How To Setup Your Bike For The Cobbles Of Paris - Roubaix

[@gcn]

Let us know your tips for setting a bike up for the cobblestones! 👇

[@Hjydfdhd7]

Global Cycling Network ride a mtb

[@pedroandrade2398]

3:34 maybe that could've helped Tom Boonen at tour of flandres?? :)

[@hairypaulmm7wab195]

Grew up in Edinburgh riding cobbled streets in all weathers. Always opted for wider tyres and lower pressures & only increased pressures for heading out of town. Have broken many a nice bike on iced cobbles in winter..

[@Quickdraw811]

Global Cycling Network you do realize when you show the photo from last years Paris Roubaix, he's on a madone

[@lisapet160]

Get a gravel bike. The price will be similar to upgrading a road machine.

[@LvcianoN]

My tip for cobbles: Pay really close attention to your weight distribution. If you put too much weight on your saddle, you will be bouncing around a lot. Try to focus more on absorbing vibrations with your legs. Also, if you put too much weight on the handlebars, your hands will go sore or numb as well as your arms, but worst of all, you will also loose traction on the rear wheel.

[@itsianwood]

Did you say for most races the pros will run 20c tyres? I thought 25c is now the new average width in the pro peleton.

[@geoffdillon4637]

Thanks fellas. I've just signed up for the 2018 version of this madness. Can't wait! I know from experience of other big rides that small changes can make a huge difference.

[@FatBikerVaibhav]

now i know why fatbikes were invented :p :) :D

[@anuradhabatra1364]

Hey awsome channel by the way, nice videos specially the gopro shots

[@HollyBoni]

Nah. Suspension.

[@smalerider1727]

To traverse sand and snow.

[@lucagandolfi4k]

My bike setup is always for comfort. I use tubeless tires: 28 front (5-5,5 bar) and 25 rear (6-6,5 bar), both with coffe latex inside. It's a great solution.

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

'solution' I see what you did there.

[@Vii_DT]

Wait, Matt. Pros riding 20c tyres? At which point in time was that again? Paleocene?

[@rayzberg]

Tom Boonen would appreciate the tip about the chain catcher

[@_clemens_]

Wouldn't have helped him his chain was stuck between the two chain rings yesterday, a chain catcher wouldn't have made a difference

[@rayzberg]

The Mig Cycling Top 10 Devious Ways To Beat Your Mates :)

[@_clemens_]

Maybe something wrong with the programming of its electronic front gears?

[@christopherdolan7330]

Did Matt say the pros normally run 20c tires @120+ psi? Is he referring to pro career in the early 90s?

[@isaachudson5304]

the bike your showing the photo of is a madone!

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

1:32 ; they'll be running 700 x 20c tyres, will they Matt? You might have, back in the antediluvian day, but most current pros ride the tubular equivalent of 23 or 25mm x-section on smooth roads, old bean. It's a bit cobbled together, this one . . .

[@hlight2320]

I'd love to see a comparison of a 650b rando bike to the bikes used in paris roubaix. maybe ride both at the same power over cobbles and see the times.

[@SEwembly]

what did Simon say at 00:51?

[@Calum_S]

"Does Jaroslav know you've got his bike by the way mate?"

[@_clemens_]

"My but hurts" :)

[@norwik]

Who is Jaroslav?

[@miguel_montenegro]

I was about to ask the same!!

[@_clemens_]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaroslav_Popovych

[@chrisjenkins1]

Now preparing your body: 1) get someone to kick you in the nuts for several hours 2) repeat this till completely numb 3)reap the rewards of numb nuts

[@portugezemonster]

loving the national champion details on your sleeves Matt. also are pros still running 20c tyres? i thought everyone was on 25c.

[@carnsoaks1]

rubber bands instead on o rings worked for me mtb-ing, loop through itself and tie off. you can put them anywhere on the cage frame that you like....

[@runningwithshemp]

I've used King Ti cage for nearly a decade on my road and CX (or gravel when ridden on dirt roads) I've never lost a bottle on even of roughest of roads.

[@smalerider1727]

King Ti best cage. I don't get why people mess around with those lightweight carbon ones.

[@JimPzn]

1:32 - 20c tires?

[@santibergallo]

The only trek i see at 0:33 is a Madone.

[@JeffLow85]

00:30 is a picture of a Madone, not a Domane...you can see the front brake cover, and the single piece bar/stem...

[@simonsimon8213]

That pic is from flanders

[@JeffLow85]

@@simonsimon8213 I'm not sure what that has to do with my comment? So it's a Madone at Flanders?

[@simonsimon8213]

@@JeffLow85 im not Sure why you are are stating that it is a madone despite the pic being from flanders

[@JeffLow85]

@@simonsimon8213 I'm stating it is a Madone, because it is a Madone, and not a Domane as the presenters claim. The bike Mat is riding is a Domane, the bike in the photo of the Trek rider is a Madone. You can tell it's a Madone by the integrated front rim brake (something that never existed on a Domane), as well as the 'flaps' that allowed said integrated brake to turn tight angles. Also, the bike has the one piece carbon bar/stem that was only made for... you guessed it... the Madone. It's not the same rider, but here's an article about John Degenkolb, riding a Madone, at Flanders in 2018... www.cyclingnews.com/features/john-degenkolbs-custom-tour-of-flanders-trek-madone/

[@simonsimon8213]

@@JeffLow85 yeah man i know its a madone, the presenters say that the rider uses a domane at paris roubaix and then they Show a picture of the rider to Show him to the audience. He there rides a domane which is irrelevant because its a different race

[@poloshmolo]

Watching you try to get that Allen key into the bottle cage bolt was mildly infuriating

[@Patrick94GSR]

Happy Gilmore: "Get in the hole!!! It's your home, don't you want to go to your home??" lol

[@UnicornBikes]

Also, swapping out your seatpost to a more flexible one (like the canyon vcls) makes a massive difference

[@krisreed1943]

a video on a double brake lever set up would be cool

[@cyclejockey4397]

Thanks for the tips GCN

[@nathanpedley4696]

were you doing the bottle cage up whilst riding on cobbles? or was there too much imbibing going on?

[@Peeuf]

Is it affecting the wheels ? I mean does they get weaker on cobbles ?

[@allbunsglazing]

4:24 haha, I couldn't help myself... "fumble fingers!!!"

[@markmarlatt1105]

what bottle cages are on that trek? I like the look if those.

[@liambarber9036]

what is the best place to hold the bars on the cobbles?

[@michaltoman2805]

Tried those Conti 4season that Simon is running in this video, and they seem too hard to me (I am quite light though). Vittoria Corsa G 25c running really low pressure are pretty good on cobbles/bad surface.

[@ghostroc]

How do you make it more comfortable when your hands are on the hoods? I thought bar tape doesn't work to dampen vibration on the hoods. #torqueback (Is there an option to put foam pads under the hoods? Does it work?)

[@djlowes]

#torqueback I have never heard of a chain catcher until now (yes I am a newbie)...why wouldn't you use a chain catcher all the time, instead of just when riding on cobbles?

[@extremerFatalist]

Can someone please recommend me a good forum where I can ask for buying advice? I took a look at a bunch of bikes, but I just cant decide.

[@ricksnyder6318]

Are there shorts with extra padding for cobbles? Do shorts with normal amounts of padding get a bum wrap?

[@Wakey585]

I did have the thought of wearing MTB style chamois inserts under bibshorts, but I wouldn't recommend the chafing =p

[@ΘάνατοςΧορτοφάγος]

cx bike, 37mm tires, what cobbles?

[@JAWORA46]

"For most races the pros would ride 20C tyres" - Matt still lives in the 1990s :D

[@infidelgastro]

I've never ridden the cobbles but if I ever did, a full suspension MTB would be my weapon of choice and leave my road bike in the garage.

[@StutteringMumbling]

would I be wrong to say this could apply to Gravel Grinding as well?

[@smalerider1727]

Perfectly applies

[@alexhutchinson2409]

Matt, I don't think many pros use 20C tyres anymore, thought it was 23-25c tyres? 🤔

[@harsdensus88]

I think I'm not the only one that think Matthew Stephens looks younger than on previous videos.

[@joetoates8050]

GCN, please note. You say "this is the bike he rode" (a domane) and immediately cut to a picture of a madone (see front brake calipers). Conspiracy?

[@johnobrien5464]

Mat did you say that the pros are using 20c tires in normal races? Your aware that things have changed in the almost 20 years since you've been racing? Their using 25c tires these days

[@JS-tb9hu]

As the word bolts comes on screen the wahoo element bolts is shown

[@simonknowles4267]

Hi GCN, how do you get your hands on ex pro bikes

[@FlatSpinMan]

Simon Knowles At the end of the season you sometimes see them up for sale. I forget the specifics but last year I googled this very topic. They are still pretty damned pricey, of course.

[@simonknowles4267]

JMS thanks mate...I asked gcn twice and no answer... oh well

[@FlatSpinMan]

Just had a quick look again. Try goexpro.com for starters.

[@rallymaniac92]

Simon's helmet hair... you'd never catch Dan the boss looking like that =P

[@bobcr]

Where's Lasty?

[@Jxanlext]

Domane FTW!

[@JonCannings]

love it!

[@rockroll9473]

Don’t think I’ll be doing that any day soon but Ido have a bike that could handle it.

[@muhamadirfaan3329]

cobbles are everywhere

[@tianchengxu264]

My tips, go on the flats on the side like the pros do

[@chauccy]

@1:36 Grams saving at its max - no pedals!

[@brunospasta]

Really? 20C tires? I thought most riders race with 25 or 23 (when there are no cobbles).

[@andrewdettmer700]

when did Simon and Matt transplant each others' hair?

[@leon19951209]

Yet Coryn Rivera won the Flanders Women on a full aero bike and with 25c tyres...

[@smalerider1727]

What pros do and what mortals do is different.

[@michaltoman2805]

25c tyres on wider rim could measure 27mm in some cases. In combination with lower pressure, that can be a drastic difference to 'real' 25mm tyres with high pressure.

[@gcn]

Hi Leon, the cobbles in the Ronde are very different to those in Paris - Roubaix. Although up until not that long ago riders in Roubaix would be using 25c tyres.

[@maximilianschulz3683]

Why don't they use a cyclocross bike for the pave and a road bike for the road, so that they can change?

[@mikejenkins8943]

Can you do a video on how to add inline/cx brakes to your road bike? #TORQUEBACK

[@narutoqweavatar]

didn't they make this exact same video?

[@luismedeiros7139]

...or just use a Specialized Roubaix with 32 wide tires :P

[@_clemens_]

Those alluminium bottle cages are much worse then plastic/carbon ones, those hold the bottles a lot better.

[@_clemens_]

I don't like cages shaped like those, I had similar ones (ok maybe theres is something special with some particular models) and always lost bottles when driving on cobbles, since a while I have the Tacx Deva and with those no problems (with Tacx Shiva bottles)

[@paulrudick6610]

That picture was of a trek madone

[@erickson53a]

The picture of Popo on the Madone is from an earlier cobbled classic; he rode Paris-Roubaix on the Domane.

[@kiedystobyo9723]

i know have a full suspention

[@abedfo88]

I lost a water bottle on the rough roads of Wiltshire this weekend :(

[@alandougan3600]

Who bloody laid all those cobbles? Tough men

[@Madman5698]

Rename title to: How to set up your bike for british roads

[@sherichander]

Matt and Simon pointed to wrong directions for additional videos and the Globe too at the end of the video. Did anyone else notice this?

[@sherichander]

So no one actually noticed the editing mistake. ☺️

[@xelaxander]

This could be also called "How to set up your bike for the cycling lanes of Berlin"

[@Krisszhu1990]

Is it cheating to use a cyclocross bike? Put a big chainring on front for speed, and you can have some fun with 32mm tires :D

[@sanshinron]

Here's a suggestion - buy a cage that's from the same manufacturer as a water bottle... I have Elite cages and bottles and there's no way in hell they fall out.

[@Guoenyi]

I was expecting their voices to be wobbly

[@drucey99]

0.31...hate to say it but that's a madone he's riding not a domane! Sorry to call this out. I'm a big fan of the channel and your videos!

[@jakobjarle4597]

The picture looks to hilly to be Roubaix. Could it be he had his Madone in Tour of Flanders and his Domane in Roubaix?

[@stevenfoleyuk9404]

Why would anyone wanna ride cobbles for fun ? Lol the pros are getting paid to do it . Smooth roads for me :-)

[@_clemens_]

because smooth roads are boring :)

[@stevenfoleyuk9404]

Clemens s. Smooth roads are fast roads . Going fast is never boring :-)

[@_clemens_]

I often go faster on cobbles then on tarmac...because I want to leave them as fast as possible ;) But ok you have cobbles and you have Paris Roubaix cobbles of course, I live in Flanders most of those cobble strokes are still drivable and quite fun ;)

[@paulflory3532]

Try the cobbles in Antigua Guatemala on a race bike some time. Some of them are so rough you have to keep both hands on the bars, preferably in the drops. All the time marveling that your wheels haven't collapsed yet.

[@smalerider1727]

Got to get that KoM

[@ethanboxer-macomber1913]

Played Simon's quip at 0:52 5-6 times and have no idea what he said. Completely indiscernible to the American English ear.

[@ethanboxer-macomber1913]

PS- Great episode, by the way.

[@Charles-kk6vj]

"Does Yaroslav know you've got his bike by the way mate?"

[@mattcutho5289]

Bit late for this video now

[@alfiesmith9194]

In the photo he is riding a madone

[@stevenchadwell500]

Ride them on zwift

[@leedorney]

How to set ya bike up for the Cobbles + get an MTB ;)

[@Pienimusta]

Usually avoid cobbles even on 29+er hardtail =P Absolutely horrible, rather take the grass/gravel next to them

[@smalerider1727]

....and then you ride through a rock garden.

[@Patrick94GSR]

4:24 get... in... the hole... DAMMIT!! :-P

[@suvtropics]

Warning : English language professors in comment section. Proceed with caution.

[@blegat_]

Simon say farward instead of forward...... #stichup

[@lcc8394]

how to ride cobbles......? buy a specialized Roubaix...job done

[@leedorney]

Still dont understand why riders use CARBON WHEELS for cobbles...then are now adding suspension to a CARBON frame...thats the best joke yet!

[@leedorney]

***** A mega-stiff wheel certainly won't...

[@Sjoerdverbraak]

Looks like a different bike but ok

[@grahamsmith2087]

S

[@jameseby8207]

Wow I'm so early

[@gixxerflier1]

Set up. Not setup.

[@paulflory3532]

No, "setup", just like "falldown". The verbadverb is the new thing.

[@alexl4616]

8th like

[@Adam-lp5vz]

Use a fat bike.

[@smalerider1727]

Go back to GMBN heretic

[@lisapet160]

I'd rather walk cobbled stretches than crawl fat.

[@vladtepes3946]

I don't care. Dislike.

[@GSatiFan]

Vlad Tepes I don't care. I _love_ it.