Peter Sagan's custom version of Specialized’s new Roubaix bike.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
The PRO aluminium handlebar is preferred over carbon for Paris-Roubaix because it’s less likely to break in a crash.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
An iridescent nod to the bike's owner.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
The Roubaix features Specialized’s Future Shock suspension cartridge.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan is using 28mm Specialized S-Works Turbo Gripton tyres and Roval CLX 50 wheels.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan rides a Zipp Sprint stem with the logo taped over.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan will ride the Specialized Romin Pro saddle.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Specialized have made a limited production model of the Roubaix with dual mount rim brakes for Peter Sagan and other professional riders. (Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
The Specialized Roubaix incorporates McLaren technology.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan's grey colour scheme turns iridescent when it catches the light. (Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan is likely to ride on 53x44 chainrings at Paris-Roubaix.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan will ride 28mm tyres at Paris-Roubaix.(Image credit: Brakethrough Media)
Peter Sagan dials in his new rim-brake Specialized Roubaix bike(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter and Juraj Sagan ride together(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Peter Sagan takes a corner at speed as he test his Roubaix race bike(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Peter Sagan will ride Paris-Roubaix on a custom version of Specialized's new Roubaix bike, and like his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates, Tom Boonen and the rest of the Quick-Step Floors team, he has opted against disc brakes due to the risk of a long, possibly race-losing wait for a wheel or bike change on the cobbles.
The new Roubaix is only available to the public with disc brakes but Specialized have made a limited production model with dual mount rim brakes for its professional riders. There was speculation about if this respected UCI rules, which state that bikes must be available for sale to the public. However Specialized said the rim brake model was approved by the UCI because it is only a change in brake type and minor changes to geometry, rather than a completely different bike.
Sagan tested the bike during Wednesday's Scheldeprijs and then gave it a final shakedown with his tyres of choice for Paris-Roubaix during a recon ride on Thursday. It seems Sagan has opted to ride Shimano Dura Ace mechanical gears, instead of his usual choice of Di2 electronic gears, as he tries to reduce the risk of any problems on the pave.
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The images provided by Specialized show Sagan's frame equipped with the new Shimano Dura Ace Di2 but he rode on mechanical gears and an older Dura Ace chainset on Thursday. He is likely to ride on 53x44 chainrings, fitted with a white 4iiii dual sided power metre.
Sagan's bike stands out for its grey colour scheme that has turns iridescent when it catches the light. It is subtle but offers a flash of rainbow colours to match Sagan's world champion jersey.
The Specialized Roubaix offer some extra comfort and shock absorption thanks to Specialized's Future Shock suspension cartridge in and above the head tube and the low seat post bolt position on the down tube. The spring and damper cartridge can be changed to tune the stiffness of the bike but the pro riders have a more rigid option.
Specialized Racing's Chris D'Alusio explained to our sister site BikeRadar that Specialized and its teams worked together to test a variety of different springs for racing on the cobbles. The final product was a stiff, progressive spring that ramps at both ends of the travel. It is harder to engage initially and harder to bottom out than any of the three stock springs, but relatively softer in the middle of the 20mm of travel.
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The hits from the Paris-Roubaix cobbles are so jarring that the stiffest of the stock springs bottomed out too quickly, D'Alusio said.
Shimano's latest all-black Dura-Ace direct mount brakes provide the stopping power and provide clearance for up to 28mm tyres. Sagan is using 28mm Specialized S-Works Turbo Gripton tyres. They are mounted to Roval CLX 50 wheels, the same deep-section carbon wheels Sagan races in other races.
Sagan has insisted on using a Zipp Sprint stem rather than a sponsor's product, with black electrical tape covering the logos. It is paired with PRO aluminium handlebar, which is preferred over carbon for Paris-Roubaix because it's less likely to break in a crash. The bars have a single wrap of SupaCaz tape, while Sagan prefers the Specialized Romin Pro saddle.
With its gum-wall tyres and grey primary colour, the bike is subtle and somewhat conservative in component choices but is also packed with technology that Specialized hope will help Sagan dominate the pave of Paris-Roubaix.
We have also featured this bike in our Peter Sagan's bike archive in an overview of all the Slovak's race machines over the years.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
