I have been having similar problems...3 visits to my specialized store have failed to rectify...had new future shocks fitted, cable sleeves, new bearings etc etc basically rebuilt!! Still there...spoke to Specilaized UK today and sent them a video of the noise versus a Cannondale normal road bike..silence versus annoying rattle...the Roubaix is twice the price (and some) and I can't except it is something I have to get used too....if they had said when I bought the bike, "this is a great value bike at £XXXX and comes complete with a lovely little rattle that really comes into its own on the silky smooth roads of the UK" then I wouldn't have bought it! The guy at Specliazed UK conceded he had heard of similar issues...next step is to send bike back to them for further testing...think I want my money back now! anyone else had a refund for something like this...

This thread has pretty much convinced me to not consider any frame with moving parts for my next bike. I'm not really seeing the benefits as being worth wondering whether they'll crap out or not.

Roubaix Rattle found!!
 

I took a 2018 Roubaix demo bike out today and had that exact rattle coming from the handlebar stem area.
After two hours of trying to identify the source of the noise I eventually pressed my thumb down on the pivoting cup at the base of the headset where it meets the top tube and it stopped.
In summary, the plastic cup is vibrating against the top tube on uneven, rutted surfaces. Big bumps don't affect it.
I then tried to tighten the grub screws but the were all solid so no adjustment possible.
This is clearly a design fault so I am now having second thoughts about buying.

Under UK law you are entitled to a refund if they have accepted its a problem/fault and been unable to rectify it. If you reported the issue within 6 months after purchase then you are entitled to a full refund. After that they can deduct an amount for fair use. Remember your contract is with the shop not Specialized.

Check out: rica.org.uk/content/consumer-rights

P

http://www.fototime.com/3FD559525E62306/medium800.jpg

Swapping out the future shock spring is pretty easy. No need to even mess with the headset preload. I started out with the black spring from the factory. Swapped in the yellow spring since I am a bigger guy. Not quite as smooth but better without the bottoming out feeling.

I can sympathize with those who have had rattle issues with their bikes. I have a rattle on mine but it is coming from the front spokes. I need to put some oil or grease where the spokes cross each other and hopefully that will quiet it down. Other than that I have almost 500 miles on my bike without any issues. For reference it is a 2018 roubaix comp disc.

I would start by checking tension on the spokes...they very well might need to be tightened up with the wheel is squishing enough to cause spokes to make noises.

Changing Spring on FS
 

Pretty simple. Remove top cap. Remove stem. Unscrew top of FS and pull out spring. Reverse the steps to reassemble.

For a complete tear down of FS and fork see m.youtube.com/watch?v=fIi6s6_YqL0

Thanks for the video link. I am curious as to the non servicable spring in the future shock and how much impact it has on overall performance. Even my local shop says there is no need to mess with it.

The weight of the shock set up was a bit surprising, but not unexpected. 367 grams is right around 13 oz, or a bit over 3/4 of a pound. Weight weenies take note. I had the shop weight my 2018 Roubaix Comp disc with tubeless tires and 2 bottle cages, 19.5 lbs. At least 1 lb more than I had anticipated, which is about the weight of the shock.

I have a 2017 Roubaix Expert with the FS. I am also an A & P license Aviation technician with 30+ years. We have very rigid rules and regulations by which we have to abide by in Aviation. When I finished the year a little bit shy of my 4K mile goal, I researched how often and what should a FS inspection/service should include. The bike came with the black (heavy) spring installed, and I wanted to try the medium (Yellow) spring. I went ahead and disassembled the head tube and inspected the upper and lower bearings. A bit dirty, but nothing unexpected. I inspected the races and very smooth. I inspection with a bright LED light and magnifying glass and found no wear marks. This tells me a lot. If there were any issues with the FS, I would first notice it in the handling of the bike, and the physical evidence would show unusual wear patterns. I found none, so I went ahead and disassembled the FS and cleaned the bore where the spring is located and found no wear patterns at all. None. I could not get the original Specialized grease for the shock, so I substituted a boat trailer grease I have used for years, that is a bit sticky, but excellent lubrication qualities. The preload setting was fairly straight forward. The test ride afterwards confirmed all was correct.
I found some of the comments above very informative, and some were so filled with adjectives, I couldn't decide what they were trying to communicate other than they did not like the FS.
I now have well over 4K miles and have nothing but praise for the Future Shock. I have heard nothing from the other owner of a FS bike in our group that would indicate problems. I know the mechs in the local LBS and all of them have heard of nothing. No problems at all. No warranties, no complaints.

Well then, its settled. You live in a parallel universe and there is nothing wrong with the FS.

FS reminds me a bit of Press Fit. Press fit can generally be tamed as well but many struggle with it. Your particular data point...the lens you look through, everything is rosy. Not so with others including accounts of many returns to the bike shop. Yes, some of the complaints are set up error, without a doubt, not unlike a Press Fit BB.
Metallurgy is likely less of an issue compared to tolerances. You have a sample of one. One thousand tells a broader story.

Are there flat needle bearings in there, or is it a tube sliding within an other tube? I've seen several posts alluding to the assembly having flat needle bearings in there, but so far no pictures of said bearings. How is the sliding upper tube prevented from turning in relation to the lower tube?

Lower and upper roller ball cage bearings installed. I will try and send some pictures I saved on my computer at home that would make the build up easier to understand.

I did not realize that we had a spokesperson for this thread. Thank you. We always appreciate first hand knowledge that gives us all important information.


Oh, my mistake, I thought you owned a bike with a FS, or had actually touched one. :innocent:

Thanks, yes, I can accept that mantle. I have ridden the bike. I find it a bit beneath me. I will leave the porky, gimmicky Roubaix to riders like you...honorable mention to disc brakes I don't need or want either.
A long list of bikes I prefer to the Roubaix...most in fact. I did have a pogo stick as a kid tho. :D

Look we get you don't like the future shock. We got it after the first post, and after the 17 others as well. Give it a rest. There is nothing left other than to restate your opinion in a more obnoxious way which serves no purpose.

:rolleyes:
You remind me of some of the blow hard pilots I have worked with in the past ..... lots of adjectives, short on facts, always a jar of Desitin near by to soothe that nasty diaper rash....

Why do you care so much?? You pop up in every FS related thread and you've made it abundantly clear that you hate the FS and will never own a bike with one, so why not just move on? There are plenty of people, such as myself, who've not had a single problem with their FS bikes yet you presume that everyone is having problems based on a few anecdotes on a bike forum? Why are you wasting your time here, what do you have to prove? As someone who doesn't own one, and I doubt has even ridden one, I hold your opinion in very low regard.

Yes thanks. Id like to see them :thumb:

In bold above...because I have made my living in design. I have developed products like the future shock. I understand the tradeoffs where laypeople don't. Its a horrid design. It is a spring without a companion damper. I hate the execution of the preload...which is the source of much the rattle. A lot of the rattle is misadjustment. But a design that is sensitive to adjustment is fiddly. As director of engineering, I would have nixed the project. I wouldn't care that the bean counters and marketing dunces believed it would be a profit windfall for the company. That is until it isn't. When word gets out to avoid the design based upon a long list of people that paid a lot for the bike only to be presented with a rattle they couldn't solve.

It is overreach by Specialized. To me, the company sold out. They desecrated the design for profit. They ruined the purity of the Roubaix...the bike that really started the genre of endurance road bikes. A bike I own. Many for example thought the Zertz were a marketing gimmick. But they weren't even though Zertz help only fractionally attenuate road shock. The engineers that develop the Roubaix know the tradeoffs of the FS. They have heard the rattle when the preload wasn't adjusted properly or the tolerances of the FS cartridge weren't robust. These things are learned in development. They released the design anyway. Specialized did the same thing for their top of the line S-works bikes for 5 years trying to make their narrow version of PF30 which was a disaster. They did the same thing with releasing the Venge VIAS with aero brakes that wouldn't stop. They got the stack height wrong on my Roubaix SL3 until it was learned the narrow shim would quell the rattle. Companies make mistakes. But sometimes their mistakes are more egregious. Greed basically. A poor product released to the public with a weak design. I am just calling them out for it.

My advice to anybody that needs more compliance than the previous gen SL4 Roubaix in front, is buy a NON future shock Diverge and put 30+ wide tires on it. Or buy a cross bike if the roads you ride are like riding off road. The roads I ride with my non FS Roubaix are just fine without the shock. To me the shock is a gimmick and a poorly executed gimmick. That's why.

All the comments above are your "OPINION" , but can't be stated as actual fact. I rode both and owned both, not just "test rode", but actually own.

The FS equipped frame is infinitely better than the Zertz, without a doubt and lots of opinions of people who own the FS equipped version agree.

Tires alone will not do what the FS does......again that is YOUR OPINION, not a fact.

I tend to side with McLaren on the development side and would 100% value their expertise over yours on this topic.

You love your SL4 and that's awesome! I love my FS S-Works, and it does what I need better than anything I've had to date, that is just MY OPINION.

Can you condense this down and put it in your signature? Since you have nothing new to say and just keep repeating yourself it would save on a lot of typing on your part. And it would be easier for the rest of us to skip past while reading the forum.

Stating opinions like they are facts is not helpful. Nor is the scare tactics you seem to employ to try and prove your superior intellect.

This is a discussion forum. Restating the same point over and over again is not a discussion. Its beating a dead horse. Make your point and move on.

I bet you love hitting hornets' nests with baseball bats.


(Yeah, it's a cheap, poorly executed gimmick. But you're never going to convince some of the people who bought it. They want pride of ownership! And they will want you to suffer for pointing out the obvious. At least, until they replace that bike with something else. Then, most of them, too, will jump on the bandwagon. see also, the early discussions on press fit bottom brackets.)

No, it can't be condensed. I know its painful for you because you are reminded you were duped. A painful lesson.
To ease the pain for you, I have set it to comedy which as you know is a suitable juxtaposition to tragedy.
All you have to do is substitute Future Shock for marriage and you will understand.

The genius Kinison said it best:

Folks, don’t feed the trolls. Welcome to my ignore list!

Thats fine you think that. Please explain why. You and several others on this thread keep claiming is cheap, under engineered, poorly executed ect. OK, fine .. In what way. What, specificly, is wrong with it?