Paris Roubaix sportive - wheels and tyres required

feakster64

As a relitive novice undertaking my first sportives - Ronde Van Vlanderen on the 2.4.2011 and then the Paris Roubaix the following week, Im aware that the Pavé sections can make or break the challenge of completion.

I currently ride a Planet X Pro carbon which has a stiff suspension

Any suggestions on whether I should be changing my wheels from Dura Ace to something else and similarly tyre suggestions - will I wreck these expensive wheels ?

All comments welcome

Wooliferkins

I rode my Campag Vento's with 25mm Gatorskins on the sensibly priced biannual version organised by the Roubaix club. With hindsight maybe 28s otherwise no problems. The route will batter you more than the bike if ridden sensibly. Just because they're expensive doesn't make them weak. (Apologies if you're not from the expensive means made of eggshells club)

feakster64

Wooliferkins wrote:

I rode my Campag Vento's with 25mm Gatorskins on the sensibly priced biannual version organised by the Roubaix club. With hindsight maybe 28s otherwise no problems. The route will batter you more than the bike if ridden sensibly. Just because they're expensive doesn't make them weak. (Apologies if you're not from the expensive means made of eggshells club)

cheers for that - I will be riding sensibly; completion is the goal, nothing else!

the wheels are great and took me up the cobbled climbs in Oudenarde a few weeks ago without any problems but it was only small steep sections (Middenburg, Koppelberg etc) but 32 km of cobbles is a real battering!!

not sure if I am looking forward to it, depends on how the Ronde Van Vlanderen goes the week before - I could be bighting off more than I can chew given that I am new to this but it is booked and paid for so Im in regardless.

dulldave

You might get a better response if you ask this in the Sportives forum. If you have cheaper wheels I'd use them instead.

Your Dura-Ace ones might not be necessarily weak but using cheaper ones will save wear and tear on an expensive set of wheels.

Monty Dog

No you won't wreck expensive wheels - fit the widest tyres you can e.g. 25mm or even 28mm and run them at a moderate pressure i.e. 5-6 bar. FWIW Flemish cobbles are nothing like as severe as the 5* sections on P-Rx i.e. Arenberg or Carrefour. Your hands and wrists take the biggest battering - double bar tape and good mitts are essential

Croxted Avenger

Your wheels will probably be ok...but if you do break a spoke its game over. On trad 32s or 36s you've got the option of loosening off the brakes and carrying on.

Done the full distance *proper* P-R sportive (as excellently organised by the Velo Club de Roubaix Cyclotourisme) and heres my advice.

#28mm GP 4 Seasons if your frame will fit. If not then pick a good 25mm tyre. If you can only get a 28 in the fork but not rear triangle do that, the front of the bike is really the bit you should worry about most in P-R. Some riders are running GP4 28s as low as 55psi but personally I wouldn't go lower than 75 as I'm a big lad.

#The 3 really fierce sections are the 5*s - Arenberg, Mens en Pevele, Carrefour. Don't bother trying to ride Arenberg, Arenberg might as well be labelled as 8* such is the ferocity of the pave. 99.9% of riders ride up thee dirt path to the side. If you can hit Arenberg at 30mph and hold most of your speed whilst manically scanning 50 feet ahead trying to pick a line through the mess then great. Ride the whole Arenberg and you'll get in the local paper. Pevele and Carrefour not so bad really, Pevele is long and twisty with a few off cambers, Carrefour is worst right at the end near the cafe.

#Ride ALL pave in the drops - try and get as much weight as possible over the front to pin it down and limit the madness.

#Don't bother with double wrap tape or fancydan spesh or fizik offerings. A small section of neoprene from a 49p tesco mousemat, say 2x10cm gaffer taped to the upward facing flat section of the drops will help your hands and arms no end. Clubmates too the p155 but it really works.

#If it rains up to 5 days before borrow a cross bike. The last two sportives (08 and 10) featured mucho mud.
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