The team rides the Argon 18 Gallium Pro(Image credit: Argon 18)
Jan Barta(Image credit: Argon 18)
The Bora-Argon 18 team(Image credit: Argon 18)
The team trains on the Nitrogen(Image credit: Argon 18)
Sam Bennett and Shane Archbold test their lead out(Image credit: Argon 18)
Testing the Nitrogen in the sprints(Image credit: Argon 18)
The lightweight Gallium Pro is the climbers' bike of choice(Image credit: Argon 18)
José Mendes tries out the E-118 Next(Image credit: Argon 18)
The Nitrogen is expected to be the bike of choice for most of the riders(Image credit: Argon 18)
This is the TT bike that the Bora riders will use in 2015(Image credit: Argon 18)
Agron 18's TT bike the E-118 Next(Image credit: Argon 18)
The Argon 18 Gallium Pro(Image credit: Argon 18)
The Argon 18 Nitrogen(Image credit: Argon 18)
It's not just the bikes that are being tested(Image credit: Brian Hodes)
José Mendes ready for action(Image credit: Brian Hodes)
The team uses FSA K-Force Carbon handle bars(Image credit: Argon 18)
Daniel Schorn(Image credit: Argon 18)
New signing Emanuel Buchmann(Image credit: Argon 18)
The E-118 Next disk wheel(Image credit: Argon 18)
The Argon 18 Nitrogen(Image credit: Argon 18)
Sprinter Daniel Schorn goes out ahead(Image credit: Argon 18)
Scott Thwaites tries out the Gallium Pro(Image credit: Argon 18)
One of the riders overcooks it on a corner(Image credit: Argon 18)
The 2015 Bora-Argon 18 team(Image credit: Argon 18)
Jan Barta warms up on the E-118 Next before testing it in the Velodrome(Image credit: Argon 18)
Thumbs up from the 2015 roster(Image credit: Argon 18)
The team wait pre-training(Image credit: Argon 18)
Practicing cornering on a TT bike(Image credit: Argon 18)
The team tries out their time trial bikes(Image credit: Argon 18)
The E-118 Next uses Vision Metron three Spoke & disc wheels(Image credit: Argon 18)
All smiles from Scott Thwaites(Image credit: Argon 18)
José Mendes tries out his new bike(Image credit: Brian Hodes)
Canadian bike manufacturer Argon 18 make their return into the professional peloton with the sponsorship of the Bora-Argon 18 team in 2015. They previously sponsored the Canadian SpiderTech-C10 until their demise in 2012. Founded in 1989 by former Canadian national champion and Olympian Gervais Rioux, the company will supply the German outfit with three different frames this season.
The two road frames that the team will be using are the Nitrogen and the Gallium Pro. The Nitrogen was only launched into the market late last year and is the first aero road bike developed by the company. The bike uses the same geometry as the Gallium Pro, which has been on the market for some time.
“The Nitrogen is more aero, so it will go through the wind on the flatter stages and most of the riders will use that bike. It’s a bike that keeps your power until the end,” Argon 18 head mechanic Dominque Fortin told Cyclingnews. “The Gallium Pro will be mainly used if the rider is looking for more comfort or a lighter frame for climbing on the mountain stages. Both bikes are really well balanced, so they will handle really well in every situation.”
Both bikes will use the same Shimano Dura Ace Di2 groupset, power2max FSA power metres, Speedplay zero pedals and the Prologo Zero 2 CPC saddle. Two areas that they will differ are the wheels and brakes. The Gallium Pro utilises the Vision Metron 40 wheels and FSA SL-K brakes, while the Nitrogen uses the deeper rimmed Metron 55 and Argon18/TRP brakes.
For the time trials, the team will use the E-118 Next. For 2015, Argon 18 completely redesigned the front end of their flagship time trial bike. It is now completely integrated to maximise the aerodynamics. For the wheels, the team will use Vision’s Metron 3 spoke and disk and for the cranks the Vision Metron TT.
Argon 18 hope that the new partnership, which sees them enter their first Grand Tour this season, will help them to develop these models further. “To be on top, we need the feedback and the team is already giving us information, and we’re really happy about that,” said Fortin.
“We did our homework and we’re pretty stoked with what the riders and mechanics have been telling us. They are really happy with how the bikes are. Moving forward, we want to develop a co-operation between us and the mechanics to make an even better product in the future.”
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Click here to see the full gallery as the Bora-Argon 18 team test out their new equipment.
