The Gravel Rider's Choice? Specialized Roubaix SL8 First Ride Review

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Not content with just overhauling its Tarmac road bike, Specialized has also made radical alterations to its endurance bike, the Roubaix.
Future Shock suspension returns and has been updated, while the addition of flex at the seatstays means the 2024 Specialized Roubaix is sort of a full-suspension bike now.
In this video, we run you through all the key details you need to know and how the Roubaix SL8 rides out on the road. What do you think of this bike? Let us know in the comments 👇
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:40 Future Shock 3.0
01:55 AfterShock
03:29 Increased Tyre Clearance
04:06 Mounts and standards
05:05 Faster And Lighter
07:01 Ride Impressions
10:30 Outro
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Опубликовано:

7 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 81

@artorepo2938 9 месяцев назад

Fender mounts is a HUGE improvement. Otherwise it is the same bike as the old one - which is good. New Roubaix works as a gravel bike on smooth gravel, because tire clearance allows narrow gravel tires. 10/10 👌

@capretp 9 месяцев назад

The difference between 33mm and 40mm tire clearance is a huge win. This bike finally solves the problem of those of us who want to be able to [a] hang with a faster road crowd, [b] be able to swap tires for a more casual gravel ride, and [c] stick with Specialized without having to shell out for both a dedicated road and gravel bike. I know, the Diverge is great and plenty fun, but is not equipped to hang with roadies riding Tarmacs. There will be some complaining about a modest aero compromise on the additional tire clearance, but that crowd is better suited for a more aggressive racer anyway. Whoever made this design decision at Specialized deserves a raise for having common and listening to riders.

@tombola4046 9 месяцев назад

The crux is already the perfect bike for gravel riding and easily keeps up with the road crowd with the correct gearing

@capretp 9 месяцев назад

I’ve owned a Crux for 12 years, and was building them as a shop mechanic since they Specialized first introduced them. You’re right that they are great bikes, and are a better solution than the Diverge for those who want a do-it-all bike (hence why I purchased one for myself). But, respectfully, the Crux is not a fast enough ride to hang with a dedicated roadie crowd. Granted, I’m out of shape now, but even when I was in full on soccer conditioning shape, the Crux would quickly get dropped by friends on Tarmacs and Bianchi’s.

@bendardania 9 месяцев назад

Clearance of 40 mm tires will make this bike the most popular bike by a landslide in the market. Roubaix is already a massively popular bike.

@rcg9573 9 месяцев назад

Ruby was popular because it was still a road geometry bike. This thing is now a gravel bike that will ride like a tank on the road, with minimal proprietary suspension that will be pretty much meaningless on most actual gravel rides.

@alextorresphoto 9 месяцев назад

I feel like you have a point.

@bendardania 9 месяцев назад

@@rcg9573 this at best could be used for some light gravel. You need way longer chain-stay and more relaxed trail-rack to be able to enjoy gravel. Those who buy this bike don’t really want to ride gravel but they want to have that option. Roubaix used to be the most popular bike for years, since Tek Domane introduced 38mm clearance Domane is now the most popular bike. Roubaix coming second. Number don’t lie, pros closed publishes their resale data every year. I am confident Roubaix with this clearance will come on top again. This is now a one bike options that you can do it all. Not great at anything but capable of everything.

@bikeradar 9 месяцев назад

What do you think of the Specialized Roubaix and its AfterShock tech?

@PrzemyslawSliwinski 9 месяцев назад

I applaud everything that damps the road induced vibrations. If, in addition, it is maintenance-free, I couldn't ask for more.

@WerdnaLiten 9 месяцев назад

Better in real world riding than the Tarmac....

@rcg9573 9 месяцев назад

Would have made sense had they left the geometry that of a road bike. Now it's a gravel bike with minimal proprietary suspension that means almost nothing offroad.

@alextorresphoto 9 месяцев назад

Love it!

@clew4349 9 месяцев назад

Get rid of the new, complicated and heavy future shock, and introduce an Aethos with Roubaix geometry please...

@andras.89 9 месяцев назад

We are not racers out here, big tyre clearances are welcomed features on any endurance bike. I'd try 38mm, currently running on 32mm.

@marcowalther7867 9 месяцев назад

Funnily, if you compare the Roubaix' geo to the geo of the 2019 Diverge, those numbers are very, very close. Does that mean, they made almost the same bike before already? Truth be told, I love this Diverge!

@scottwatson7844 9 месяцев назад

I’m not keen on the aesthetics of the future shock or how high that front end is but smoother is often faster.

@porterbwithers 9 месяцев назад

I feel like specialized now has 3 gravel bikes now.

@rcg9573 9 месяцев назад

Exactly. This is now no longer a road bike. Might as well get a Diverge.

@artemisxo6734 9 месяцев назад

this feels like an attempt at the suspension on the cannondale topstone, and that works pretty well but it's a gravel bike

@RobertSchuster68 9 месяцев назад

The road at Cascais is one of my favorite

@harlansilva8935 5 дней назад

Specially if you climb to Cabo da Roca, Sintra and get back to Cascais. Very beautiful 60km ride

@amfromch 4 месяца назад

The 2020 S-Works Roubaix with the 50mm Roval CLX Aero-Rims is still the best Roubaix ever for me! 40mm Tires and Mudgards? for this i have my Gravel-Bike and don't want to use a +10K USD Bike for that. "Endurance" means for me mostly on Tarmac, Comfortable for rides above 6-8 hours, good Aerodynamics on straight Roads above 30km/h and lightweight as possible. At the moment i wouldn't buy the newer Roubaixs, thinking about the new Canyon Endurace CFR Di2...... or Specialized comes with a new Modell soon!

@Sutlore007 9 месяцев назад

Is it difficult to service the headset on our own? how long is the damping system going to last before it needs a repalcement and will there be spare parts available in 10-20years later?

@yonglingng5640 9 месяцев назад

The headset bearings are still just as easy to service as a generic road bike's. This is the advantage integrated internal routing doesn't get.

@Quizmate1 9 месяцев назад

@yonglingng5640, are there any handy video tutorials online showing how it's done?

@yonglingng5640 9 месяцев назад

@@Quizmate1 4:59 of this video from Cycle Exchange (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PfMg9xQSH5k.htmlsi=a_0J1OJuoYzNlcbi) shows how the headset assembly of a Future Shock-equipped Specialized is done. Although this is a Diverge shown here, it applies to any Specialized with Future Shock. There are user manuals on Specialized Support showing you how it's put back together. The only not-so-easy part about this service is the additional work of working with the additional hardware associated with Future Shock. You'll need a slender long-reach 4 mm hex bit socket to undo and torque down the bolt of the Future Shock's collar clamp as generic ones can't reach deep enough. Mine is a PB Swiss Tools counterpart. Nonetheless, it's still so much easier to work on than a Tarmac SL7's.

@mistersmith158 9 месяцев назад

Left out the prices LOL that is one big detail you left out shilling this bike

@danielbenjamin2454 9 месяцев назад

Seems like a good bike for normal people who want to ride but not race. Still don’t like the way it looks though.

@keinpietz7697 9 месяцев назад

Talking about sustainability, how many hours do they claim between service on the FS 3.0? And how many years will they offer replacements for?

@ChopperChad 9 месяцев назад

Jeez. Seriously?

@keinpietz7697 9 месяцев назад

@@ChopperChad what's that, hun?

@youling1997 9 месяцев назад

@@ChopperChad Of course. the most valid concern

@Quizmate1 9 месяцев назад

A perfectly sensible concern if you ask me. Well done for pointing it out 👍

@stpaisar03 9 месяцев назад

I have a FS 2.0 on an SW Diverge. Over 2 years of gravel and it feels like day one. Zero service done so far. Ridden with plenty riders that have standard headsets and/or stems come loose riding gravel and single track. The concern over constant servicing on the 2.0 is overrated. Yes, they can break, or someone can get a bad FS (QC) just like anything else. Not saying the FS is the holy grail but it does what its intended to do…that’s coming from riding a late model (2019) CruX as a gravel bike for 2 years prior to the Diverge…and some of that with a Redshift Sports Shockstop stem. East central Iowa rider…TONS of gravel in these parts.

@Zzyyxx22 9 месяцев назад

Isn’t the canyon endurance closer to a Tarmac if you look at the numbers. It’s about the most aggressive of all the bikes in its class

@mattdavis855 18 дней назад

I just can't get over how bad it looks. Surely the point of an endurance bike is that the higher head tube lets you slam the stem so you can look cool, right?

@erich8258 9 месяцев назад

I don't get the point of the micro-suspension. Complicated proprietary parts, massive cost -- how can it be worth it? I ride a fully rigid Giant Revolt on the road with 40 mm tires, and it's plenty comfortable on rough roads. And if you really want a little suspension, you could a quality suspension stem and/or seatpost for a fraction of the cost and complication.

@scottwatson7844 9 месяцев назад

Totally agree I also have a Revolt and a Defy for road use and the former is barely any slower than the road bike ( 1.5 mph ish ) and much more comfortable on the rougher roads so don’t really see the need for a complicated suspension system that adds complexity as well as weight when a 40 mm tyre is more than enough.

@moucheachevreil 9 месяцев назад

Missing down tube storages

@sabo7808 4 месяца назад

would be the perfect bike without future shock und aftershock

@rcg9573 9 месяцев назад

Problem with this bike is it is now no longer a true road use bike, nor is it a full blown gravel bike. The geometry is almost that of an XC bike, which lessens its appeal for the road, and yet the suspension in the front and back is so minimal that it's hard to see it making any serious difference on even moderate gravel road rides. Should have kept the max tire size less and tightened up the geometry and left it as is - an allroad type bike for really bad pavement and cobbles. Instead, you now have a pseudo light gravel bike that will ride like a tank on the road with proprietary suspension that is pretty much meaningless in real offroad type rides. The chainstays are almost the same now as a Diverge, and why would I buy this bike over a Diverge if I'm truly riding most rides offroad?

@hail_sagan2830 6 месяцев назад

Have you ridden one?

@eo1830 9 месяцев назад

They should ditch the futureshock or offer a normal fork option also.

@JordanHMay 9 месяцев назад

Just buy a crux.

@timdixo 9 месяцев назад

The Future Shock works a treat and suits the bike perfectly.

@rcg9573 9 месяцев назад

@@timdixo Futureshock made sense when it was an actual road bike. Now it's basically a gravel bike with minimal almost meaningless suspension in real offroad gravel rides.

@scottwatson7844 9 месяцев назад

They should of made the Aethos a bike to suit more riders instead of having the same geo as the Tarmac.

@timdixo 9 месяцев назад

@@rcg9573 The FS is really just to reduce road chatter and fatigue which it does tremendously. It allows running significantly narrower tyres for same level of cush= more aero and less rolling resistance.

@ShootingOutside 9 месяцев назад

So....................how much??

@liantechtube7921 9 месяцев назад

$2800. Which I have mixed feelings on because it's does not have a full 105.

@db613 9 месяцев назад

I have a Cyclocross bike, and essentially I can buy a Canyon flexible seatpost, and get a redshift stem based suspension and get the same performance

@alanc2039 9 месяцев назад

11 seconds over 60 miles seems a bit ridiculous. Sooner or later there must be no watts to save. Marketing rubbish!

@einundsiebenziger5488 9 месяцев назад

Let's assume, that thing indeed makes you save 11 seconds on a 60-mile tour. What do you use these seconds for as a hobbyist who has no price money to win? Even if you were able to down a second post-ride drink in 11 seconds, you couldn't afford that drink anymore since the bike was so effin' expensive.

@paulappleyard5832 9 месяцев назад

Proprietary parts that you can't get hold of after a few years. Seems a sensible investment for a lot of money. Seriously people STOP buying the cycling gimmicks if you want suspension by a hardtail.

@einundsiebenziger5488 9 месяцев назад

... if you want suspension,* buy* a hardtail.

@photoren 9 месяцев назад

Specialized, you can have my money when you create a Roubaix Aethos.

@ArteUltra1195 9 месяцев назад

Dreambike if it had internal cable routing

@db613 9 месяцев назад

Take your internal cable bike with wide tire clearance and add a stem based suspension like Redshift, and a seatpost suspension like the Canyon Seatpost and all the same

@einundsiebenziger5488 9 месяцев назад

All internal cable routing is a nightmare, not a dream!

@timdixo 9 месяцев назад

No thanks, I'll pass on the internal cable bike fitting horror show as well.

@matthewshultz8762 9 месяцев назад

Proprietary seatpost, check. Proprietary headset, check. No rack mounts on the frame, check. Gravel riders or gravel racers with thick pocketbooks? This machine is unserviceable once Specialized discontinue parts.