The Olympic Games in Paris is one of the rare occasions where riders deviate away from the team livery we grow accustomed to seeing them wear throughout the season. With riders representing their home nations rather than their trade teams, manufacturers often go above and beyond to create some eye-catching limited edition bikes.
Here are just some of the custom-painted wonders that celebrate the Olympic Games, from Specialized's 50th Anniversary colourway to Trek's striking metallic pink framesets.
Specialized
Specialized is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and what better way to celebrate such an illustrious milestone than with a run of limited-edition bikes for the brand's Olympians?
The brand says “This collection combines game-changing performance with stunning good looks. Gold represents our 50th year and how our desire to improve lives through riding has not lost an ounce of lustre. The pink calls back to our historic Team Stumpjumper and our commitment to racing with an irreverent, rebellious spirit."
If you are a fan of the 50th-anniversary styling there is also a limited run of both the S-Works Tarmac SL8 and Epic World Cup with 250 of each being made publicly available. It is not just the bikes that have been given the makeover, though, with the Evade 3 and Prevail 3 helmets also sporting the striking design.
Although not available to the public, Belgium's favourite for the time trial, Remco Evenepoel, also stormed to his first Olympic gold medal riding an S-Works Shiv TT in the same 'Forward 50' paint scheme.
In a press release, Kayla Clarot, Leader of Brand Concepts said, “When you look at the essence of Specialized, it’s clear we are born from a rebellious spirit and attitude that continues to challenge the industry. That spirit is something that lit a fire inside Mike [Sinyard, Specialized's founder] 50 years ago, and it is that same desire and confidence we carry now to carve out the next 50 years.”
Orbea
The Basque bike brand has some undeniable heritage having turned its hand to bicycle production in 1930. The brand also tasted gold in 2008 when Samuel Sanchez rode to victory in the road race aboard his Orbea Orca. For Paris 2024, Orbea has released a custom design that spans its road, TT and mountain bikes.
The collection looks to take inspiration from Paris's nickname ‘the city of light’ a title that can be attributed back to the early 19th century when it became the first European city to use gas lamps for street lighting.
Unlike Specialized, Orbea will keep this special edition Olympic colourway solely for its Olympic participants. Each bike has been painted in Orbea’s own Basque manufacturing premises to ensure the highest quality finish, deserving of an Olympian.
Orbea says, “The cyclist becomes the fuel, the light. All this energy that has been generated is spread throughout the bicycle, starting from the seat and moving towards the front, filling the entire frame with energy and speed.”
Wilier
Wilier is known for offering some of the most striking custom-painted bikes in the peloton with the likes of Mark Cavendish and Henok Mulubrhan riding some spectacular bikes this year. For the Olympic Games, the Italian brand has turned its attention to its mountain bikes.
The Urta Max SLR is a familiar sight on the XC World Cup circuit but for the Paris Games, Wilier has gone one step further and created a limited edition Oly Pop design that incorporates the colours of the Olympic rings on a white backdrop to create a colourful but minimalist design.
If you are a fan of the Oly Pop colour scheme, Wilier is releasing a limited run of 150 bikes available to the public.
Pinarello
Pinarello has a rich heritage at the Olympics both on the road, in the time trial and on the track. It was back in 2000 at the Sydney Games that Jan Ullrich rode to a gold medal aboard a prototype Pinarello, before Bradley Wiggins would claim time trial gold in London on the brand’s Bolide TT bike.
In more recent years, the brand has celebrated success with Filippo Ganna on the track and with Richard Carapaz in the road race at the last Games in Tokyo.
At the 2024 Games in Paris, the athletes who conventionally ride for Ineos Grenadiers rode a new Bolide F TT bike in an Olympic Games colour scheme that sports a sleek metallic gold-to-blue fade from front to back.
The colourway is sure to turn heads and the design of the bike has plenty to get people talking including a unique design to the seatpost and seat tube that took inspiration from the fins of a Humpback Whale.
Trek
Trek arrived in Paris as the defending women’s XC mountain biking champions. Although the rider that claimed that gold medal, Jolanda Neff, did not make an appearance this time round, Trek had a strong lineup of athletes including Evie Richards who came 5th.
The Supercaliber bike used by Trek-sponsored athletes incorporates the rear shock into the top tube of the bike in a technology the brand calls IsoStrut. Away from the regular trade team colourways, riders have been spotted on a metallic pink version of the frame that certainly stands out from the crowd.
In the time trial, Trek athletes were seen riding the brand's Speed Concept TT bike in the same striking metallic pink colour. Even on the rain-soaked roads of central Paris, they brought a glimmer of colour to proceedings.
These are just some of the custom colourways to grace the Parisian parcours so far, and there will undoubtedly be even more during the upcoming men's and women's road races, as well as on boards of the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome.
Which is your favourite, and did we miss any?
