Geraint Thomas is a Welsh born pro, racing for Team Sky since 2010. Prior to that, he was aboard Barloworld, a team of South African origin. He’s enjoyed considerable success on both road & track, including Olympic gold in the team pursuit in 2008 & 2012, and is the reigning Commonwealth Games road racing champ. His most notable professional victory was at last year’s Paris-Nice, where he took the overall win.
Team Sky has been on Pinarello brand since their inception in 2010, and is greatly involved in the testing and development of new models, also working closely with Shimano hence the first race bike we’ve seen fitted with bits of the new Dura-Ace Di2 R9170 groupset. This new Pinarello F10 evolves from the F8 model, but retains the F8’s flatback tube profiles. A fresh downtube design, inherited from the Pinarello Bolide TT bike, is designed to shield water bottles from the wind. Click on through for more…
Kamm tail aerodynamics play a role at the rear of the Pinarello F10.
Pictured above, Pinarello claim the revised downtube yields a 12.6% aerodynamic advantage over the F8 in the area between the downtube and water bottles – while increasing lateral stiffness. And has built up a bit of IP controversy in the process.
Elite’s CustomRacePlus bottle cages are purportedly shielded from the wind.
The downtube is where the new Di2 R9170 Junction A box (EW-RS910) resides, conveniently located for charging or any micro-adjustments. Definitely a lot more svelte then the usual location hanging beneath the stem.
Geraint’s F10 is the only one spotted thus far sporting the new generation of Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9170. Note also his choice of anatomic Pro branded handlebars.
Pro, Shimano’s house brand for cockpit parts such as handlebars and stems, kit out the Team Sky squad. K-Edge’s well proven computer mount keeps Geraint’s Garmin computer securely located and in easy view.
The new R9170 levers don’t look much different from the previous 9000 Di2 levers, but there is some minor reshaping of the shift buttons which also seem to extend farther down to the tip of the lever, and a slightly different hood shape. But they also presumably come with the option for the Syncho and Semi-Synchro shifting that links front and rear shifts together. It will be curious to hear more whether that is something the pros will be experimenting with at all.
Geraint’s F10 may be wearing the latest generation of Dura-Ace Di2, but the crankset is the older 9000 model, fitted with a Stages power meter. Some Team Sky riders are already on Stages 9100 power meters, and Stages has already sold some 9100 power meters to the public, but supply of the 9100 cranksets has been very limited.
Above is the non-drive side Stages measurement device, mated to 175mm FC-9000 cranks.
Pinarello rely on a traditional threaded interface for their bottom bracket, but use the Italian standard – 36 x 24.
The Stages measurement device maintains a reasonably slippery profile.
Shimano’s Dura-Ace R9170 is a little more refined than the superseded 9070 generation.
The Shimano R9170 Di2 rear derailleur is a big departure on the road, taking many of its design cues from the company’s flagship mountain bike group, XTR Di2 like its Shadow arrangement.
The new configuration certainly goes a long way to trimming down the visual bulk of the new Di2 rear derailleur.
The 11-25 gear ratio on the rear cassette is a popular choice among riders at the Tour Down Under. There are plenty of climbs, but they aren’t long enough to require extra low gearing.
Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 brake calipers – the 9000 series was very good, but Shimano continues finding ways to improve and enhance braking performance, while keeping weight reasonable.
Inside the brakes actually get a new booster that improves stiffness in the redesign that also lets them work with up to 28mm tires now!
Unless you’re professional cyclist on a professional team, this tire is unavailable to you. The Continental Competition ProLTD features a latex inner tube which separates it from the regular version of the Continental Competition. 700c x 23mm tires have mostly gone the way of the dodo in the pro peloton – 700c x 25mm is the standard for most teams.
Saddles are a personal choice – Geraint chooses the venerable Fizik Arione TT with its slightly blunt nose and extra padding.
Article and photos by Gravel Cyclist. Jayson O’Mahoney is the Gravel Cyclist: A website about the Gravel Cycling Experience.
