While kicking back on your couch watching this year's Tour de France contenders suffer their way up the Col du Tourmalet, you probably felt that nagging itch to get back on the bike and start logging some serious miles. And of course, that itch is always compounded by a burning lust for more gear.

We gathered up some of the best hard goods the 2012 season has to offer -- bikes, components, shoes, helmets, shades and apparel -- taking it all up into the California hills for a week to put it to the test. In this round-up, you'll see how it all shook down.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your wallets.

Trek Domane 6 Series Road Bike
Trek's new Domane road bike ($6,930 and up) is outfitted with some pavement-smoothing technology that keep your poor bones from getting too rattled on long days in the saddle.

"Endurance bikes" like the Domane are designed to be more comfortable and stable than traditional road bikes. They usually have shorter top tubes, taller head tubes and slightly longer wheelbases, effectively bringing the handlebars closer to the rider. They're also referred to as "Classics" bikes -- machines designed to be ridden over rough roads for long distances in bad weather, much like the Specialized Roubaix frame Tom Boonen rode to a decisive victory in this year's wild and woolly Paris-Roubaix race.

Trek's approach to reducing the shocks of the cobbles? The Domane's IsoSpeed technology -- it's a decoupler system that separates the seat tube from the top tube, so the bone-shaking bumps of the road aren't directly transferred to the rider's body. -- Jim Merithew

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WIRED IsoSpeed tube coupler and shock-absorbing front fork mitigate the worst effects of rough roads. All-day comfort while remaining more Ferrari than La-Z-Boy. Tech is inconspicuous and doesn't look nerdy.

TIRED There's a gaggle of cables at the stem. The correct saddle pairing for this technology remains a mystery -- the Bontrager saddle on my test bike left my butt wanting better.