Hands-On: A Ride With Legendary Cyclist Fabian Cancellara And His Team’s Exclusive Tudor Black Bay Chrono
A few weeks ago, Tudor invited me to join a group bike ride that would include the world-famous cyclist Fabian Cancellara. If you’re not big into the world of cycling, let me tell you a little something; Cancellara is a LEGEND. His accolades include multiple Olympic gold medals and world championships in the time trial, eight stage wins at the Tour de France, and a ton of wins at the biggest one-day classic races the world has to offer. To say that I was a little nervous would be an understatement. I’m a casual rider who hasn’t been on my bike since the fall of last year, so to think I could keep up with one of the best ever to do it was highly unlikely. However, I was assured it would be a leisure ride of only 26 miles with minimal climbing, so my fears eventually subsided.
Fabian Cancellara taking in Times Square.
If you’re wondering what cycling has to do with a watch brand like Tudor, then you’re probably not alone. Tudor actually sponsors a recently formed Swiss bike team that Fabian developed and owns. The Tudor Pro Cycling team consists mainly of young riders with minimal world tour experience. Fabian doesn’t just own the team but also takes on an active role by participating in some training sessions and providing a solid source of mentorship. The team doesn’t recruit any already proven big-name cyclists but instead focuses on developing their team from the ground up, or “in-house” – if you want to put it in watch terms. They’re in it for the long haul, and Tudor’s “Born To Dare” slogan is at work here, which I can totally get behind.
At Hodinkee, we’re all about watches, so while riding with a legendary cyclist thrilled the hell out of me – I was just as excited to spend some time with a watch that isn’t actually available to the general public for purchase.
It’s the ultra-rare Tudor Pro Cycling Team Chronograph, created exclusively for the members of the team. I found it to be a bummer that I could never get one because there are not many mechanical watches connected to cycling, so this one would’ve been a fun option for me. Nonetheless, I was allowed to borrow one for the ride, and it made me feel like a real pro. Well, more like I was cosplaying as a pro, but still cool overall.
I know this is an odd place to start, but the strap on this watch is wonderful for any of life’s adventures, cycling included. It borrows the same fabric Nato strap found on Tudor’s own FXD, albeit in a black-and-red color scheme instead of dark blue. I don’t know if you’ve heard already, but the FXD strap is almost universally praised for being hard-wearing and very comfortable to wear. The velcro also allows you to adjust the strap faster than almost any other mechanism out there, with the possible exception of the bracelet on Tudor’s own original Pelagos.
It is dead simple to use, which can be important if you ever decide to make an adjustment in the middle of your ride. As an aside, I wish Tudor made more versions of this strap available to the public for their other models, but I can see why it’s currently exclusively on the FXD with the fixed lugs and all.
For the watch itself, it’s your regular Black Bay Chrono, but in a matte black PVD-coated affair. It’s reminiscent of the Black Bay Chrono Dark made for New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, but with a red Tudor shield on the logo and red circles around the subdials. I’m not normally into black watches, and the look is especially too much for me when paired with a PVD-coated black bracelet. But, with its red accents and the fact that the watch is on a black-and-red fabric strap instead of a metal bracelet, the cycling team’s version has an appeal that really speaks to me. The color scheme is also on point with Tudor’s branding, which makes sense, as it’s the team watch for a Tudor-sponsored team.
Size-wise, the case is larger than what I’d usually wear on a day-to-day basis at 41mm and 14.4mm thick, but as I get my butt off of the couch for more adventures, I find the larger sizes more appealing. It gives you a sense of ruggedness that you don’t get from smaller watches, even if they are just as sturdy. Sometimes that illusion does actually matter. Whatever encourages you to be more active, I’m all for it.
While riding with the team chrono strapped to my wrist, I never felt any sort of extra weight or discomfort. In fact, I forgot I was wearing it for a bit, which is a good thing, as it shows just how easy-wearing this watch paired with this strap can be. I did engage the chronograph function a few times during parts of the ride, but I repeatedly forgot to stop it since I was so caught up in actually riding.
Functionality aside, wearing the watch made me feel cool and like I was part of the team. I remember one part of our ride when a small group of five of us rode through Times Square at noon, rocking our matching Tudor kit for a quick photo shoot. I looked over one of my shoulders, and there was Fabian wearing the exact same watch I was wearing: the out-of-shape Hodinkee journalist and one of the best ever to do it. Momma, I made it! That is until the ride ended, and a Tudor representative kindly took the watch back. I guess I’ll never get that watch, just like I’ll never be a pro cyclist, but it sure was fun while it lasted.
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For more information visit Tudor. The HODINKEE shop carries a variety of pre-owned Tudor watches.
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