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Roubaix tech: Wider is better
There can be no below-average equipment at Paris-Roubaix. It simply won't survive. Everything that makes it to the start line has been tested by teams, vetted by their classics riders and expert mechanics. The theme over the last few years has been growth — tires are getting bigger (though they seem to be capped at about 30mm) and frames are being designed with extra clearance. Many teams are on tires wide enough to be used in cyclocross, but with thinner, smoother road tread. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Special brakes
These non-series Shimano brakes provide a bit of extra tire clearance at the brake bridge, allowing the team to run 30mm tires with room to spare. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Micro-adjust
Cannondale-Garmin mechanics Geoff Brown and Alex Banyay add these front derailleur micro-adjusters to each bike. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Chainrings
A 53/44 tooth chainring combination for Roubaix rookie Ruben Zepuntke. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Gluing tires
There is little downtime for a pro mechanic at Roubaix. Once the race bikes are prepped, it's back to gluing tires for upcoming races. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Kristoff's bike
Look familiar? It should. Alexander Kristoff stuck with his Canyon Aeroad aero road bike, the one he used to win the Tour of Flanders last week, for the bigger, nastier cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Synapes
Cannondale-Garmin's Synapse frames ready to roll. The tall head tubes on these endurance frames mean that most pros have to run -17 degree stems to get the right position. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Chain keeper
SRAM front derailleurs come with a chain keeper. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: WiFli derailleur
Ag2r La Mondiale had long-cage SRAM WiFli rear derailleurs. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Carbon rims
Carbon rims are now the standard. Up until 2008, they were never used at Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Sagan sprint shifter
Sagan runs a sprint shifter on his drops. The button on the right side shifts to a harder gear, and the button on the left to an easier gear. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Two bikes for Sagan
Peter Sagan went with a risky bike-change strategy on Sunday. He started on this Specialized Tarmac with 24mm tires and then swapped to a Roubaix with 30mm rear and 28mm front tires after the first sector of pavé, which comes 98km in. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Oakleys
Oakley had new shades on its sponsored riders this week. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Cheat sheet
Every rider has a cheat sheet listing the important cobblestone sectors. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Van Avermaet chainrings
Van Avermaet rode a 53/44 chainring combination. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Van Avermaet shifter
The Di2 climbing shifter allows for rear shifting from the tops. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Brake lever
The in-line rear brake lever allows for more control while riding in the tops. It's surprisingly difficult to simply move one's hands from the tops to the hoods while on the pavé, and this setup means that Van Avermaet never has to. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Granfondo RBX
Greg Van Avermaet rode this BMC Granfondo RBX to third place in Sunday's Paris-Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Rings
The big ring and small ring aren't so different. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Dropouts
Endurance frames, designed for comfort over the long haul, are full of kinks and angles intended to allow for extra flex. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Wilier
Tire clearance is an issue for many teams. There's plenty here, but on a wet day teams often have to downsize their tires a bit to make room for the mud. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Handlebars
No extra padding for this UnitedHealthcare rider. Some prefer a thinner bar, as they feel it's easier to hang on to. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Race number
A zip-tie adds security to the number plate holder. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: K-Edge
UHC uses K-Edge chain keepers as well. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Spare wheels
The only metal wheels spotted all day were these spares near the Bora-Argon18 bus. Carbon has taken over. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Haussler cockpit
Di2 shifters were found on the tops of Heinrich Haussler's bars. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Old-school brakes
We saw an old 7800-series Dura-Ace brake on the back of an Orica-GreenEdge team bike. Why? Probably a clearance issue. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Homemade sector list
Cannondale-Garmin had hand-written sector sheets. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Cannodale line-up
Big tires all around for the Cannondale-Garmin squad. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Cantilevers
The days of crazy bike setups at Roubaix are mostly over, but some riders will still pull out a cyclocross bike for the pavé. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Custom number holder
A custom number holder was epoxied onto the seatpost of this Team Sky bike. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Bottle cages
Losing a bottle isn't a nuisance, it could end a race. Getting feeds is far more difficult in the chaos of Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Grip tape
Sky employs the same grip tape trick used by many teams. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: K-Edge again
Sky uses K-Edge chain keepers as well. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: K8
The new Pinarello K8 has rear suspension. It's not particularly sophisticated, just a simple elastomer that relies on chain stay flex for its movement (a similar design was used by Trek in 2005, and on mountain bikes since the early 1990s) but the cobbles are not particularly sophisticated, either. Sometimes simple works. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Sky shocks
On this Pinarello frame, which has a small shock, '300L' refers to the elastomer used. Lighter riders were on 295, heavier riders on 300. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Ultegra cassette
Team Sky used Ultegra cassettes for race day. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Crowded bars
It can be difficult to get from the tops to the hoods or drops while on the pavé, so some riders run extra brake levers and shifters. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Extra tape
Three wraps of bar tape were necessary for this rider. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Girthy
We measured 14.7cm around the tops of this rider's bars. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Thick tape
The pavé hurt. Most riders finish with blisters, bruised palms, or worse. Some, like this Cofidis rider, try to tackle the problem with extra cushion on the bars. These are wrapped three times, and measure 15cm around at the tops. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Tight gear ratios
Gear ratios are tight for Roubaix's flat course. Most riders run a standard 53-tooth big ring with either a 44- or 46-tooth small ring. The two are so close together it can appear as if a rider is using a single ring. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: More grip tape
A Lotto-Soudal mechanic adds a bit of grip tape to the inside of the team's Tacx bottle cages. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Dual-mount K-Edge
A dual-mount K-Edge chain catcher was used on Lotto-Soudal's new Ridley Fenix frames. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Car tech
Cars get Roubaix treatment, too. Most are jacked up a few inches, and a skid plate is added to the underside. Many teams run bigger tires, too. Cars still get flats, and occasionally lose an oil pan to the pavé. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Lengthy cue sheet
Stickers on a rider's top tube or stem indicate the kilometer markers for each sector, so riders know what's coming. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
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Roubaix tech: Integrated chain catcher
Chain keepers are common at Roubaix. The Trek Domane has one built into the frame; other teams mount them to the front derailleur. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com
The post Gallery: Technical preparation for Paris-Roubaix appeared first on VeloNews.com.
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