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It’s easy to get excited about the bicycles being raced in the Tour de France. After all, they’re beautiful, super fast, and incredibly lightweight—and often wickedly expensive. However, most of us will never have the fitness and skills required to compete at the Tour de France level, much less over the distances and stages the professionals race. So, splurging on a top-tier, WorldTour bike perhaps doesn’t make much sense for our daily rides and training.
Yet, even if we don’t have the watts per kilogram to race alongside the likes of Tadej Pogačar, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Remco Evenepoel, and Demi Vollering, it doesn’t mean we don’t have personal cycling goals or want to ride faster. Whether it’s fueling, hydration, rest, or equipment choices, we can learn from the tricks the world’s top riders use to go fast to improve our riding, even if we don’t ride at the race pace or push pro watts. And sometimes, the gear used by the fastest professionals on the roads of France can help us on rides closer to home.
An interesting fact about bicycle racing is that the gear used by racers in the Tour de France must be offered for purchase by the general riding public. Article 1.3.006 of the UCI’s rule states, “Equipment shall be of a type that is sold for use by anyone practicing cycling as a sport,” and must be available for sale within twelve months of its first use in a race. That means you can buy almost everything the pro teams use—from frames and wheels to helmets and socks—to help you ride faster.
Some of the gear used in the Tour de France to improve speed and shave watts is also surprisingly affordable. While the impact of this equipment is amplified at the higher speeds raced in the pro peloton, any cyclist can benefit from it with improved speeds or efficiency.
These are five Tour de France-proven gear upgrades any rider can make to their own bikes to improve their speed on the road.
Water Bottles
Water bottles are often an afterthought for riders, but they can be a sneaky place to shave weight. Elite’s Fly bottles are a longtime favorite of top Tour de France teams, and some teams are using the textured Fly Tex bottles that shave a few more grams (with a claimed 30 percent reduction in plastic material). “They're the lightest and simplest bottles on the market, and with this version the textured finish adds security while gripping,” said Senior Photographer Trevor Raab, who has been using them for training and racing.
Fly bottles sit well in your hand, the caps have good water flow, and they weigh a little less than standard cycling bottles found in U.S. bike shops. A 550ml Elite Fly (51-53 grams) bottle saves more than 25 grams each compared to a 22 oz. Specialized Purist bottle (78-82 grams). And compared to popular stainless and insulated bottles, the savings can be over 200 grams per bottle.
The Fly Tex bottles are a cheap and easy way to shave grams, but if you want something flashier, Trek’s RSL Aero bottles and cages are another option. The Wisconsin-based brand claims these bottles are “1.8 watts faster at 22 mph on the Madone Gen 8 compared to standard round bottles.”
Aerosocks
Like water bottles, most riders probably wouldn’t think about their cycling socks when looking to boost performance. However, almost every racer in the Tour de France peloton now sports sleek, aerodynamically efficient, tall socks on their feet.
Aerosocks are a particularly simple way to save watts, and some options don’t cost much more than the traditional cycling socks you probably already own. Some aerosocks—like those from Silca—are tested in the wind tunnel and claim “4-8 watts drag reduction (when tested at 30-45kph) when compared to standard sock and equal to ribbed lycra socks of similar height”, while others don’t publish their specific data. But whether you opt for low-priced ribbed models from Amazon or spendier options from Silca or Assos, there is most likely some watt savings to wearing tall aerosocks compared to the ankle or crew-length socks you’ve been using for years.
Chainwax
It’s no secret that we’re big advocates of chain waxing, and every Bicycling test team member has made the switch over the last few seasons. The advantages of wax are numerous and worth the higher upfront costs and time commitment compared to traditional drip lubricant: reduced chain wear, clearer drivetrains, and increased efficiency. And many Tour de France teams wax chains for the same reasons we use chain wax.
While many Tour teams get free components from SRAM, Shimano, or Campagnolo, some teams buy the high-priced Red AXS and Dura-Ace Di2 groups they ride. Since professional racers put so many miles into their drivetrains, waxing chains can save a team a lot of money if they use fewer chains, cassettes, and chainrings over the course of a season. Plus, it spares the mechanics from spending extra time scrubbing drivetrains with caked-on chain lube.
In addition to the cost benefits, waxing your chain can also save watts. As Test Editor Dan Chabanov previously reported, “a dirty chain can cost a rider more than 5 watts at a steady 250-watt effort.” And Silca claims its Super Secret Hot Melt Wax “can save 6-8 watts over some of the lower end chain lubes,” and that its Speedchip wax additive—used by Visma-Lease a Bike—increases efficiency by an additional 0.6%.
If you don’t want to remove your chain but still want many of the benefits of traditional wax, check out Silca’s Super Secret drip lube.
Tires
Want to increase your riding speed while improving your comfort and traction, while also saving weight? It almost sounds too good to be true, but upgrading to high-end tubeless road tires really does make a dramatic improvement over your bike’s stock rubber or mid-range tire offerings.
The top-ranked Tour de France teams are running Continental, Vittoria, and Specialized tires, with racers mostly using 700x28c and 700x30c tires. However, the labeled width on tires is now rarely the tire’s actual measured dimension. Depending on the rim inner width (usually between 21mm and 25mm), tire pressure, and casing differences, some pros’ tires actually measure wider than 33mm.
The professionals are using wider tires because they’re faster. Riding a 28mm tire versus a 23mm model (popular a decade ago) can save riders up to 8 watts at 40 kph (24.85 mph).
Don’t have the wheels to go tubeless? You can still save some weight and decrease rolling resistance by using TPU or latex tubes in your tires. While 22 of the 23 teams in the men’s race are using tubeless systems, the Cofidis squad has been spotted using Vittoria latex tubes at the Tour.
Aero Helmet
One of the best ways to improve your speed is by making your body and riding position more aerodynamic. One way to do this is by simply wearing tighter-fitting cycling clothing. However, most of us aren’t rushing out to purchase one of the high-cost, skin-tight, aerodynamically optimized speedsuits often worn by Tour de France racers.
However, switching to an aero helmet is an easy way any road rider can save a few watts. For example, Specialized’s Evade 3 aero helmet saves riders about 9 watts (at a rather brisk 31 mph speed) compared to the brand’s lightweight Prevail 3 road helmet.
While aero helmets used to be heavy and hot, the newer crop of lids is changing that perception. Specialized claims its recently released S-Works Evade 4 helmet improves cooling by 2.4% over its predecessor without increasing weight or resistance. And Giro claims the latest Eclipse Pro is 17% faster than the Eclipse Spherical model. Additionally, the new Eclipse Pro weighs merely 15 grams more than the lightweight Aries Spherical (both in size medium)—I know because I weighed the two I regularly use.
Bonus Upgrade
If you want to splurge on pricier equipment, one of the best upgrades you can make to improve your speed is wheels. Depending on the wheels you currently own and the ones you plan to purchase, you can potentially shave a pound off your bike while improving efficiency.
For example, even a good, modern aluminum tubeless wheelset—like the DT Swiss AR 1800 Spline with 20mm inner width/30mm tall rims, nice hubs, and aero spokes—weighs over 1,750 grams. Wheels such as the Enve SES 4.5 Pro (used by Pogačar and Del Toro), Roval Rapide CLX III (used by Evenepoel and Vollering), and Reseve 42|49 SL TA (used by Jonas Vingegaard and Ferrand-Prévot) will save over 450 grams (0.99 pound) while having a wider inner width and taller profile.
