{"id":426337,"date":"2026-02-15T02:27:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T02:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426337\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T02:27:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T02:27:29","slug":"five-top-road-bikes-you-wont-see-at-this-years-tour-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/426337\/","title":{"rendered":"Five top road bikes you won\u2019t see at this year\u2019s Tour de France"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tour de France is the most important event on the cycling calendar.<\/p>\n

Because of this, it\u2019s also cycling’s biggest shop window \u2013 and brands pay big bucks to get their bikes front and centre on our TV screens for three weeks in July.<\/p>\n

But there are plenty of brands making fantastic bikes that can\u2019t, or simply refuse to, pay for this kind of exposure.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here are five of the best road bikes<\/a> you won\u2019t see at this year\u2019s Tour de France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Quick Pro ER One
\n\"Euskaltel-EuskadiThe iconic Spanish team, Euskaltel-Euskadi, is riding Quick Pro bikes in 2026. Euskaltel-Euskadi<\/p>\n

Chinese bikes are one the hottest topics in cycling right now, with a number of brands from the Far East looking to shake up the industry.<\/p>\n

XDS-Astana has understandably garnered much of the attention after racing its X-Lab bikes<\/a> at last year\u2019s Tour, but another key Chinese brand you shouldn’t ignore is Quick Pro.<\/p>\n

The brand\u2019s AR One all-rounder road bike was ridden to a win at the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali by Team GB rider Harry Hudson, and the iconic Euskaltel-Euskadi team is now riding its ER One aero road bike<\/a> for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Designed to be lightweight, stiff and aerodynamic, the ER One features a deep aerofoil down tube and head tube, as well as a wide-stance aerodynamic fork.<\/p>\n

\"Euskaltel-EuskadiThe ER One has a price tag far below what we’d typically expect of a pro-spec aero road bike. Euskaltel-Euskadi<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even a cut-out for the bottle cage nestled in the down tube, similar to that seen on Pinarello\u2019s Dogma F<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Built from high-modulus, T1100 and M65 carbon fibre, Quick Pro says top-spec builds of the ER One can weigh as little as 6.8kg when paired with the brand\u2019s own carbon-spoked Canwin wheels and integrated handlebar.<\/p>\n

That’s not bad for an aero bike with a frameset price of only \u00a32,000.<\/p>\n

2. The new Merida Reacto
\n\"BahrainWe caught a few glimpses of the new Merida Reacto last season, but it’s yet to be officially announced. ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

With Bianchi taking over as the bike sponsor of Bahrain Victorious, Merida is now out of the WorldTour<\/a> and the Tour de France for the first time since 2013.<\/p>\n

Sadly, that means we won\u2019t see the new Merida Reacto<\/a> raced in anger this July, but that doesn\u2019t diminish our excitement for this bike one bit.<\/p>\n

Although admittedly quite long in the tooth, the current Reacto remains one of our favourite aero bikes<\/a>, combining a fantastic ride quality with excellent-value prices.<\/p>\n

Although we\u2019ve yet to learn any official details about the new version, there\u2019s plenty we can glean from its unofficial debut at last year\u2019s Tour.<\/p>\n

First of all, Merida looks to be sticking to its guns and keeping the Reacto platform as full-fat aero bike \u2013 rather than watering it down to a one-bike-to-rule-them-all, like the Specialized Tarmac<\/a> or Trek Madone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fork blades, head tube and down tube aerofoils all look to have been made deeper, while the bottom half of the seat tube is carved out more aggressively \u2013 likely to save weight first and foremost, but perhaps also to improve tyre clearance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say it’s a less radical design than we\u2019ve seen with some recent aero bikes such as the Cerv\u00e9lo S5<\/a>, Colnago Y1Rs<\/a> and Factor One<\/a>, but that\u2019s not always a bad thing in our view \u2013 whacky bikes and proprietary parts often make a bike more annoying to live with for those of us without a pro mechanic to maintain it and a limitless supply of free spare parts.<\/p>\n

3. Argon 18 Nitrogen Pro
\n\"2025Argon 18’s latest aero road bike is optimised around wider-than-usual tyres. <\/p>\n

Next up, we want to shine a light on Argon 18\u2019s new Nitrogen Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The result of three years of meticulous research and development by the Canadian brand, the Nitrogen Pro is an aero bike designed for the real world \u2013 not just the perfectly smooth tarmac local French authorities lay out for the Tour peloton every year.<\/p>\n

This means it’s optimised around 30mm-wide tyres, with clearance for 34s, and features a custom wheelset designed by Scope to match.<\/p>\n

\"CustomArgon 18 collaborated with Scope to create a custom wheelset for the frameset.<\/p>\n

On top of this, there\u2019s a custom one-piece handlebar up front, with narrow 36 or 38cm bar widths across the entire size range, and \u2013 while it might not seem all that exciting on paper \u2013 CeramicSpeed\u2019s Solid Lubrication Technology headset bearings that shouldn\u2019t fall apart after one winter of riding.<\/p>\n

Overall, it looks a lot like a pared-down, drop-bar version of Argon 18\u2019s time trial and triathlon bikes, and is said to save a whopping 24 watts of aero drag \u2013 at a presumably pro-peloton-appropriate speed \u2013 over its previous flagship road bike, the Sum Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Rose Shave
\n\"RoseThe recently launched Rose Shave is being ridden by UCI ProTeam Unibet Rose Rockets. Rose<\/p>\n

Hot off the heels of the new Nitrogen Pro is another new aero bike \u2013 the Rose Shave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Launched last week, with claims of impressive aero performance and a UCI-illegal complete bike weight, we won\u2019t see it at the Tour because Unibet Rose Rockets was unceremoniously snubbed for a wildcard spot at this year\u2019s race\u2026 Better luck next year, perhaps.<\/p>\n

Regardless of that drama, the Shave looks every bit the WorldTour-worthy race bike, with sculpted aero tubes and a bucket load of smart details.<\/p>\n

\"RoseThe base model features a taller stack height for a more endurance-friendly riding position. <\/p>\n

At the cheaper end of the range, the bike comes with more amateur-friendly, endurance bike geometry, while higher-end builds get a more traditional long and low fit.<\/p>\n

The Shave also features clearance for 35mm tyres, aero-optimised bottle cages and another custom Scope wheelset designed to maximise the frameset\u2019s aerodynamic potential.<\/p>\n

All in, the Shave is claimed to be 10 watts more aerodynamic at 45 kilometres per hour, and weighs as little as 6.6kg in a size medium for the top-spec model.<\/p>\n

5. 3T Strada Italia
\n\"3TThe 3T Strada Italia is the spiritual successor to the bike that was ahead of its time on 1x. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

1x drivetrains<\/a> are a fast-growing trend in the pro peloton, but the brand that kicked it all off on the road won\u2019t be at this year\u2019s Tour.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right, we\u2019re talking about 3T and its Strada aero bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 3T Strada is most famous for its ill-fated partnership with Aqua Blue Sport<\/a>, and their attempt to make having only one chainring the default option in the WorldTour back in 2018.<\/p>\n

While it didn\u2019t work out then, it\u2019s fair to say it was an idea ahead of its time. Nowadays, we see 1x road bikes being ridden throughout the Tour de France \u2013 Jonas Vingegaard even used a single-chainring setup to race up the Galibier<\/a> during the 2024 edition.<\/p>\n

\"LarryThe Aqua Blue Sport team rode the original 1x 3T Strada in 2018, but the pros weren’t convinced by the drivetrain options available then. Marc Gasch\/Aqua Blue Sport<\/p>\n

Despite this, today\u2019s 3T Strada is less dogmatic about 1x \u2013 the bike now ships with a front derailleur mount as standard, but you can remove it if you want to.<\/p>\n

It’s also had a complete design refresh, and is now pitched as an \u2018aero-comfort\u2019 bike, rather than as a pure race bike, because of its endurance-style geometry and generous tyre clearance.<\/p>\n

And if you appreciate European manufacturing, you can also get a version of the Strada that\u2019s made in Italy, in 3T\u2019s own factory, using filament-wound carbon fibre for a beautiful finish straight out of the mould.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tour de France is the most important event on the cycling calendar. Because of this, it\u2019s also…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-426337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}