Paris-Roubaix Sportive

cruff

I'm doing PR this year (yay!) I'm Planning on riding my CAAD8 - does anyone have experience running 28c tyres on theirs? It's the 2012 model - looks like it will accomodate them, but don't actually have any 28c tyres to test with

diplodicus

Yes, I have done Paris Roubaix on a Caad 8 with Continental Gatorskins in 28mm.

My Caad 8 is either 2011 or 2010, don't know if that makes any difference.

AK_jnr

How was the Caad on the cobbles then? I would like to do it one day.

Monty Dog

Bike will be fine - whether your hands, wrists and backside can withstand the battering is more important... :-)

ugo.santalucia

The shaking is so massive that the bike hardly makes any difference. It is however good to have big tyres that don't get trapped in the gaps between cobbles and give you marginally more grip if it's wet. Tyres with a high TPI count give you a smoother ride, but it's hardly noticeable

diplodicus

AK_jnr wrote:

How was the Caad on the cobbles then? I would like to do it one day.

It was fine. Chainstays took a bit of a hiding from the chain but apart from that, all good.

It is a fabulous weekend, that I would recommend. The ride itself is brutal, but the smug sense of achievement whilst partaking in beer Saturday afternoon in the velodrome ( still in filthy cycling kit ) makes it worthwhile. Add to that getting a spot on the Arenberg on the Sunday to see it ridden properly and big screen tv and bars set up in the parking area just at the start of the Arenberg. Spot on.

cruff

That's great, cheers. Girlfriend is doing it too - we'll, the 70k route anyway. Looking forward to that smug sense of achievement - and the beers on Sunday!

mamil314

Enjoy the event, Zebs. My build for this is nearly done, i can't wait!

ugo.santalucia

zebulebu wrote:

That's great, cheers. Girlfriend is doing it too - we'll, the 70k route anyway. Looking forward to that smug sense of achievement - and the beers on Sunday!

... and the famous shower at the velodrome, which is a must... don't know how they manage it, but the water temperature is absolutely perfect

PTestTeam

ugo.santalucia wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

That's great, cheers. Girlfriend is doing it too - we'll, the 70k route anyway. Looking forward to that smug sense of achievement - and the beers on Sunday!

... and the famous shower at the velodrome, which is a must... don't know how they manage it, but the water temperature is absolutely perfect

Thats one thing i regret not doing when I did the sportive

djhermer

ugo.santalucia wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

That's great, cheers. Girlfriend is doing it too - we'll, the 70k route anyway. Looking forward to that smug sense of achievement - and the beers on Sunday!

... and the famous shower at the velodrome, which is a must... don't know how they manage it, but the water temperature is absolutely perfect

And don't be alarmed by random naked Dutch men asking you to take photos of them in the shower. At any other time in life you could well refuse. But in the roubaix showers it's acceptable.

Unless that's just me...

itboffin

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The shaking is so massive that the bike hardly makes any difference. It is however good to have big tyres that don't get trapped in the gaps between cobbles and give you marginally more grip if it's wet. Tyres with a high TPI count give you a smoother ride, but it's hardly noticeable

All of this ^^^

cruff

Cheers all. In case anyone reads this in the future, 28mm Armadillos fit fine on a 2012 CAAD8

kiteloopy

Doing it this year with about 5-6 mates. Should be fun but ive done little training, just got lazy.

Going it on the GF02 with 35"s. Did full distance flanders last year on the TMR on 23's and it was hard work!

cruff

Well that was... 'fun'. Nothing could ever prepare you for the Arenberg. Nothing.

ugo.santalucia

zebulebu wrote:

Well that was... 'fun'. Nothing could ever prepare you for the Arenberg. Nothing.

You have been initiated, you will never be the same person... you will experience cobbles withdrawal and stigmata in the form of palm blisters will appear every year in April...

You should have been warned of this, sorry!

mamil314

ugo.santalucia wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

Well that was... 'fun'. Nothing could ever prepare you for the Arenberg. Nothing.

You have been initiated, you will never be the same person... you will experience cobbles withdrawal and stigmata in the form of palm blisters will appear every year in April...

You should have been warned of this, sorry!

Zebulebu, there's always 'proper' June event, not the paltry 172km that was enough to make me struggle today!

Ugo, Vittoria 31mm tyres you prescribed served well, thanks for that. Still, I only had legs to push on about 20 of pave sectors, remaining 10 were slow and painful. Lucky with weather, though!

diplodicus

Well done glad you "enjoyed" it. Now relax with beer, frites and mayo and watch the pros.

I have missed it this year, must be ugo's cobble withdrawal! My only consolation is that I have tomorrow set aside to fettle bikes in front of Eurosport coverage.

ugo.santalucia

mamil314 wrote:

Ugo, Vittoria 31mm tyres you prescribed served well, thanks for that. Still, I only had legs to push on about 20 of pave sectors, remaining 10 were slow and painful. Lucky with weather, though!

That's the challenge innit? Keeping it going for the all duration... It's tough!

cycleclinic

I have cobbles withdrawal syndrome. Have to go back next year. It is just cobbletastic.

cruff

ugo.santalucia wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

Well that was... 'fun'. Nothing could ever prepare you for the Arenberg. Nothing.

You have been initiated, you will never be the same person... you will experience cobbles withdrawal and stigmata in the form of palm blisters will appear every year in April...

You should have been warned of this, sorry!

Haha - when they hit it today i could almost feel my hands (and arms, and shoulders, and chest) shaking...

After saying 'never again' yesterday, I might already have talked myself into doing it again next year...

diplodicus

zebulebu wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

zebulebu wrote:

Well that was... 'fun'. Nothing could ever prepare you for the Arenberg. Nothing.

You have been initiated, you will never be the same person... you will experience cobbles withdrawal and stigmata in the form of palm blisters will appear every year in April...

You should have been warned of this, sorry!

Haha - when they hit it today i could almost feel my hands (and arms, and shoulders, and chest) shaking...

After saying 'never again' yesterday, I might already have talked myself into doing it again next year...

And so it begins

ugo.santalucia

I would recommend the summer one run every other year by the Roubaix Velo club... it's a frendlier event than the ASO profit making machine

rozzer32

Did Roubaix last year and Flanders this year. Absolutely love the cobbles. Kind of tempted for the full distance one in June 2018 as like Ugo said it's only every two years.

ugo.santalucia

rozzer32 wrote:

Did Roubaix last year and Flanders this year. Absolutely love the cobbles. Kind of tempted for the full distance one in June 2018 as like Ugo said it's only every two years.

They don't do full distance from Compiegne anymore... they offer a 215 Km from Bohain en Vermendois, which has all the pave' (and more... seem to recall 30 sectors). It's plenty long enough and the approach to Troisvilles is uneventful anyway

cruff

One thing I noted - the second to last secteur (Hems) was graded at 2 stars - which was absolute b0llocks. It was a three at least, borderline four. A couple of the ratings seemed really arbitrary - for instance there was a three star a few after the Arenberg which was only 700 metres long, but it was 700 metres of hell. There was also a four star secteur along the way that was much easier than that. I guess they're graded according to the possibility of the race being wet.

Also Roubaix is an absolute abject sh1thole of a place

ugo.santalucia

zebulebu wrote:

One thing I noted - the second to last secteur (Hems) was graded at 2 stars - which was absolute b0llocks. It was a three at least, borderline four. A couple of the ratings seemed really arbitrary - for instance there was a three star a few after the Arenberg which was only 700 metres long, but it was 700 metres of hell. There was also a four star secteur along the way that was much easier than that. I guess they're graded according to the possibility of the race being wet.

Also Roubaix is an absolute abject sh1thole of a place

agree with all of that

rozzer32

zebulebu wrote:

One thing I noted - the second to last secteur (Hems) was graded at 2 stars - which was absolute b0llocks. It was a three at least, borderline four. A couple of the ratings seemed really arbitrary - for instance there was a three star a few after the Arenberg which was only 700 metres long, but it was 700 metres of hell. There was also a four star secteur along the way that was much easier than that. I guess they're graded according to the possibility of the race being wet.

Also Roubaix is an absolute abject sh1thole of a place

I think the grade the second to last sector as two stars because of all the tarmac that you can ride at the side of the pave. If they had barriers up so you had to ride the pave then I think the star rating would increase.

Haha yea we stayed in Roubaix last year and you're right. We even witnessed a fight break out between some locals outside the hotel.

mamil314

I stayed in Lille and found it and a few towns/districts ( is it a continuous town all the way? ) towards Roubaix quite neat. Cycling infrastructure between there is also sweet, you just have to seriously pelt it or nearly walk to match the green lights.

Apart for the three hardest sectors, i tried not to look too much at the star ratings and prepare for worst every time. Then, sometimes, i'd be 'pleasantly surprised' haha

I do have one regret from the event, and that's for not stopping to help a chap i saw hurtle down into 2m canal. He did not get seriously injured for it was all grass and shallow water, but he could have used a hand to get out. My excuse to myself at the time was that my legs were close to dead (well after Arenberg) and i had sort of partnered up with a guy of similar speed - who pressed on - but these seem weak now. A bit disappointed with myself.

djhermer

mamil314 wrote:

I stayed in Lille and found it and a few towns/districts ( is it a continuous town all the way? ) towards Roubaix quite neat. Cycling infrastructure between there is also sweet, you just have to seriously pelt it or nearly walk to match the green lights.

Apart for the three hardest sectors, i tried not to look too much at the star ratings and prepare for worst every time. Then, sometimes, i'd be 'pleasantly surprised' haha

I do have one regret from the event, and that's for not stopping to help a chap i saw hurtle down into 2m canal. He did not get seriously injured for it was all grass and shallow water, but he could have used a hand to get out. My excuse to myself at the time was that my legs were close to dead (well after Arenberg) and i had sort of partnered up with a guy of similar speed - who pressed on - but these seem weak now. A bit disappointed with myself.

I saw him. His mate went down there right after him too. I was just over the bridge waiting for a mate. If it makes you feel better, they were both fine and laughing. Albeit it wet. That's what happens when you ride the gutter and it gives you a double dip in quick succession. No way back.

bigmat

Riding the gutter is never risk free. I did it at Hem as I was trying to ride conservatively by this point having already destroyed my rear tyre. Managed to blow my front inner tube in a pothole - at that point it really didn't seem like a ** sector!