Tom Pidcock threw everything at the Elite Men’s World Road Race on Sunday, where he eventually finished 7th, and that included a special wheel upgrade to try and maximise his chances of winning.
For the big day, the Briton switched out his Pinarello-Q36.5 team’s sponsored Zipp wheels for some R-Series wheels from Australian brand, Partington.
In years gone by, riders often switched wheels for a World Championship, and for a time Lightweight (the brand’s name) wheels were a popular choice, with various riders rumoured to have purchased their world wheels themselves.
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Riders are technically allowed to use different kit at a World Championship due to the fact that they are representing their nation, not their regular trade team.
But in recent years, most riders seem to use their stock trade team equipment, so as to avoid any awkward conversations on their return, but Pidcock seems to have gone searching for an extra technical advantage.
Here’s what we know about Pidcock’s wheels and tyres, and how they might differ from the wheels he usually rides.
Pidcock appears to have used the Partington R-Series Performance wheelset, which retails for a healthy AUD $5,500 – or US $3,856.46 – based on today’s conversion rate.
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Partington offers two wheelsets in its R-Series lineup, and we reviewed the previous iteration a couple of years ago. It seems Partington has created a cheaper wheelset in this latest R-Series iteration; the previous wheelset cost AU$ 9,898 or US $6,400.
The silver anodised aluminium hubs, which have 68 engagement points, on the wheels Pidcock used show the model, which is $1,000 cheaper than the Performance Ti wheelset the brand offers, which has black hubs and ceramic bearings. That is, of course, unless Pidcock was riding a custom-built wheelset with differing specs from stock.
Partington employs something called ‘floating bearing architecture,’ a design that, in short, attempts to provide the best possible bearing performance and lifespan. This feature was present on the previous generation wheelset we tested and resulted in a very impressive spin test.
Pidcock used the 50mm version of the wheelset setup with Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed tubeless time trial tyres, which are now widely used in the pro peloton.
The wheels feature a foam core and have a 23mm hooked rinner rim with a 34mm external width.
Partington says they are designed around a 30mm tyre, which aligns with the 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed tyres Pidcock used.
Pidcock’s Pinarello-Q36.5 trade team races on Zipp wheels, and Pidcock tends to use the American brand’s 454 NSW wheels.
According to the SRAM website, that wheelset comes in at 1,400 grams for the pair, so based on Partington’s listed weights, Pidcock would have saved himself a healthy 200 grams with his upgrade.
Alongside the weight saving, Pidcock likely gained the advantage of a stiffer wheelset, not least due to Partington’s carbon fibre spokes, compared to the steel-spoked Zipps. The R-Series wheels use ‘Flexon’ Toray carbon fibre spokes, which it says results in ‘world-class lateral stiffness.’
Pidcock’s wheels weren’t the only interesting tech we spotted during Worlds week; a new Canyon Speedmax CFR time trial bike was ridden to gold by Marlen Reusser, who interestingly used a deeper front wheel and shallower rear for the women’s road race.