Andre Greipel, Lotto-Belisol’s lead sprinter, has just began his 2014 season with two more Santos Tour Down Under Stage wins, which bring his impressive record tally to16.
For a man affectionately known as the ‘Gorilla’, Greipel’s choice of a small size frame is a little surprising – especially considering he's just over 6ft tall. We’re seeing this become a common trend though – sprinters work with the limitations of stock geometry and tend to size down in an effort to get lower and more ride more aggressively.
Greipel counters this small frame with a generous 140mm length stem. He has a 35mm clamp diameter at the handlebar to counter flex.
Among the otherwise black bikes of team Lotto-Belisol, the most recognisable part of Greipel’s bike is the custom paintwork and saddle, which blend his recently earned German National Champion stripes with his nickname.
The Ridley Noah Fast frameset is a real attention-grabber that’s full of wind-cheating technology and tube profiles. The 'Fast' part of the name refers to the FAST Technology of the integrated brakes. Ridley claims these give smoother airflow and aerodynamics that are the best in their class.
The rest of the build uses nothing but the best either. A full Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset and the very deep Bora Ultra 80 wheels complete this sprint weapon. Greipel didn’t use such deep wheels for his two stage wins, instead he picked a set of 50mm deep Campagnolo 80th anniversary wheels.
His bike also boasts the new Campagnolo EPS internal race battery, with the charging point accessible on his seat tube beneath his bidon cage. We suspect this is a modification made by the team’s mechanics, and one that'll likely be available on future production models.
Where the rest of the team use Lizardskins DSP handlebar tape, we noticed that Greipel had rather basic cork tape in place – clearly this is down to his personal choice.
While the Noah Fast is Greipel’s pick for sprint stages, we also spotted him with a Helium SL for hillier stages, where he wasn’t likely to contest the win. This is clearly a case of choosing lower weight over aerodynamics – his Noah Fast weighs in at rather solid 7.5kg. This isn’t rare in the bigger tours, but with the Tour Down Under being a logistical nightmare for most teams, it’s surprising to see such detailed gear support for the German sprinter.
Complete bike specifications
- Frame: Ridley Noah Fast, size small
- Fork: Ridley Noah Fast, tapered
- Headset: internal tapered
- Stem: Deda 35, 140mm, -8 degree
- Handlebar: Deda M35 Carbon 42cm
- Tape: Generic cork, with Lizardskins plugs
- Front brake: Ridley F-brake, Jagwire carbon brake pads
- Rear brake: Ridley F-brake, Jagwire carbon brake pads
- Brake levers: Campagnolo Super Record EPS
- Front derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record EPS + Campagnolo chain catcher
- Rear derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record EPS
- Shift levers: Campagnolo Super Record EPS
- Cassette: Campagnolo Super Record 11-25T
- Chain: Campagnolo Super Record
- Crankset: SRMCampagnolo 11-speed, 172.5mm, 53/39T
- Bottom bracket: PF30 (unknown brand)
- Battery: Internal Campagnolo race battery, in seattube
- Pedals: Look Keo 2 Max
- Wheelset: Campagnolo Bora Ultra 80
- Front tyre: Continental Pro Limited 23c
- Rear tyre: Continental Pro Limited 23c
- Saddle: San Marco Regale – custom cover
- Seatpost: Ridley integrated
- Bottle cages: Tacx Tao (2)
- Computer: SRM Power Control 7
Critical measurements
- Rider's height: 1.84m (6ft 1/2in)
- Rider's weight: 75kg (165lb)
- Saddle height from BB, c-t: 760mm
- Saddle setback: 67.5mm
- Seat tube length (c-t): 700mm
- Seat tube length (c-c): 470mm
- Tip of saddle to center of bar: 585mm
- Saddle-to-bar drop: 110mm
- Head tube length: 145mm
- Top tube length (effective): 545mm
- Total bicycle weight: 7.85kg (17.27lb)