sleepy

.... Yeah... Think I'll be okay sticking with retro-grouchy bikes and fixies..

CliffordK

I wonder if the big bike manufacturers know, or even really care how long some of the top of the line bicycles last.

Planned obsolescence?

I'd bet 90% of the old Schwinn Varsities have ended up as scrap metal. Although that would still leave millions on the road.

However, I have to wonder if a great number of the vintage racing bicycles have actually survived for a half century. Not really much of a stimulus to toss them. In fact, that may alter the Varsity vs Paramount ratio quite considerably.

The point is... Specialized may wish to ignore the old bikes as soon as the next best thing comes out, but the riders may well be riding them for a good long time.

dezellis

Hi,
I have the Roubaix Comp 2017 less than 9 months old but just over 9,000 miles

Both headset bearings have failed rusty. I have stripped them down completely, cleaned, re-greased and re-assembled they are usable but rotation is not smooth due to rust pitted ball bearings. The headset bearings are identical but unique and I am unable to purchase replacements as there have been none in stock for the last 3 months.

The Future Shock Cartridge became noisy and not moving smoothly. I have completely stripped this down and it was full of rust the inner section of the cartridge rides on small roller bearings mounted in a plastic housing which fits over the inner section of the cartridge and inside the outer section of the cartridge. I have cleaned this but the roller bearings are pitted with rust also the wear surfaces of the inner cartridge are pitted with rust. The outer cartridge has three small strips of metal fitted as the wear surface and these are pitted also. I turned the strips over as the other side was not as badly pitted. Re-greased and re-assembled still not smooth due to rust pitted roller bearings and wear surfaces but usable. I am unable to find replacements for sale.

I have contacted Specialized in the UK asking for replacements but don't expect much.

The worst problem is the top clamp which holds the future shock cartridge in place in the fork, this clamp contains the tensioning arrangement for the headset. The clamp has a barrel nut mounted inside the clamp. The clamp broke at the barrel nut mount during use a pothole which released all tension causing complete loss of steering and allowing the handlebars and future shock cartridge to just lift out of the fork. Luckily I retained control. I have been able to find a workaround for the clamp by using a longer Allen stud and mounting the barrel nut outside the clamp. Once again I cannot find the clamps for sale.

The bike was great and it would be again if I could obtain replacements but I would never purchase another future shock bike they are just too fragile and much too unique.

Regards
Dez Ellis

Dirt Farmer

The ironic part? Specialized will end up suing someone over this.

CliffordK

9000 miles in 9 months... whew, that is a lot of riding!!!

I'm surprised you aren't finding replacement parts, although frequently companies will sell entire units, rather than selling sub-units.

Disassembly photos would be nice.

If you have caged bearings that have gone bad, there are two possible solutions.

One is that it may be possible to pop the bearings out of the cages and pop new bearings in. A bit of work, but it should be OK if the cages aren't mangled.

The other is to replace caged bearings with loose bearings, using grease to hold everything together during assembly.

sirkaos

I might have a different thought to suggest. But it starts with this 500 requirement that supposedly came from Specialized through the OP' LBS. I have seen no documentation, no supporting evidence that this is actually a requirement. I checked with my LBS and they had never heard of this requirement. I will call next week and see what the story is. That is the first line of thought I had. Lets actually verify that this 500 hour requirement is true.
Second, the whole reason why a scheduled replacement is put in place is that there is evidence of wear that cause a malfunction or decreased performance of the FS. When I completely took my headset apart and inspected the future shock, I saw absolutely no signs of wear on anything. No spring wear, no chafe marks, no radial indications of load wear. Take into account that the Roubaix can be ridden gravel or road, obviously, scheduled maintenance would be based on taking the use into account.
Some of the negative posts that you have read are from people who have NEVER owned a Roubaix with a FS. Take their opinions with a grain of salt. I would encourage anyone owning this product to go to the source and get documented instructions and factory advice. I have 5K on my Roubaix and it works perfectly and I am well beyond this comment about a 500 hour R and R of the FS cartridge.

sirkaos

Oh great!!, your back with your "thoughts" and "contributions", i was really wondering if C4L would purchase a Roubaix with a FS...
Sigh....

Campag4life

Sirkasos, you have to keep in mind you are one guy, a guy who really likes his FS Roubaix and hasn't had any issues. Others have had shock failures and noise. They aren't peering through the same lens as you in spite of owning the same bike. That is why this thread came into be, people struggling with the product. No you haven't and therefore don't share their view.

Will give you a hypothetical. Let's say, the supplier of the FS to Specialized...Spesh doesn't make that assembly in house...the supplier uses 3 different sources for bearings to support the volume of the FS based upon its popularity. 1 of the 3 suppliers lacks adequate incoming inspection of bearings. Bearings as a result do not have the heat treat and therefore hardness which relates to durability and corrosion resistance of the other two suppliers. Owners unfortunate to purchase bikes with this FS may struggle more with it.

I think you can understand. Same bike design, different experience. Hypothetical.

No, I would never buy a FS Roubaix or Diverge. I prefer a solid steerer and a bit more tire and less pressure if riding rougher venues. I have ridden the bike and don't like suspension of the handlebar. Personal preference.

I have ridden a fair amount off road and XC Mtb racing bikes even on road where I lock the shock out. I generally prefer riding mtb's like a 29er rigid with the narrowest tire possible based upon the severity of the terrain. I like the control of a direct attachment of the handlebar to the steerer and select the tires to provide the compliance and footprint I need.

Something is going on with some FS bikes. I was going to post a tutorial of how to differentiate between the shock degrading versus the set up of the bike and contributors to rattle but that thread was closed and riders didn't step forward requesting more insight anyway.

I understand your indignation to a bike you love being thrown under the bus based upon a condition you either don't believe and personally haven't experienced. Lets say the vast majority of FS Roubaixs are flawless which may indeed be the case. Some make noise and/or the shock is freezing up a bit. Rider variation and of course environmental differences are a big contributor as well. Some ride repeatedly in the rain and to me if the shock isn't taken apart and periodically regreased and ridden a lot in foul weather, it will likely degrade quickly...not unlike BB30 Press Fit bearings if ridden a lot in the rain and not serviced.

OldTryGuy

There could be 123,000 unhappy Tesla owners, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/tesl...e-reports.html who spent a wee bit more than the cost of a Roubaix. I recall reading about a recall for some Prevost motor coaches Prevost Motor Coach Steering Arm Recall | BigRigVin in that $2,000,000.00 area.

BTW, still no issues with my 2018 Roubaix Expert

Hiro11

I know people who love the Futureshock, it apparently works as advertised. ~$85 for maintenance every year or two on a several thousand dollar cutting edge bike strikes me as not a big deal. If you're worried about parts availability, buy a couple spares. Also, people buying this kind of bike will likely not be holding onto it for 10+ years.

For me personally, I see more appeal in something like a steel single speed with tubed clinchers and simple sidepull brakes.

Campag4life

Not necessarily. Unconfirmed the clunk is coming exclusively from the shock...albeit perhaps the majority of rattles are from the shock but this remains to be proven. A troubleshooting flowchart could be established to narrow in on where the clunk is coming from for a given bike.

sirkaos

There seems to be one person in this thread who I wont even bother quoting because it is just noise, white noise. I would encourage anyone who is wondering about the FS to go to their LBS and talk to their senior techs. More than one LBS. I am only one person, but my experience is this: I have over 5K over rough and broken roads in SoCal. Yesterday was 65 miles and 5k in climbing and fast decent above 40mph. That is a typical ride.
If you are considering the Roubaix with the FS, and the geometry fits you as well as the features. Call Specialized and ask them questions, ask for supporting documents if possible. I have taken my FS apart. I can speak from experience and I have a technical background that involves detailed inspections, so that puts me maybe in a position that I can speak with a few more details that some folks may find helpful. DO NOT BELIEVE these tag alongs who are running up their post count, that dont even own a FS bike. They are just regurgitating what they have read else where, which may or may not hold water. I am not discounting anyone's issues here, but I would encourage specific experiences with data, pictures and most importantly FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE. If you want to believe any unsupported post in this thread or any other thread, feel free, but i prefer to go to the source, documented evidence, manufacturers instructions.
I am supremely happy with the product and no wear issues at all as well as fantastic performance. No Hypothetical unsupported comments here. But I am only one person. Do your research and come to your own conclusions based on fact. Cheers and safe riding.

Campag4life

No you are discounting other people's issues...in bold above....and yes, you are only one person here...in bold again... but beating the drum loudly for the unimpeachable performance of FS when others have not had the same experience.
Enjoy your bike though. FS is another name for a Press Fit bottom bracket. Some have nothing but great luck with PF and others struggle mightily with it. Same bike, different owner. You should be able to grasp the concept.

What remains unclear and I believe will be sorted out...is if all or vast majority of noise issues associated with FS are the shock itself...OR...hardware interaction based upon poor adjustment. No question poor adjustment in some instances is coloring people's experience. Same for a Press fit BB btw.

cb400bill

Let's agree to disagree and now move on.

GeneO 

Here we go again. Wonder how long before the lock on this one because of some of the same proselytizers just go on and on.

Slick Madone

Still loving my FS pair of Roubaix bikes. No problems to report.

Seems like a lot of bias in here.

sirkaos

How many miles and what kind of riding do you do?

dezellis

When I do manage to obtain a replacement I will strip the original Future Shock again and provide photos.
9000 miles is quite a lot of riding as you say. I have dropped my target from 15000 annual miles to 12000 this year to get a some rest and recovery days in but I have done 45000 miles over the last three years

Poonjabby

Has anyone actually seen any documentation on the 500 hour replacement? 500 hours seems like an odd number given the two completely different markets for the Diverge and the Roubaix. Diverge marketed at the gravel world would require changing a lot more than the Roubaix targeted at the old dudes like me. I own two Roubaix's neither with the FS. FS just seemed like a marketing gimmick to me.


Poon

Slick Madone

My average ride can be anywhere from 35-45 miles. Mostly limited by free time.

The FS has made a tremendous difference in ride comfort. I just recently picked up a Venge and was able to squeeze in some 28's Turbo cottons. It doesn't match the Roubaix in comfort, by any stretch.

Slick Madone

You should ride one and see for yourself.

firebird854

I read this as "500 miles" not hours and was absolutely disgusted for a few minutes...

Slick Madone

I have see no where anything official and at this point, all of this is speculation on the part of people who don't own one.

Witterings

Except there are a few comments saying when they queried it with their LBS they contacted Specialized who confirmed it so unless they're making it up ......

Surprised at how aghast people are with whether it's quoted in hours or miles ... take your average mph and multiply it by 500 will give you the number of miles if that's what you're prefer to work with .... I can't believe it's an exact either and that at 500 hrs and 1 minute it's going to fall apart ..... just an approximate guide to start being aware if you're having any issues or if you prefer preventative maintenance.

When were the 1st FS systems released on other bikes ... I'd be more concerned it was estimated as 500 hrs but they only actually lasted 200 hrs but if FS has been around for a while on alternative bikes there must be an indication of how well they last by now?

That said I came across this thread as I'm about to buy my 1st gravel bike .... one of these was probably top of the list and not really considering much else but having seen this thread I will look more closely at alternatives before making a decision as I'd like less rather than more maintenance out of choice.
I'd also be buying it with a view to having it for years and would be concerned about backwards compatibility of upgrades which will inevitably come as most manufacturers I think would prefer to steer you towards buying a new bike in a few years time if they can.

OldTryGuy

Have had my 2018 Roubaix Expert since late last year and no problem so far. I asked LBS about issue after reading about it, they checked with Specialized and confirmed. LBS owner said WHEN TIME ARRIVES we will service bike together before or after store hours.

As far as ride quality, I rode my 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL for 63 HARD miles yesterday morning and enjoyed every mile. Great cycling bud texted me about a 6PM ride yesterday and asked if I wanted to go. Not yet done with the HARD 63 miler I responded "will have to see how this old man feels" and left it at that. After getting home and relaxing I decided it was a go but would ride the heavier Roubaix. As soon as I hopped on, it was a night and day ride comfort difference and rode another 25 hard miles with the group then 15 more on my own for a 103 miler for the day.

Will be riding the Roubaix on this Sunday's 167 mile 2018 Cross Florida......https://spacecoastfreewheelers.com/xfl/