New Wheels....

gessner17

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Dec 29, 2003
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499
Finally got this in at the shop, this is the new 07 Specialized Roubaix Pro. It is suppose to use a new process for laying up carbon fiber (AZ1 process). The joints look real nice, no overlap. The cassette is nickel plated titanium. With pedals and water bottle cage, it weighs in at a tad over 15lbs. I'm really wishing it was summer! Here's some fun pics.


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sgtgeo

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Aug 28, 2003
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I LOVE CARBON FIBER!!!!

I have a Cannondale MTB put a CF handlebar and seat post. along with a lightweight wheelset and a few other goodies and got it to 21lbs.

When i was in high school i traded for an old road bike a Bianchi Nuevo Alluro. I took every piece off cleaned every one stripped the frame painted it black with metallic flake. This bike was old when i got it but it was my first experience with really high end components (Campagnolo Nuevo Record) these components were like jewelery and amazingly light even though at the time they were out of date.

good luck and be careful
 

iced_theater

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Oct 12, 2005
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Green River, Wyoming
That looks like a nice bike. Not too sure on that seat though. I used to ride a lot, but haven't done so in years. Never had a nice bike to do so with.
 

gessner17

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Dec 29, 2003
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Surprisingly, the seat is more comfortable then you would think, it has a lot of flex in it so it shapes itself to your "sit bones". I haven't taken it on a long ride yet so that will be the true test.
 

sgtgeo

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Aug 28, 2003
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+1 on the seat

The ones that look comfortable usually are not. During a long ride you'll sink through the padding anyway and the extra padding will chafe more.

Sella Italia saddle?

man seeing that bike makes me want to get back into the road riding thing, that frame is art
 

gessner17

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Dec 29, 2003
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499
I dont' do tri's, I might do an sprint tri this year with a friend but I"m just not a real strong swimmer. I put about 2k on my bike last summer, not a ton, but fairly respectable.

The seat is made by specialized, it's their top end......Toupe. It's a piece of Carbon, Titanium rails and a piece of clothe over it, i think there are some very thin gel pads under the cloth.

The Zertz make a surprising difference, my hands get almost no vibration, I have ridden a Tarmac, which is a bike geared more toward racing, it has a slightly different frame with no Zertz and roads feels a lot rougher.

PSM, I actually ride with a Cateye Triple and Double shot, I had an HID for a while but the bulbs are kinda fragile. I replaced all the LEDs in my double and triple with UWOJs and it puts out a lot of light with a 3+ hour runtime, works great.
 

Valpo Hawkeye

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Jun 17, 2006
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Valparaiso, IN
gessner17 said:
I dont' do tri's, I might do an sprint tri this year with a friend but I"m just not a real strong swimmer. I put about 2k on my bike last summer, not a ton, but fairly respectable.

I understand. I'm a runner. I don't do tri's because I don't want to drop $2k on a bike and I can't swim worth a darn (well, at least competatively). However, my boss might sell me a used bike he uses to tri for about $200 and he said it needs another $200 for a tune-up. We'll see...
 

WNG

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Nov 3, 2004
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Arrid Zone-Ah, USA
Man, I'm drooling. I'm an old fart road biker. Still riding steels, and an aluminum Vitus (upgraded with a Kestrel fork). Can't justify the cost right now for a full CF bike. One day.
 

gessner17

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Dec 29, 2003
Messages
499
I'm pretty amazed at how this thing snaps when you pedal. The loss of engery transfer is significantly reduced compared to previous bikes I have owned. It's amazing what can be done with some carbon fiber sheets. For anyone that is interested, this is a very interesting article about how they make carbon frames. It is a 2006 article, the pro is now made with AZ1 process, as is some of their other bikes, they must have perfected it last year.
http://www.specialized.com/media/pdf/SpecializedFACTVelo.pdf
 
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