Spesh Roubaix - what do we think ?
I have a chance to pick up a Spesh Roubaix at a reasonable price. I hadn't been expecting to get another bike this year to replace my steel/carbon Lemond Buenos Aires - but here's the opportunity now.
These things were all the buzz a couple of years ago, but what's the view now ? Should I :
a) embark on a proper market review to see if this is my dream bike as an ageing, mediocre sportive wannabe, with more money than sense and an eye that keeps wandering over the Serotta Nove, Colnago C50, Pegoretti etc etc as a potential pointless purchase.
b) forget it, there's load better out there, so no need to panic
c) bikes are for buying, so get it bought, ya numpty.
These things were all the buzz a couple of years ago, but what's the view now ? Should I :
a) embark on a proper market review to see if this is my dream bike as an ageing, mediocre sportive wannabe, with more money than sense and an eye that keeps wandering over the Serotta Nove, Colnago C50, Pegoretti etc etc as a potential pointless purchase.
b) forget it, there's load better out there, so no need to panic
c) bikes are for buying, so get it bought, ya numpty.
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Comments
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I bought one last year, and think it is a great bike. I did replace the wheels and tyres (which seemed to attract you know whats). I'm sure there are plenty of other good bikes in the same price range, but I can't necessarily speak for them. I do like the ride I give, although my higher end bike gives a ride that I prefer, but having said that I probably do more miles on my Roubaix anyway.0
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I have a Spesh Roubai Pro frame (2006) made up with Ultegra groupset. Find it to be an excellent and very comfortable bike. Like the riding position and the build quality. That said, what is good for one is not necessarily good for all. Why not go out for a test ride and give a few others a go at the same time?0
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I can highly recommend the Roubaix. I've got a Comp 06 with 105 groupset and it rides beautifully. Great build quality and nice paint job.
Unless you are going to have regrets about not having a super low position I would recommend one. Make sure the sizing is right for you as I think my 58cm / XL is a tiny bit to big for me.0 -
Mines the s works - got a great deal on last years model - fantastic bike. Don't know the optimum effort to forward motion equation (and I'm sure someone in here can tell us) but this bike really feels like it goes.
One ever so slight niggle - like to get back into TTs but the carbon bars don't (I'm told) accept clip on tri-bars - and again someone out there may know different??0 -
There are so many carbon frames out there, many with dubious claims and little pedigree, that it seems inevitable that prices will fall. Innovation will certainly continue, although if that means products become better or just cheaper to manufacture remains to be seen. The outlook for the consumer in this respect is not good.
If you don't buy it, you may regret it. if you do, it will be motivating. In 5 years it won't matter because you'll be buying the next shiny new thing, anyway. So I'd say buy it, but wouldn't suggest you're a numpty for hesitating. You mention some other brands which - other than not being made in Taiwan ( i.e. cheaper than the developed world) - have little to recommend them or to justify their outrageous prices. And I very much doubt that any of those would do anything else for you other than relieve you of twice as much dosh as the Spesh.0 -
bigmug wrote:Mines the s works - got a great deal on last years model - fantastic bike. Don't know the optimum effort to forward motion equation (and I'm sure someone in here can tell us) but this bike really feels like it goes.
One ever so slight niggle - like to get back into TTs but the carbon bars don't (I'm told) accept clip on tri-bars - and again someone out there may know different??
I read in a review that the efficiency of the Roubaix was exactly the same as the Tarmac.
Just out of interest, how much did you pick the S-works up for?0 -
Mine (2006 Expert Ultegra/Dura Ace) is the dog's danglies. I held off buying a new bike for about two years, because I couldn't decide what to get, didn't think I really deserved an expensive bike, didn't know if I could adapt to a road bike after a decade of touring, etc, etc.. Eventually, I decided that I wanted a carbon Bianchi and went to buy it.
The bloke at the bike shop took a kindly look at my 40 something frame and said I should try the Roubaix first, as I might find it a bit more forgiving than a typical road bike (because of the zertz dampners and the long headtube which gives a more upright riding position). He was absolutely right. I took to the thing like it had been made for me.
Those who say it is a dull ride must have a much higher threshold for excitement than me, as soon as I point the nose over the crest of a hill, it runs away from me like a whippet and corners like a carving ski.
I had a blast on it in the Etape Caledonia (the fastest 80 miles I ever did on a bike) and it did me proud as I rode it up the Ventoux on a hot day in August. In short, I love my Roubaix. It has transformed my enjoyment of the open road.0 -
Gussio wrote:bigmug wrote:Mines the s works - got a great deal on last years model - fantastic bike. Don't know the optimum effort to forward motion equation (and I'm sure someone in here can tell us) but this bike really feels like it goes.
One ever so slight niggle - like to get back into TTs but the carbon bars don't (I'm told) accept clip on tri-bars - and again someone out there may know different??
I read in a review that the efficiency of the Roubaix was exactly the same as the Tarmac.
Just out of interest, how much did you pick the S-works up for?
£2150 from Bikescene on Teeside - a lot under list.0 -
roubaix comp, upgraded from allez, what a difference. awesome ride, comfy as hell. wife hates it though (cos i spend too much time on it!)0
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Good frames: yes
Ugly as sin: yes.
the tall head tube and oversupply of decals are IMO hideous.0 -
Amazing bike to ride, the riding position is spot on for longer distances. It's not the best looking bike though and it doesn't feel very racy - a by product of it being so comfy I guess.0
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I have the Roubaix Pro '07 model with dura-ace crank and wheels. The riding position is alot more upright than my last Condor however, as I had a nasty lower lumbar problem the additional comfort this has provided has made the difference between cycling and not. It doesn't feel in the least bit ponderous which is something I presumed would be the case. Feels very right to me & presumably there will be great run out sales on this model as the '08 model appears.
Peter0 -
I agree about the aesthetics. The reason I bought the 06, rather than 07 model was nothing to do with it being 500 notes cheaper (really!). It was entirely because the 07 livery is an inelegant mess. For example, on the 07 models, there's a sort of brickwork pattern on the headtube, what's that supposed to do for the image of a lightweight bike?
If the people from Specialized design are reading this, here's some free advice: clean simple lines and a bit of imagination with the colours, please! (Navy Blue, Silver Grey, Red or Black aint much of a choice). Also take your time and have the new stylish range ready for 09 or even 2010, because if I buy another road bike before then, I'll probably get thrown out of the house.0 -
the first generation midnight blue one was the best looking and it's just gone downhill from there.
i don't like that huge headtube!!!
specialized bikes sometimes look very nice ... the bettini Tarmac frame is a cracker, as was the first generation Tarmac and the old E5s. but they too often look awful with excessive decals and colour "co-ordination" ... the pimped out red and black Tarmac is incredibly camp in a hideous way
anyone agree?0 -
Well me, for one. On the other hand you don't look at the mantlepiece when poking the fire, what ?0
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My 2006 pro frame is an understated dark grey with the carbon weave on show. Looks nice with Bontranger stem and bars, Mavic Open Pros, white bar tape and cutaway Selle Italia Flite saddle. Not many decals. Haven't seen another one like it on the road here - don't think that it was sold as complete bike in the UK, just the frameset. I'm so individual
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i'm now roubaix less, and allez less after some b****stards robbed my bikes and all my good gear out of my garage last night. the garage is under one of the bedrooms too! they were so quiet. they have been watching me i'm sure as they left the tv and video set up for the rollers, the power tools, pushchairs etc. if you get offered some oakleys, bell sweep helmet, quick step jacket, lupine light or one of 2 xxl specialised bikes down the pub let me know. my baseball bat is at the ready.0
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I currently ride an Allez and I'm looking at perhaps buying a Roubiax.
There appears to be two different frames. The Comp and Elite come with one type of frame and the models aboce that - the Expert, Pro and S-Works - with another.
Is it worth paying the extra for the Expert or upwards models?0 -
Sloxam - that is some bad sh*t. I hope that:
a) the police recover the bikes
b) the perps get banged up
c) failing the above, that the insurance company pays up0 -
I have a Roubaix Comp - std apart from a pair of Ultegra wheels. I think the red/carbon really looks smart and it is a joy to ride.
I have completed a couple of centuries and felt much fresher at the end than I used to on my previous Felt F65. I have a neck problem [a legacy from a car crash 20 years ago] which has caused discomfort on long rides in the past; with the Roubaix this doesn't happen any more. Also I can ride on the drops for extended periods with no ill effects. Simply, I LOVE MY BIKE!!!Keebo,
Semper in excreta sumus, solum profundum variat!0 -
keebo wrote:I have a Roubaix Comp - std apart from a pair of Ultegra wheels. I think the red/carbon really looks smart and it is a joy to ride.
I have completed a couple of centuries and felt much fresher at the end than I used to on my previous Felt F65. I have a neck problem [a legacy from a car crash 20 years ago] which has caused discomfort on long rides in the past; with the Roubaix this doesn't happen any more. Also I can ride on the drops for extended periods with no ill effects. Simply, I LOVE MY BIKE!!!
Roubaixs should be free on the NHS ... the campaign starts here. I can foresee NICE agonising over whether s-works roubaix is really a cost-effective use of taxpayers' funds0 -
Roubaix Expert 2008 - less than £1600 (£1999rrp)
Absolutely no regrets!There's no such thing as too old.0 -
Ooh... where from? :shock:DAG on a bike wrote:Roubaix Expert 2008 - less than £1600 (£1999rrp)
Absolutely no regrets!
Its a bike I'm considering for Christmas/Spring0 -
Just checked back on paperwork. Actually paid £1460.
Now the 2007 is £1599 (http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk/products.php?action=prodinfo&pid=1860). Worth a call to them as the 2008 range do not appear on their web site.
They didn't have the 2007 56cm in stock so offered me the 2008 at the same price.
See my letter in this month's C+ about my views on their service, too.There's no such thing as too old.0 -
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I don't want to pee on the fireworks, folks, but, as a Roubaix rider, I am beginning to get a horrible fear that the most comfortable road bike ever made, the perfect steed for the more mature rider, might soon start to share the kind of commonplace reputation of, dare I say it . . . .
no, I can't . . .
well . .
er . .
The bicycle equivalent of the Toyota Corrolla
There, I've said it and now I feel really bad.
Tell me I'm wrong!0 -
Are they any good still for road racing as well?
Anyone know the weight of the 2007 S-works Roubaix - is it much more than the Tarmac equivalent?0
