While many lay blame at the feet of things such as road disc brakes<\/a> and tubeless tyres<\/a> and wheels, another major culprit is aerodynamic drag \u2013 or, more specifically, efforts to counter it.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve seen with bikes such as the Specialized S-Works Aethos<\/a>, it\u2019s perfectly possible to build a disc brake road bike that weighs less than 6.8kg (at a cost, of course, but that\u2019s no issue for Tour pros).<\/p>\n The problem is that bikes such as the Aethos would be slower than heavier, more aerodynamically efficient ones except on the steepest of gradients, for racing at the WorldTour level<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though famous for its mountains, the Tour de France isn\u2019t a simple hill climb race<\/a>.<\/p>\n In fact, despite being one of the most mountainous Tours of recent years, the 2023 race is currently sitting on an overall average speed of more than 41kph\/25mph.<\/p>\n The challenge for bike brands, therefore, is to build a bike that is both as aerodynamic as possible yet also light enough to hit 6.8kg in full race trim. As things stand, compromises have to be made somewhere.<\/p>\n So how much does a complete pro bike weigh in 2023? We got our hands on 11 Tour de France bikes<\/a> and put them on the BikeRadar scales of truth.<\/p>\n![\""Caleb\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/21\/2023\/06\/Prototype-Ridley20230629SvBA6300BR2728-596b035.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Caleb\\"\/")
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