The Road to PBP (and other stuff)

The bike: 2007 Specialized Roubaix Expert with SRAM Rival. I test rode a lot of bikes before settling on this one. Initially I was keen on a titanium frame, but while the Ti bikes were springy and lively, nothing compared to the Roubaix for soaking up road vibration on a long ride.

The frame:

• Vibration-absorbing carbon fiber takes the sting out of those nasty New England potholes.
• More upright geometry keeps the back from spasming on longer rides.
• The pro/expert line of Roubaix bikes is supposed to be more durable than the other lines (although slightly heavier than the S-Works line).
• Aluminum-alloy handlebars (rather than carbon fiber) allow a handlebar bag.
• Unfortunately, there’s no room for proper fenders. I’ve found that race blades are a marginally-acceptable substitute in rainy conditions.

The Component Group:

• I’ve put about 4000 miles on my SRAM Rival group (as of September 2007), including 73 hours of near-continuous riding and rain at PBP, and so far I’m very pleased.
• The good:
  • Crisp shifting that doesn’t need adjustment even when the bike is torn-down for travel, gets filled with grit, or soaked with rain.
  • Cross-chaining works very well. I regularly ride on the biggest chainring and in the biggest rear cog without a problem.
  • Comfortable hoods, and very intuitive and ergonomic shifter.
  • Brakes work well with no squeaks.
  • Great compact setup: 36-50 up front and 11-26 on the back give a nice range of gears for the New England area.
• The bad
  • When your hands are cold and wet, it can be difficult to shift “up” to a bigger cog, because the throw is so long (you need to sweep past the “down-shift” point to begin up-shifting).
  • The finish on the brifters has lost its luster and is looking worn where my fingers sit. Not a real problem, just a cosmetic thing I noticed.
  • The open-glide cassette initiates a little too freely if you don’t set the rear derailleur far enough “down” toward the smallest cog. But if you set it up right, it works great indefinitely (as far as I can tell).
  • The SRAM Rival cassette does not work with the Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 10-speed hub. This is despite the fact that (a) some claim the SRAM cassettes are compatible with all modern Shimano hubs, and (b) all of Shimano’s 10-speed hubs are compatible with the 7800 hub! I hope it’s only a matter of time before SRAM rectifies this problem….

Other touches:

• Brooks team pro saddle. Takes a while to break-in, but so smooth it really reduces chaffing. I’ve put in quite a few long rides without a single saddle-sore so far.
• Schmidt dynomo hub, with a Schmidt E6 light. I can’t say enough good things about this setup. The hub has negligible rolling resistance when the light is off, and the resistance with the light on is an acceptable trade for never having to carry batteries.
• Carradice Cadet saddlebag. A great way to haul things around without having to attach anything to the frame.
• Speedplay Frog cleats with mountain bike shoes to facilitate keeping your balance when not on the bike.
• A Garmin 70CSx. This gizmo is great. It’s a bike computer without having to put a magnet on the wheels. It lets you trace your route on Google Earth. And if you program it right, it will even get you where you want to go. HOWEVER, if you ride over a lot of chip-seal roads, it may shut itself off due to battery vibration. I believe that some folks online have found solutions to this problem, but I haven’t had time to work one out myself yet.