Have you watched our YouTube or Instagram content and noticed that I’m always walking around in an eye-catching pair of pink and blue Crocs. No? Well here they are:
Let me tell you why these Crocs so special.
In 2022, a momentous thing happened in the world of cycling — the return of the Tour de France Femmes. To celebrate, Team EF Education collaborated with Palace Skateboards, Rapha, and Cannondale to create new kits and bikes for their riders.
Palace also designed an off-bike collection with sweaters, t-shirts, and of course, Crocs. When I saw the Crocs, I knew I had to have them. I bought two pairs the moment they appeared on the Rapha website.
People everywhere love my Crocs. They’re a hit at bike shops and cycling events. I always get comments at the grocery store because I live in a cycling town. Even teenagers at my local gym who probably know nothing about cycling are like, “Daaamn, dude, those Palace Crocs are siiick.” (I’m 100% serious. Some 17 year old with a skateboard said this to me.)
I LOVE the whole 2022 EF x Rapha x Palace collection. However, I’ve been fine with the Crocs being the only piece that I own. They were the most attainable item in terms of price ($100 a pair).
As luck would have it though, a matching limited-edition 2022 Cannondale SuperSix EVO "Tour de Force" bike arrived at TPC last week. It’s my size too… F***.
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Krista Doebel-Hickok looking fly on the SuperSix EVO Tour de Force at the 2022 Tour de France Femmes. Photo: A.S.O./Thomas Maheux
Palace is a London-based skateboard clothing company. Its designs feature heavy 90s and pop culture influences, and over the last 10 years, it has become one of the biggest names in streetwear.
Working with the EF team and Rapha wasn’t Palace’s first foray into other sports. It collaborated with Juventus F.C., designing kits for players like Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2018, Angelique Kerber won Wimbledon wearing a Palace x Adidas tennis dress.
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The original EF x Rapha x Palace collab from the 2020 Giro. Photo: S J Hockett
The best way to describe the EF x Rapha x Palace bikes and cycling kits would probably be “edgy.” The first time EF collaborated with Palace Skateboards back in 2020, the eye-searing kit ruffled some feathers. The haters, unsurprisingly, called it ugly. The EF team even got fined by the UCI.
Others (like me) found it fun, exciting, and refreshing. Cycling has a bit of a reputation for being old, stuffy, and stuck in its ways. While Palace designs might not be to everyone’s taste, it gave the sport a much-needed injection of personality.
The 2022 Tour de Force design centers around a few key symbols — a Palace logo in a heart-shaped globe, the symbol for Venus, and a cute yellow dinosaur. The first two symbols make sense. They emphasize the importance of women getting a proper French stage race.
The yellow dino though? Well, I don’t really know what that is. Palace does lean a bit into kitsch and pop art in many of its designs, so there’s some element of that at play. One of their ever-present mascots is a duck that looks like an off-brand version of Donald Duck. So what is the point of these characters? If you ask me, it’s just cute and funny. There’s no other reason needed.
Large EF, Rapha, and Palace Tri-Ferg logos are also present. The “Tri-Ferg” is a Penrose triangle with Palace branding that is named for Palace’s graphic designer, Fergus “Fergadelic” Purcell.
Cannondale made a pretty cool video showing the frames get painted:
The logos are essentially all stickers that have been applied and then clear coated over. The frame is essentially sticker-bombed. It looks unlike any World Tour bike that has ever existed, and that was the entire point. Cannondale described the theme in all caps: TO HELL WITH TRADITION.
I’d like to quote myself back when I featured Lachlan Morton’s 2020 Giro bike:
“Some critics were incredulous that a World Tour-level bike received essentially the same treatment as an old toolbox, garage refrigerator, or a teenager’s laptop. To me, that’s exactly why it was brilliant. If the establishment says sticker bombing is immature or not refined enough, then you MUST sticker bomb.”
Yeah, take THAT cycling establishment. That’ll show ya.
Beyond the frame and Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 12-speed group, the build on this bike doesn't fully match the actual EF Education bikes, but it's still pretty nice. The derailleur features a blingy CeramicSpeed Oversized Pulley Wheel System to help save a watt or two.
The wheels are ENVE SES 5.6 carbon rims laced to DT Swiss 180 hubs. These are older ENVE wheels that aren’t tubeless-ready, but there are a couple teams riding clinchers at the Tour de France.
The cockpit is an ENVE Carbon Road Stem mated to SES Aero Road handlebars. Perched on the Hollowgram carbon seatpost is a Specialized Power Expert Mirror saddle with some fancy 3D-printed padding.
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So why isn’t this bike home with me right now? The simple answer is that I can’t afford it!
If YOU want it and can also afford it, well, I'm jealous. Just buy it before it's gone because we only have the one! (Update 7/17: Womp, womp. Someone bought it.) If this bike ends up going home with you, consider yourself lucky because this is a very cool piece of cycling history. Just don’t leave it hanging on a wall. Bikes are meant to be used, and this thing demands to be ridden!
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