Specialized Roubaix SL8 Review: New Future Shock 3, 40mm tyres and more aero

[@danielcable5363]

As always a great initial review but I am anxious to hear more once you get your hands on one for a longer term test.

[@1111Sean1111]

Hey David, been watching your channel for a while, its amazing to see you do all my local routes. I have been doing the Pena and Capuchos climb every other week, for a few years now, haven´t got tired of the scenery yet, outstanding natural beauty and perfect to test an endurance bike. Shame about the weather, but that zone has a very particular micro climate, at 8:44 its a perfect example, Cascais, on that side of the hill almost guarantees sunshine on a daily basis and then you climb to Sintra and it will be completely overcast and foggy, has you can see on the top right hand corner of the screen, this happens a lot due to the area´s topography.

[@lazarosnikolaidis256]

(A) great bike review in a picturesque scenery (I ❤ Portugal), plus a surprise: a second opinion from one of the most brave cyclists worldwide, Jack the Ultracyclist. Really good stuff, thanks a lot, David!

[@stealth1fighter]

I have a 2023 S-Works model and I agree with his friend that this bike by ticks all the boxes most incredible ride out there

[@michaelgooch-breault4706]

This bike is extremely similar to my Diverge from a few years back. In size 52, the new Roubaix has .5 degree steeper head tube, 3mm less fork rake, 5mm less Bb drop. I’m sure it (Roubaix) has better road manners (vs gravel) but it certainly seems worthwhile to try 32-35mm road tires on the Diverge. I love the Future Shock 1.0 on the Diverge, and when reviews like this consistently mention keeping the more advanced Future Shock “open all the time” I conclude that the 1.0 isn’t a disadvantage.

[@BennyCornelissen]

In terms of geometry one could argue this new Roubaix is the spiritual successor of the older (2018-2020) Diverge. I've owned a 2020 model and my girlfriend still rides one. She would 100% consider the new Roubaix over the Diverge as a replacement. In terms of the FutureShock, my Diverge had a 1.5 model (basically a revised 1.0) and while it worked well, it wasn't great when your ride position was too aggressive (like mine). I would start bottoming out on the medium spring, but would lose quite a bit of the compliance on the heavy spring. This is supposedly much better with the 3.2/3.3 versions but I haven't ridden them yet. My current go-to is a Crux, which is absolutely brilliant, but especially on really long rides I sometimes miss the extra comfort of the FS.

[@io-rj6sk]

@@BennyCornelissen why crux > roubaix?

[@BennyCornelissen]

@@io-rj6sk I prefer the Crux over the Roubaix because the geometry suits me better, it has more tyre clearance, it's lighter, and doesn't use proprietary parts (Future Shock, D-shaped seatpost).

[@io-rj6sk]

@@BennyCornelissen suits u in what way? is it more comfortable/upright than the roubaix? even tho its gravel does it still rice really nicely on tarmac? dam a gravel bike lighter than road bike! its usually other way around rite

[@BennyCornelissen]

@@io-rj6sk quite the contrary. The Crux is more aggressive than the Roubaix (longer and lower) which is more comfortable to me, but that won't be the case for everyone. If you're looking for comfort or a more upright position, the Roubaix is probably the better option.

[@WhaJMc]

This should be the perfect bike for me. Just sold my gravel bike as I was spending 99% of the time riding on the road. The only problem I have now is that my LBS won't have the model of Roubaix I want for another 2 months.

[@christopherlewis9684]

Best thing about the new Future shock 3.0 and 3.3 is that it fits any and all previous bike models that use future shock.

[@Hintonbro.]

I’m looking forward to a future comparison with the Diverge and the Crux. This bike has 2mm more clearance than my Gen 2 Diverge. Is this the new ‘quiver killer’ do it all? Great at road and gravel? How does it compare to the Giant Revolt Advanced in that QK roll?

[@andras.89]

Damn right, compliance, endurance relaxed geometry for us non Tour de France winners, tyre clearance up to 40mm and mudgard possibility. Love it Futureshock is just the cherry on the cake.

[@vongdong10]

People keep bringing up the redshift stem, it's not much of a comparison to the futureshock. I have a 2021 roubaix and had a redshift stem another bike. The futureshock is leagues better, even if it's just the spring model

[@steveco1800]

I can believe that, especially if taken on to gravel. But I do think the Redshift stem does a good job on rough roads, is simple and effective and doesn’t require a new bike so is far cheaper. I also like how riding in the drops locks out the stem because your hands are in line with the pivot point, which is useful.

[@piratepediatrics]

David what’s your honest tale between this bike and the new Endurace?

[@franciscotan]

How does the geometry compare to the Enve Melee? In your review you mentioned that the melee was a comfier Tarmac. That resonated with me. I’m currently an SL6 owner who is looking to upgrade to a more relaxed geo.

[@johntrussell7228]

Specialized designs and engineers the best bikes in the world. This is just another example of how good they really are. I've ridden the futureshock on a Diverge I had before getting my Crux and it really does work well.

[@sbccbc7471]

Of the various bike brands I've worked on, Specialized bikes are one of the least headache-inducing. Too bad their prices are getting higher though, it's making it harder for me to recommend their stuff to others overtime.

[@StephanBechert]

Would it be an alternative for your S-WORKS CRUX?

[@flouserfehler]

Could have been a nice fit for my purpose had it been released earlier. I'm one of the guys mentioned by David riding a Gravel bike mostly on roads (in my case a Diverge).

[@patrickrenschler]

looks solid! i'd be interested to know how much faster the roubaix is that a more gravel oriented setup (assuming all else equal besides frame). Something like the crux or stigmata in road config with the same size tires.

[@protonjicari5990]

This or Cervelo Caledonia? Damn I’m on the market and it’s hard to choose one 😢

[@sonny5614]

Would this be a good gravel bike??

[@goozoon]

Why there is such a gap under the head plastic cover?

[@BobbyMgoogle]

Offering 1 x kidney and half of liver for a size "56 please

[@christolliday3054]

I brought this a month ago its a brilliant ride

[@Thankful_n_Grateful]

Thanks for sharing... Wow !!! 1,000 km / 621 mi continuous....

[@martinadriantennis]

does it make sound when not in the peddals

[@ErwinHeiser]

One thing I've always wondered about with this model... if you're doing a bikefit how do you adjust the front-end heigth? Does the future shock allow for spacers?

[@serpadu]

Yep, you can raise or lower a bit the future shock with spacers or a different cover.

[@sbccbc7471]

Future Shock-equipped Roubaixs come with 15 mm worth of spacers (three 5 mm spacers) packaged separately in their small parts box.

[@stevekelly6544]

I like it! It’s what a modern endurance bike should be. Kudos to Specialized…..

[@lechprotean]

but the price is ridiculous. You can easily build off a chinese frame a bike that has similar geo, lighter and exactly same components (except the frameset of course) for 1/3rd of the price...

[@roadcyclist1]

​@@lechproteansounds like a terrible idea.

[@stevekelly6544]

@@lechprotean I’m not big on supporting Chinas economy- plus they skimp on quality any chance they can on making materials-

[@993mike]

No cheap Chinese frames for me! Life is too short as it is to risk frame failure on a ride

[@brody5211]

@@993mikedon’t like the Chinese frames ,what about Chinese food .?

[@duffyrides]

Agreed on the handlebar. It’s the only visual aspect of the bike that I don’t like. Are you using a 360 camera for some of the footage by the way ?

[@tonyg3091]

There is a reason for that. Futureshock stem has fixed height, you cannot remove or add spacers so the only way to bring the handlebars higher, closer to you is to shape the bars like this. A normal handlebars would make the bike lower and longer which is not a plus for an endurance bike. It is a very very nice bike, I just like the Domane better.

[@davidarthur]

This video was all in GoPro hero 10/11

[@duffyrides]

@@davidarthur awesome, thanks. Was wondering if you had an insta360 mounted somewhere as well!

[@sbccbc7471]

​@@tonyg3091The Future Shock can be raised up to 15 mm, I've handled Future Shocked-equipped Roubaixs before. There are even two versions of the headset cover, high or low stack. A customer I've served before needs to have the cockpit set at the highest height possible due to his bad back, resulting in him having a torso angle of more than 45° off the ground.

[@tonyg3091]

@@sbccbc7471 Ah really? Thanks for that I didnt know you can adjust the height. What is then the max height it can reach below the stem?

[@markesdaile518]

What make are the sunglasses? Thanks

[@poppymg1234]

Did he ever make another video on it down the line?

[@davidarthur]

Yes he did, there's a 3 bike comparison with this and a Giant and Canyon

[@markp353]

HI David. Interesting that the S-Works comes with hover bars. I can't imagine any S-Works owner not swapping them out straight away. The pros won't be using hover bars, and my guess the people who buy S-Works are wanting to ride what the pros ride. Specialized said that it is a bike for really long rides and some gravel, hover bars do not lend themselves well to mounting lights, Go-pros and bar bags. This seems like they did not read their own brief. As the different models have different carbon lay ups, are the 12R bikes made out of the same moulds as the 10Rs? If not, instead of using the hover bar, increase the stack 10-15mm on all 10R and 9Rs. This will give basically the same result for ride position but with a flat drop bar. And S-Works buyers will probably want the racier ride position. What do you think? I understand if everything comes out or one mould then it is cheaper production costs.

[@prasad530]

The S-Works Roubaix is not for people interested in emulating the pros, that's what the Tarmac is for. The SW Roubaix is made for rich amateurs that want to spend the most money / get the best tech, in a comfortable endurance platform.

[@markp353]

@@prasad530 true and if you are racing paris roubaix

[@AntonioDiaz]

Love the bike but when are they going to add internal cabling? 😮😢

[@kippen64]

Comfort is my priority.

[@chrisblanchard4938]

So basically its a Diverge. Thanks for the video

[@davidarthur]

Diverge has downtube storage, bigger tyre clearance and different geometry though…

[@jimtro4403]

Dang, I am 58 years old, less flexible, ride decent roads and was hoping for a bike that has a relaxed geometry, lighter and with aero. I guess I am looking for a race bike suited for older guys. Are endurance bikes all supposed to be ridden on bad roads and cobbles or average roads for a long time? The specs and weight of this bike in comparison to the improvements they made on the SL8 is a little disappointing to me. Seems to me they leaned this bike more to the Diverge than the Tarmac.

[@taxi9554]

Ever tried the SL6? More comfy compared to later additions.

[@davidarthur]

Check out my review of the Canyon Endurace

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Nice & Thanks :)

[@n22pdf]

Great review David but I’d take my steel Condor Acciaio any day.. just my opinion.. 😊 Pete

[@roadcyclist1]

Yikes...you must like to punish yourself more than necessary!

[@tonyg3091]

same weight as Domane, same price points, much more stuff to go wrong with the Roubaix and still no internal cable routing. A clear win for Trek.

[@ewtcizs1101]

I agree, the biggest difference is the 2mm more tyre clearance I guess? And if you really want some suspension in the front with the domane, you can easily just go for the redshift stem and have better comfort..

[@I3ene1]

I don’t see the cable counting a win for Trek and their isospeed has the tendency to creek. A real advantage is the little storage the Trek has.

[@tonyg3091]

@@I3ene1 External cables are annoying but I guess with the Futureshock it is difficult to route internally. Storage is nice but not a dealbreaker. Question is what happens when 5-6 years down the line Futureshock breaks?

[@carltonholmes8061]

I have had my Roubaix for 3 yrs from new and never had any problems. Future shock is a doddle and i don’t like internal cabling anyway, too much cable crunching up by the headset.

[@ChopperChad]

@@tonyg3091well, it’s been on there since 2016 and this one backwards comparable will gen 1 so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

[@jonblake7871]

Em, bit of a curate's egg. Really disappointed that they can't sort full integration, it really cannot be impossible. Is it true that there are no Shimano geared versions? If so, also disappointing. Not sure about the wheels too. Big tick for the mudguard mounts and the Future Shock upgrade though.

[@monguzzle]

For me, the big letdown with Di2 is that if you trash that little wire you're in a world of hurt. At least with SRAM you can take a piece off, bolt the new one on, pair it, and get cracking without taking your bike to pieces.

[@bakboord3954]

Did not look, but let me guess: lighther stiffer more aero

[@endtimeslips4660]

i'm still wonder why HJC made a helmet look like a squidward nose.

[@valz1985]

Keeps me from buying one because still no internal cables and a lot more nicer handle bar.

[@NewPolishScientist]

You can make kind of Specialized Roubaix with your current road bike. Just put redshift seatpost and stem. It will be cheaper and possibly lighter.

[@Hintonbro.]

Redshift stem is not the equivalent of the FS - unless you like tilting forward

[@NewPolishScientist]

@@Hintonbro. well not really that much of difference. I don't feel the tilt while I am riding

[@edmondfaidiga275]

Cane Creek

[@michaeldatrindade1702]

I would like to see you test the Tarmac SL8 in Madeira instead🤩

[@dcv9460]

FIRST 😎👍

[@kevinbourke4038]

Nice bicycle, shame it has disc brakes though. Heavy, troublesome - noisy disc brakes.

[@sbccbc7471]

The Roubaix went disc-only ever since it first used the Future Shock back in 2016 or 2017.

[@brody5211]

Nothing better than discs on downhill , braking much later I’d a great buzz

[@roadcyclist1]

The exposed cabling out front makes this bike a no for me.

[@aneczka2114]

Nothing about this bike interests me! I'm not sure what's going on when specialized. This bike looks like it was from 2020. Better off getting a canyon grizzle with a red shift stem cheaper and more capable. Probably more aero and lighter.

[@monguzzle]

A Grizl is an utterly different bike to this.

[@monguzzle]

@@aneczka2114 this will destroy a Grizl on long road rides. It wouldn’t even be close.

[@monguzzle]

@@MrKrekkie not necessarily; tube shapes and profiles can still be used.

[@mad4tar77]

You miss the point of the Roubaix. There are, however, many many bikes on the market to cater for your needs.

[@j.r.arnolli9734]

Nice bike, but................ Riding, without gloves, without, proper, handprotection..............................

[@Vinch22]

lovely jubbly