af2nr

Will,
I ride a Specialized Roubaix Comp and love it, have been riding it for about 6 months now and have no complaints. Previous bike was a LeMond Buenos Aires, 05 model with the carbon/steel spline design. Although I loved how this bike looked and rode on "normal" rides, on any descents or hard sprints the front end was always unstable, to the point I tried to avoid them. I think part of the reason for this was that the bike may have been a little big, depending on who you asked? But the Roubaix is a complete dream and has handled everything I have thrown at it, with no concerns. I would give it a try as well as the 5200. Good luck!

will dehne

I need this kind of reassurance. Speciallized Roubaix is a definite possibility. I got many good comments on it. I was surprised at the large number of Litespeeds and other Ti bikes on that tour. I feel I have to research that but run into strong feelings. Seems almost like a religion this CF compared to Ti.
I just want to hear from bikers who have tried both. Have a tough time with that. Seems the difference is subtle?
Thanks, Will

spokenword

well, that thread is kind of light right now, as the number of randonneurs on BikeForums seems rather scarce, but I agree with cooker that your desired bike is basically a randoneering or sport touring bike. Randoneering is essentially long distance, endurance cycling while bearing a very minimal load; and that's not very far from supported touring. Randoneers are supposed to complete a series of long rides (125mi, 250mi, 375mi) within certain time limit, and its generally unsupported; so while we might not necessarily bring luggage, we have to have a bike that will perform well on rough roads and on both sides of a hill while also loaded with water, food and repair tools. A randoneering bike also prioritizes comfort over speed, but they aren't the sort of slow, heavy warhorses that touring bikes are (though I do use a Trek 520 on my brevets) because, again, we have time limits and the faster that one can put away 100km is the more time one can spend indulging in ice cream or getting a nap on the longer rides.

So, what bikes do we see frequently on brevets?

The Specialized Roubaix is definitely popular. We see a lot of custom bikes from Seven (Axiom SGs and Axiom Steel show up a lot), Independent Fabrications (the IF Club Racer is nearly purpose-built to be a randoneering bike) and Rivendell. There are a few Litespeeds, a few Treks, and a varied array of Cannondales, Raleighs and other bikes with a stretched out cockpit and raised handlebars, that give you an easier riding posture without making great sacrifices to handling or aerodynamics. We see a lot of bikes with 25mm tires to handle the rough stuff. Wheels with higher spoke counts. A lot of carbon, titanium and steel but relatively little aluminum.

will dehne

New information: I am in Detroit area metro-park and riding the Cannondale R2000. I got a scale and the weight is 24 lb. (no water bottles, no tools, no bags). There are three items which do not help the weight:
Brooks saddle.
5 inch stem to raise the bars.
Aero bars.
I failed to check what frame it is because there was this biker who just returned from Europa and did part of the route of TdF. Through the mountains. He is riding a CF Trek. Same as Lance time trial bike.
This guy is about 20 years younger and weight is perhaps 150 lb.
Anyway, we were chasing each other around this park road at average speeds above 21 MPH.
Interestingly, he had my bike and next got a Le Mond (spelling?) and next got this Trek.
According to him, there is no discussion about speed and vibration absorption. The Trek is much superior he says. BTW, about $5,000 and he was not very sure about the weight but thinks it is below 18 lb.