Road Racing on a Roubaix - bad idea?

rjsmith
rjsmith Posts: 1,924
edited November 2007 in Workshop
Anyone seriously road race on a Roubaix? Is it noticeably worse than a Tarmac for road racing? I'm keen on a Roubaix if it can race well (in E/1/2 races - circuit (not tight) and open road races) as it'll mean I can cut down on the number fo bikes I need as I also do the occasional sportive. However, I don't want to seriously compromise my road racing so what do people reckon?
Am I right in remembering that Frank Hoj used to prefer racing a Roubaix than his Tarmac, as written in his monthly column in some magazine a while ago?

Comments

  • Down the Road
    Down the Road Posts: 949
    The bike will do fine. Angles are no worse than bikes of 10 years ago.

    Beleive me it will never be the bikes fault.
    Racing is life - everything else is just waiting
  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    Why can't you use a normal road race bike on a sportive?
  • rjsmith
    rjsmith Posts: 1,924
    At my age I like a bit of comfort. Three days of over 100 miles of the Tour of Wessex and the like on a Scott CR1 can take it out of you.
  • Lagavulin
    Lagavulin Posts: 1,688
    I would be interested to see if there are any 'yes' votes to this as I think this would remove one of the preconceptions I'd formed of the Roubaix.

    I'd be intersted in one for a while, along with some other typical sportive bikes (C2C, Synapse et al) but I (my own fault) had formed the opinon that these bikes must be really floppy, like going from a firm Audi to some big floppy or Citroen estate or an american saloon (in terms of ride). It was partly the instigator of my thread enquiring about test rides from bike shops a few months back (:oops:)

    I'd pretty much put off any real intent of purchasing a new bike until the spring but I've seen a couple of Roubaix Experts - which I think look very smart in Quickstep colours - and also, in last weeks (?) Cycling Weekly I saw an advertisement for last years S-Works Roubaix, full build with Ultegra SL for £2k in two colourways.
    Very tempted, but again, I don't think the salt air from the North Sea would do SL any favours if the poor finish I've read about is anything to go by.
    2010 Cannondale CAAD 9
    2008 Wilier Izoard
  • dag_on_a_bike
    dag_on_a_bike Posts: 581
    I got the Roubaix Expert '08 for £1500 2 months ago.

    Spent a week in France in the Lot valley. Brilliant bike. Not in the least bit 'floppy'.

    Absolutely no regrets with my purchase.

    I'm sure it will race fine. However the compact 50/34 and 12-27 casette may leave you feeling undergeared.
    There's no such thing as too old.
  • McHattie
    McHattie Posts: 146
    A Roubaix Expert '08 for £1500? Wow. Great deal - where did you buy it?
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Depends on your riding style, size ans weight - if you're a hammer head you'll find the Roubaix too flexy, but for general riding and racing it'll be fine provided you can get the right position - the headtube is quite long and so is pretty upright in comparison to most race frames. BTW the Tarmac isn't that stiff a frame anyway - forks a bit too flexy for many.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    rjsmith wrote:
    Anyone seriously road race on a Roubaix? Is it noticeably worse than a Tarmac for road racing? I'm keen on a Roubaix if it can race well (in E/1/2 races - circuit (not tight) and open road races) as it'll mean I can cut down on the number fo bikes I need as I also do the occasional sportive. However, I don't want to seriously compromise my road racing so what do people reckon?
    Am I right in remembering that Frank Hoj used to prefer racing a Roubaix than his Tarmac, as written in his monthly column in some magazine a while ago?

    Whe decides what is entry level for racing anyway? It is all marketting bollox IMO.
    You can race on anything if you wish :D
    Once I broke a frame day before a race and had to race on my "hak" bike, hastilly removing mudguards and lights (with the old ever ready brackets) before the race.
    I put a pair of 600ax wheels in to reduce the weight a bit, so bike was now down to a light 25 lbs :D
    The race was the five valleys road race in Wales, and I lined up at the start to the great amusement of the other riders, but I had the last laugh coming second over a route that does the 2 climbs of the dragon route :-)
    Ok it was 23 years ago but the point is still the same, it is the rider that does the work not the bike, so unless your in the TDF with top pro's with very similar standatds, you can ride any bike !! OK as long as it has 2 wheels maybe.
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • rjsmith
    rjsmith Posts: 1,924
    Thanks for all the comments. Interesting to see the different opinions.
    Someone told me that the fork rake was 49 on a roubaix? Is that true? Does mean stable but slow steeering?
  • dag_on_a_bike
    dag_on_a_bike Posts: 581
    McHattie wrote:
    A Roubaix Expert '08 for £1500? Wow. Great deal - where did you buy it?

    I got it from http://www.buyabikedirect.co.uk. Unfortunately they're now priced at £1999. I think I just got lucky. Very lucky.
    There's no such thing as too old.
  • sward29
    sward29 Posts: 205
    Frankie Andreu reviewed the Roubaix in last month's Procycling and as far as I recall he was pretty impressed with it.

    Maybe worth a look?
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,572
    sward29 wrote:
    Frankie Andreu reviewed the Roubaix in last month's Procycling and as far as I recall he was pretty impressed with it.

    Maybe worth a look?
    His one criticism was that the high head tube affected how it cornered. The full review is now on line here.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Frankie is so tall he has to ride a gate so this may have affected his report somewhat. I prefer Marcel's tests as he rides the sizes that most of us will be looking at. If you would be using a stack of spacers under the stem on a Tarmac then the Roubaix may be a better bet. First and foremost even for racing you must be comfortable on the bike. Most of us could not ride in the position that the Pros do for very long.
    My Fleet.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    RJ. Re your question about the fork rake. Yes the rake is 49mm on all models but the head angle changes with frame size so the trail is different. Check on the Specialized website. More trail tends to give a more stable ride but other factors do come into the handling.
    http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?a=b&minisite=10028&sid=07Roubaix&language=US
    Have a look at this site to calculate trail and see how angles affect it. You will also see that a smaller fork offset gives more trail, not as often thought.
    http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/elenk.htm

    PS. I have not ridden any of the Specialized bikes but am now riding a Trek 5.2 Madone Performance model with the longer head tube and have found no disadvantages over the Pro model. I have however got rid of 3cm of spacers and the bike looks a lot better.
    My Fleet.

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