Specialized Roubaix Compact

Price Paid:  $1600.00 at LBS

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
local loop

Summary:
I bought the bike in sept.07 at handlebars in buffalo n.y. .The bike was sold to me only after careful measurements were taken and questions asked about my ridin style. In short the bike fits me perfict. This a very nice riding bike. It handles very well and after two years and over 5000 miles I have no complants. I did swap the stock wheels at first with nuvations till they broke and then with ultegra hubs laced to cxp 21 rims all is perfict.

Strengths:
quick comfortable and very reliable

Weaknesses:
stock wheels are heavy

Price Paid:  $1499.00 at Gregg's Bellevue

Favorite Ride:
Still Looking

Bike Setup:
Stock

Summary:
This is my first new bike in a long time. I've taken up cycling to take care of an arthritic knee. I had been riding a 1980's vintage Takara 12 speed. When I decided to upgrade I wasn't sure where to look first. After consulting several friends I started hitting my LBS's and riding everything I could. I never imagined that I would buy a carbon bike, but after riding one I didn't see how I could not. I'm 6'1" and weigh 210 and this thing felt awesome under me. A perfect fit. The biggest quandry I had was whether to go triple or compact double. After riding both I just could not find any advantage in the triple. Besides, the shop I ended up buying from (Gregg's Cycle in Bellevue) was the best I had found in terms of helpful and knowledgeable people.So far, I've put ~100 miles on it and it is very comfortable, responsive, handles well and climbs great!

Strengths:
Good quality

Weaknesses:
not yet

Price Paid:  $1400.00

Model Year:
2007

Summary:
This bike performs as advertised. It's very smooth and it corners well. The wheels it comes with are atrocious however. I upgraded to Easton EA 90 SLXs. If you are serious about riding and you buy this bike then you should factor in that you'll need to upgrade the wheels unless you have the wheels you already.

Price Paid:  $1400.00 at Individual

Bike Setup:
Stock w/ Aksium wheelset Continental Ultra Gatorskins

Summary:
This is my first "new" road bike. Had it narrowed down to this or a closeout Tarmac. I ended up with this one because it was used once and much cheaper than the Tarmac - got it for $1400. The frame is truly very comfortable, the tarmac definitely has a crisper, quicker feel to it. The Roubaix is definitely growing on me. The more I get used to it, the better it corners. Very stable. I'm a decent sized kid @ 195lbs and don't notice any flex when mashing on the pedals. The standard wheelset that comes stock seems heavy and flexy...seems harder to spin up to speed than it should. I've tried a set of aksiums off my wife's bike with a little improvement. Shifters work well together... Still getting used to the compact set-up - not sure what it is but it just seems to have a different feel than my old double had. Overall, my first impressions are quite favorable. In the near future, I'll be upgrading the wheel set and then maybe a seatpost and saddle - other than that, it should be a really fine ride.

Strengths:
Frame, shifters, derailluers

Weaknesses:
wheelset, seat post (carbon wrapped...what's the point)