After winning the 2015 E3 Harelbeke one-day race, Geraint Thomas went on to support his Sky teammate Chris Froome to a second win at the Tour de France last year. This is now the Welsh rider’s sixth season with the British power team, and 2016 looks to be full of general classification ambition.
It’s a year on since we last looked over the Team Sky bike of Geraint Thomas, and frankly, not much has changed. Between sponsor changes and new product releases, using a near-exact setup from year to year is rather rare in the WorldTour peloton.
Originally designed in a partnership with former sponsor Jaguar, the Pinerallo Dogma F8 is one of the more premium framesets in the pro peloton. Its aero shapes are combined with refined Italian handling and a unique aesthetic to create a bike that’s often regarded as one of the nicest going.
Mechanics of Team Sky joked that Thomas doesn’t like change in his bike setup and that 2016 was therefore a good year. For the 29-year-old rider, it also means there’s no wasted time in adapting to new components or differences in handling; it’s just straight back to business.
2015 up top versus the 2016 below. Which do you prefer?
The key difference to see is in the new team graphics, with the bike featuring more obvious blue tones across the frame compared to last year’s predominately black bike. This new look is tied in nicely by the matching PRO handlebar and stem.
Riding a 55cm Pinarello, Thomas has seemingly gone with a 10mm longer stem from the last time we checked over his bike. Whether this happened during the season or at the start of 2016 we’re unsure, but the rest of his setup remains much the same.
Related reading: Geraint Thomas’s 2015 Pinarello Dogma F8
Plenty of padding on this 'office chair'
Providing a perch for Thomas’ Rapha bib shorts is a well-padded Fizik Arione K1 saddle with braided carbon rails. This saddle is in the Italian-brand’s triathlon catalogue due to the thick padding at the nose, but it’s still a common sight in the pro peloton.
Where we saw the team racing last year’s Tour Down Under on VeloFlex tubulars, Sky returned to Australia on Continental. On Thomas’ bike is a pair of ‘Competition’ tubulars with Continental’s Vectran anti-puncture belt below the tread. Last year it was 23mm tyres. This year it’s a slightly wider and more commonly chosen 25mm.
Those tubulars are wrapped around some Shimano Dura-Ace C50 carbon wheels, a true staple and regular choice within the Sky team. These wheels form part of the larger Dura-Ace 9000-series groupset, with Thomas making no changes to his choice in 11-speed Di2 shifting.
The latest from Stages Cycling
Providing power data is the original left-crank power meter - Stages Cycling. Compared to last year’s bike, Geraint is on the latest version that offers a lower profile and better sealing to the battery. Receiving this data is a Garmin Edge 510 head unit, clicked into a K-Edge Garmin aero mount.
Taking care of hydration, Thomas’ bike features the relatively new Elite Custom Race Plus bottle cages. This new version of the popular Custom Race cage is said to be easier to install and remove the bottle (that’s bidon for you Euro snobs).
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Pinarello Dogma F8, size 55cm
- Fork: Pinarello Onda Carbon
- Headset: Pinarello 1 1/8” to 1" 1/2 integral system
- Stem: PRO team-issue, 131mm x -6 degrees
- Handlebar: PRO Vibe 7S Anatomic, 40cm (c-c)
- Tape: PRO Smart-Silicon
- Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
- Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000
- Brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 FD-9070
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 RD-9070
- Shift levers: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 STI Dual Control ST-9070
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace CS-9000, 11-28T
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-9000
- Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace 9000, 175mm, 53/39T + Stages Power left arm
- Bottom bracket: Shimano Dura-Ace BB-9000
- Pedals: Shimano 9000 Dura-Ace
- Wheelset: Shimano Dura-ace C50 tubular
- Tubulars: Continental Competition, 25mm
- Saddle: Fizik Arione K1 Tri
- Seatpost: Pinarello carbon
- Bottle cages: Elite Custom Race Plus (2)
- Computer: Garmin Edge 510, K-Edge Garmin Aero mount
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.83m (6ft)
- Rider's weight: 71kg (156lb)
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 802mm
- Saddle setback: 65mm
- Seat tube length (c-c): 550mm
- Tip of saddle to midpoint of bar: 580mm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 140mm
- Head tube length: 158mm
- Top tube length (effective): 557mm
- Total bicycle weight: 7.19kg (15.85lb)