Also interesting to note that the USPS TT frame being sold to the public is NOT the one that the postal team is riding. To me that seatpost on the the new frame and that ugly ass skinny little fork just detracts from the bike. Also, the rest of the team still seems to be riding visiontech bars.

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That is just one more group of people that should be thrown screaming from a helicopter- George Carlin

Isn't that the aero fork that was deemed unacceptable by the UCI?

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I would be really surprised if Lance was running a 53 on his TT bike. No, make that astonished. In the past he has run 55 or 56 T, depending on the course.

Are the other postal guys running 9 spd or just old style cranks? I think it's a jump to assume they don't have 10 spd clusters just because of the cranks. You may well be right, but not enough info to judge IMHOP.

MH

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

are those clinchers?

I zoomed in on the chainring and counted the teeth myself. It's 53 alright. Can 53 be that bad with a 11t top gear? At 120 rpm, he could be doing nearly 74kph.

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Proud member of Team Tooth Pick (TTP): like a leaf in the wind.

Hincape's TT bike looks similiar to the one Peter Reid rode a few years ago. It was an AL frame if I remember correctly. I'd still like a 5 minute shopping spree in their TT equipment shed.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

GH's bike is aluminum. He doesn't fit the carbon TT bike. He seems to make it go well all the same, though ;>

the isolated picture of the crank is actually on one of the road bikes, not the time trial bike. That crank does have a 53 on it. I thought I heard during the broadcast that Lance was riding a 55. I wouldn't bet the house on it, I have been known to imagine things, but I thought I heard that.

Also, the disk wheel is actually a Zipp, rebadged as a Bontranger. The tires are supposed to be Hutchinson's, whether or not they really are, I have no idea.

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Mike Plumb, TriPower MultiSports
Professional Running, Cycling and Multisport Coaching, F.I.S.T. Certified
http://www.tripower.org

yes, that pic is not off of a TT bike. I remember reading that LA uses a 53t on his TT bike. I got this off of his web site:

What's Lance Riding?
For day to day riding, a 58 cm (measured center to top, while center to center it's a 56 - normally bikes are measured c to c) Trek 5500 and when the profile turns up, a Trek 5900. Full Dura Ace components - gears, brakes, and cranks. His usual rear gearing is 11-21 but sometimes he'll go 11-23 depending upon the difficulty - in training it's 12-25 and it's always a 53/39 up front. As for pedals, he and the team are now riding a prototype 2003 Dura Ace pedal, no more old school look compatible Shimanos. On race day, he tracks his progress with a Vetta wireless HRM/Speedometer; while training, he uses a SRM (a high tech computer for watts, heart rate, etc.). Up front LA uses a a Deda Newton stem and handlebars. Lance rides Hutchinson tires, using clinchers in training, and sew-ups for the races. The wheels of choice are either Bontrager Race X-Lites or Race X-Lite Carbon, depending on the terrain/conditions.

Lance was definately using a 55 last year - counted the teeth.

It seems the team is using a wide mix of aero stuff - Ekimov appears to be using the Deda prototype bars that Lance rode last tour, and most of the other guys are using the Deda base/clip-on setup. Tires seem to vary quite a bit (A lot of the top guys ride Dugast on their TT bikes regardless of sponsor obligations.)



MH

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

crashing sucks (Lotz - today)

OUCH!!!

Been there, done that...

MH

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/

Clearly there's confusion about the 2004 DA gear, even among the "informed". Check out the pictures here:

http://www.velonews.com/...articles/4379.0.html

There's a picture showing one of the Postal TT bikes, captioned "2004 Dura-Ace", which is, in fact, the old DA 9 speed. Then, the picture next to it is a cassette from one of the Postal bikes, and it's captioned "There are 10". I only count 9 gears, though. LOL.

The 5500 and 5900 are both road bikes, Gary. Lance uses the appropriate chainring for the terrain on his TT bike. A quick stab at the math based on a 116 avg cadence and 31+ avg speed for the Prologue means he had something other than 53 on the front, probably a 55. But thats a quick stab, so don't count it as gospel.