It was about weight back then

Some TT bikes can still be above the UCI min, if only just.

There is also a lot of perception that road bikes go uphill faster.

For road stages, there can be other reasons. IIRC at one of the Tours (or perhaps the Giro?) in the last couple years, Contador would switch bikes either before or just after the climb, with the speculation being that there were different tires on one of the bikes to better cope with crappy road conditions going downhill. Of course, others speculated it was a switch to an uninspected or underweight bike.

You can read about it here.

Were they changing from one road bike to another? That doesn't seem to make much sense unless by previous years you're not talking 2013 or 2012 but 1920 or something like that.

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Don't forget to attack!

I remember from 2 Tours ago, almost all riders changed from a road bike to a TT on the final individual TT. The early part was fairly hilly and the last few km's were flat.

That TT, was uphill, then technical descent, then uphill, then non technical descent.

Definitely the smart move to be on a TT bike for the final descent. Whether a TT bike would have been good for the rest of it depends on your handling comfort level. It was also a bit wet.

Some of the garmin guys just used S5s with TT cockpits for minimum weight time trial bikes. Nice option to have there.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

The race was stage 18 in the 2011 Tour.

http://www.dailymotion.com/...e-18-eurosport_sport

Video around 1hr 57mins 20secs

I've heard the talk of swapping the whole bike just before a climb to get different gearing--faster to swap whole bike than wheel swap or could even be getting different chain rings with whole bike swap.

did amyone else change bikes besides Contador?

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Don't forget to attack!

Wanted a different color bar tape.

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This probably makes the most sense.

Perhaps changing to a compact crank at the front also.

Typically for gear changes but have heard about changing for different seat angle/position as well heading into a climb on a non tt stage.

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Founder: BestBikeSplit
Amazonian

Road bike geometry is much more congruent to climbing than that of a TT bike... I have found it harder to climb on a TT bike. Gearing could also be a factor.

I raced a hilly TT this year in which I completed two runs with the same gearing, 52x14. Junior gearing.

The first was on my TT bike, and I had a good time (don't remember the numbers).

My second run was on my road bike, and it was about 40ish seconds faster, and conditions had grown worse from the end of my first run to the beginning of my second, lots more wind and some rain.