Bike for Paris Roubaix

cunavalos

What would be the ideal set up for paris-Roubaix
i.e Frame type, tyre width, wheel type, gear selection, brake set up and component selection.
I have decided to enter the sportive next year and could possibly treat myself to a new bike for the cause (max budget 2K) if i could find something that fits the bill. I would also plan on using the bike for some ofthe early season belgian classic sportives in preparation .
All advice gratefully appreciated.

cougie

What have you got now ? It may be you just need bigger tyres or something ?

John Stevenson

For a cynical old git like me, Paris-Roubaix is a wonderful expo of what pro teams use when the equippment they're normally paid to put up with is just not reliable enough.

Which is why you see lots of 32-spoke wheels there, for starters, and just about everyone uses the fattest tyres they can squeeze into their frames: usually 28mm.

Paris-Roubaix is also probably the last major race to be won on a titanium-framed bike, Magnus Backstedt in 2004.

LangerDan

One of the main things to check is that whatever frame you have will accommodate 25 or 28mm tyres / tubs. Depending on your weight, you'll probably get away with 25mm. It is worth taking a look at the archived P-R tech. articles on cyclingnews.com to see what the pro's use. There was also a good thread on www.weightweenies.starbike.com earlier this year on wheel / tyre selection where they forsook their normally grumpy gram-saving approach for the practicalities of not being shaken to bits. I normally ride on clinchers but I'm considering tubs for the event next year.

As John S. has pointed out, there is a very low-tech approach. Suspension has generally been and gone, wheels are typically Mavic Reflex or Ambrosio Nemesis tubular rims on groupset hubs. (deep rim carbon wheels didn't get great press last year!). No ultralight stems, bars, seatposts. Bars are either double-wrapped with bar tape or gel pads put under the tape - but make sure your hands can grab around the bars. A nice comfy saddle is a given too.

The pros tend to use tall gearing - a typical chainset might be 53 / 48. Its a fairly flat course so small gears aren't required by the big guys, but I wouldn't see any point in chainging out a typical 53/39 chainset. Make sue you have a reasonable selection of big gears though - the approach over the cobbles is, as someone summarised earlier this year, "put in in the big ring and tw@t it!". Spinning low gears over the cobbles doesn't work.

Robust and well nailed together are probably the two main requirements. You won't have a service car so there is no point in risking a DNF just to have the latest unobtanium componentry.

cunavalos

Cheers for the advice, i currently have or have access to 3 bikes an all carbon orbea onix with campag centaur throughout and vento wheels with 23 tyres, an all aluminium orbea lobular (urkiola) with shimano ultegra triple throughout and ultegra clincher wheels and also have an orbea columbus starship aluminium frame with carbon rear end. You may notice a bit of an orbea addiction going on here).
Thanks
Peter

leonlikestrees

I rode the Flanders sportive last year, and I used my titanium cross bike.

I did see people riding things like Colnago C50's etc, but my view is that that's fine for a Pro - they can bin the frame if it cracks, but I want to still have a bike afterwards (that's why I didn't ride my TCR).

As for equipment choices, I ran 25mm tyres, just kept my cross gearing on (38/48 12-25 9spd). I dropped my stem to approximate my road bike position a little more.

Wheels were 32 spokes, Mavic CXP22 rims, and they were fine. I don't really see any issues at all with 32 spoke wheels, in fact I think they are overbuilt for most applications (maybe not cobbles though!). I had no mechanicals, and was pretty comfortable.

Oh, and as stated above, you really want to keep as high a speed as possible over the cobbles - it smooths them out.