diddidit

Picked up my Roubaix Pro last night. Mmmmmm, carbon, oooooooh, Dura-Ace. That bike's way too good for me, but then, that's part of the motivation!

Just as cool, though, was my two-hour fit session that was included with the bike. The shop has a Serotta Size Cycle, and the store manager went to their Fit school. He pulled, prodded, and measured me - I've got very flexible hips, but quite tight hamstrings, so it's time to honestly institute a stretching routine. On the bike, I was able to see a graph of my power output through my whole pedal stroke, which really helped me feel what I need to do to smooth it out. My right leg actually has a smoother stroke than my left leg, but lefty is developing about 30% more power - I'll try some one-legger drills on the trainer this winter. Gotta go ride the thing now, and see if I can remember to keep my back straight!

did

Kid-Cycle

A friend of mine just bought the same bike and I check it out a few days ago .... very nice ride!!! I really like how the finish on the carbon allows you to see the geotextile fabric.

The power graphing evaluation sounds pretty cool, something I would like to try out.

Have fun riding.

sailor

/me gets jealous

Nice bike! Id really like to try a fitting like that, too.

Ralph Turney

diddidit,

Very Cool!!! Did you get the 04 or the 05? I've had my 04 for about two months now, I loved it from the first and love it more each time I ride it. You don't believe you'll regret your purchase. Good luck.

vrkelley

diddidit

The fit test is great for starters and as you get used to the bike after a couple of months... be sure to get re-checked. That'll help avoid problems with hips, calves and feets.

diddidit

I got the 2004 - didn't really care if I got carbon bars or not, and the price hike to get the '05 was hefty. Gawd, does D-A ever shift well! For some of the shifts I have to look to make sure it did something (I'm also used to 2-to-4-tooth jumps on my old 6-speed freewheel, so one-tooth jumps are barely noticeable).

did

diddidit

That's a good idea - I'll probably want new shoes and pedals next season, too, since we couldn't get my feet quite right on my current stuff. He did give me plenty of information on how the bike would be adjusted to fit if my flexibility changed, too.

did

diddidit

Yep, I would highly recommend the fit (and the bike, too!).

What do you sail? I live near Lake Michigan, and my uncle has an old C+C 35 that we used to do Wednesday night beer-can races on, as well as the occasional longer race. Fun stuff.

did

4.6MustangSteve

I was at my LBS today to get some shoes and was drooling over a Roubaix (bought my Allez last weekend). Nice buy.

madhouse

I looked at the Robaix but opted for the Royal as I wanted brazons to mount a rear rack. After a ride with a friend on a Robaix I am kicking myself... Nice Bike!

pjbaz

I looked at the step-down Roubaix (Ultegra) but bought a Lemond Zurich instead. I LOVED the ride on both but the Specialized came with a crappy wheelset and I couldn't justify spending another $500-800 for new wheels after spending $2,200 on a new bike.

Enjoy, it's an awesome machine.
PJ

diddidit

First ride report:

I did 39 miles, split between a paved rail trail and local roads. The ride just gets better - hitting a root heave or sinkhole on the trail, the bike just goes "thunk" instead of the "bangggggggggg" that my old bike made. The shifting is flawless, with one exception - the first time I shifted from the 39 to the 53, the chain kept going and fell off. Didn't happen again, and I didn't try to keep it from happening. It goes in my "fluke" file; I'll mention it when I take the bike in for it's official checkup.

I did something I haven't done before - I took a detour to hit one of the bigger hills in the area. Although the gearing is numerically less hill-oriented than my old bike (I had a 40-28 combo that climbed anything in the area), I went up the hill at a steady 2-3 mph faster than usual, and didn't necessarily need the 25 tooth cog. I'm at least as impressed by the climbing capability as anything else. I went up, over the top, down the other side (long, shallow descent with a headwind - only topped out at 28 or so), turned around, went back up, and then back down to the rail trail, this time hitting 38.

Despite having a bit of a cold, and having spent less time riding lately than I'd like(****ing roof started leaking), and despite the climbing detour, I was able to average about what I had been averaging "before" for a flat 30 mile ride, with about the same level of fatigue at the end. On the flats, I was surprised to see my speed consistently 2-3 mph faster that what I felt like I was doing. Gotta work on my position on the bike; if I don't think about it, I revert pretty quickly to my old humpback pose.

Cool thing: the pattern of light reflecting off the drive-side crank onto the road...

did

sailor

I race 420s occasionally. College of Charleston always dominates though, its never much of a race Dont sail as much as I would like to, but whenever I get the chance...

diddidit

Cool. I've got an ancient Capri Cyclone that was leaning against a tree in a friend's yard for so long I had to sand vines out of the gelcoat after I bought it. Some Harken stuff, some West System, and some time, and I had a fun little boat. Gotta love dinghys.

did

seely

Diddidit-

Just curious where you might be from and what shop you got the bike from? Serotta fit+Specialized sounds like a certain shop I'm very familiar with.

geneman

Can you elaborate? I've always felt like I am slumped over yet never thought that it sapped power.

-mark

diddidit

I'm in Western Michigan - got the fit and the bike at Village Bike Shop in Grand Rapids, the Plainfield store.

did

diddidit

Basically, when I rode, the angle between my femur and lower back was pretty big, and then about mid/upper-back I arched over. That does two things: first, the butt muscles don't develop much power unless the angle between the femur and lower back is sharper, and second, it restricts deep breathing. He had me rotating my hips forward a bit, which flattened me out. I didn't see a lot of change in the power on the computer when I did that, but I did feel the difference in breathing, so I'll work on that. Gotta ride next to a mirror this winter!

did

oldspark

I was just in a shop Saturday that sold Specialized and Serotta also and the owner told me he could put me in a Serotta with Centaur (sp?) for about the same price as the Roubaix. Just wondering how they would compare other than the obvious componet differances, not sure what model Serotta he was talking about but I'm just looking for general ideas here. I think he likes the idea of having a bike made to fit the individual but he stated how nice the Roubaix was also.

ender wiggins

I also just bought an 04 Specialized Roubaix Pro 54. However, I am switching out several components. I am getting an FSA Pro Elite Compact Carbon crank 50/34 and switching out the Dura-ace cassette 12-25 with a 12-27 and an FSA platinum Ti bottom bracket ISIS. I am also getting a Fitzk Arione saddle and Specialized S-works all-condition 700c-25cm tires. I hope to pick the bike up this weekend. I have a bad back and need lower gearing to get up the hills. I am also getting Look Keo Carbon pedals, Shimano R151E shoes, Profile Design Karbon Kage bottle cage and Barberi CarbonOne frame pump. How much does your stock Pro bike weigh and what frame size is it?

diddidit

Dunno what the weight is (I'm more concerned with the weight of the 227 lb. lumpy thing ON the bike ), but I think they list the 56cm at 16.5 lbs. I figure my 58 can't be much more than 17.

I was a bit concerned about gearing too, until I charged up my first decent hill - didn't even really need the 25. I like the idea of compact doubles, though; if I was in a more vertical area, I'd want one of those over a triple.

New pedals and shoes will be on my list eventually...

did

geneman

700x25? With all of those "go-fast" parts you list, I'm a bit surprised that you aren't going with 700x23 (standard size tires for road bikes).

-mark

ender wiggins

I know a lot of people cringe when I say that I am getting 700x25 tires on such a go go fast bike. This is my first road bike, coming from mountain bikes. I am used to 1.5" to 2" wide tires on mountain bikes, so a 25 tire will still feel really narrow to me. I wanted a little more cushioning due to my bad back