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Race tech: Paris-Roubaix, April 11, 2009
An early look at the bikes of Paris-Roubaix
By James Huang in Compiègne, France
Subtle tweaks for Rabobank Giants
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Rabobank sponsor Giant have adopted a familiar formula for the team's TCR Advanced SL ISP bikes at this year's Paris-Roubaix. Special aluminum dropouts extend the effective chain stay length by 7mm for additional tire clearance and more stability while new alloy fork tips with an extra 7mm of rake do the same up front. The forks themselves also have a slightly altered shape to confer a smoother ride while on the pave.
Most of the team will use Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 components though Sebastian Langeveld and Joost Posthuma will set off on the electronic Di2 version. On those bikes, the wires are routed internally through the frame courtesy of a pair of team-only access holes and the battery is mounted to two dedicated rivnuts on the non-driveside chain stay.
There are few surprises when it comes to the rest of the team's gear. Standard 32-hole Dura-Ace hubs are laced with Sapim butted stainless steel spokes and brass nipples to Ambrosio Nemesis aluminum box-section rims for a lightweight yet durable set of wheels that also yield more predictable braking performance than carbon. Wrapped around them are Vittoria's popular Pavé EVO-CG tubulars with a fat 27mm casing and slight file tread.
All of the team bikes we spotted were fitted with 53/44T chainrings and 11-23T cassettes to suit Paris-Roubaix's flat and fast course.
Total weight for Langeveld's bike is 7.58kg (16.71lb).
BBOX Bouygues Telecom expecting bad weather?
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While most of the teams seem to be pulling out only slightly modified road bikes – or even just their standard rigs with cobble-specific wheels and tires – BBOX Bouygues Telecom riders were preparing to attack the course on full-blown mud machines.
We noted ample tire clearance throughout on the team's carbon framesets along with significantly extended chain stay, seat stay and fork lengths as compared to their usual road bikes. TRP EuroX Carbon cantilevers with carbon-specific pads were fitted at either end along with supplemental top-mount brake levers while top tube-routed cables keep control lines relatively safe from contamination.
Gearing is of the usual Paris-Roubaix variety with leg-busting 53/48T chainrings and 11-23T cassettes. Interestingly, team bikes were equipped with 10-speed Campagnolo Record, not the latest 11-speed stuff. The roughly 25mm-wide 'Michelin' Pro2 Race tubulars (Michelin doesn't actually make tubulars so these obviously come from elsewhere) continue the worst case scenario theme but interestingly, they were mounted to standard Campagnolo Bora Ultra wheels complete with deep-section carbon tubular rims.
Française des Jeux goes tubeless
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We've long thought that Hutchinson's Road Tubeless technology was an ideal technology for Paris-Roubaix's tire-eating cobbles but it is only now that one team, Française des Jeux, has decided to use them across the board on race day.
Team mechanics were seen replacing the team's usual 23mm-wide Hutchinson Fusion 2 Road Tubeless tires with massive 28mm-wide Hutchinson Intensive Road Tubeless tires the Saturday before the race. The design is already inherently more resistant to catastrophic punctures than traditional clinchers – and nearly as safe as tubulars if a rider does completely lose pressure – and the team went one step further by adding in some latex sealant.
Most of the team will opt for Lapierre S-Lite frameset with its more generous chain stay length, fork rake and wheelbase for a more subdued handling and flattened chain stays and curved seat stays for additional flex over the cobbles. Additional tweaks include a higher rear brake bridge and longer fork blades for additional tire clearance, thus requiring long-reach brake calipers.
Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 componentry – and just a smattering of select 7800 bits – will be used throughout save for Matthieu Ladagnous who will use Di2. 53/44T chainrings and 11-23T cassettes will be the theme for the day.
Silence-Lotto's Canyon Ultimate Al Pavé
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Silence-Lotto bicycle sponsor Canyon have released some preview information on the bikes their riders will use at this Sunday's Paris-Roubaix. Leif Hoste and his teammates will use a modified version of Canyon's Ultimate AL frameset, suitably dubbed the Ultimate AL Pavé.
Paris-Roubaix-specific tweaks will include a 10mm-longer top tube for a longer and more stable wheelbase, extra clearance on the driveside chain stay to accommodate the riders' preferred 46T inner chainring, a lighter and softer-riding One-One-Four SLX carbon fork borrowed from their Ultimate CF SLX frameset, and extra clearance between the chain stays to allow for cushy 28mm-wide tires.
Otherwise, the special Ultimate AL Pavé will reportedly use the standard version's 7005-series shaped and butted aluminum tubeset, including for the asymmetrical 'Maximus' seat tube which flares out further on the non-driveside for additional drivetrain rigidity while still leaving enough room on the other side for a front derailleur.
Canyon will also give the bikes a special graphics package. A large decal on the top tube lays out each section of pavé while the underside of the down tube creates a virtual reflection of the cobbles below.
"Since I was a young racer I was always fascinated by Paris-Roubaix, with the incredible racing of Francesco Moser and Roger De Vlaeminck," said Canyon founder Roman Arnold in a press release. "We are proud to have Canyon in Paris-Roubaix and wish the riders of Silence-Lotto, and the rest of the racers a safe and successful 106th Paris-Roubaix."
BMC to utilize two-platform approach for Paris-Roubaix
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Wild card Pro Continental team BMC will outfit their riders with two different modfied framesets for Paris-Roubaix: the traditional Pro Machine SLC01 carbon fiber flagship plus the newer aluminum-and-carbon Racemaster SLX01. Team riders will be evenly split between the two.
A team press release makes no mention of specific frame modifications though all of the bikes will reportedly be fitted with special forks provided by team sponsor Easton. The carbon forks feature wider crowns for extra tire clearance and the lay-up has been modified to yield a softer ride. Team media official Georges Leuchinger says the team first tested the forks at KBC-Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde early last month and were satisfied enough to run them at Roubaix.
Other Paris-Roubaix-specific gear will include new 11spd-compatible 44T inner chainrings from Campagnolo and new 25mm-wide tubular tires from Continental.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by James Huang/Cyclingnews.com
- Giant have provided Rabobank riders with slightly modified versions of their usual TCR Advanced SL bikes for Paris-Roubaix.
- New rear dropouts increase the effective chain stay length by 7mm for more stability on the cobbles.
- Giant could have gone with carbon dropouts but the heavily relieved aluminum is nearly as light and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.
- The 7mm difference is fairly subtle but not when compared to this standard dropout.
- Team forks also have different fork tips that increase rake by 7mm.
- By comparison, the standard fork tips are virtually inline with the rest of the fork leg.
- Team bikes will also have special fork blades with a more slender shape, presumably for a softer ride on the pavé.
- The trailing edge of the standard fork is nominally straight as compared to the Paris-Roubaix version's slightly scalloped line.
- Rabobank rider Sebastian Langeveld will set off from the start in Compiègne with Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 componentry.
- Di2's 'tap and forget' shifting style might prove useful to Langeveld as he's bouncing down the cobbles.
- Rabobank team bikes are also equipped with internal routing for the Di2 wires.
- The main wire enters the frame just aft of the head tube.
- The Di2 Li-ion battery is bolted to a dedicated fitting on the non-driveside chain stay.
- Langeveld's spare bike was fitted with standard 53/39T chainrings…
- ...though his primary rig is outfitted with more Paris-Roubaix-friendly 53/44T ones.
- Langeveld will run a PRO carbon-wrapped stem and an aluminum handlebar.
- Surprise, surprise: Rabobank will use traditional aluminum box-section tubular rims for Paris-Roubaix.
- 27mm-wide Vittoria Pavé-EVO CG tubulars provide a relatively cushy ride.
- Rabobank teammate Joost Posthuma will also use Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 for Sunday's Paris-Roubaix.
- Rabobank rider Juan Antonio Flecha uses custom insoles inside his Shimano shoes.
- Pro riders don't always have a team car following closely behind; this is a handy way to carry a spare tub and pump.
- BBOX Bouygues Telecom riders are apparently expecting bad weather given their preparedness for mud.
- It's not just a couple of riders who have adopted the 'more is better' philosophy here, either; the entire BBOX Bouygues Telecom team is riding what are essentially 'cross bikes for Paris-Roubaix.
- Top tube-routed cables help keep the control lines out of harm's way.
- Relatively small-diameter carbon tubes are expected to yield a reasonably compliant ride.
- TRP EuroX Carbon cantilever brakes provide the stopping power for BBOX Bouygues Telecom team bikes this year.
- Interestingly, all of the team bikes for Paris-Roubaix are fitted with older 10-speed Campagnolo Record components from the Ergopower levers…
- …down to the derailleurs, cranks, chain and cassette.
- Nearly every bike at Paris-Roubaix is equipped with some sort of chain watcher up front.
- This BBOX Bouygues Telecom rider is going extra big with 53/48T chainrings.
- Supplemental top-mounted brake levers offer extra control is a rider is on the cobbles and someone crashes ahead of him.
- The team are playing it safe in terms of durability when it comes to the bikes but the wheel selection is decidedly aggressive. And no, Michelin still doesn't make tubulars.
- A fleet of Lapierre bikes await a wash and tune after a Française des Jeux recon ride the day before Paris-Roubaix.
- There's a lot of room in between that tire and the seat tube.
- Flattened chain stays are designed to flex a bit over rough terrain - of which the riders will see plenty.
- Another Paris-Roubaix bike, another chain watcher.
- Française des Jeux team bikes are further customized with more clearance over the top of the tire, thus requiring long-reach brake calipers.
- These look like extra-long dropouts but they're actually stock equipment on the Lapierre S-Lite frame.
- Frédéric Guesdon (Française des Jeux) will use 53/44T chainrings for Paris-Roubaix, as many of his competitors.
- Française des Jeux riders will apparently use Hutchinson Road Tubeless tires on race day now that larger sizes are available.
- Team mechanics were fitting 28mm-wide Hutchinson Intensive Road Tubeless tires to all of the team's race bikes the day before the start.
- Even with Road Tubeless' impressive durability, scores of spare wheels are still a requirement at Paris-Roubaix.
- Team mechanics were also adding some latex sealant as extra protection.
- Teammate Matthieu Ladagnous will seemingly use Lapierre's new X-Lite frame instead.
- The Lapierre X-Lite is fitted with a new Easton fork that features a tapered carbon steerer tube.
- BMC will field both Pro Machine SLC01 frames and their new Racemaster SLX01 bikes (similar to this one from the Tour of California) at Paris-Roubaix.
Images by Canyon
- Canyon Bicycles have supplied their Silence-Lotto riders with slightly modified Ultimate AL frames specifically for use at Paris-Roubaix.
- Not that the riders will have time to look at this but Canyon have included an outline of all of the cobbled sections of this year's parcours.
- A graphic on the down tube mirrors the appearance of the cobbles below.
- The special frames feature longer front triangles for a more stable wheelbase but additional tire and chainring clearances where needed.
