This is exactly why I'm not going to order one blind. I want to give it a good test ride on some steep hills. I can fully imagine the FS 1.0 being a little crude, but I'm hopeful that the 2.0 with damping and lockout will solve these potential issues. Coming from a strong mtb background I'm used to climbing on trail bikes with anything up to 160 mm of front fork travel and that doesn't really phase me. So I'm not overly worried about this, but it had certainly crossed my mind.

The Domane sounds very good actually. Still my reserve choice if I don't get on with the Roubaix. My Defy handles the rough pretty well too, but the front end is its limitation - the bars flex a little vertically downward (by design), but otherwise it is solid. The rear is much more compliant and doesn't need to be any softer than it already is. This is what first got me thinking about the Roubaix with its trick front end.

160mm of travel? Why, I was riding trail bikes when the Rock Shot Judy was built with 80mm of travel! And hydraulic brakes meant getting rim brakes from Magura! Why, I remember when the Marzocchi Marathon debuted - air suspension like a SID, but wider stanchions (32mm?) like a Fox, with rebound lockout, to boot! Now get off my lawn!

Ok, end old person rant. Yeah, I remember bobbing up climbs on a mountain bike, but one of the fun things about switching to road was the feeling that every pedal stroke pushed you forward, rather than compressing suspension and tire knobs :-)

I hope you find the bike you're looking for, be it a Roubaix or something else.

I said "UP TO" 160 mm. Why? Because on certain trails it is simply better. My current trail bike actually has 130 mm travel front and rear and is blisteringly quick on most trails. For the kind of trail riding I do now 130 mm is right in the sweetspot. I'm also old enough to remember '80s mtbs and everything invented since. I don't wear rose tinted specs. But then I'm not totally into the ever longer, slacker, lower trend as I think it has finally gone too far for the terrain that most ordinary people actually ride. So my trail bike has fairly conservative geo by 2021 standards (Canyon Neuron CF) but that wouldn't have looked out of place on a 2015 enduro bike!

My road bike history actually goes back some 45 years, but I switched exclusively to mtb riding around 20 years ago and then finally re-discovered road bikes only a couple of years ago. First thing I noticed was that current road bikes are a fair bit better than those of the mid-late 90s. Engineering is a very progressive field, even if some people like to think it peaked in 1986, or whatever year they lost their virginity ;)

I just received my Specialized Roubaix (after an 8-month wait) with the FutureShock 1.5 stem. It was really worth waiting for. It soaks up the constant buzz from "grainy" pavement and softens the blows from small holes. Nothing will fully cushion the full blow of a pothole, nor should you expect it to, but the FS stem helps.

The closest I could come to trying one out was to ride a similar Spec bike with the FS stem in the wrong frame size for me, around a gritty parking lot. But even that little exposure convinced me to put in my order and wait (and wait, and wait).

During the wait, I bought and installed on my old bike the RedShift ShockStop, noted in an earlier post above. I will unhesitatingly recommend it. It works really well and is very viable option. My old bike is a Spec Roubaix from 2005 (yes, 2005) and the upgrades in ride and handling over the last 15 years are obvious - as well as the blessed FS 1.5 stem.

During my 8-month wait, I had opportunities to buy comparable bikes in my frame size - Trek Domane, BMC and one other maker - but I held out for the Spec because of the FS stem. I'm glad I did, and in the meantime, the RedShift ShockStop did a very decent job.

=K

I'm sure that there's no wrong choice between the Domane and the Roubaix - just different approaches that'll appeal to different people. I was more addressing the notion that larger volume tires would provide a smoother ride than something like the FS on the Roubaix or the front IsoSpeed on the Domane; IME, the front IsoSpeed took the edge off of jarring potholes/cracks/seams way better than a gravel tire on the front at ~35psi.

I just got a 2020 Roubaix Expert. Loving the FS2.0 so far. It definitely makes a difference vs. my previous two bikes that had no such comfort types of systems (despite specs saying the frames were "comfort tuned").

That’s what I was hoping with some form of front suspension/compliance. You can only go so far with tyre volume on a fast road bike and I think I’m already at that point with 32c tyres. I have enough frame clearance to go to 35c, but tyres in that width are not very race oriented.

Great that it was worth the wait. I could well be in for a long wait too. If my current bike didn’t have an integrated stem I would try the RedShift stem. It does look like a neat solution.

I can vouch for the Future Shock and have two bikes with it, an 2018 S Works Roubaix and a 2020 Diverge Comp. The 2.0 version is a solid improvement and I upgraded my Roubaix with one. I also upgraded the seatpost from the Pave version to the new Terra Post and they are comparable however the new post is much better looking IMO. No regrets.

I wonder if the new post will end up on the 2022 Roubaix?

FYI the Roubaix seatpost changed in 2020 to the D-shaped Pave (link below). Looks much better than the ugly thing that came on 2018 Roubaixs :lol:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-...=271280-172404

The current Pave seatpost (D-shaped profile) and Terra Post (round profile) are not interchangeable.

Thanks. So I expect they will stick with the D-shaped Pave then. I agree the older Roubaix post was ugly.

You are missing out on the comfort offered by the CG-R seatpost. It may look weird, or ugly, but combined with the lower seatpost clamp it works great to absorb the road shock at the rear-- and it perfectly compliments the compliance of the FS up front.
On the rough pavement around here, that is gold. I put one on my aluminum Gravel Bike and love it there also.

Are you suggesting that the older Roubaix seatpost is actually more comfortable than the current Pave one? I thought they were about the same in operation, just different design. Anyway I'm not looking at used bikes, so I will be using whatever seatpost the 2022 Roubaix has.

My only "issue" with the Pave seatpost is there is no seat-clamp available for a 7x10 carbon rail. This limits the options greatly!

Good to know thanks. I'm okay with that limitation though. My current bike has a D-shaped post and it works really well in flexing to absorb hits. If the Pave works the same I will be happy.

The current Pave seatpost comes with seat-clamps for both standard rails and carbon rails included. I'm using a carbon rail Power saddle with mine.

Edit: it comes with clamps for 7x7 standard rails and 7x9 carbon rails, but there indeed are no clamps for 7x10 rails.

Even better!

My understanding is only the Specialized 7x9 saddles are "guaranteed" to fit those clamps though.

Should I have gotten the 7x9 clamp with my Roubaix? I didn't.

Yes, I think so. My Roubaix bike, separate Roubaix frame set, and separate 450mm Pave seatpost all came with 7x7 and 7x9 clamps, so I think you should have received both types with your Roubaix as well...

I would imagine that’s just covering themselves against claims when using 3rd party saddles. Unless there is something unique about their own carbon rails.