Roubaix sl4

The Roubaix name comes from roubaix sl4 infamous Paris-Roubaix race that cuts across the landscape of northern France, covering km with approximately 53km of that taking place on rough cobbled roads. But how effective is their frame design and is it all just a gimmick? To read our first ride review of the new model, roubaix sl4, click here: Specialized Roubaix first ride review.

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Roubaix sl4

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You can trust Cyclingnews Our experts spend countless hours testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test. This article originally appeared on BikeRadar. The latest Roubaix SL4 is by far and away the best yet. The frame is a little more aggressive than previous versions and its Zertz seatstays and forks seem to be actively suppressing the sort of surface vibrations that cause fatigue and numbness in your palms on bikes that offer less cushioning. Highs: Smoothness, stability and great handling Lows: Mediocre kit and it's heavy for the money Buy if: You want a quality chassis and are prepared to upgrade. Specialized has integrated the disc brakes well into the carbon chassis. It hasn't just bolted on — or bonded on — mounts and removed the caliper mounts. It has also reworked the internal routing, which allows it to slide hydraulic lines through the frame — though this entry-level model comes with cable discs. The front brake line is clipped to the fork's leading edge, the Zertz inserts making it hard to run an internal line.

Roubaix sl4

While the geometry and positioning says "endurance bike", the rest of the bike screams "race me", with a rigid backbone, an impressively low weight, and a ride quality that's likely firmer than you expect — for better or worse. Specialized has hardened up its flagship Roubaix considerably for this year, setting aside its previous Barcalounger-like glide in favor of one that's surprisingly two-faced. On the one hand, it utterly erases any hint of road texture or buzz and feels more like you're riding an air hockey puck made of butter on a red-hot table. Seriously, on even moderately good pavement this thing is smooth. If vibration was like a field of greens, this new Roubaix is like some guy with a machete who's hopped up on caffeine and speed. Yet for all the bike's remarkable ability to gloss over smaller imperfections, the frame is much harsher on washboarded dirt roads, potholes, and frost heave than previous Roubaix iterations. But, unfortunately, there's no corresponding aid up front. It's almost as though that air hockey puck made of butter is gliding across the table only to be violently whacked right back at you. Mind you, this seemingly disjointed ride quality isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on your wants and needs. The trade-off for that firmer ride is a far sharper personality than before in terms of pedaling responsiveness and handling precision.

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Remember Me. The bottom bracket is quite low too, which, when combined with the mm chainstays, gives the bike a longer-than-usual wheelbase, making for a very stable ride; perfect for the rough roads the bike was designed for. Because the bike comes stock with a Specialized Romin Body Geometry Gel with center cutout, it wasn't hard to access that bolt. It does a great job soaking up road buzz and delivers a comfortable all-day ride. Full credit to Specialized. More from this author View All. These inserts are made from a viscoelastic polymer that act as dampers, so they absorb vibrations from the road before they reach your body. Same goes for the stock November 23, Cyclist Newsletter News, features, offers, competitions and events. Subscribe to Cyclist Magazine. The Specialized Roubaix SL4 easily passed our wide tire test see photos below , and it's clear we could have gone wider.

A carbon frame endurance bike with mid-range components and rim brakes.

But how effective is their frame design and is it all just a gimmick? Money has to be saved somewhere and the wheels and tyres are fairly basic Axis items. See an introduction to the test here and head over to our Shootout Round-Up Page to read the rest of the reviews. The gigantic - and often polarizing - U. The Roubaix SL4 also loses points for its broken groupset. Come join the discussion about bike parts, components, deals, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more! The tyres are Specialized Espoir Elite. Written By: Jason Sumner. It's a novel approach to frame design and one we're fans of. But if you swapped on a saddle without a cut-out, things would get a little tricky.