rbart4506

Woke up this morning to brilliant sunshine and a temp. of -2C. The Weather Network was forecasting a high of 7C and clouds in the afternoon, but no rain until the overnight. It looked like a good day to sneak in a ride before the crap weather returned. Overall we got off lucky compared to most of the east coast. All we got was some rain and bit of snow, but everything was clear. Since the possibility of rain was low we thought it would be a good day to take the new Roubaix’s out on their maiden voyage. We the first ride would be a bit slower, since we’d be making adjustments to fit as we went along. We both had a pro fitting doe, but sitting on the trainer and actually riding are two different things.

So at 10:30am we headed to the basement to get are umpteen layers of clothing on and to get bikes ready for the ride. Thirty minutes later we were good to go. I long for the warm weather when getting ready for a ride involves a quick run to the basement and within minutes you are changed and all set for the ride. We headed out at 11am and within a few minutes I was stopped and raising my saddle a touch. This made sense since my fitting was done with me wearing the Sworks shoes and Keo pedals. I have since gone back to my Sidi shoes and Time RXS carbon medals, which I must say match perfectly with the accent colours on the bike. Once we got riding all we could keep saying was ‘OH MY GOD’ the bikes were that smooth, compared to the old Roubaix’s (aluminum/carbon). We had to make once more stop to adjust the rotation of my wife’s bars and then were off. The real test was coming, the climb up Wilson Street to the top of the escarpment. I was wondering how the gearing on the compact double would compare to the triple we had. Both of us were not disappointed and the climb was a piece of cake. The road itself is full of cracks and such and these bikes just smoothened it all out. The gearing was fine and I know the compact doubles will work just fine for us around here. I might even switch my wife’s 34T ring for a 36T, she’s a pretty strong rider. Also, this might cure the one problem she is having with the bike. She’s getting some chain rub on the big ring when the rear is in the last 3 cogs at the back. Problem is she likes to sit in the 3rd cog at the back and cruise. Now back to the ride and the climb. As we got to the top she turned to me and asked ‘Is there a bike below me?’ The ride was that smooth. We were so impressed with the bikes throughout the ride we just couldn’t believe the difference. Within an hour of riding I felt pretty well dialed in and might just raise my saddle a touch more. She’s thinking about flipping the stem, I know you guys would appreciate that.

We continued on our way and did a total of almost 60kms. The pace was a bit slower then normal, but I think that was because we were still figuring out the new gearing. The shifting on the bike was also beautiful. The 10 spd Ultegra drivetrain was a dream and I could feel a real difference over the 9 spd 105 we have on the old bikes.

The last test was coming home and the descent on King Street. At the top we have a pretty rough section that gave us fits with the old bikes and a real sharp left that usually tested out abilities and often made us feel as if we were pushing the limits. The new bikes smoothened everything out and that corner was a breeze. I came into the corner and leaned, the bike carved and felt like she had a lot more left. The decent itself was as expected and the bike was very stable and inspired confidence in that I wasn’t pushing the limits of the bike. I did notice that the 50x12 did get spun out pretty quick compared to the old triple, but it’s worth the price for the whole ride.

We both arrived home with huge smiles on our faces and I gave my wife many thank-you’s for the wonderful 40th birthday gift. We couldn’t stop talking about the bikes and we totally impressed with everything! We were both so glad we made the decision to buy the bikes. I actually said to my wife ‘What the heck do we get after this?’ The bikes rode and felt that good.

Hope this post isn’t too over the top, but we are both so happy…

Here we are after the ride;

jschen

Awesome! Out of curiosity, which Roubaixs are those?

Oh, and happy birthday!

rbart4506

They're 07 Roubaix Expert's, they are both stock except we swapped out the Ultegra wheels for Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. In Canada the compact double is a full Ultegra build with FSA compact cranks.

aham23

great post and congrats. enjoy the rides!! later.