advice for roubaix
 

need advice from specialized owners. just got a good deal on a 2008 roubaix comp compact. what do i need to upgrade first if there's any? here's the specs

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...008&spid=33104

is the RS-10 wheels ok? i have a mavic aksium race on another bike. which one is better in terms of weight and performance?

if you can upgrade this bike for $300 what would you do?

thanks in advance!

I have the 08 Elite Compact with the Mavic Sport. Are you not happy with the stock wheels?

The wheels are probably similar to your Mavics. Nothing special. You could upgrade the wheels, but probably not for $300 if you want a large improvement.

You just bought a brand new bike. It has good components. Ride it! You made a conscious decision to get this bike I guess because you liked it. Ride it! Geez.

why not just ride the bike and decide for yourself how you feel about it. you just got a new bike and are soliciting an online forum for upgrade suggestions?

I've got that bike with Mavics. It takes me down the road just fine as it is.

If you are already looking at "upgrading" that bike then maybe you should consider buying up to start with. There really isn't anything on that bike that will "hold you back". I mean you are getting a full 105 group with a good riding set of Shimano wheels. They aren't the lightest wheels but aren't bad wheels either. Save your money to replace things as they need to be replaced...

It's not really clear why you feel the need to upgrade? It sounds like this isn't your first bike so you probably have some insight into what you're looking for in a bike.

I have the 07 Roubaix comp, and the specs look very similar. I did make some drivetrain upgrades as I went from a triple to a compact double at the end of last year, but the 105 group is pretty nice IMO. My bike came with Open Pro's/Specialized hubs, so I can't comment on the 08 spec, but the one thing I changed out pretty quickly were the tires. The weird 23/25mm tires were very sticky, pick up all sorts of grit and road debris and were too fat to allow me to easily remove my front wheel without deflating the tire. I've been riding PR3's for the last 15months and love them - so my advice would be get some decent tires, and then buy something else with the change - new bibs etc.

I've got the '06 version and when I first bought it I thought the same thing. What could I upgrade. The bike rides great how it is so just get out there and wear it out. Use the money to replace those parts you wear out. Focus more on getting the most out of what you have first.

Congrats on the bike though. It's a great bike. I haven't changed anything on mine. I still run the stock saddle also.

Many claim the stock tires are flat magnets, that might be something to think about. Also, how's the saddle for you? Might be another place to invest.

i'm selling my other bike (scott cr1 team) bacause it's not a good fit. i was thinking of transfering the better parts of the scott to the roubiax if there's any. they have the same components. i was just thinking if the mavics is better than the shimano wheels

It's a conspiracy, they sell bikes which are not ride able. The engineers have no idea what components right/wrong for the bike, you need to replace frame, wheels, gruppo, handlebars, cables and a saddle. It is not safe to ride otherwise. You can keep the tube caps though.
Don't attempt to ride it - you might get a wrong idea that the brand new bike is OK, to be on a safe side start upgrading the bike before you left the shop.

Why not ride both wheel sets on the Roubaix and then sell the ones you like least with the Scott?

Then where did the $300 price tag for upgrades come from? If you are already riding a 105 equipped Scott carbon bike then you should know your components, on the Roubaix, are capable. If you have the money, and $300 probably wouldn't be it, then the wheels would be a good place to look at upgrading. If not then put that money away and upgrade as you wear parts out. Just my .02

just ride it like it is....and congrats on the new bike!!

I bought a Roubaix Elite two years ago. Within 3 months I replaced the stock brakes and put nice Conti 4000's on for tires. I was getting flats once a week with the stock tires and the brakes were terrible. Everything elso was fine. Would I like to upgrade? Yes. Do I need to upgrade? No.

Yeah, I've also heard people talking about replacing the stock tires on the Roubaix (if it came with the 23/25 stock tires). But that's about it. If you have both wheelsets you could swap them and try it, but there's likely nothing wrong with the wheelset it came with.

The 143 saddle that came on mine was too wide for me. I bought a $29 130 E3 titanium rail saddle that is about half the weight and far more comfortable!