Our favourite bikes from the Lance Armstrong film sale
Following news that the bikes used in the upcoming biopic of Lance Armstrong will be sold off by UK bike shop Ultimate Cycles, we take a look at the replicas and the real things
As we reported yesterday, UK bike shop Ultimate Cycles have started selling off the bikes used in the filming of the story of Lance Armstrong's seven Tour de France 'victories'.
With filming complete, the bike shop has worked to acquire over 100 bikes, which are being systematically uploaded to ultimatecycles.co.uk, where you can find out more about getting hold of one of the replica bikes.
British firm Condor were charged with producing the replicas, which were painted to look like a range of road and mountain bikes spanning Armstrong's career. Brands include Merckx, Look, Giant and Trek, among others, which were made up from the Condor and Italia RC stock.
The Ultimate Cycles website advertises loads of the replica bikes, but it doesn't tell you much about them. Here's our quick guide to some of our favourites, and their original incarnations.
Motorola (Eddy Merckx) 1994
A replica of Team Motorola's Merckx road bike from 1994
Lance Armstrong at the 1994 Tour of Flanders
Want the World Champion look? In 1994, Armstrong had the rainbow jersey and a Team Motorola Eddy Merckx frameset, seen here in action at the Tour of Flanders.
Telekom (Pinarello) 1997-1998
A replica of the Team Telekom Pinarello, as ridden in 1997 and 1998
Jan Ullrich riding his Team Telekom Pinarello in the 1997 Tour de France
Of course, the film also features Armstrong's rivals, so replicas of their bikes are also available. This Pinarello is a replica of the ones ridden by Jan Ullrich.
Saeco (Cannondale) 1999
A replica of the Saeco Cannondale from 1999
Cadel Evans on his Team Saeco Cannondale at the 1999 Tour of Lombardy
(Image credit: Watson)
Early in his career, Cadel Evans rode for Saeco and can be seen here on the eye catching red and yellow Cannondale. It wasn't until twelve years later that he recorded the biggest win of his career, taking the 2011 Tour de France.
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ONCE (Giant) 1999-2000
A replica of the ONCE Giant 1999-2000
Laurent Jalabert leading the 1999 Giro d'Italia
French cycling legend and former world number one Laurent Jalabert rivalled Armstrong in the mountains during the middle period of his stranglehold on the Tour. This bee-themed bike would certainly stand out in today's peloton.
Cofidis (MBK) 2000
A replica of the Cofidis MBK from 2000
Britain's David Millar leading the 2000 Tour de France
Your chance to indulge in a little Millar-time. This bike is a replica of the one ridden by Britain's David Millar in the 2000 Tour de France, during which he wore the yellow jersey for the opening three stages. Armstrong, meanwhile, went on to record his second overall 'win' in the Tour.
Kelme (Look) 2000
Look Kelme 2000
Kelme's Roberto Heras with Armstrong
Kelme's Roberto Heras rode his Look to fifth at the 2000 Tour de France. Getting your hands on the replica of his bike should certainly turn a few heads on the commute or weekend ride.
T-Mobile (Giant) 2004
T-Mobile Giant from the 2004 Tour de France
Jan Ullrich in 2004
T-Mobile's pink livery was a regular sight at the front of the peloton in the early 21st century. Ullrich and Armstrong's rivalry continued throughout Armstrong's domination of the Tour, but Ullrich could only manage fourth place in 2004.
USPS (Trek) 2004-2005
Team USPS's Trek from 2004-2005
Armstrong riding the 2004 Dauphine-Libere in preparation for that year's Tour
Looking a lot more like the bikes in the peloton today, the Trek bikes ridden by Armstrong's team were leaps ahead of those from his early career. So if you want to hedge your bets with something that isn't entirely out of the dark ages, this one could be for you.
Jack Elton-Walters hails from the Isle of Wight, and would be quick to tell anyone that it's his favourite place to ride. He has covered a varied range of topics for Cycling Weekly, producing articles focusing on tech, professional racing and cycling culture. He moved on to work for Cyclist Magazine in 2017 where he stayed for four years until going freelance. He now returns to Cycling Weekly from time-to-time to cover racing, review cycling gear and write longer features for print and online.
