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The Bike Computers & Power Meters of the Tour de France

As with smart trainers, bike computers and power meters are theoretically fully sponsored on almost every team. However, in reality, that doesn’t mean that’s actually what those riders are using – something that came true this year in both categories.

In the above video I go through the teams to see what they’re actually using out on race day, despite what their sponsorships say. In addition, I talk to some of the riders and staff along the way. Oh, and there are washing machines. Beyond that, it’s just a fun look behind the scenes at the craziness that is the start of a Tour de France stage and the rush to get everyone to the starting line.

Nonetheless, if you’re just looking for the stats, here ya go!

Tour de France 2022 Power Meters:

As one can see, Shimano dominates here, but that’s simply because Shimano sponsors the most teams for their drivetrains. This is a very simple formula, and Shimano throws the most money at it. It’s not clear to me why all the teams aren’t on the newer R9200 series versus the older R9100 Dura-Ace cranksets. The older R9100P is known for being inaccurate, the jury is still very much out on the R9200P (I have one in for testing and have been putting it through its paces – full review soon).

AG2R Citroën Team: Power2Max NG
Alpecin–Deceuninck: Shimano R9200P
Arkéa–Samsic: Shimano R9100P
Astana Qazaqstan: Shimano R9100P
Bahrain Victorious: Shimano R9200P
B&B Hotels–KTM: FSA PowerBox
BikeExchange–Jayco: Shimano R9100P
Bora–Hansgrohe: Shimano R9100P
Cofidis: SRM PM7
DSM: Shimano R9100P
EF Education–EasyPost: Power2Max NG
Groupama–FDJ: Shimano R9200P
Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux: Shimano R9100P
Ineos Grenadiers: Shimano R9100P
Israel–Premier Tech: ROTOR INSpider
Jumbo–Visma: Shimano R9100P
Lotto–Soudal: 4iiii Precision & Shimano R9200P
Movistar Team: SRAM AXS
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl: Shimano R9200P
TotalEnergies-Cyclists: Shimano R9100P
Trek–Segafredo: SRAM Quarq AXS
UAE Team Emirates: SRM PM7

The one notable quirk in the above was Lotto-Soudal. It’s very much a 4iiii sponsored team, and there were 4iiii-equipped bikes there. Yet, when push came to shove, as the riders were heading out, they clearly had Shimano R9200P units on some of their bikes. Odd.

Tour de France 2022 Bike GPS/Computers:

For these, I’ve denoted what the official sponsor is next to each team. G = Garmin, W = Wahoo, S = SRM, and B = Bryton. Note that in one case, Team Bahrain, there is no official Garmin sponsorship of the team, it’s just them using it. Within this, the riders are generally allowed to choose which head unit they want on that brand’s portfolio. In the case of Garmin, most riders choose the Edge 830, but some have selected the newer Edge 1040 Solar.

AG2R Citroën Team (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
Alpecin–Deceuninck (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
Arkéa–Samsic (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
Astana Qazaqstan (G): Garmin Edge 830
Bahrain Victorious: Garmin Edge 830
B&B Hotels–KTM (G): Garmin Edge 830
BikeExchange–Jayco (G): Garmin Edge 830
Bora–Hansgrohe (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
Cofidis (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
DSM (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
EF Education–EasyPost (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
Groupama–FDJ (G): Garmin Edge 830 + Edge 1030 Plus
Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux (B): Bryton Rider S800
Ineos Grenadiers (G): Edge 830, Edge 1040 Solar
Israel–Premier Tech (H): Hammerhead Karoo 2 & Garmin Edge 530
Jumbo–Visma (G): Garmin Edge 830 & Edge 130 Plus
Lotto–Soudal (G): Garmin Edge 830 & Edge 1030 Plus
Movistar Team (G): Garmin Edge 830 & Edge 1040 Solar
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl (G): Garmin Edge 830 & Edge 1040 Solar
TotalEnergies-Cyclists (G): Garmin Edge 830
Trek–Segafredo (W): Wahoo BOLT V2
UAE Team Emirates (S): SRM PC8

Probably the most notable Garmin Edge related tidbit was when I asked one of the Quick-Step riders in the video why he selected the Edge 1040 Solar specifically, and he had a surprisingly well-thought-out answer. For the most part, many of the riders just use what’s handed to them. But this guy went to town on his answer. Impressive.

With that, I’ll be out there today at the women’s race, checking out their gear. I’m super interested to see how that shakes out, compared to years past.

Thanks for reading!

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38 Comments

  1. Niklas

    Hi Ray! Does Jumbo Visma really use Egde 130 plus, or should it be Egde 1030 plus?

    • Lucas Moore

      It’s really the 130. I noticed in Wout’s Strava activity from the TT yesterday that he used the 130, presumably because of the smaller size.

    • Correct, and not just on the the men’s team, but the women’s too! More on that shortly.

    • Chris_evo

      It’s the 130 surely because its weight 33 g only

    • Ivan

      is there an obvious reason why power pedals are not included

    • usr

      Marginal gains Garmin giving them an edge over the competition. Yeah, couldn’t resist, sorry

    • okrunner

      My first thought exactly. I thought Ray made a typo. Smaller screen, 12 hour battery life, and no di2 support seems a strange choice for a pro rider. I can’t believe the weight savings are enough to justify the 130 plus over the 530. Anyway, hope the 130 plus is much better than the original 130. The original 130 and the original Garmin Fenix were definitely low points for Garmin.

  2. Erik

    Bauke Mollema (Trek Team) is ridding without the Bike Computer, he explained on Dutch television that during the race he is riding on his feeling… And for the team arts he has the bike computer in his back pocket to collect the data for the team…

  3. Don Rhummy

    Ray,

    Since both you and GPLlama tested the Shimano power meter as inaccurate, what does this tell you about all those teams using it? Do you think it means they don’t really use power numbers in the race? Does it mean Shimano fixed the inaccuracies? Or the teams don’t know?

    • I think for the most part it means that money talks. These team’s mostly know it’s inaccurate, from my discussions with them. In most cases, while it’s inaccurate, it isn’t likely to meaningfully impact the metrics or race strategies for them. Yes, it does impact it, but most of the issues are in edge cases.

    • QSM

      Lets wait for R9200 review and data.

      Maybe accuracy is better with it?

    • So far, I’m not seeing that. More tests to come, but already seeing issues. With a few more tests I’ll forward to Shimano for their thoughts before publishing.

  4. Steven Olander

    Hi Ray, thx for the video. Awesome as always! Will we see anything from the Tour de France femmes? It would be interesting to see how big a difference there is between the men’s and women’s and also top to bottom teams.
    Can’t wait to see more content from Shane and your trip around France.
    Steven

    • Yup, was out there today, focused mostly on the women’s teams and their tech. Astounding to see the leaps and bounds made by the sponsorhips this year. So awesome.

      Offloading the roughly 1,000 images and videos as we speak, and going to see what I can make of that pile tomorrow morning.

    • Steven Olander

      I’m glad, both that you where there but also the great improvement. Guess we will be there with equality before the peanut x 3 is old enough to ride it.

  5. anders

    Any reason why you haven’t reviewed the Bryton Rider S800 yet, DC?

  6. Simon

    Is this true?

    Alpecin–Deceuninck (W): Garmin Edge 830

    Would be interesting to get some more insights about not using sponsor items.

  7. henau212

    Interesting to see how many Hammerheads will be there next year. Maybe SRAM will push Movistar/Trek or whoever they are sponsoring next year to use the device.

  8. Douglas Davis

    The Bryton S800 and S500 look promising and without a new 530 yet do you think its a good alternative?

    • Honestly, no. I’d recommend checking out my S500 First Ride thoughts post here: link to dcrainmaker.com

      The S800 is basically a slightly tweaked S500, released only a few months later. But ultimately, virtually all of the same concerns I have remain in the S800 (since, they were largely the same concerns many reviewers have identified over the past half-decade that haven’t been addressed). The Edge 530 is far more powerful in terms of features than the S800 or S500 (especially in navigation).

      A better non-Garmin alternative would be the Hammerhead Karoo (very solid feature set). Or, if within the Garmin family, then actually the Edge Explore 2 is very solid, though, lacks structured workouts if that’s a concern.

    • Douglas Davis

      That is helpful, I missed your look at the S500 so will check that out

  9. SB

    No one using power meter pedals? I presume this is because a lot of teams sponsored by SRAM/Shimano have crank-based power meters on those drivetrains..?

  10. Wes

    Wait, so what was the reason for the Edge 1040 Solar?

  11. pimalu

    Sorry to say this but at their level they are well beyond from the computer metrics. It’s just a matter of sponsorship. The REAL accuracy of those computers aren’t good enough. They are targeted for Prosumer market (and avg consumer too). I know that because I worked for one of this brands. But they are used to track performance.

    • What specifically is ‘well beyond’? I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard a single team, rider, or manufacturer state that.

      Sure, there are teams that have added metrics beyond this – though frankly, even most of those metrics simply mirror what Garmin is doing, just adapted to a given coaches preferences.

  12. Gunnar Christensen

    I’m surprised more pro cyclist don’t use a forerunner (maybe the 955, 945 or even 745) they’re lightweight and then you can get all of your physiology metrics recorded for the 24 hour period (like the whoop band, but you also get your cycling data).
    My edge head unit is simply for looking at cycling data and navigation. Every activity I do get’s recorded on my fenix 6 and everything get’s deleted on my head unit. It’s much easier and streamlined to record with a watch for analysing 24 hour body metrics.

    • Garmin does provide their sponsored teams with watches, mostly Forerunner’s. And teams do indeed use them, in fact some teams pull all the data into custom portals as well.

      When you get into the pro peloton, they’re looking at every gram of weight savings on their bodies (the bikes themselves have to be a specific weight), hence why we don’t see watches sometimes (or why a rider goes with an Edge 130 Plus over a 1040).

  13. Thomas Anselmi

    What was the well thought out answers and reasons on the 1040 selection?

  14. coral

    please subscribe

  15. brian l

    I’m guessing the 9200P is still not widely available, and many teams are forced to stick with the 9100P.

  16. Sean

    An interesting omission: no Garmin power meters-despite having several teams sponsored by Garmin. No Rally RK200, RS200, etc. Wonder why as it gives more data to digest? Accuracy, problems, or just simply sponsorship requirements?

  17. Markus

    How do you get custom cases/skins for the head units?
    I found a shop that sells custom decals but not entire cases, I would love to ride with a more colorful head unit.

  18. KevinC

    What’s most interesting Is the complete absence of Stages! I assume that’s due to Stages just not wanting to spend the marketing money? Or Shimano has said: “nope you’re using ours?” Can’t be that they’re less accurate than the 9100P! S