French squad uses little-known Taiwanese component company for TT drivetrains
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The 'adjustment' label is slightly deceiving - according to microSHIFT's installation instructions, you can customize the lever friction simply by altering the tightening torque on the mounting bolt.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cofidis time trial bikes were fitted with these carbon fiber-wrapped bar-end shifters from microSHIFT.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cofidis road bikes will continue to use their usual Shimano and FSA drivetrains.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cofidis stuck with its usual Shimano chains and cassettes for the opening prologue of the 2010 Giro d'Italia.(Image credit: James Huang)
While Cofidis uses FSA cranksets on the road, its time trial bikes used Look's proprietary Zed crank.(Image credit: James Huang)
The microSHIFT ARSiS rear derailleur is built with a carbon-wrapped outer plate and cage.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cofidis' Look 596 time trial bikes were fitted with little-known transmissions from Taiwanese company Microshift.(Image credit: James Huang)
Pro Continental team Cofidis switched from Campagnolo to a Shimano-and-FSA component set-up this year and has swapped in yet another company for its time trial gear. While it's still using Shimano Dura-Ace transmissions on the road, the team's Look 596 aero bikes were instead equipped with shift levers and rear derailleurs from Taiwanese up-and-comer microSHIFT – who also produces transmission variants under the Sampson Sports, Dia-Compe, and Sturmey-Archer labels.
Aesthetically speaking, the microSHIFT bar-end shift levers bear a strong resemblance to SRAM's 900 TT with its carbon fiber blades and red anodized aluminum caps, but the cable pull ratio is a Shimano-compatible 2:1 instead of SRAM's 1:1 Exact Actuation set-up and the levers are wrapped, not molded. Out back is microSHIFT's ARSiS rear derailleur, complete with a similarly carbon fiber wrapped outer link and cage, plus machined alloy pulleys rotating on sealed cartridge bearings.
Cofidis sticks with its FSA front derailleur instead of the microSHIFT unit, and also retains the Shimano chains and cassettes from its road bikes. Road bikes on site were also still fitted with Shimano transmissions and considering how difficult it is to shift from the drops with microSHIFT's integrated brake/shift lever design, we don't expect the team to swap over on the road any time soon.
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