2012 Argon 18 Gallium Pro w/ SRAM Force Build + Upgrades - $3,700

2012 Argon 18 Gallium Pro w/ SRAM Force Build + EXTRAS

MSRP: $5,500

Asking Price: $3,700 + shipping costs (As shown in picture with Zipp Wheels I'm asking $5,500)

Size: Large (56-58)

Description:
In its ceaseless quest for performance, Argon 18 is happy to take a pause and introduce the 2012 Gallium Pro, its flagship road bike and official ride of Team SpiderTech powered by C-10.  This collaboration with Steve Bauer’s squad offers an excellent testing facility and recently the Gallium Pro was ridden to two Canadian Championships by SpiderTech riders Svein Tuft (Elite/Pro) and Hugo Houle (U-23).
 
The Gallium Pro is the most powerful embodiment of Optimal Balance Argon has come up with so far.  It’s lighter, stiffer and more comfortable.  Once again, they’ve set the bar higher, so riders everywhere can do the same with their performance.

Features:

BB86 Bottom Bracket
The Gallium Pro features a BB86 bottom bracket shell.  This threadless system relies on press-fitted sealed cartridge bearings. With BB86, traditional threaded or external cups are no longer necessary, reducing weight while boosting frame properties where it matters most.


Di2 Ready Compatibility
The Gallium Pro is equally compatible with Di2 or mechanical components. Regardless of the group you choose, all cables and wiring are internally routed.


AFS Road Geometry
At a glance, a bike’s geometry is not something very noticeable or obvious, but defining a frame’s geometry is a subtle but critical element in designing a truly outstanding bicycle.  Argon 18’s AFS geometry means that every frame size has been given balanced, logical dimensions, making each frame ergonomically sound while ensuring that the bike has the desired characteristics on the road: accurate steering, agility, quick response and predictable handling.


Optimally balanced proportions
For every frame size, the following dimensions are defined to achieve an optimal balance:

• Seat tube angle (B)
• Front top tube and rear top tube lengths (XXX)
• Head tube angle and length (C and H)
• Overall wheelbase, divided into two sections: chainstays and front center (XXX and YYY)

Drop 75 bottom bracket
On the Gallium Pro, Argon 18 has set the bottom bracket height at 75mm below the wheel hub centerline, as opposed to the 70mm position that has been prevalent since the days of wide, clip-and-strap pedals.  But why?

• Better handling.  The lower center of gravity makes for a more stable, solid-feeling ride.  You’re in control.
• Improved lateral rigidity.  Lowering the bottom bracket lets us shorten the head tube, reducing the front triangle’s dimensions, making it stiffer, improving the bike’s accuracy in turns and efficiency in acceleration.

3D Headtube
The Gallium Pro is equipped with the 3D Headtube system, an Argon 18 exclusive. Easy to install and adjust, 3D replaces conventional spacers with a structural mechanism that allows for handlebar height adjustment without compromising front-end stiffness.
 
Enhanced positioning versatility and superior front-end rigidity
 
- The 3D system lets the user choose from three effective head tube lengths for a given frame size for positioning flexibility. These lengths are as follows:

• Basic head tube length, no 3D spacer
• Basic head tube length + 15mm
• Basic head tube length + 25mm

- A rider can fine-tune the bar height without piling up an excessive number of conventional spacers, leaving the frame’s rigidity intact.  Thanks to 3D, a handlebar set at a 15mm height preserves 5% more stiffness over a similar conventional set-up, and this figure reaches 11% with a bar set at a 25mm height.

Since the 3D Headtube system offers three effective head tube lengths, a rider can set the right position initially, but can later revise this position as fitness, taste or riding style evolve over time.
 
- Sprinting towards the line, punching it while cresting a hill,  the 3D Headtube makes both bike and rider more efficient.


An Integrated Design
Argon 18 has left no stone unturned in devising the Gallium Pro as a unified, integrated whole, built in a proprietary mold and comprising the following elements:

Monocoque carbon frame

• Fabricated in a single piece in a mold that shapes the frame sections for maximum rigidity, with massive, asymmetrical chainstays and an oversized bottom bracket shell and head tube.
• Weight: 920g, frame only, size Medium

Ga 31 Pro monocoque carbon fork

• Designed for maximum lateral rigidity, with an oversized steer tube.
• Fork pivots on 1’’1/2 and 1’’1/4 bearings, with integrated bearing crown that increases stiffness and reduces weight.
• Weight: 340g, cut to fit size Medium frame

Asp 6500 seat post

• Reversible carbon seat post, adjustable for 25 or 30mm setback. 
• Diameter: 31.6mm 
• Weight: 225g (320mm length)

HDS: Horizontal Dual System
The tubes that make up a frame all have a different role to play in the bike’s performance. The required rigidity must be correctly apportioned in the most highly-stressed parts, primarily along the lower areas, while a measure of absorbency is needed in the upper region to ensure comfort, while reducing weight throughout.
 
Power Zone
Argon 18 maximized stiffness in the frame with massive, asymmetrical chainstays as well as an oversized bottom bracket shell and head tube.
 
Comfort Zone
The frame’s upper areas feature smaller, thinner tubes that absorb and dissipate vibration from the road.
 
Whether in training or during a race, HDS construction lessens fatigue thanks to the enhanced comfort while the lateral rigidity maintains maximum efficiency, losing none of the athlete’s power in propelling the bike forward.


7000 HM Carbon Composite
This exclusive composite is formulated to maximize the advantages of Argon 18's Optimal Balance philosophy.
 
7000 HM lets them make the most of their HDS concept, exhibiting as it does a very high strength-to-weight ratio, enhancing the specific tube sizes and shapes of the Gallium Pro frame and fork according to their respective functions.
 
Compared to the 2012 Gallium, these strength-to-weight ratios are higher as measured in the following areas:

• 15% in the head tube
• 22% in the fork
• 3% in the chainstays
• 9% in the bottom bracket

Weighing only 920 grams, the Gallium Pro is Argon 18’s stiffest, lightest and most comfortable bike ever.
 
Its unprecedented efficiency makes it amazingly nimble and the huge rigidity makes it a real asset in sprinting, climbing, whenever maximum effort is needed.

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