bonz50

personally, I think all of the current Apex/Carbon bikes to be fantastic bargains... roubaix and synapse are tops for the 'comfort' road bikes too...try em and buy the one you like best...

eta - I just bought an AL bike with Apex, first time i had even ridden Apex was the test ride, I bought the bike immediately, love the SRAM stuff...

CarolinaGuy

This is very good to see... I had heard that the 2011 was pretty big step forward and it's nice to see that confirmed.

CarolinaGuy

I haven't tried the Synapse yet, but the shop I'm working with carries both. I'm trying to work out a good time for an extended test ride on each. Thanks.

chuckstyl5

I have a Synapse with APEX and love it!!! The shifting is fantastic!!

Roderick77

Are there any Roubaix SL2 Apex riders still around? I'm thinking of buying one off Craigslist that has a stock setup and looks great.

This will be my first road bike, so I'm a little nervous about getting off to a good start. I have been wanting a 2017 Roubaix SL4 Sport until I found this for a great price ($700 or maybe less!). Didn't go with the 2017 model because no LBS around has it in stock.

I met the owner over the weekend to checkout the bike, and it'll maybe just need new tires and a good fitting at my LBS. I'll meet up with the owner again Wednesday or Thursday for a test ride, as it was pouring hard when we first met up.

Any suggestions?

--Rod

Roderick77

One more thing...the bike comes with the stock All Condition with Flak Jacket tires, 700x23c. Can anyone recommend a good and lite replacement?

rpenmanparker 

I'll never go back to Shimano. I have Red and Rival and love them.

bonz50

almost exactly 6yrs later you return to the same thread. nicely done.

neigbor of mine has a Roubaix Apex, nice bike, he's still riding the hell out of it with nary an issue. a slong as the bike is clean and cared for it should be fine.

GP4000 ii tires, 700x25, ride the piss out of it.

Grasschopper

Love a good necro. So I was one of the original posters to this thread stating that we had just bought my (now ex) wife the Ruby version. I can report that she loved the bike and it's still going strong. I put Conti GP 4 Seasons on it in 28mm to replace the stock rubber. They run a bit small so it's more like a 25mm from most companies. GP4k would be great too...but go for the 25mm in those.

Roderick77

Thanks for your input guys! I've never tried out any SRAM components, but I think I'll just dive in with this bike.

Masque

I love my 2011 SL2 Apex Comp.

But since my 2017 entered the house, I haven't ridden it more than a few miles. Just a completely unfair comparison, and I'd recommend driving to find a 2017.

Roderick77

Masque, I called the shops within 200 miles and they've sold out of their 52cm and 54cm inventory of the SL4 Sport. I'd love the Comp in any color, but it's out of my budget range by $800-$1,000, even if it were discounted to under $3,000.

I told my wife that I'd get the used one and save up $3,000+ if I really enjoy biking and stick with it. It's an easy sell if I see pounds coming off my body and I'm enjoying it at the same time. Hopefully the SL2 w/SRAM hold value for the next couple years to boost the bike budget even higher!

bonz50

I have one bike with Apex and another with Rival. I feel my Rival bike shifts/operates a little smoother than the Apex bike but both are very good. My Apex bike has Tektro brakes, the Rival brakes are significantly better, however, the Apex brakes may be better than the Tektro's also but I don't know for sure. I should put them on so they match though. both bikes have shimano 5700 cassette, 12-28. both have SRAM 1071 chains. it's probably as simple as the rival bike being dialed in a bit closer to perfect than the apex bike. good stuff, I don't think you'll regret it.

Grasschopper

In regards to SRAM in general it's what I ride. My 2012 Giant has RED shifters, YAW FD, brakes and cranks with an Apex WiFli RD. At the time SRAM didn't make a RED level WiFli RD but the differences between the levels was only material used and thus weight. APEX and Rival RD from that time were the exact same part in reality. Force added some lighter bits and RED added a few more. My 2013 Vaya is built with all Rival with the exception of the RED Yaw FD. Note about that FD...the original SRAM FD was a bit ****ty...the 2nd gen FD the YAW design is MUCH better and even though the SRAM charts say it doesn't work with the earlier shifters/cranks it in fact does work just fine.

Supralative

Just wanted to add some info as well
I just got a 2012 Roubaix Apex Compact
Its my 3rd Roubaix
2nd with SRAM Apex
Im just looking to upgrade the crankset as well....but powerspline BB leaves you with limited options
Reasearch shows you can do the threaded English BB and it opens it up abit
Gonna check with local Specialized LBS to see what options are available as well

TrojanHorse

If it's a threaded bb you have a lot of options. If I recall, they only made one model Roubaix that year with a threaded BB and I have it. (Elite, or something). GXP BB and red cranks on mine.

Supralative

Found a good deal on a new Rival compact crank with the GXP BB as well
Hopefully I can get it installed next week
Other than that the bike should be done
Will post up some pics once its all ready

bleui

good to know, I was going to start a thread about this

Supralative

GXP BB is in with new Rival OCT crankset
Saved me about 1/2lb on the bike
Havent had a chance to ride it but looks good and all