Specialized Roubaix Comp Compact 2013

musgrum

Hi all

I don't see any reviews or much written about the Specialized Roubaix Comp Compact 2013! Have any of you seen reviews, videos online about it? or got one yourself? I'm not sure I'd of paid £2500 for it but now its well under £2000 I might...

...just seems a bit odd to me (as a newish rider) that a pretty mainstream brand like spesh have zero coverage on this bike. Lack of racing geo might be a reason maybe.

Mikey23

I have the 2011 spec and I love it to bits. Not a pure racer in my opinion but for an older and less flexible person like myself it's ideal. A very comfy ride and I could stay on it all day if I had to. Some of the bike snobs on here haved dissed it because they think it's an ugly bike, presumably because of the zertz inserts .. But what do they know?

fat_cat

Have the 2013 Roubaix Elite myself, next model down from the Comp I think.

Very happy with it, certainly not an out and out racing machine, but if it's all day comfort you're after think you'd be fine with this.

unixnerd

I have a one year old Roubaix SL3 Expert with Ultegra and it's superb. Mine is the one with internal cable routing, there are quite a lot of carbon grades and internal / external routing options. It's a great bike for doing the miles, you can run the tyres at high pressure and yet still feel very little road noise. Very quick and very comfy.

Richard_D

Bought one last February and it has been my main bike over the summer completing countless rides. It is not a racer it is made for endurance. I completed over 200 miles in 3 days on it with no complaints about either the saddle or the bars. My main Criticism is I did not get on with the tyres that came with the bike but once I changed the tyres I have had no problem. I am not the only one to struggle with these tyres but others like them.

unixnerd

Which tyres did yours come with? Mine had the Roubaix Pro tyres and I like them so much I've put a set on one of my other bikes too.

Grenouille

I got the Roubaix Elite 2013 this year, over 2000 miles done and I cannot fault it, bloody lovely bike!

Mikey23

@unixned... Not sure what they were, some black and white jobbies that made a lot of road noise and quite prone to punctures. As soon as I could justify it, they got changed to gatorskins. I don't think the chain was top quality either. Didn't last very long and changed to a proper 105 which is lasting forever

littledove44

Thats my exact bike. Bought this year. changed to GP4000s tires and love it. Not sure whether to perhaps put 25mm or even 28mm tires this season though.
[/URL]

unixnerd

I like the matt black frame. My SL3 has a gloss black and white scheme that's about the only thing I dislike on the bike.

I'd run 25s as they have lower rolling resistance than 23s. No point in anything more as the frame soaks up vibration so well that 28s are just extra weight.

I believe that the less expensive models come with Specialized Espoir tyres and the dearer ones run on the Roubaix or Roubaix Pro tyres. The latter are termed a 23/25 tyre by Specialized as the have the profile of a 23 with the comfort of a 25 supposedly. They're light at about 240g and as they're a folding tyre I find I can fit them without tyre levers. Traction is good and I've never punctured on either of the two bikes I run them on.

deswahriff

I picked up the 2012 model in jan this year for £1600...very pleased with it indeed after 2.5k miles, a huge improveemnt over the old Orbea Aqua...smoother riding (I don't get the road buzz in the hands any more), quicker to respond, very very comfy( i no longer need to flip the stem for this ageing back)...oh and I love the matt black!
..wheels weren't great tho, now replaced with hand builts (H plus Son archetype rims) which have made a big difference. and a Selle Italia saddle, purely personal preference, and a pair of Ultegra calipers to replace the 105's for no other reason than to satisfy the OCD in me --I'll get round to the front mech another time...!!

littledove44

deswahriff wrote:

I picked up the 2012 model in jan this year for £1600...very pleased with it indeed after 2.5k miles, a huge improveemnt over the old Orbea Aqua...smoother riding (I don't get the road buzz in the hands any more), quicker to respond, very very comfy( i no longer need to flip the stem for this ageing back)...oh and I love the matt black!
..wheels weren't great tho, now replaced with hand builts (H plus Son archetype rims) which have made a big difference. and a Selle Italia saddle, purely personal preference, and a pair of Ultegra calipers to replace the 105's for no other reason than to satisfy the OCD in me --I'll get round to the front mech another time...!!

As I have the same bike I am interested in what you have done about wheels. Can you be more specific on why the new ones are better? I am happy to spend the money, but am not sure I would tell the difference.

Thanks.

deswahriff

..I found the old ones "ponderous" ...initially even a tyre change improved the feel and definitely my confidence when cornering and descending, but the new wheels transformed the bike to what, at its full price, it should be in the first place.
There's lots of jargon folks using when describing wheels, and to be honest, I never thought it would work for me, but I immediately found it easier to accelerate (spin up to speed, I guess) better riding (faster rolling?), and climbing out of the saddle I actually feel I'm going somewhere, rather than just surviving....basically its just made everything that bit easier/faster....I know its not scientific, but I was immediately clocking pb's for all my usual Strava segments without really trying...
..now these are £300 wheels, so not mega-bucks in the big picture of things, but definitely the best investment I've made.

littledove44

deswahriff wrote:

..I found the old ones "ponderous" ...initially even a tyre change improved the feel and definitely my confidence when cornering and descending, but the new wheels transformed the bike to what, at its full price, it should be in the first place.
There's lots of jargon folks using when describing wheels, and to be honest, I never thought it would work for me, but I immediately found it easier to accelerate (spin up to speed, I guess) better riding (faster rolling?), and climbing out of the saddle I actually feel I'm going somewhere, rather than just surviving....basically its just made everything that bit easier/faster....I know its not scientific, but I was immediately clocking pb's for all my usual Strava segments without really trying...
..now these are £300 wheels, so not mega-bucks in the big picture of things, but definitely the best investment I've made.

Excellent. Could you send me more details on them so I can have a look online please.

deswahriff

I got mine from here
http://www.dcrwheels.co.uk/
..because he's fairly local. I've no doubt there are other equally good wheel-builders around, but couldn't fault the service and product i got...

unixnerd

The comment about wheels are dead on. I put 1500g Pro-Lite Braccianos on mine at a cost of 189 but they're nearer 300 now. Anything around 1500g weight is ideal. Things like Mavic Ksyrium Elite, Shimano RS-80 (they were under 300 at ribble recently), etc.

Mikey23

Shouldn't have read this... Am thinking wheels now