new roubaix
 

Have about 100mi on my new Roubaix 105. Wow. Turned a corner the other day. The bike just leaned over and gripped the road. It was quite literally unlike any other turn I've ever made on a bike. There is still a great deal of gravel on our local roads as the snow has not yet melted completely from the roads or sides of the roads and this bike absorbs the shock of the rough road even better than I had hoped. Most impressive.

Don't know the bike you had before but any good modern bike--Like the Roubaix-- could get the same response as you haven given. Difference is that this is a "Roubaix" and they always get this response. So what colour? What size? What model? Where's the pics? and has the frame been worn away with all the polishing you have done on it?

Enjoy the new ride. Roubaix is a favorite of many. If you were riding an old comfort bike this is a major change.

I know how you feel. It is hard to believe a bike can handle so well, be so stiff and yet smooth out rough roads so well. Share the joy and show us some pics! 105, then it must be the Comp. Compact or triple? What color?

Is it a 2011 or a 2010? The 2010 Roubaix Compact and Roubaix Triples had Shimano 105 as did the Elite and Comp Series.

I had a 2009 Roubaix and it was a fantastic bike. My current road bicycle is a 2010 Roubaix Expert, which I enjoy even more.

I found the Shimano 105 to be quite good. I think they have upgraded the 105 since I purchased the 2009.

...or is it a Fuji Roubaix?

Thinking of a Specialized Roubaix myself - I saw what seems like a good deal on a used 2008 model ($1800 for the Roubaix Pro), just not sure I want to go with a compact double, even though its gear range covers the whole of my current bike's triple.

Bikeradar had the 2011 SL2 Comp up as one of the candidates for bike of the year so it's no slouch either. It's a lot of bang for the buck without breaking the bank.

The 2011 Shimano 105 is pretty good, almost Ultegra-like in some respects. They've changed the brifters somewhat and the cables can now be run under the bar tape so it looks a little neater. I've found the compact double to be just fine. The 11-28 works well for the short but nasty and steep hills we have around here although I may change the 11-28 to something like a 12-25. The bike is light enough so that I've had no desire to want a triple at all.

The SL2 frame is pretty nice and is sufficient for my needs. It gives me the ride quality (almost like a steel frame) that I was looking for and without that disconcerting twisting and flexing that I used to experience on steel frames in the 60's and 70's. No numb bum, my hands aren't numb from the vibration and it has that just right feel to it.

Because of the lousy weather we've been getting I've only had time to put on about 300 miles but I've found it to be extremely smooth for a CF bike and it's not mushy at all. The roads around here have gotten really beaten up by this winters frost and I've found the Roubaix to handle those chewed up sections with complete control. The extra thick bar tape they use helps as well when it comes to the hands. The only thing that I'd be inclined to change in the future are the wheels. The Fulcrum 6's are decent and bulletproof but they're on the heavy side. I'm not intending on doing any racing so for now they're just fine.

no pics yet but it's simply a 2011 Specialized Roubaix triple Comp with 105 components. Mostly white and black. Living in Alaska I have plenty of large hills available. My first "race" will have me doing a 12mile uphill stretch that will be quite interesting. I didn't want to wait till the roads were clear before ordering it (I did so in Winter) so there was no easy way to know if the Apex gearing was going to be low enough. I've lost a good deal of weight but still need to lose more and by getting a triple I knew could gear down even further if I needed to, and having a tighter cluster in the rear just made good sense to me. Being used to mountain bikes and this Winter a new Pugsley, getting on a road bike was a revelation. It's my first carbon fiber road bike. My only other road bike was a Trek 720 touring bike that was nothing like this Roubaix at all. Now my big issue is storage. My wife has a Ruby awaiting her to get fitted and we now have 7 bikes between us that need wall space. And spare wheels. And tires. Wheels and tires and bikes, oh my! Going from riding a fat tire Pugsley through the Winter to a Specialized Roubaix....pretty extreme. I've given it one cleaning but I was in fact wondering if any kind of car polish would be helpful at all in terms of keeping it pretty :)...keeping road pebbles from chipping the paint on the bottom of the downtube, etc. I'm also used to carrying panniers with a wind jacket, rain jacket, snacks, lock, repair kit...All that has been pruned down but I do need to find a somewhat larger bike seat bag. Snow flurries are forecast for today. It's tough leaving in a TShirt and then having it snow...any thoughts on a relatively large seat bag would be appreciated. I don't like relying -only- on CO2 but that's my current plan...
I think for anyone in average shape, not overweight or with other issues, the Apex looks great, but it does mean slightly larger gear changes at times and I really appreciate smaller incremental changes, particularly in the lower gears and the triple allows that. We are looking at a possible bike tour in my homeland, Switzerland and for that we might put in a 26tooth ring which allows me to drop the gearing even lower if I really want to and get even lower gearing than an Apex double. I have found local hills that are steep enough to challenge my ability to get up them, but that's fine. None so far I can't manage. Last year at this time that would not have been true so that's progress.

On the frame-Use Pledge furniture polish to give it that lustre. On the gearing- I went to the Alpes a few years ago and found changing granny to a 28 with 8 spd 12/28 worked. The 26 granny caused the RD cogs to run on the cassette in 26/28 so a longer RD may be required. I got round it by shortening the chain but 52/28 was not possible due to the chain being too short.

Not certain if you have a CF seatpost but I use a Seat post mounted rack with a top box fitted on an Alloy post

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=198762

It was not one of the cheap versions but this rack will take the strain of 10lbs or so bouncing around off-road. The makers say it will take double that.

Need pics... need pics...... we must have pics.....

(Digibud: good quality 26 or 28 tooth rings are available from Harris Cyclery.... French-made and very nice stuff. I think it is Lizardskins that makes some tape-like stuff to put on your frame near the BB to protect it.)

Download the owners manuals from the specialized web site. You'll find that the Roubaix Comp has a carbon seatpost. The load limit on that is 5 pounds.
The load limits for each Specialized bike can be found in the owners manual appendix.

BTW, I use the smallest seatbag possible, spare tube, inflator kit, multitool and not much else. My cellphone, keys, money and some food bars go into a small fanny pack, anything else like an extra pair of gloves will go into my jacket pockets. Anything that I can't stuff into pockets doesn't go with me.

IF I have to carry more than that, then I'll use a lightweight knapsack. I find it better to carry stuff on me than on the bike. Most CF road bikes aren't really meant to have things like panniers and fenders although there are a few that will let you do that.

One more thing, you could swap out the CF seatpost for an alloy one but if you don't have a proper torque wrench, then don't do it yourself and let somebody at a bike shop who has one do the swapping for you. It's very easy to crack a CF frame by applying too much force with a wrench.

Where in the big AK are you? Los Anchorage? I'm on Kodiak...looking for riding partners!!!

kodiak...
 

fairbanks here...

thanks for the tips...

Yup, I love the ride of my Roubaix Expert. Lot's of good bikes out there, and the differences often are subtle, but this bike is comfortable and fast.

I own a Specialized Secteur triple which has an aluminum frame. This model is a poor mans Roubaix. I'm very satisfied with this bike as it's quick with a fun snappy ride although heavier than a carbon bike with higher end components. I also like that it has mount points for a rear rack so that moderate sized panniers can be attached. I intend to do some light touring, (3 to 4 days) and have just installed lower gearing.

The first step was to install a 26T chain ring on the front. This alone lowered the gearing quite a bit but made front shifts slightly slower. Actually, I've been fine tuning and it is shifting better. I also cobbled a franken-cassette from two cassettes with a bottom gear of 30T. Again, shifting seems to be OK with the standard deraillers. This all produces quite low gearing and I may, after riding this arrangement a bit more, go to a 28T chain ring which is still plenty low. I'm finding this bike very versatile which suits my purposes perfectly.