Spesh Roubaix - what are it's rivals?

[2pies]

Yes, I'm sure they add tens of grams to the weight of the bike. Rims can be thinner and lighter without the need of conventional brake pads though. Maybe more aero too.

If I was buying a road bike next year (which I'd use for sportives & club runs) I would want disc brakes. They are safer, so the UCI will be under pressure to allow them at competition level. Thats the only reason they aren't on road bikes already.

 

[Haffers]

It looks like the top-end Roubaix have the disc brakes; the 2013 lower range ones are on sale now in Evans and the £1,500 price point sport has standard brakes.

Going to have a discussion at lbs about the Elite later - seen some good options here but as the Elite has suited me and I also have the Specialized Hardrock for off-road, going to stick with them :-)

 

[MattHB]

Yes, I'm sure they add tens of grams to the weight of the bike. Rims can be thinner and lighter without the need of conventional brake pads though. Maybe more aero too.

If I was buying a road bike next year (which I'd use for sportives & club runs) I would want disc brakes. They are safer, so the UCI will be under pressure to allow them at competition level. Thats the only reason they aren't on road bikes already.

How are they safer? I'm curious

 

[martint235]

How are they safer? I'm curious

Less susceptible to fading in the wet for a start. Plus they don't grind the rims down so rim failure is less likely.

I may be quite a while off my next bike but it will have disc brakes.

 

[martint235]

That would have helped :-) Looking at the Elite so £1,500 to £2,000 range...

£2,000 will get you a titanium bike. I'd wait for Planet X to start selling the Ti Sportive again. I got one with SRAM Red for around £2000 (I made some changes to the spec, should have been £1800). For some reason Planet X go through a few months of not selling them then suddenly get a load of stock in.

I think Enigma do some around the £2k mark and Sabbath and Spa certainly do.

 

[black'n'yellow]

For some reason Planet X go through a few months of not selling them then suddenly get a load of stock in.

Because the factories in Taiwan/China mostly fulfil orders in batches. Last week, the same factory probably made frames for another vendor - next week it will be someone else. Planet X has to wait its turn...

 

[martint235]

Because the factories in Taiwan/China mostly fulfil orders in batches. Last week, the same factory probably made frames for another vendor - next week it will be someone else. Planet X has to wait its turn...

Not sure that the titanium frames are far eastern. Fairly sure mine was built in Holland

 

[black'n'yellow]

Not sure that the titanium frames are far eastern. Fairly sure mine was built in Holland

You have one of the Van Nicholas-supplied PX frames..? If so, the tubes are prepped, jigged and welded in Taiwan. Final finishing is done in the Netherlands. Nothing wrong with that - I used to have a Van Nich frame and I loved it. Not made in Holland though....

 

[Rob3rt]

As far as I know, you can state "made in ..." for the location in which the last major change to the product was carried out. What constitutes major change is arguable though.

Companies will pick and choose out of all possible locations along the production line, the one which is most desirable to a buyer and stick that sticker on. So VN may well claim "Made in Holland/Netherlands" even if it was welded up in Taiwan, since they finished it up in Holland. Ofc course their ability to get away with it will depend on whether the "finishing" they do constitutes a major change.

* This is a completely general point, I have no idea re VN.

 

[martint235]

Their website says every frame is handbuilt in Holland. Now I'll accept that the tubing could be made elsewhere (and would expect it to be) but "This is why we hand-build every single Van Nicholas here at our factory in Holland" means to me that all the joining and jigging is done in Holland.

I can't say I'm fussed either way.

With reference to the PX issue though, I think it's more that PX can't find suppliers to meet their prices and so have to keep changing manufacturers.

 

[Andrew Br]

Another Ti option would be Justin Burls.
Custom frames are ~£1000, delivery about 6 weeks after you pay the deposit.
Because they're custom, he can do you any geometry you want as long as it's save.
My GF has just got her's. She's delighted and Justin was really easy to work with.
Here it is before its first outing:-


12-07-15 Justin Burls custom Ti bike, Rourke Cycles paint by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

As for discs: yes, I would. My newest bike is a custom Enigma and I use it for day rides, occasional Audax and credit card touring.
Current mileage is ~5400 on the original pads, much of that distance has been on gravel tracks and in appalling weather (Manchester-Morecambe FNRttC anyone ?)
Here it is on the Monsall Tunnels trail:-


12-03-24 Enigma on Monsal Tunnels route by Chocolatebike1, on Flickr

.

 

[HLaB]

I don't know if they are in a similar bracket but when I was looking at a Spesh Roubaix, I ended up buying a 928 Carbon Bianchi for the same price; I liked the look of it better

 

[smutchin]

I don't know enough about discs to comment with authority on whether or not they're safer than rim brakes but I do know that stating as fact that they're safer is by no means uncontroversial - there are plenty of differing views on the matter.

As to the UCI allowing discs in road races... nah, it'll never happen, not in the lifetime of any of us reading this. But that is not a reason not to use them for recreational riding.

d.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Their website says every frame is handbuilt in Holland. Now I'll accept that the tubing could be made elsewhere (and would expect it to be) but "This is why we hand-build every single Van Nicholas here at our factory in Holland" means to me that all the joining and jigging is done in Holland.

That statement refers to their 'complete' bikes, which are built (ie assembled) in Holland. The frames are manufactured in Taiwan. I'm not making that up.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Another Ti option would be Justin Burls.
Custom frames are ~£1000, delivery about 6 weeks after you pay the deposit.
Because they're custom, he can do you any geometry you want as long as it's save.
My GF has just got her's. She's delighted and Justin was really easy to work with.
Here it is before its first outing:-

That's an incredible amount of spacers for a 'custom' frame..?