Originally Posted by
Road Fan
You've talked about your wrist and grip problems - have you discussed that with teh fitter yet? what does that person say?
We haven't seen the fitter yet. We just brought home two Roubaix Comps on loan this afternoon. Tomorrow, I will call the fitter to schedule an appointment. He does a 2-3 hour fitting with the bike on a trainer. I will be sure to tell him about my wrist when I make the appointment.
We rode the bikes this afternoon -- mines a 56cm and Hubby's is 58cm (which is good, because I can try that one too with the seat lowered a few inches). The purpose of borrowing these bikes is to give us a fair amount of time to test the frame size before we buy.
The Roubaix is a nice smooth ride and the descents down hills are thrilling to say the least.
Without a computer on the bike, it's hard to say how much faster we can go than on the hybrids, but it was noticeably easier to climb and accelerate. The only real discomfort that I noticed was in my left thumb joint -- not my neck, back or wrist! I severed the tendon in that thumb about a year ago (the blade went into the joint capsule between the bones) and I have some discomfort in it now and then. If we can bring the bars back about 1-1/4 inches, I think the reach would be perfect. I love the smooth ride of this bike and the responsive shifting and quick handling.
Mine is a compact double. We live around hilly neighborhoods so I swore I'd need a triple. I'll see how we feel on our typical routes tomorrow and Sunday which have some longer but lower grade climbs. We climbed a tough hill today (like the big hill at the end of the memorial ride, but much shorter) that we haven't done since last spring when we were first beginning to ride... it's still hard, and a lower gear may have helped.
If I believe this frame size is right for me, then I just need to select which Roubaix I want. I'm very comfortable with the price of the Comp Triple. I can be talked into the Expert Triple, if I'm convinced spending an extra $900 will give me a lot more in components and wheels. If not, I could use that toward the extras I'll need to dial in the fitting, new computer, etc. I also plan to swap out the stock tires for Armadillos (less chance I'll have to change them with a weak hand).