ride quality. We were as skeptical as anyone, but after testing the more recent Dogma 65.1 Think2 model, we're inclined to agree.
Otherwise, Thomas' bike build is expectedly high-end but not exactly remarkable. As with other Shimano-sponsored teams, Sky doesn't yet have enough of the new Dura-Ace Di2 to equip all its riders – and it's definitely an all-or-nothing proposition given the move to 11-speed. So Thomas' bike makes do with the 7970 edition plus his usual SRM power meter.
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Shimano has pushed for complete sponsorship agreements more aggressively recently, so the wheels come from Osaka, too, while the cockpit components are from the affiliated PRO catalog.
Wrapping things up are a Fizik Arione CX saddle with braided carbon fiber rails, impressively supple-yet-durable Veloflex tubular tires, Elite bottles and cages, and Shimano Dura-Ace PD-9000 pedals.
Total weight falls at the upper end of the peloton, with the bike tipping the scales at 7.76kg (17.11lb) with the computer head.
Rider's height: 1.83m (6' 0") Rider's weight: 70kg (154lb) Saddle height, from BB (c-t): 795mm Saddle setback: 85mm Seat tube length, c-t: 575mm Seat tube length, c-c: 530mm Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (next to stem): 599mm Saddle-to-bar drop (vertical): 126mm Head tube length: 165mm Top tube length: 565mm Total bicycle weight: 7.76kg (17.11lb) w/ computer head
