Want to own Tao Geoghegan Hart's Giro d'Italia bike? New website is offering you the chance
Bike-room are selling official team-owned bikes at a reduced price
A new online shop has launched, selling bikes previously owned and ridden by pro cyclists.
Based in Italy, Bike-room are trading certified pro team bikes at a discounted price, with delivery options available in the UK, US and northern Europe.
“Our mission is to provide access to the world’s most desired bikes,” the company’s website reads. “We trade well-loved and authentic team-owned bikes, but also the hottest two-wheels of the most popular brands."
Currently listed on Bike-room's website is Tao Geoghegan Hart’s 2019 Pinarello Dogma F12, priced at £7,696.05. Also available to buy are Omar Fraile’s Astana-branded Wilier Zero SLR and a BMC Teammachine ridden by former US road champion Larry Warbasse, each costing less than £5,500.
The company is also selling 'certified' high-end second-hand bikes, which have undergone inspection and refurbishment by its team of WorldTour mechanics. This is a good thing - one our top tips for buying a second hand bike is that you use a dedicated service.
“We aim to breathe new life into and preserve the strong emotional value of each bike,” Bike-room's website continues. “We want everyone to have the chance to live their passion and ride a dream bike.”
This idea got the team here at Cycling Weekly thinking. Here's what our journalists said they would choose if they were offered free rein over the peloton's bike collection.
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Adam Becket - EF-Education Cannondale SuperSix Evo
"I really would like one of EF’s SuperSix Evo’s from the 2020 Giro d’Italia, one of those in the funky Palace colourway. For a start, I love Cannondales and a top of the range one would suit all my needs nicely. The extra details and decals are a nice touch, and add to my mullet and moustache look, in my opinion. Alternatively, I might look like a bit of a knob."
Vern Pitt - Vincenzo Nibali's 2016 Giro d'Italia Specialized Tarmac
"There are several contenders for this from the classic Mapei Colnago Master of the mid-1990s, to the Saeco Cannondale Caad3, made famous by Mario Cipollini, to the more recent run of Peter Sagan’s green machines from the Tour de France.
"Ultimately though, I have always wanted a pink bike, so it’s the bikes of the Giro leaders of recent years I lust after. There’s a few choice ones here including the understated Canyon ultimate that Nairo Quintana rode in 2014 and the equally clean BMC Teammachine given to Rohan Dennis in 2018.
"But if you’re going to go that route I feel you should have a bike that is turned up to 11 and the metallic pink Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4 from 2016 rode by Vincenzo Nibali is just that. It doesn’t hurt that the Tarmac is a great bike to ride and I always felt the maglia rosa looked excellent with Astana’s azure blue. Maybe with bright sunshine and the pink glare coming off this directly into on-lookers eyes I might even get mistaken for the Shark himself. Maybe.”
Tom Thewlis - Richard Carapaz's Pinarello Dogma
"Personally I would love Richard Carapaz's Dogma that he rode at the recent Vuelta a España. I've always loved Pinarello's and the colours on that one are even better than the standard Dogma that Ineos Grenadiers ride. Carapaz also put in some incredible performances on that bike and it would be great to own the bike that he rode in his final chapter with the team."
Simon Smythe - Jan Ullrich's Bianchi Walser
"The Walser badged as a Bianchi that Jan Ullrich used in the 2003 Tour - and crashed on the roundabout in the rain in the final time trial - was for me the meanest TT bike I’d ever seen. It looked so sharp that you could literally see it cutting through the air. When it hit the ground it produced sparks like a circular saw.
"At that time I was riding a Trek TT like Lance’s - as were a lot of amateur UK time triallists at the time - but the Walser was a cut above. I still occasionally have a sneaky look on Ebay for the Focus Izalco that Andy Walser designed, which was a mass-produced version of Ullrich’s bike, but to have one of the originals would be a dream."
Luke Friend - Marco Pantani's custom Bianchi Mega Pro XL
"Pantani remains my favourite bike rider and in ‘98 he did the Giro/Tour double doing what he did best, attacking with abandon when the road pointed up. He was relentless in both tours. To this day, in my eyes at least, in full flight no one has looked so stylish and yet so ruthless at the same time; on the Grenoble - Les deux Alpes stage in horrific weather conditions the colours of the Bianchi bike - celeste and yellow, matching his Mercatone Uno kit - seemed to glow through the mist and the rain as put his competitors, but unfortunately not his demons, to the sword. I wanted yellow tyres on my bike after watching that stage. Memorable stuff indeed."
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Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism, which he passed with distinction. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.
An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.
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