2018 sees the trend of more WorldTour teams dropping existing brand partnerships and replacing them with components from in-house or OEM brands.
- Tour Down Under 2018 news and bike galleries
- New year, new gear — pros don the latest kit at the first WorldTour race of the season
Team Sunweb are one of the teams leading this charge with former title sponsor Giant providing the frame, wheels, saddle, handlebars, stem and bottle cages for Nikias Arndt and his Sunweb teammates in the 2018 season.
As well as Team Sunweb, Trek-Segafredo, Bora-Hansgrohe and Team Sky are also teams that prominently use parts from their frame provider or affiliated components.
The Giant TCR frame is equipped with the Contact SLR line of components, which includes the saddle, handlebars and stem, while the carbon Airway Lite bottle cages from the brand add just a claimed 19g each to the frame.
Giant’s SLR 0 wheels were used by the Sunweb women’s team during the 2017 season and replace Shimano’s R9100 wheels used by the men’s Team and ridden to Giro d’Italia and two World Championships titles in Bergen at the end of last season.
Alongside the Giant components, the TCR is equipped with a full Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 groupset with an integrated power meter, also from the Japanese component company.
Nikias Arndt opts for a 54-tooth outer chainring and pairs this with a standard 39-tooth inner chainring and an 11-28 cassette.
Giant’s SLR 0 Carbon Aero wheels are paired with unbranded Vittoria Corsa tubular tyres.
Arndt’s bike weighed in at 6.87kg with empty bottles and so would be under 6.8kg without. However, the Team Sunweb mechanic assured us that weight would be added ahead of racing at the Tour Down Under to meet the required UCI 6.8kg weight limit.
Scroll through the gallery above to see more of Arndt's Giant TCR Advanced SL 0.
Full specification
- Frame: Giant TCR Advanced SL 0
- Fork: Giant TCR Advanced SL-grade composite fork
- Saddle height, from bottom bracket (c-t): 785mm
- Tip of saddle nose to C of bars (at stem): 570mm
- Total bicycle weight: 6.87kg (with empty bottles)
- Front brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Rear brake: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
- Shift/brake levers: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150
- Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100-P, 54/39 chainrings, 175mm cranks and integrated Shimano power meter
- Wheels: Giant SLR 0 Aero Carbon, 42mm, custom decals for Team Sunweb
- Tyres: Vittoria Corsa, 25mm tubular
- Handlebars: Giant Contact SLR, 420mm
- Stem: Giant Contact SLR, 130mm
- Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace R9100
- Saddle: Giant Contact SLR
- Seatpost: Integrated seat mast
- Bottle cages: Giant Airway Lite
- Computer: Sigma Rox 11.0
- Other accessories: K-Edge Sigma Pro computer mount
Critical measurements
- Rider’s weight: 77.5kg
- Rider’s height: 1.88m
- Saddle height, from bottom bracket (c-t): 785mm
- Tip of saddle nose to centre of handlebars:575
- Total bike weight: 6.87kg