rbloem

Just picked this bike up last weekend. Great ride. I had a Giant Rapid 1 flat bar road bike before with aluminum frame and carbon fork. What I have noticed between the 2:
Way more comfort in the grips and hand postions on the Specialized. Wrist pain is gone! Don't really notice if it is smoother on the road compared to the old aluminum frame, but a way more refined beautiful ride hands down! Its like going from a civic to a Ferrari as far as overall package. Tight tight tight!! Shifting with the 105's is precise and crisp. It was a toss up between the Roubaix or a Cannondale SuperSix or a Synapse. I went with the the bike shop that I was most comfortable with. Where I live is very flat so I was told by numerous people in the know that I should go with an endurance bike over a racing bike. I agree. Its a stunner of a bike. I put my old mountain bike pedals from the Giant Rapid on the new one and they work great. I recommend this bike for those still shopping for a carbon comfort endurance road bike. It cost $2600 CDN.

reef58

Good choice. Nice looking bike. Enjoy

Campag4life

yup, good choice.
What size is that?...58 or 61? How tall are you?
Congrats

dstrong 

I'm facing a similar choice. A lot of nice bikes to choose from in that $2,000 - $2,500 range. The elite is on my list...haven't ridden one yet. Congratulations.

Somewhere in the forums are the rules for taking pictures of bikes. The garage door is supposed to be down (and preferably white...although your bike might disappear against it!) and the next most important rule is DRIVE SIDE FACES CAMERA! Now try again!

Lanceoldstrong

Welcome to the cult of Roubaix. I am a member and so are 3 of my most frequent ride partners.
Great choice.

TrojanHorse

I thought the SL4s came with that cobble gobbler seat post thing? Is yours in the mail or something?

Nice looking bike, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Smokehouse

not on that model...you have to go up the line to get the CG-R. It's a great seatpost though...I have one on my Tarmac.

OP: congrats on the bike...I'd love to have one someday...

rbloem

Its a 61. I'm 6'3 and could have went with a 58 but wanted to go bigger rather than have it just fit.

rbloem

I will get other pics soon. Thanks.

Long Tom

I have an SL4 Roubaix also. Rode it today! They are indeed a tight, refined ride.

If you feel like the read triangle is too stiff, the CG-R seatpost does work very well.

Its a crying shame you are in such a flat area! While I certainly like my bike on the flats, where it's sublime is on the hills, both climbing and descending. On climbs, the stiffness gives a tangible feeling of efficient power transmission. Mash hard climbing a steep hill, and it jumps like a Willy's in 4wd! When standing and climbing the stiffness in the headtube area is amazing. On curvy fast descents, the bike tracks like it's on a rail. Again, the stiffness.... great frame.

Ultegra 6800 brakes on the SL4 frame are incredible. If your 105 brakes ever give you a reason, swap them for 6800.

SeantheSurgeon

I am also trying to decide between the Synapse and the Roubaix. Just out of curiosity, what made you pick the Roubaix over the Synapse? I haven't had a chance to ride either yet, so I'm trying to get some opinions of people who have ridden both bikes. Oh, and congrats on the new bike!

lsberrios1 

Congrats on the bike! Ride it hard and comfy

The talk about the gobbler seems to be out there still. I think it's about time for me to replace the stiff post.

Long Tom

Well.... it sure seems to work!

How much does Specialized get for them seperately, anyway?

I haven't ridden an SL4 Roubaix without one, so I'm useless for comparing the two setups; but if I pay attention to it, I can feel the gobbler working. Mostly I don't think about it. It's pretty transparent.

Weather permitting I'm gonna put ~50 on mine tommorow!

Lanceoldstrong

I am sure the Synapse is a great bike, no doubt. I bought the Specialized Roubaix because I have a great Specialized shop nearby that floors a ton of inventory. My Trek dealer on the other hand has a small handful of bikes and "can order you whatever you want".

The Specialized shop I use also has a "take it out for a ride on the shop loop" policy. Their shop loop is 45 miles with 4,100 feet of climbing.
You really know if the bike is right for you after a ride on the shop loop.
Here is a link to their shop loop. Bike Ride Profile | 1st Ride on new bike near Santa Cruz | Times and Records | Strava

raqball

Sweet.... Nice bike!

I also had a Giant Rapid 1 (hated it) but love flat bars..

I decided to get a 2013 Specialized Sirrus Limited SL4.. It's the Roubaix SL4 frame with a flatbar and Ui2 shifting..

I was in a toss up between it and the actual Roubaix...

lsberrios1 

At $250 is not a cheap seatpost and it's quite a bit heavier as well . I'll have to give it a try when I cash in some. I think my Giant with the ISP is as smooth as it gets.

Long Tom

Yeah, plus it's ugly!

rbloem

I updated my post with pics now, so that is it.

merlinextraligh

Nice bike. Need to work on the BF school of photography. You got the white garage door right.

But, take off the dork disc, rear light, bike bag.

Flip the stem.

Right pedal at 2 o'clock, Chain on smallest cog in the back, and valve stems rotated to 6 o'clock.

10 Wheels

Fun bike....You did Good.

Hope you add a front strobe light.

robbyville

Beautiful bike and great purchase, hope you enjoy it. Since others have jumped on the posing bandwagon (and we're not even in the Hot or Not thread), time to get a wireless computer buddy!

Just kidding, have a great time with your new steed!

rbloem

Just wondering what the dork disc thing is your talking about? I agree with your other comments. It kind of kills the look doesn't it?

robbyville

Dork Disk
The round plastic dish that is mounted on the rear hub of all new bicycles. Designed to protect the wheel spokes from the chain when it jumps off the cassette.
Bobby cut off his dork disk, and when his chain jumped off the cassette, it ate the spokes on his new Mavic 819s. Ouch! Thats gonna be expensive

Also potentially preventing you from falling and suing the manufacturer. Of course if your derailleur is properly adjusted this is all moot (or as Joey would say a "moo point")

rbloem

Thanks.

merlinextraligh

My general rule of thumb is don't cut off your dork disc. If you have the tools and knowledge to be able to remove it non destructively, you likely don't need the disc. If you don't know how to remove it without cutting, you may be better off leaving it there.

So OP, contrary to my prior post which was an attempt at humor, I'd make sure that you'e comfortable with how the bike shifts, understand how to set the limit screws on the derailleur, and ride the bike for awhile before I took off the disc.