This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com
The classics, Giro and Critérium du Dauphiné have already shown us so much about the race bikes of the future, we thought it'd be worth rounding up five of the most promising revealed so far
The Criterium du Dauphine has established itself as the final chance to test the legs ahead of the Tour de France. A prestigious event in its own right, this year's champion Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) joins a list of winners that includes Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Alejandro Valverde, Miguel Indurain, Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil, to name just a few of the legendary winners.
As well as a final opportunity to test the legs, the Dauphine offers a platform to test new equipment in a race scenario. Many component and apparel manufacturers coincide their 2018 product launches with the biggest race of the year in July. While riders will have been training with the products for many months, you can never quite replicate race conditions.
Nobody wants to see or run the risk of equipment failure at the Tour de France, so more and more 2018 products have become commonplace at the Dauphine in recent years.
The 2016 edition was the year of the shoe. Chris Froome, Dan Martin and Team Giant-Alpecin wore the Sidi Shot, Mavic Comete and Shimano S-Phyre respectively, all of which were subsequently released in the months that followed, ahead of the 2017 season.
This 2017 edition of the race became the year of the frameset. BMC, Specialized, Trek, Merida and Lapierre all debuted new frames.
While BMC officially launched the latest Teammachine SLR01 ahead of the race at a press camp in Switzerland, the remaining frames have yet to be officially launched and it is expected we will hear the full details during, or soon after, the Tour de France in July.
1. Specialized Tarmac SL6
The new Specialized Tarmac is so different to its predecessor, frankly we weren't sure what it was when we first saw it. Aesthetically, the latest Tarmac sits somewhere between the previous Tarmac and the aerodynamic Specialized Venge, looking more like a carbon version of the latest Allez DSW released last year.
Following the industry-wide trend, the new Tarmac features a smaller rear triangle, lower seatstays and a D-profile seat tube. The tubing appears to be more aerodynamically profiled than its predecessor and the frame also features direct-mount brakes.
Expect the official launch to contain "more stiffness, better compliance, larger tyre clearance and better braking".
Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) rode into a podium position on the final day of the race on the new frame and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who was the only other rider on the bike, came seventh overall, winning the youth classification in the process.
2. Trek Emonda SLR
Alberto Contador only rode the long awaited update of the Emonda on stage 1 of this year's race. Without cross-checking the frame's UCI code on the day, you might be forgiven for not noticing the new frame at all.
Unlike the new Tarmac, the Emonda seems relatively similar to the current version of the bike. It is suspected that the frame will feature new composite technologies and will be launched alongside a disc version of the frame.
The rear dropouts of the frame are one of the few noticeable updates on the Emonda. It is likely that Trek has followed BMC's lead in keeping the rear triangle the same geometry, whether in disc or caliper versions of the frameset, maintaining the same handling characteristics if Alberto Contador or a Trek-Segafredo teammate needs to change between the bikes mid-race.
3. Merida Reacto 3
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) certainly had the most eye-catching bike at the race. A black and white geometric design in the form of a plastic wrap covered the bike to keep the design features of the latest Reacto, well, under wraps.
Closer inspection of the bike unveiled smaller rear stays, a new fork crown, an updated top tube and new tubing profiles throughout the frameset.
Merida registered four new framesets for UCI approval in February this year: the CF2 in rim and disc versions and the CF4 in rim and disc versions, suggesting two different geometry setups of the aero frame and continuing the trend of launching disc brake and rim brake versions of new bikes simultaneously.
4. Lapierre Aircode 2
We first saw the Lapierre Aircode at the Scheldeprijs race in the spring. Like the Merida Reacto, the Aircode is an updated aero offering from Lapierre, which Thibaut Pinot also raced on at the Giro d'Italia.
New tubing profiles, forks and most significantly a deep-profile seat tube are all likely to result in improved aerodynamic performance. Aero bikes in recent years have also earned the welcome characteristic of being incredibly comfortable. The Aircode 2 looks to be no different, with a vague triple triangle design that also appears on several endurance bikes.
5. BMC Teammachine SLR
Unlike the previous four framesets, the BMC has been officially launched ahead of debuting at a race. The new Teammachine SLR01 retains the same race geometry as its predecessor, but comes with new composite technology resulting in a stiffer fork and bottom bracket while still improving comfort.
The vertical compliance improvement predominantly comes from lowering the seatpost clamp and increasing the seatpost length by 20 percent. BikeRadar's US editor Ben Delaney tested the bike at the launch in Switzerland, and while the increased compliance wasn't obvious, the stiffer fork due to reinforcement to handle the disc brakes was.
As mentioned above, BMC designed the rim and disc versions of the framesets with identical geometry, so the two bikes will feel identical if riders need to switch during a race.
Longer chainstays feature on both the rim and disc brake versions of the bike to accommodate the disc brakes, but with increased bottom bracket stiffness minimal power transfer is lost.
2017 new tech
Following the launches of the Pinarello Dogma F10, new Cervelos for Team Dimension Data and a handful of time trial bikes, on top of the Dura-Ace 9100 series groupset from Shimano, the 2017 season has seen an exciting new array of tech.
It is likely we will see a handful of even more new products at the Tour de France next month, as well as the official launches of the above bikes. We look forward to updating you following the launches in the coming weeks.