Nice bike versus horrible cobble

ajoten

Paris-Roubaix cobbles are obviously very "uncomfortable" ... but how likely are they to wreck my bike or wheels?

jame58rown

Well, it depends:

If you've got a £60 bike from argos, then the wheels would end up square after going over cobbles, or they would simply turn to dust Likewise with a cheap frame.

Any decent bike with a good frame and wheels should be fine. It probably depends on the rider too. Are you a featherweight climber etc. If your heavier though it's actually easier to ride cobbles. little guys just get bounced around. I weigh less than 9 stone and if the road gets bumpy I fly out of the saddle :roll:

jgsi

How hard are you going to ride 'em?
12 - 15 mph not a problem methinks... start getting up 20 - 25 new ball game.

Monty Dog

Having ridden them plenty times, you'll break long before your bike..the pain in your hands, wrists and backside will force you to ease up. Ironically, the faster your ride them the smoother it becomes..

furrag

A guy I cycled with over the summer raced over the cobbles in Guildford, Surrey on a Cervelo S1; the frame cracked as a result. Thankfully it was under warranty and replaced under their replacement scheme.

Monty Dog

Guildford High Street vs Paris Roubaix - absolutely no comparison - the High Street is more like Flemish Kaissen, small, regular sized and spaced stones not large, irregular stones.

gavintc

I cracked a carbon Bianchi on the Tour of Flanders a few years ago. bianchi did give me a full replacement under warranty.

Berk Bonebonce

Pro teams switch kit for the cobbled classics not because aluminium frames or old style spoked wheels are any stronger, but because the financial costs are lower if kit gets wrecked.

I can see why someone would want to ride their carbon bike over smooth roads in Northern Italy or Switzerland, but banging it over a cobbled section in asking for trouble.

TommyEss

My club president was helping out at PR this year, and was around Arenburg for a few days. He managed to snaffle a pair of Zipp 808's for a test ride, and battered away through the forest.

Later on, he bumped into the Zipp Rep -

"Hi Adrian, how's it going?" says he.

"Not bad thanks - say, how good are your wheels on the cobbles there?" (Said more as a statement than a question.

"Oh yeah, the 303's very good on the cobbled section, comparable to box section, but better when they're off the cobbles"

"No, no no - not 303's, 808's!"

"You rode 808's on the cobbles??" :shock:

Anyway - top recommendation for cobbles is Zipp 808's.

QED.

YMMV!!

AndyF16

A little OT but I only had the briefest of rides over Paris-Roubaix cobbles (the Chemin des Abbatoirs near Orchies) on an MTB before I'd ever ridden a modern road bike - Jesus wept how do the pros hammer down such surfaces on skinny wheels and tyres, especially in usual weather conditions for that race?

It was a wet day when we passed through and greasy too, but they must be totally coco loco :shock: re'spec!!