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Most athletes get to at the pro level ride whatever their sponsor has them ride. More frequently still, the paint scheme is dictated by the team colorway. Every four years though (or five in the case of 2021), we get to see a special colorway made especially for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Sometimes, the colors are made to represent the rider’s home country. Other times, it’s an opportunity for a manufacturer to strut their stuff with a limited edition bike. And in the case of one bike, it was even named after the Olympics (the Nishiki Olympic that’s probably hanging up in your uncle’s garage).
Below are some of our favorites that we’ve spotted, some we expect to see at the men’s and women’s Olympic road races, and how much a bike in the Olympics might cost. Want one for yourself?
Canyon’s Mach874 bikes for the City of Lights
Canyon has been busy releasing its new Aeroad race bike, and the brand is commemorating its use in the Olympics with a special MACH874 paint theme. The name comes from the Olympics being in Paris, sometimes called “The City of Light.” Canyon hopes its riders ride at the speed of light (1,078,553,020 km/hr or Mach 874,030) as they race for gold, and thus the Mach874 name was born.
There’s not just one colorway here, but several. On the road side of things, there are special schemes for Hayden Wilde (New Zealand), Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), and Chloe Dygert (USA). All have a country-specific colorway, but the themes are all the same.
While Canyon won’t offer this specific Aeroad for sale, a similarly-equipped Canyon Aeroad CFR costs $9,999. That makes it the least expensive race bike here. That is unless you count the Brompton!
Cervélo
Wout van Aert spent his time riding to his Olympic bronze medal in the men’s time trial aboard the recently updated Cervélo P5 time trial bike. And while the bike made waves for being set up with dual disc wheels front and rear, it also has a light blue flash on the fork. Besides the camo look details of the Cervélo logo on the downtube, the bike is in a matte black, likely to save weight.
While we haven’t seen what the road bikes look like quite yet, expect the likes of Jan Trantnik (Slovenia) and Van Aert (Belgium) to be on Cervélo road bikes made specifically for them in the road race.
Cervélo doesn’t sell the specific P5 time trial bike that Wout van Aert was riding. That said, you can pick up the SRAM Red AXS build the brand has on sale for $13,500 USD. Swap the wheels for the dual discs here, however, and you can expect to add several thousand dollars more. That’s before you consider the custom bar extension and the disc front wheel that Van Aert used.
Factor
Factor has released a special edition version of its Ostro VAM road bike. Called the Ostro VAM 1900 Edition, it takes inspiration from the 1900 World’s Fair held in Paris, Factor says. The concentric circles and arches are said to represent the shared focus and common goal of Factor’s athletes, while the blurry outer edges are said to invoke speed.
Interestingly, Derek Gee’s bike in the men’s individual time trial wasn’t a custom paint scheme like this one. Rather, he was aboard a Hanzo TT bike with a stock paint scheme.
It’s worth mentioning too that if you want this Olympic special bike, it is up for pre-order in limited quantities.
The special-edition Factor Ostro VAM road bike is available for sale in limited quantities for $11,199 USD. And while Factor doesn’t sell the specific Hanzo TT bike that Derek Gee was riding, it has a SRAM Red AXS build available for $12,299. Add in the custom base bars that Gee has here, and you can add thousands — or tens of thousands — of dollars to that end price.
Orbea is inspired by light
Basque bike brand Orbea is quite familiar with Olympic success, and the company is back for the 2024 Paris Olympics with three different bikes for its road and TT lineup, as well as another bike for the Olympic mountain bike race.
Like Canyon, Orbea took inspiration from Paris’ “City of Lights” nickname. Here, however, Orbea is basing that light around the rider, as the cyclist is the fuel for the light. That energy is generated throughout the ride, as seen by the metallic gold, cotton pink, and carbon clearcoat over the bike.
Orbea is one of the few brands with two road bikes entered. There’s the Orca road bike that will be ridden by the likes of Eri Yonamine (Japan) and Ereyu Tesfoam (Ethiopia) in the Women’s Road Race. Eduardo Sepúlveda (Argentina) will race the Orca Aero in the men’s road race. The Urdu time trial bike will be ridden by Marta Lach (Poland) in the women’s individual time trial.
While Orbea does not have the Olympics edition Orbea Orca Aero for sale, a top-spec Orbea Orca Aero with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 costs $11,399 USD.
Pinarello
Pinarello is no stranger to the Olympics, with wins at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics under Filippo Ganna and Richard Carapaz. For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Pinarello athletes are aboard a new version of the Bolide F TT time trial bike.
The new bikes feature a fade paint scheme of Luxter Red Gold up front and Luxter Blue out back, with each rider’s nationality on the seat tube. Besides that, Pinarello claims a 2.28 percent reduction in drag by taking advantage of the UCI’s tube shape requirement changes.
Filippo Ganna was aboard the Bolide F TT at the men’s individual time trial, while the likes of Tobias Foss and Magnus Sheffield will be aboard the Dogma F in the men’s road race.
Pricing depends on the build. A Pinarello Bolide F TT frame, fork, headset, and base bar starts at roughly €14,000. Add in the Princeton Carbon Works wheels and custom base bars, and we bet this bike costs in excess of €30,000, a little bit more than Tadej Pogačar’s time trial bike.
Specialized
As we recently covered, Specialized released its Forward 50 collection just in time for the Olympics. Remco Evenepoel won using a Forward 50 painted Shiv TT bike, but expect to see the Forward 50 bikes in the peloton at the Olympic men’s road race as well.
The Specialized Tarmac SL8 Forward 50 Edition Bike was offered late last month at $16,500 USD/€16,500/£14,500/$24,900 AUD.
Brompton
As much as we’d love to see it happen, you’re not going to see a Brompton in an Olympic event. That hasn’t stopped Brompton from releasing a commemorative bike plated in gold, as well as a Paris edition–specific bike to match.
The gold-plated Brompton C-Line bikes come courtesy of a collaboration with Mappin & Webb in support of Team Great Britain at the Olympics. The bikes receive hand-done engravings, and gold-plated decals, together an equivalent of nearly 24-carats of yellow gold. Two bikes have been made, and they’ll be auctioned off after the Olympics to support the British Olympic Foundation.
Is gold too rich for your blood? Brompton also has a Paris Edition bike that gets a paint scheme to commemorate the Olympics. Just 1,000 of these bikes will be available, as you’d expect.
While the price of the gold-plated Brompton will be dependent on the final bid price, you can buy your own Paris Edition Brompton for $3,400. Feels like a bargain compared to the other bikes on this list.
