My new ride evaluation & embarassment...
 

I've had the new S-Works Roubaix for enough miles now to form some opinions and also long enough to be embarassed by my own lack of thought. I'll start with the later.

Moved my computer from an older bike to the new one to save a few dollars. Never thought about it, but noticed that despite what was a lighter, stiffer bike, my speeds and times were slower. For almost a week I was wondering what was wrong with me given my decrease in fitness. As most of you have guessed by now, I didn't set the computer to the correct wheel size when I made the switch. I'm totally embarassed :rolleyes: that it took me a week to figure it out.

On to the bike itself. The S-Works frame is stiffer and lighter than the Roubaix Pro, and it shows up in the ride. It has a quicker jump when sprinting, and climbs like a dream. Another difference is a move from the Ultegra 9 to a Dura Ace 10. I would not have believed that a move from 9 speed to 10 would make much difference. I was wrong. I find that places where my cadence was just a bit out of sync with the landscape occur much less frequently, making my rides much more pleasurable. In terms of the Ultergra vs. Dura Ace, both work flawlessly, and any differences in performance seems quite small with the Dura Ace brakes getting the nod for better stopping power. The S-Works has an oversized carbon handle bar, which I'm not real happy with. It tends to creak more often and I do notice flex. In fact, it feels a bit like I could break them if I really wanted to. I may go back to alum. The new wheels are Dura Ace (don't know which model), but they seem a bit softer, making for a more comfortable ride; yet, there is not noticeable loss of climbing ability. I may still go for a set of Dura Ace Open Pros with lots more spokes, but not sure yet. Having gone through two carbon frames in a year, I'm still a bit leary of their reliability. So, I find myself going over the bike at the end of each ride with a fine tooth comb. I wonder if this feeling will lessen? Well, that's the update, and here's the photo...

You don't have a proper white garage door? :D

Nope got rid of the garage and turned it into a music room! A much better use of space!

The computer thing is completely understandable. I even have found some difference in the same size tires (23's) but with different manufacturers (Continental versus Vredestein). So I take it your speeds are actually higher than what you thought??

I don't know that you ever completely get over the frame material thing......for safety sake that is probably a good thing.

I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughts on the Dura ace 10 sp and 7800 brakes. The feel of the shifting in the 10 speed is very, very nice. I have not noticed the spacing of the gears that much versus the 9 speed but most of my riding is rolling hills with fewer flat stretches. I could see where that would a benefit. I would have hoped they could have expanded the range of gears with 10 sp as opposed to adding it in the middle.

I really like the 7800 brakes. The best set of brakes I've used period........

Good luck on the wheels. If it were me I'd be searching for something under 1500 grams. That might really help with noticing the difference in the climbing.

Nice bike by the way!!

So if it went the other way and you found an improvement in your speed and time would you have looked at the computer or just assumed the bike was that much better :>)

Nice bike although I do wish the mfgs would get smaller decals. Not just Specialized they all seem to try to cover every inch of every tube.