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
Vincenzo Nibali's Cannondale Slice RS (Ben Delaney/BikeRadar)


















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Thenew-for-2013 Slice RS get a complete overhaul from the currently available 2012Slice. Departing from a standard fork, head tube and stem configuration to asleek integrated front end, the bike also features proprietary horizontal-pullbrakes that are tucked behind the fork and under the seat stays.
Cannondale’s2012 Slice models — Carbon 4 Force and Carbon 5 105 — come withtraditional road calipers mounted on the front of the fork and on the seat-staybridge.
Nibali first rode a prototype of the Slice RS at the final Giro d'Italia timetrial in Milan last year. BikeRadar's technical editor James Huang spotted histeammate Basso on the Slice RS at last year's USA Pro Challenge.
Thereare a few notable modifications to Nibali's bike. The first is the componentgroup. Instead of the new SRAM 2012 Red, Nibali has an older SRAM Red group,plus a SRAM Force front derailleur marked SRAM Red. Although SRAM later added asteel cage to its Red group (and then substantially beefed up the cage for the2012 edition), the original Red front derailleur featured a titanium cage,which some riders found too flexy. So, some teams opted to run a Force cagebranded Red.
The hidden Naero-Tec brake
Now,the 2012 Red front derailleur is not officially compatible with non-SRAMcranks, so some teams that use non-SRAM cranks are choosing to keep older Redon the bikes for flexibility. Nibali has a 54-tooth SRAM ring on his bike here,but SRAM says Cannondale's normal rings are not compatible with 2012 Red.
"Thereason is we haven’t had the chain rings to go with Cannondale’s proprietarycrank," said SRAM's Michael Zellmann. "The same thing applies forsome Specialized bikes with Specialized cranks. A lot of the bikes have theoriginal SRAM Black Red."
Behind the scenes: note the SRAM Force derailleur marked Red, and the Naero-Tec brake tucked under the seat stay
Anothermodification is the use of grip tape on the aero bars, on the tops of theextensions and on the tops of the horns. This allows for grip without any drag(or cushioning).
AnotherUCI rule — one that defines the bike's length — comes in to play with howNibali sets up his shifters. Using SRAM return-to-center shifters, Nibali setsthe neutral position pointed down, to save a few centimeters off the measuredlength of the bike.
SRAM's RTC shifters set down, plus grip tape on the extensions
For wheels, Liquigas-Cannondale slides a Mavic Comete disc into the bike's horizontal dropouts, and puts a Cosmic Carbone 80 up front. Interestingly, the new Mavic CXR 80 carbon wheel is more aero than the Cosmic Carbone 80, according to Mavic.
"The rim profile, tire, and CX 01 blade give CXR 80 much better aerodynamics, especially at a higher yaw (crosswind)," said Zack Vestal, Mavic USA's communications manager. "Even with the blade removed, the CXR is still faster. The CXR wheels are also lighter by about 150g. The original CC 80 are probably in service here and there due to durability, narrower profile (brake compatibility), and the basic limitations of team supply (getting enough wheels out to teams with the right timing)."
Completebike specification:
Frame: Cannondale Slice RS, 56cmFork: Cannondale Slice RSStem: Cannondale System Integration Handlebar: Vision TriMax Carbon Si CSI, 41cmFront brake: Cannondale Naero-TecRear brake: Cannondale Naero-Tec Brake levers: SRAM 900 TTFront derailleur: SRAM Force/RedRear derailleur: SRAM Red Shifters: SRAM RTC Aero ShiftersCassette: SRAM 1090, 11-23Chain: SRAM RedChain rings: SRAM Red Black TT 54/42Crankset: Cannondale Hollowgram SL, 172.5mmPower Meter: SRMComputer: Power Control 7 (not shown)Bottom bracket: Custom machined steelPedals: Speedplay Zero with custom colorsWheelset: Mavic Comete disc with Cosmic Carbone 80 frontFront tire: Mavic Yksion GripLink, 23mmRear tire: Mavic Yksion PowerLink, 23mmSaddle: Fi;zi:k AresYou can follow BikeRadar on Twitter at twitter.com/bikeradar and on Facebook at facebook.com/BikeRadar.
You can also improve your fitness and train with us on bikeradar.com/training.
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Showing 1 - 1 of 1 comment
ZhiloreznikPosted Sun 26 Aug, 8:35 pm BST Flag as inappropriateToo bad Nibali won't be racing it next year, because he is moving to Astana.
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