Love that headline anyone else got an SL2/Roubaix hybrid?

Along with those FMB tubulars with special punture resistent sidewalls.

Yes, GH will never win the P-R if he keeps riding these esoteric or poorly applied parts that fail.
This time, Shimano wheels.

All front runners ran pretty standard bikes.

here are some pics I took @ Arenberg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cicli-raff ... 518096247/

Yeah, it's almost as if the 'Paris-Roubaix specials' are just something the bike manufacturer cooks up to get some publicity on cyclingnews.com, isn't it?

As EURO says, this is a great opportunity for teams to showcase their bikes, for the cycling media to advertise their products for free.

But the variations in bikes often depends on the individual. Some riders just want an extra layer of bar tape and 25mm tyres, others go to greater lengths, such as Steve Bauer's "easy rider" frame. I used to weep for Museeuw in the year when he tried to chase Tchmil, this stupid dual suspension Bianchi road frame and on the road sections he looked like a horse rider trotting as the frame bounced underneath him yet the springs got clogged with mud on the cobbled sections and so reduced the damping.

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/default.a ... ory&id=836

Who builds these custom carbon frames? We've learned via Boonen's Specialized that molds are very expensive and I can't imagine one-off molds are being made for each team-member's size of frame.

Who gets the job of splicing carbon mtb seatstays to a batch of Wilers?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/tech/probikes/index.php?id=/photos/2008/tech/probikes/ballan_lampre_wilierpr08/Alessandro_Ballans_Lampre_Wilier_Paris-Roubaix_Special_brake_mounts

Are factory frames modified in-house in China? Or did Nick Crumpton have a back-log of Cervelo frames and 10mm sections of squoval carbon tubes to get through before Sunday?

Those custom carbon frames of Wilier are made by a small company in Vicenza, called Univer.

It´s not that difficult, as the back parts are always added to the main triangle after that has been moulded. In Specializeds case, they only need to bond a Roubaix rear end on, instead of a normal Tarmac SL2. No big deal.

I think big George was on HEDs:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/apr08/roubaix08/0897_Flecja_Hincapie_mmPhSpt.jpg
http://grahamwatson.com/gw/imagedocs.nsf/images/08roubaix/$file/8.jpg

But he was again using an aluminium steerer tube. (At least on the cross version):
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/tech/probikes/index.php?id=/photos/2008/tech/probikes/hincapie_highroad_giantprspecial08/Hincapies_High_Road_Giant_TCR_Advanced_Team_PR_steerer

Nothing to do with expense. Every professional wheelbuilder worth their salt will have that subconscious paranoia about building with black spokes - that goes for the apparently 'fabulous' CX-Ray and DT Aerolite etc.

If they were so strong and resilient we would all be building tandem and touring wheels out of them (not to mention Paris-Roubaix specials). But were not. Were using good old silver SS.

Told you guys !!

Gerolsteiner´s ones are the Roubaix Sworks SL like mine (mine is red and black), but Boonen´s one is the new Sworks SL2, with a beefy pedalier and the new conic fork, theoretically also stiffer than old model.

The rear triangle has Zertz inserts is not only bonded, but front triangle is made only for Boonen, with longer top tube because Boonen has longer arms, despite he is a 58 vertical, he needed a 14 cm stem, even last year he rode a alu bike in this race because of that.

Stock Roubaix model also has diferent geometry, longer chainstays and taller head tube, in the Boonen´s model you can´t see that.

Hincapie was indeed on Hed Stingers
http://www.tdwsport.com/imagedesk/pic.p ... pg&thumb=0