Yesterday I closed 150 km on my new Roubaix. Here's what I found out:

- Weight: Still 9430 g. I was hoping it would have shaved off at least some 100 g by now, but no luck. So instead, I still need to loose weight. Bummer
- Phenom Comp GT saddle: So far so good. I won't go as far as saying that it's a great saddle, but I haven't any sores whatsoever, so I guess I can say it's at least nice when compared to my Arione.
- Frame: Stiff, definitively stiff. I was paying special attention to the frame and I couldn't perceive any lateral movement or wobbling. I talked again with the owner of my local SPZ shop and he confirmed that the frame is as stiff as a Tarmac's (and he heard that tidbit in the official SPZ presentation of the Roubaix when it was launched here in Brazil in late August).
- Rib Cage II: Also as stiff as a Tarmac frame. It really grips the bottle, but with the narrow "front lip" it's a bit hard to slide the bottle in, so I can't say it's exactly user friendly. It took a lot of practice to slide the bottle in without looking.
- A-head stem cap: You're stuck with the black stock one :(. Because of the suspension cartridge inside the head tube, the cap is very thin, so you can't fit an aftermarket one. Maybe you could use those bolt-less ones that Pinarello (?) uses, but I don't have one to check.
- Overall ride: I say again, a flying couch. VERY smooth and comfortable, and NOT a slouch when it comes to cornering. Maybe it's easy to flick around because of the Future Shock and not just because of the frame + geometry, but the fact is that the bike is very nimble. I would most definitively call it an endurance race bike.

The more I see it in person, the more I like it. I hear it rides extremely well. Built light enough, it could replace a couple of mine. What I don't like is the cocky Specialized megastores we have here. I'll buy one for a small store, if I consider adding yet another bike. I should probably buy a bigger house first.

Weight is the only flaw. I'm certain the more expensive versions are under 9 kg, and that would be ideal, but unfortunately I didn't have pockets deep enough for one of those.

You know, I had this issue too. These "concept stores", as SPZ calls them, kind of kill that down-to-earth atmosphere that I really loved in small bicycle shops, and to add insult to injury, I'm a bit rebellious about getting a bike from a mega brand like SPZ. For the last 3 years I've been a Cannondale man because of that - heck, if Cannondale Brazil brought the disk version of the Synapse and it already was available, maybe I would be riding a Synapse today. But this store in particular, with a fantastic coffee shop inside the store (in my veins runs 60% coffee :p) and a really laid back and knowledgeable owner, made a difference and won me over.

Yeah, I buy from a small Specialized store that is pretty far away. They give me good deals to. I do go to the "Concept Store" at time to buy smaller stuff since they are so close, but they never discount anything so I choose to not send thousands with them...only about $100 max every now and then. I give 90% of my $$ to the small store. This may seem odd but I kinda detest the idea of buying a bike from the Concept Store...I'd probably never do it.

Another reason why I am (was?) rebellious to buy from big bad SPZ: here in Brazil you can't have various brands and SPZ in your store. Or you only have SPZ or you can't have their bikes. That really stinks IMO.

What a great bike, congrats!
 

I am also thinking buying the same bike, same color, I am sure your are busy riding your bike, but would be so kind to post some other pictures? Maybe different angles? So I can admire the bike! Hahaha
Where I live they only have the black satin with orange and the dark blue and not in my size unfortunately!
I will appreciate your time! Congrats on your new bike!

What a great bike!
 

What a great bike, congrats!
I am also thinking buying the same bike, same color, I am sure your are busy riding your bike, but would be so kind to post some other pictures? Maybe different angles? So I can admire the bike! Hahaha
Where I live they only have the black satin with orange and the dark blue and not in my size unfortunately!
I will appreciate your time! Congrats on your new bike!

I do have some other shots, but almost all so far are more of the artsy-fartsy kind that do not show the bike very well. The more "normal" pics that I have right now are only these two:



What I can say is that I'm really digging the color, even though I was kind of reluctant about it at first (green? that's not/was not a color for fast bikes in my book), but it really has grown on me, and now I think it sits well with the matte black of the frame.

With the holidays coming I'll be able to make better shots and I'll post them if you want.

I love the colour of your bike, it looks fantastic. :love:

Thanks!
As I said, at first I wasn't thrilled about it (at all), but now I think it looks pretty good.

Hi Lok Shin, would be able to post some other pictures of your bike? That yellow/moto orange looks so good, and there aren't many pictures of that bike out there!
Thanks!

Hi Lok Shin, would be able to post some other pictures of your bike? That yellow/moto orange looks so good, and there aren't many pictures of that bike out there!
Thanks!

This bike colorway is a sexy beast.

Here are a few of pictures of the orange/yellow fade Roubaix Comp.

http://i.imgur.com/qUzedQi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EeEdsEv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/FW7AGtQ.jpg

-Shin

A few more...

http://i.imgur.com/NVWMmGZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/DaxSMmF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MwdkQ0z.jpg

I really like that Specialized offers the bottle cage in the matching highlight color. That's really sharp.

-Shin

http://i.imgur.com/qUzedQi.jpg

Some thoughts on the ride quality. I don't know if it was mentioned, but Specialized offered three springs for the Future Shock, Short, Medium, Long. My LBS installed the Long (stiffest) spring right out of the box. Their reasoning was that the stiffest spring would offer a ride very close to what you would find on a standard road bike's front fork. Which was what I wanted anyway.

The ride is sublime.There isn't any bouncing or bobbing around at all. I only notice the shock working on the roughest of roads. Even under a hard acceleration its rock solid unless I put too much weight on the bars, which is bad form anyway.

The bulbous shifters are unusual to look at I agree, but they are simply the most comfortable I have ever used and that makes their odd looks easy to ignore.

Comfort keeps me on the bike longer and after 10 years away from the sport I can't think of a better bike for me than the new Roubaix. Its good to be back in the saddle!

-Shin

I'm waiting to see if they bring the tech over to the Diverge. That shock with bigger tires seems like a good match. :)

Nice touch, ain't it? But the Rib Cage, though it really grabs the bottle, has a design where it's a little too hard to get the bottle in.

On mine I'm using the tires that come stock on the Diverge.

How many people here who love the new Roubaix, have also test ridden the top end Domane's from Trek?

Bike Radar said they were going to do a comparo between both earlier this month, but so far they haven't yet. I would really be interested in trying out the Domane, but at least down here the price difference is too far apart between equivalent models.

Domane vs Roubaix
 

I'm patiently awaiting this video too! Should be a fun shootout...obviously, I've put my money on the new Domane SLR, after years riding the platform. My expectation is that the Roubaix provides best front-end comfort, while the Domane gives more supple rear-end characteristics. We'll hopefully find out soon:D

Funny, the aspect I was most skeptical about the new Roubaix was the rear end; I was sure it was more a gimmick then anything. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the thing really works - and don't forget I'm heavy, a fact that makes the life of any suspension system a bear.

I actually had a chance to test ride the Roubaix side-by-side with my Diverge Comp over the holidays. My LBS let me borrow the Roubaix for a couple hours.

I didn't even notice the spring loaded front fork at all, which was surprising. It had the medium spring installed. The flexible rear post was another story, however. I could feel the seatpost flexing fore and aft, and it bothered me a bit. I'm used to the Zertz at that top, as my Diverge has it, so it wasn't that. It was the forwards and backwards bobbing that was a little unsettling. I weigh 190lbs.

As for comfort of the two versus each other, the Diverge was softer with lower tire pressures and I could not even feel the road. The Roubaix with 26mm tires and full pressure, I could still feel the road, bumps, and seams. When I got the Diverge stock 30/32mm tires up to 90psi, that is when the Roubaix was more comfortable. I'll bet LUW's Roubaix with Diverge tires is extremely comfortable.

I would definitely like a new Roubaix, but for some reason I could not get a good fit. I adjusted it again and again, and made lots of tweaks, but could not get into comfortable position. This surprised me, as I thought the geometries of the two frames is nearly identical at 56cm size. When I returned the bike, everyone was too busy to help me figure out why the fit wasn't right. I'll go back to the LBS another time to work on fit.