Bike Review: Specialized Roubaix Expert 2020 // Ultegra Di2 DISC

Just released a few days ago and available at the Sea Otter Classic for demo, the Specialized Roubaix Expert 2020. Equipped with Di2, a threaded bottom bracket, Future Shock 2.0 front 'damping', 160mm disc rotors, and 28mm tyres - this bike is built to take on more than just a ride to and from the shops. Remember to subscribe to support this KZbin channel: goo.gl/QS5YZg
Huge thanks to Des from DesFit and Ray (DCRainmaker) for the ride, video shots, and contributions to this video.
Links:
Specialized Roubaix Expert (Official): bit.ly/2ZfHbgg
CyclingTips Specialized Roubaix 2020 Article: bit.ly/2KHvCuR
=Specialized Roubaix Expert 2020 Specs=
Frame: FACT 10R, Rider First Engineered™
Groupset: Ultegra Di2 R8070 DISC
Crank: Ultegra R8000 Compact 50/34 Crank
Cassette: Ultegra 11-34
Wheels: Roval C 38 Disc
Bottom Bracket: BBR60 (threaded)
Fork Suspension: Future Shock 2.0 w/ Damper
Saddle: Body Geometry Power
Tyres: Turbo Pro, 700x28mm (max 33mm)
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#specialized #roubaix #cycling

[@DesFit]

Well done! Had a great time riding and thanks for having me on!

[@elced01]

@DesFit, what was the bike you fell in Love with at the trade show you mentioned?

[@DesFit]

@@elced01 There were two bikes that I rode that really impressed me: the Pinarello Dogma F10 Team Sky edition for road and then the Evil The Calling with a Trust fork for MTB. Neither of which are inexpensive, unfortunately, so I'm gonna need to save my pennies!

[@robertoashlander7770]

Bought one a month ago. Best choice I´ve made!

[@FahJahGoldmember]

Great review of the specifics. Really appreciated your geometry comment at the end. Your colleague "61cm; long legs short torso, triathlon style" That's me to a T, and have been doing tris forever. I'd been debating over the Roubaix Expert, and this confirms the geometry for me. Thanks!

[@AaronGoodTimes]

The 2020 Roubaix is one of the bikes I have been looking at and it is great to see you do a review. Not sure about future shock, but please keep the bike reviews coming. Great video!

[@Ih8GoogleandApple]

Shane you’re such a good reviewer. Way better than all the others. GCN should be recruiting you to do reviews from Australia.

[@gplama]

Thanks mate. I don't see these as real 'reviews' as I don't cover absolutely everything.... I'm just riding bikes, giving my views, and doing bunny hops for fun. ;) The one thing I love is that this medium allows me to be all me. No bullshit. No agenda. Just telling it like it is. Sometimes with mates who are along for the ride too. I still stumble. I still stutter. I still screw up details. But that's all me. And thanks for the comment. I really do appreciate it.

[@0321recon]

Enjoy very much you reviewing the ride experience and pros and cons of bikes. I -almost- went with a high end Roubaix, but opted for the Bianchi Infinito 2018 back in Nov 18. Added the wifi mod based on your experience. So far so good. Must say the Specialized brand does look good.

[@paul_hd1875]

Love it how their biggest complaint was adjusting the seat post... literally something you have to do once... LOL.

[@jpdocumentary]

i have the 2017 (1st gen) of this bike. I keep the firm spring in all the time and the only time I feel a little to much 'bounce' is when I am all out sprinting. It is great to have on normal road buzz - not just pave.

[@vjrvideo]

Appreciate all the feedback. Great job!

[@dscoduc]

I'm told the seat post clamp is further down the frame in order go allow for more seat post flex to aid in the ride dampening. I've had my 2020 Roubaix Expert for about 2 months and love it.

[@Laringuette]

I just ordered the 2022 Expert version will come with the new DI2 12 speed, so looking forward to seeing it. The size was a big factor for me, very few high end 45 cm bikes available now. So this was my choice, hard to get my hands on though.

[@savvysearch]

When he started bouncing the bike up and down on the road, that might have sold me from ditching a possible Canyon for a Roubaix

[@MarufoVega]

endurance bikes are road bikes

[@willsitz4901]

Sl6 tarmac seat clamp is great!seatpost never slips. The clamp for the saddle sucks though, and every once in a while my seat will move in a race.

[@tbone25]

Great vid gents! Nice quick review of the bike. Appreciate the insight about the seat clamp!

[@stefanralphdiehl]

Love your channel Shane! Based on this review I bought a 64cm /XXL Roubaix and installed the wireless module. Great bike. I was a bit worried about the seat clamb, but I found out that in that bold you can fit a nr 4 allen key. In my opinion Specialized should have installed a nr6 inbus for that seat clamb, because I have always a nr6 allen key in my pocket for the thru axles...

[@gplama]

Awesome!

[@MrBJPitt]

Ray looks so much better on that bike compared to his own one. No more chrysler crossfire profile 😂

[@gplama]

I think it’s the socks. He’s wearing socks (DCR socks too!)

[@sheemaw3465]

Worth it!

[@matthewmilner5954]

Great job fellas

[@drewyager4020]

Rode one today. Loved it

[@saracen888]

Hey Shane. What did the bike weigh? The bike looked like it fits you really well. And any noticeable performance gains/losses against your TCR? Cheers Shane

[@tonyc3089]

OMG, you were in the Bay Area! Welcome!

[@gplama]

We had the best riding conditions over there too. (Except this one along the coast, it was a little chilly...) :)

[@glansberry]

Amazing video Shane and Des! I love my 2017 Specialized Roubaix Comp. It took some time getting used to the first-gen future shock, though it is the most comfortable road bike that I have ever ridden... The new 2.0 system looks impressive, but for that price... (cough-cough) Bullshit.

[@OmarTan]

Just to let you know, there’s the team edition frames which has the same stack and reach as the Tarmac which the pros used in PR

[@scottburkhardt6859]

Well down. Have to ask about Ray. How tall is he? My general shape is the same; long legs, long arms, short torso. I’m 6’6 and riding the first-year 2015 Diverge. If he’s near my height perhaps I can start thinking about 61cm Spec frames as they seem to offer fewer 64cm bikes each year.

[@HenryAshman]

I'm guessing the reason they picked the power saddle over the others you mentioned is that it's supposed to be unisex, and they've dropped "women's specific" geometries, so I guess it saves them specifying 2 different saddles.

[@JustinOL1]

With those wheels and the s-works 28mm tyres Ive been running 55psi and im about 70kgs

[@anandn7425]

Good luck with SRAM's etap Force AXS. Shifits are clunky and in one month, my chain has dropped twice gouging the frame of my Specialized Diverge. It is not well sorted out to say the least.

[@robinseibel7540]

It'll be interesting to see if the Roubaix's seat post suffers slippage issues like quite a few bikes with internal seat post wedge clamps do.

[@gplama]

I'd lock it in with Vegemite... or carbon paste. Maybe both? :)

[@robinseibel7540]

Didn't the UN classify Vegemite as a hazardous material? Is it safe to use around people?

[@schoebelski6602]

Thanks for the review, well done! Do you think that with a 650B wheelset the Roubaix could be fitted with little broader rubber, 38-40mm tyres maybe, to have an Endurance- and "Gravel-light" machine in one? cheers.

[@gplama]

That's one for Specialized (or a dealer). I'm not sure.

[@elced01]

Wish you guys state the weight, quantitative info is very valuable to viewers as manufacturers don’t give us these numbers as standard.

[@gplama]

Specialized couldn’t tell me. I asked. I should have put it on the AirBnB bathroom scales. :)

[@elced01]

@@gplama haha carry a tiny hand luggage scale on all bike trials, might even help you with your bag flight weight sometime ,) www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Luggage-Scale-Temperature/dp/B00NW62PCA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=luggage+scale&qid=1555535157&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 I would also like to see if power lossage is significant in a sprint at different Fshock lock out positions, looking at power and speed (myth or fact and how rigid is best). How necessary is it for suspension road bikes to have lockouts another good standard to set for reviews even though you hint at the thought. Help the riders get faster and let the tech improvements evolve. At least 5 of these bikes finished in the top 10 at conditions for Rubaix, lets have more of a look. I wish they had numbers of the dial of the FS to save settings manually or options to record and change automatically with bluetooth position.

[@jamar959]

My LBS states the Future Shock 2.0 does NOT lock out. The adjustment is just soft to stiff.

[@gplama]

Hmm. Pop a Viagra down the seat tube.

[@jeremysweeten2792]

I'd ride a POWER saddle for a 1k consecutive miles over any other saddle. LOVE that thing!! And, Spec, just knows how to make a carbon frame. #butter #milesofSmiles

[@kidsafe]

Oh hello Moffett Field!

[@gplama]

That's what it was!? Awesome. I saw the "NASA" and thought that was awesome. (Yeah, I'm not from around here) ;)

[@sgueglia]

@@gplama Those were 2 of 8 of the largest wooden buildings in the world. Built for the US Navy airship program. Hindenburg crashed next to one in Lakehurst, NJ on 5-6-1938. Great video. They got rid of the carbon wheels for 2021 so I bought that exact bike this week...the 2020.

[@deans2239]

so now Ray has some decent socks on, but Des trolls us.

[@DesFit]

Dean Sinclair ha!

[@Pratalax]

Hang on a sec...red green and blue... you guys are the Powerpuff girls of cycling!! Which makes you Bubbles!

[@blingn007]

Apparently this bike has similar geometry to the venge and tarmac

[@LarsRR]

It‘s the one with the Team geometry, that does.

[@anthonyhilchey8215]

Wicked Pissah Cool Video🙂

[@fastenthenzip6180]

Hi. In comparison to a Specialized Tarmac Pro Disc 2020 - any thoughts? Is the Tarmac a much less comfortable ride than the Roubaix?

[@gplama]

I've no idea about the Specialized Tarmac Pro Disc 2020 sorry. The local Specialized shop closed here too... so I won't be test riding one any time soon.

[@CycoWarriorx]

I died with the bunny hops... lol... so unless I missed it, would you keep the 28s it came with, or go with 25s?

[@gplama]

Depends on the riding you're doing I guess.

[@theavenger3363]

Looks at watch to see what month it is. Love it 😝

[@gplama]

haha. I have to check Google Maps to know what country I'm in. :)

[@petesjk]

Monterrey?

[@mramazingtroy]

The Roubaix has two geometries. So I assume you didn't have endurance geo but the race geo. The future shock doesn't help with keeping the wheels planted on the ground but keeping your hands on bars and "fresh" from regular bumps. As some one who rides the Paris Roubaix (PR) sportive every other year I see the future shocks only real benefit is on the pave. The rest of the year it's a weight to carry around for the sake of 55km. I think a bit of mtfu, the right tyres and pressures. The only caveat is the being able to brake better on the pave with unpredictable hubbards.

[@awesomexistence]

troy kiri, future shock is subjective to the roads you ride regularly. It works for my weekly routes and seems to have helped relieve a neck pain issue I’ve developed (i had the previous version 2016 of Roubaix for 3 years). The geometry changed with the frame design change and is more race inspired in its newest design over the previous version yet is noticeably more comfortable.

[@Gizmox79]

There is a separate frame.. Team Geo that’s available ... so there is two geometries the team geo is a like a tarmac with the shock ... best bike I have ever built 😉

[@awesomexistence]

Cycle 61, My previous ride was this ; geometrygeeks.bike/bike/specialized-roubaix-sl4-comp-udi2-2016/ The newer version I ride, 2017 Roubaix Expert, has a steepened head and seat tube - less Trail- Shorter wheelbase. Similar to the Tarmac.

[@mysho6317]

Di2 Battery Level - Electronic shifters are not cell phones - NO need to worry about Battery level, you will not be running into a coffee shop with the charger plug in your hand mid-ride..........just ride - ridden older version for almost 5k miles and lastest Ultegra Di2 for over 500........never had a Battery level issue.......just like everything else on your Bike, You check it ........I plug mine in every now & then.....the charger is quick - off you go riding hundreds of miles without worry

[@gplama]

To check it, it’d be nice to have the value on screen. That’s all. It’s 2019. It should be integrated and not an optional extra.

[@arturnaumiuk8135]

Shane Miller - GPLama I have older version on Di2 6870 and it has a build in battery level indicator; just press and hold shifting switch for 0.5 seconds or more and led light on junction A will illustrate showing battery level; 100% green for 2 sec; 50% flashes green 5 times; 25% illuminates red for 2 sec; 0% flashes red 5 times; there is also emergency mode in case of the low battery during the ride allowing you to still shift rear derailed with front dropping to the smaller ring; considering long lasting of the battery for about 3000km in my case to go down to 25% this 4 level indicator as standard is generally sufficient; your expectation for the digital indication require also to have expensive wireless unit what not everyone has... I understand your point and personally wanted at some point to upgrade my battery and add wireless unit as you did on your Giant but honestly std way is sufficient and programming via charger unit does the job fine; never had urge to change shifting speed or so during the bike ride LOL. BTW awesome review. Bring more like that. Would love to hear about F10 experience.

[@mysho6317]

Artur - thanks for adding, I remembered your points after my comment but did not want to continue the "debate" and it would draw more battery power to provide status on a non-issue. Less is More

[@waynosfotos]

I am sorry, made in the far east and suspension on road bikes at these prices is outrageous. These bikes are pricing themselves out of the market, you can get handmade custom bikes for the same or less than these mass produced top end bikes now.

[@treygray2817]

The high-end mass produced bike will likely still give superior performance. But I know there are other variables consumers consider when purchasing a bike...

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Shane, How would you compare this with the Canyon Endurace Von tested at TDU?

[@gplama]

That's hard to say ride wise as I didn't ride the Canyon. Specs wise it was very similar.

[@andrewmcalister3462]

@@gplama Thanks.

[@njm3211]

Hope that dohickey on the steerer tube/stem is robust. Looks flimsy and too easy to turn IMO.

[@dingodoggy66]

Go the S-Works version. Much lighter. Specialized version feels too heavy to me.

[@corymiller4543]

N+1, right Lama? ;)

[@YeNZeC]

What Jacket is the Asian lad wearing ? I need one of those.

[@chernyshovas]

Guys, could you advice if 56 size is suits me with 183cm height? Thanx for your review, it's great!

[@jonoharper4729]

Yes, 183cm on the Specialized size chart matches to their 56cm frames.

[@chernyshovas]

@@jonoharper4729 it is 58. That is the problem😀

[@jonoharper4729]

@@chernyshovasOh really. I am also 183cm and ride this frame in a 56cm. The Specialized staff recommended this according to their Retul size charts. Sorry mate, best wishes 🙏

[@chernyshovas]

@@jonoharper4729 i've bought 56 as well after their local dealer advice)

[@jonoharper4729]

@@chernyshovas All the best mate, enjoy your new bike. Stay safe 🔥👍

[@Adam-vi5qp]

Wondering if you would have your TCR or this Roubaix?

[@gplama]

This Roubaix at my TCR price... with the option to remove the Future Shock 2.0. :)

[@Adam-vi5qp]

I have a TCR Pro Disc 0 and agree the Tarmac was worth an extra $2k here in NZ

[@Adam-vi5qp]

Sorry was not worth an extra $2k

[@gplama]

Yeah the TCR had a power meter too... which, aside from it needing a firmware update or two, adds a LOT of value to the Giant option.

[@MrCspc]

Any ideia on the total weight of the bike?

[@gplama]

Nope. I'd guess around 7.5-8kg.

[@kathyfrance2764]

What size wheels?

[@gplama]

700c x 28mm as supplied it looks.

[@tomaburque]

Does anyone know how or if Trump's tariffs will effect the price of these bikes as I understand they are made in Taiwan?

[@paul_hd1875]

I just picked up a 20 Roubaix Comp... I must say... it's a bit disappointing you have to jump up to the $6,000 mark for the 2.0 shock... pretty lame how Spesh priced out the trim levels. Anyone with carbon wheels at home... would be hard pressed to spend the extra money. I already have a set of C38's... and CL50's in rotation. Suppose I'll upgrade the shock at some point...

[@ErwinHeiser]

7 months in how are you liking the Roubaix? Can't decide between the Roubaix Comp and the Trek Domane SL6.

[@cisko213]

2021 now are $4600 with non carbon wheel set. They must have listened to you..