It’s basically the “same same” for Kat Matthews this year. This usually means only one thing for riders that are at the top of the game. Most of their equipment choices have been working just fine – and this is definitely the case for the current IRONMAN Pro Series leader. That said, there are a couple of things that have changed since she raced here in Kona in 2023.
She is ditching the CeramicSpeed pulley and adding some aero features and rim depth to the front end, moving from a 60 mm front wheel to a 85 mm front for this year’s race. She has a much sleeker aero bar set up and, like everyone else, she has more bottles for more fuel. She looks really, really good on this bike.
Let’s dive in.
Drivetrain
Full Shimano Drivetrain (well, except for the pedals)
Groupset
Shimano DURA ACE 2x
Crank Length
160 mm
Chain Rings
58-44t
Power Meter
Favero Assioma Pedals
Cassette
11-30t
Cockpit
Base Bars
Canyon Specs: 400 mm wide 75 mm length with “skater grip tape”
Aero Bar
Canyon with Ergon grips
Number of Bottles
2 Plus internal bladder
Computer
Wahoo Bolt
Rear Hydration
Hydration System
Canyon with Xlab Cage
Saddle
Shimano Pro Aerofuel
Number of bottles
2
Wheels, Rotors and Naming Rights
Front Wheel
DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DB 85mm
Rear Wheel
DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DB 85mm
Rotors
Shimano 140mm
Front Tire
Continental AERO 111 Tire 26mm
Rear Tire
Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR 28mm
Property of
Kat Matthews
My Personal takeaways:
There is nothing I don’t like about this bike. It’s sleek and steadfast. Everything has a purpose and it’s been tested well. A slightly smaller frame would probably give her a little more edge, but since she doesn’t have that option at the moment she is doing everything right with this bike.
85mm depth front rim on Kona? I guess the wind forecast is benign but still gusts of 15mph side winds expected north of the Kawaihae turn. DT Swiss ARC 1100s btw (culprit autocorrect)
Same lower BTA bottle set up as the ‘nfamous illegal one from Frejus, I think, but neatly mounted an inch further forward. It’s a cockpit not a cock pit btw
2x with a 58-11 max. ?Does she need a 44-30 low gear. I guess with the rollers a 58-30 combo allows her to stay in the big dog and pull away when her seatpost race ranger flashes red to stress the wheel suckers behind. OSPW ditched in favour of the Shimano DA pulley wheel.
That rear hydration support is integrated into the seat post, right. With a M Matthews hack/bodge wedge to achieve desired elevation angle of the double bottles? Those bottle cages look to be opening at an angle ie not vertical.
“A slightly smaller frame would probably give her a little more edge,but since she doesn’t have that option at the moment” The seat is almost as far forward as it can go. Matthews is 164cm (per wikipedia) but since Canyon don’t make an XS this is the smallest available frame for a Canyon Speedmax CFR TT. Nevertheless, can see her being a Canyon babe for a long time.
There is no 75 mm stem available for regular customers as far as my list of parts shows, and that comes directly from Canyon. So interesting to see she has one.
Oh, that is very weird. I have all the info on bars from Canyon direct. And a 75 mm is not on the list. So either it is custom for her or just being added to the options, but sure you are right that she has it
Interesting, so what are her plans once it’s empty I wonder. Being a fidlock set up its not as if she can replace it with a bottle from aid station. Maybe special needs?
You identified it as the Trek RSL Aero Water Bottle. It has a height of 240mm (with nozzle - is it there? - Edit: see image below I’ve cropped from main ST article) and a volume of 591ml (duckduckgo tells me). If using e.g. PF 90 Gels (partner is RAW though) she can get enough slightly diluted gel in there for close to 450g of carbs (100g per hour, assumed). @gunna “once it’s empty”: We can see the tube inside the bottle so I reckon it isn’t going anywhere.
We don’t know, another reason could also be that the Canyon Bottle is massive not only in length but also depth (or width however you define it) so it might not fit between thr BTA Holder and Top Tube.
