Boonen's new Specialized Roubaix race bike with a pro-only frameset and spring - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Will Tom Boonen make it five Paris-Roubaix victories on Sunday? - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The Future Shock suspension cartridge sits atop the head tube, and the springs can be changed to tune the ride - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Ceramic Speed make Boonen custom jockey pulleys - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Tommeke is a fan favorite in Belgium and in France - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The Sprint shifter protrudes slightly from the thick tape - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Di2 was initially scoffed at as unworkable on cobbles - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Roval is Specialized's wheel brand - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
53/44t for the win, Boonen hopes - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Boonen dropped his chain at with it his chances of a good finish at last week's Tour of Flanders - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The Roubaix's seatpost is clamped beneath the top tube for a little extra flex - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Specialized has notched six victories at Paris-Roubaix with the Roubaix bike — including four with Boonen - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The chain won't be this clean at the end of Sunday's race - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Direct-mount brakes are a pro-only option on the new Roubaix. All the consumer bikes have discs - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The Hell of the North is new for Specialized - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Who doesn't love a custom bike? - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Specialized will be selling a limited edition Tom Boonen bike with this paint scheme, but in a disc brake version - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Shrink wrap keeps things tidy - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The choice to use rim brakes at Roubaix is so riders can get a quick wheel change from anyone, if needed, several team members said - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Boonen runs very narrow handlebars, considering his height - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Do any of your friends ride long cranks *and* narrow bars? Probably not - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Boonen is long and low on his machine, which has a lower front end than the consumer model - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
This is Boonen's reach from the tip of the saddle - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
And this is his saddle height from the center of the bottom bracket - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
The bars are wider at the ends of the drops than at the hoods - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Specialized said the UCI is okay with them making a different version of the Roubaix for team riders - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
With 20mm of travel, the Future Shock adds stack height - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Tom Boonen's name and photos have been plastered on the roads, stores, restaurants and hand-held signs across Belgium and into northern France all week, as the cobble-racing legend prepares to retire after his final Paris-Roubaix Sunday. Here is a look at the bike he will race from Compiegne north to the aging outdoor velodrome of Roubaix.
On Monday, BikeRadar reported on the pro-only edition of the new Specialized Roubaix that Boonen raced at the Tour of Flanders, and which world champion Peter Sagan raced Wedesday at Scheldeprijs. The immediately obvious differences to the consumer bike are the long-and-low geometry, the direct-mount brakes and — if you put a hand on it — the stiffer spring in the Future Shock suspension cartridge underneath the stem.
At closer inspection, Boonen's extreme geometry is also noteworthy, too. For instance, 38mm center-to-center handlebars for a 192cm / 6'3" man?
Boonen's new Specialized Roubaix race bike with a pro-only frameset and spring - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Specialized Racing's Chris D'Alusio explained to BikeRadar today that Quick Step and Specialized worked together to test a variety of different springs for racing on the cobbles. The final product was a stiff, progressive spring that ramps at both ends of the travel; it's harder to initially engage and harder to bottom out than any of the three stock springs, but relatively softer in the middle of the 20mm of travel, like a parabola.
The hits from the cobbles are so jarring that the stiffest of the stock springs bottomed out too quickly, D'Alusio said.
The Future Shock suspension cartridge sits atop the head tube, and the springs can be changed to tune the ride - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Boonen has Specialized's new Hell of the North tubulars in both 28mm and 30mm, but it is not yet certain which width he will race.
The Shimano Dura-Ace direct-mount brake calipers on the Roubaix offer plenty of clearance for the fat tubulars.
The consumer models of the new Roubaix are all disc brake bikes. Normal UCI rules state that bikes must be approved by the UCI and available for sale to the public in order to be sold. Specialized representatives said that since this new pro-version bike is only a change in brake type (and geometry), that the UCI was okay with it.
Specialized said the UCI is okay with them making a different version of the Roubaix for team riders - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Team members also said that the primary driver for using rim brakes for Paris-Roubaix is so riders can get a quick wheel change anywhere on the course — from team cars, neutral support, roadside mechanics or even fans. Punctures are common at the rough cobbled race, and the top riders don't want to chance getting caught out with a potentially hard-to-change disc wheel.
Check out the gallery above for a closer look.
Do any of your friends ride long cranks *and* narrow bars? Probably not - Ben Delaney / Immediate Media
Ben Delaney is a journalist with more than two decades of experience writing for and editing some of the biggest publications in cycling. Having studied journalism at the University of New Mexico, Ben has worked for Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, VeloNews and BikeRadar. He has also previously worked as Global Brand Communications Manager for Specialized. Ben covers all things road and gravel, and can be found logging big miles in the Rocky Mountains that nestle alongside his home in Boulder, Colorado. He has covered the most important bike races in the sport, from the Tour de France and Tour of Flanders, to the Unbound gravel race, and specialises in tech content, showcasing what the pros are riding and putting everyday equipment through its paces.
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
