{"id":694044,"date":"2026-07-16T02:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T02:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694044\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T02:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T02:21:17","slug":"how-much-does-a-tour-de-france-bike-weigh-in-2026-we-put-7-pro-bikes-on-the-scales-to-find-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694044\/","title":{"rendered":"How much does a Tour de France bike weigh in 2026? We put 7 pro bikes on the scales to find out"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you read the marketing materials for any new road bike launch, you\u2019ll always find a line telling you how incredibly light it is.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the brand\u2019s amazing, proprietary carbon blends and unmatchable manufacturing skills, these featherweight yet aero bikes justify their outrageous prices because they\u2019re the Formula 1 cars of cycling.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re so light, in fact, that they\u2019re illegal to ride in UCI-sanctioned races!<\/p>\n

And yet, every year, when we go to the Tour de France<\/a> \u2013 the biggest and most important bike race of the year \u2013 we very rarely see bikes that hit pro cycling\u2019s minimum bike weight of 6.8kg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fact, in the five years I\u2019ve been going to the race, I can only remember a handful of pro bikes that have even weighed less than 7kg \u2013 and just one solitary bike that came in below 6.8kg (Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s Colnago V5Rs<\/a> at the 2025 Tour).<\/p>\n

With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the average weight of a Tour de France bike is in 2026, and why \u2013 almost three decades after road cycling\u2019s minimum bike weight rule was imposed \u2013 so many brands still can\u2019t make a bike that hits that limit ready-to-ride.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2026 Tour de France average weight
\n\"JonasAs is now tradition, we made our annual pilgrimage to the Tour de France Grand D\u00e9part earlier this month, armed with a trusty set of hanging scales. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s start with how much the average Tour de France bike weighs in 2026.<\/p>\n

Of the seven road bikes<\/a> we weighed, the average weight was just over 7kg \u2013 around 200g more than the weight limit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say seven bikes is a tiny sample size (we weighed fewer road bikes this year because we also did checks on a number of time trial bikes<\/a>). However, we weighed the bikes of some of the major contenders for the overall race victory \u2013 who it\u2019s fair to assume have some of the most optimised bikes in the peloton \u2013 and a number of new road bikes that are on the cutting edge of lightweight road-bike technology.<\/p>\n

And given what we\u2019ve seen in previous years, where we\u2019ve weighed more aero road bikes, we suspect our average is a fairly generous interpretation of the situation.<\/p>\n

Why are bikes so much lighter in 2026?
\n\"MatejLightweight all-rounders \u2013 such as Matej Mohori\u010d’s Bianchi Specialissima RC \u2013 are a popular choice at 2026 Tour de France. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Since the 2025 Grand D\u00e9part in Lille<\/a>, then, the average weight of a Tour de France bike is down almost half a kilo.<\/p>\n

At a glance, that seems quite impressive. Cutting 500g off any bike, let alone a pro-spec one usually isn\u2019t easy or cheap, after all.<\/p>\n

The most obvious reason for this is that we simply didn\u2019t weigh as many heavy aero bikes<\/a> as in 2025 \u2013 and that\u2019s likely because of the terrain facing the riders during this year\u2019s Grand Depart in Barcelona, Spain.<\/p>\n

\"MilanCofidis was another team on a lightweight all-rounder road bike. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

After a team time trial<\/a> on stage one, this year\u2019s race featured two \u2018hilly\u2019 stages and one \u2018mountain\u2019 stage before the first \u2018flat\u2019 stage on the fifth day.<\/p>\n

With those opening stages in mind, it\u2019s no surprise that more riders opted for bikes and components that keep weight to a minimum.<\/p>\n

In contrast, last year\u2019s race kicked off in Lille with a flat stage that saw riders pulling out all of the aero stops.<\/p>\n

\"TobiasIt’s easy to see why Tobias Halland Johannessen’s Ridley Noah Fast (left) is so much heavier than his prototype Falcn RS (right). Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

To give a specific example, we weighed Tobias Halland Johannessen\u2019s Ridley Noah Fast<\/a> at a whopping 8.2kg at last year\u2019s Tour, whereas the prototype lightweight Ridley<\/a> he had for this year\u2019s race weighed 6.9kg.<\/p>\n

Looking at the two bikes side by side, it\u2019s easy to see why the former is so much heavier than the latter \u2013 there\u2019s simply \u2018more\u2019 of it.<\/p>\n

Why modern race bikes aren\u2019t all 6.8kg
\n\"RemcoSpecialized says the new S-Works Tarmac SL9 weighs 6.5kg, but Remco Evenepoel’s bike was around 500g heavier than that. Our Media<\/p>\n

While 6.9kg ready-to-ride is good, it\u2019s also still 100g over the weight limit, and there are plenty of brands who claim to have high-end road bikes that weigh much less than that.<\/p>\n

Giant and Specialized, for example, say the new Propel Advanced SL<\/a> and S-Works Tarmac SL9<\/a> both weigh around 6.5kg. On our scales, though, both of the pro builds we saw tipped the scales at more than 7kg.<\/p>\n

The explanation behind this inconsistency is complicated, but it has to do with the fact pro bikes can be very different from the ones you can buy in the shops \u2013 just not in the way you might think.<\/p>\n

\"TadejTadej Poga\u010dar’s Colnago Y1Rs is dripping with bling, but we’re pretty certain it’s otherwise the same as what punters can buy in the shops. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common trope that pros get special bikes from manufacturers \u2013 bikes that are better than you can get on the shop floor, whether that\u2019s because of custom geometry or improved carbon layup.<\/p>\n

But according to pro cycling\u2019s rules \u2013 which are laid out by the sport\u2019s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) \u2013 bikes and equipment used in UCI-sanctioned events and competitions must be commercially available, so making custom frames and parts for pro teams technically isn\u2019t permitted (unless the brand also commits to doing so for anyone else, of course).<\/p>\n

And based on our experience of weighing pro bikes over the past few years, it’s more often the case that the opposite is true. Pro bikes are frequently heavier than what you can buy in the shops.<\/p>\n

\"BottleThough most would think of them as essential, accessories such as bottle cages, pedals and computer mounts are often excluded from claimed weights for bikes. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Beyond the fact that claimed weights for bikes typically don\u2019t include essentials such as pedals, bottle cages or bike computer mounts, most pro bikes also have elaborate paintjobs designed to attract attention and show off team sponsors during races.<\/p>\n

While it might seem like a small detail, paint can add a significant amount of weight (hence why black is such a popular colour for carbon bikes).<\/p>\n

We got a perfect illustration of this when we visited Cofidis \u2013 which had both an elaborately painted Look 795 Blade RS<\/a> and an all-black one. According to our scales, the difference this made was around 200g.<\/p>\n

\"AlexAlex Aranburu’s Look 795 Blade RS at the 2026 Tour de France. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

And although the build specs are slightly different (in terms of wheels and tyres), Tadej Poga\u010dar\u2019s raw carbon Colnago Y1Rs<\/a> weighed just over 7.2kg on our scales at this year\u2019s race, while the world champion\u2019s themed one<\/a> we weighed last year in Lille was well over 7.5kg.<\/p>\n

Tellingly, although Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe insisted we film with Remco Evenepoel\u2019s gold-themed Tarmac SL9 at this year\u2019s Tour, we also spotted that the team had an all-black one (which otherwise appeared identical) with his name sticker on it as well.<\/p>\n

\"RemcoEvenepoel has been using this all-black Tarmac SL9 on days with lots of climbing \u2013 presumably because it’s a little lighter than his gold one. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s roughly 200g or so lighter because of the difference in paintjob, that would put that bike spot on 6.8kg ready-to-ride \u2013 and sure enough, come the first hilly day of the race on stage 2, Evenepoel was riding it.<\/p>\n

As for the Giant \u2013 we know there are painted builds that weigh 6.56kg without pedals, but with bottle cages and a computer mount, because we weighed one in our workshop earlier this year when it launched.<\/p>\n

The difference with Luke Plapp\u2019s 7.1kg Propel<\/a>, then, can be accounted for with the addition of a pedals, a Dura-Ace, rather than slightly lighter SRAM Red AXS groupset, and a set of larger, 30c tyres compared to the 28s that come on the stock bike.<\/p>\n

\"SimonLuke Plapp’s Giant Propel Advanced SL tipped our scales at 7.1kg ready to ride. Ashley Quinlan \/ Our Media
\nWhy aren\u2019t road bikes lighter, though?<\/p>\n

All of those small details still don\u2019t explain why bike manufacturers, despite decades of research and development, still struggle to get pro-spec road bikes down to a weight limit that\u2019s existed for almost three decades, however.<\/p>\n

Despite how much focus they receive, it\u2019s generally not the bike frames to blame.<\/p>\n

\"RemcoEven in this heavily painted guise, the Tarmac SL9 frame still makes up only a fraction of the overall bike weight. Our Media<\/p>\n

A Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL9 frame is claimed to weigh only 687g, for example, which is impressively light for a bike that Specialized says is more aerodynamic than a Factor One<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To put that into perspective, 687g is about the same as a lightweight front wheel or a couple of 30c Continental GP5000 S TR tyres<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given this, it\u2019s hard to see how much more material can be cut from road bike frames without compromising their ride quality or structural integrity \u2013 at least until we get another materials revolution, like the move from aluminium to carbon fibre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The other 6kg or so is accounted for by everything else in the build \u2013 components, wheels, tyres, the groupset and so on. And in the era of hydraulic disc brakes<\/a> and derailleur drivetrains<\/a>, there\u2019s only so much weight that can be cut from wheels and groupsets.<\/p>\n

\"MatejModern drivetrains still typically weigh well over 2kg, once you include the shifters and brakes. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media
\n\"AlexAre disc brakes the reason pro bikes are so heavy? They certainly play a part. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

As most hill climb racers<\/a> know, if you want to build a light bike, it\u2019s still hard to beat rim brakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And if you go to any hill climb in the UK \u2013 where UCI rules typically don\u2019t apply \u2013 it won\u2019t be difficult to find bikes lighter than 6.8kg.<\/p>\n

The pros don\u2019t ride rim-brake bikes anymore, though, because most brands no longer sell them.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, within the confines of what their sponsors offer, many pros could choose to ride lighter frames, wheels, bars or tyres and so on, if they wanted to.<\/p>\n

A Specialized S-Works Aethos<\/a> frame weighs around 100g less than a Tarmac SL9 frame, for example, and the brand\u2019s sponsored riders could also switch to Specialized\u2019s lightweight \u2018Alpinist\u2019 wheels and components to help shave off even more weight.<\/p>\n

Plapp could likewise switch to the Giant TCR Advanced SL<\/a>, which is said to be 137g lighter across the frame and fork compared to the latest Propel.<\/p>\n

\"TadejTadej Poga\u010dar could ride the Colnago V5Rs \u2013 which we weighed at 6.765kg in 2025 \u2013 but he rarely chooses to do so. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

But doing so typically means giving up big chunks of aerodynamic efficiency, which would ultimately hurt a professional rider\u2019s performance more than the extra grams in most race scenarios.<\/p>\n

This likely explains why we see Poga\u010dar persisting with the Y1Rs despite the fact it\u2019s 400g or so heavier than his V5Rs.<\/p>\n

Of course, were the UCI\u2019s minimum bike weight rule ever to be amended, or even scrapped, the calculations may change depending on the terrain at hand.<\/p>\n

\"JonasJonas Vingegaard’s 6.8kg Cerv\u00e9lo S5 was the lightest bike we saw at the 2026 Tour de France. Simon von Bromley \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

In the absence of a specific weight limit \u2013 if the UCI replaced it with a general safety test, for example, as it does with wheels \u2013 ultra-light bike frames and components may become more relevant again for mountainous races.<\/p>\n

Until then, though, bike and component manufacturers have little incentive to focus their development budgets on intensively reducing weight, rather than on improving other factors such as aerodynamics.<\/p>\n

More on the 2026 Tour de France<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you read the marketing materials for any new road bike launch, you\u2019ll always find a line telling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-694044","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\/694044","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=694044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}