# Road Newbie and My Roubaix Pro



## TenaciousB (Oct 18, 2009)

Hello everyone! I'm excited to join the world of road riding after 15 years of mountain biking. Every year I would train on the road with my mountain bike, and after riding a friends road bike for the first time this year I realized what I was missing!

I got a Roubaix Pro from Performance bike this fall for $944 out the door with their sale going on. Hopefully I got a good deal, it seems like a good price compared to what the LBS is asking. 

I've only logged a couple hundred miles so far, I am still fiddling with adjustments and getting used to riding on the road. I have only made a few mods to the bike so far. 

I took off the stickers from the wheels. They will hopefully be upgraded next spring anyway. I leaning towards some Neuvations or Velocity Helios.

I got a shorter stem and replaced the bar tape with Fizik microtex. And I just scored a carbon seat post from ebay, and some new Conti GP4000s that I will put on this spring once I get the wheels. 

<a href="https://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll26/TenaciousB74/?action=view&current=DSC00141.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll26/TenaciousB74/DSC00141.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


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## ssing20 (Aug 1, 2007)

Congratulations and welcome to the great world of road cycling. Your bike looks great and good luck w/ your upgrades. I have a 2008 Fuji Team and upgraded the wheels to Neuvation R28 SL5's. No complaints and as you probably know, lots of positive reviews on RBR. I also highly recommend the Conti 4000's w/ black chili. very flat resistant and grippy. pricey though.


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## kmunny19 (Aug 13, 2008)

same bike for this last xmas. watch out for the gossamer crankset getting creaky and the chainrings wearing/bending. otherwise, a very nice set up and a great value. I replaced my saddle, and wheels so far. went with easton ea50sl, but in hindsight, I should have replaced the crankset first. now I'm saving up for that. sweet bike though, and in the not too competitive races i've done this year, i've really enjoyed passing a lot of bikes that were a lot more expensive.


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## xeon (Dec 21, 2008)

kmunny19 said:


> watch out for the gossamer crankset getting creaky and the chainrings wearing/bending. ... the not too competitive races i've done this year, i've really enjoyed passing a lot of bikes that were a lot more expensive.


You sure its the cranks? I was getting some creaking in that area and my bike mechanic looked at it and determined it was a loose BB on the non-drive side. He tightened it and it went away, but creaking is back as of my ride last night. 

Great bike for the money though considering other options out there. I did replace my wheels since the stockers were out of true at around 500 miles. In fact my last triathlon I did I had to open the rear brake release lever because it was rubbing on the brake pads... managed a 24.x mph on that one. Went with Neuvation R28 Aero4s and they are really nice wheels.


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## TenaciousB (Oct 18, 2009)

From the things I read about the bike before I bought it, it seems as tho the cranks and wheels were the weak points. Although my uncle has the same crankset on his Gary Fisher and is pushing close to 1000 miles with no problems. 

I was a bit worried about the brakes as well, but to my surprise they seem to work quite well. I'll probably hold off to upgrade those.

I was set on getting the Neuvation wheels, but i have been taking a closer look at the Vuelta Corsa Super Lite wheels. At a claimed 1442g they are extremely light and are cheaper ($350 or less) than the Neuvations. Just not a whole lot of reviews out there on them. 

The other wheels I'm considering are the Torelli Bormio, Pro-Lite Braccio or Stelvio, and Kore Gradient.


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## kmunny19 (Aug 13, 2008)

xeon said:


> You sure its the cranks? I was getting some creaking in that area and my bike mechanic looked at it and determined it was a loose BB on the non-drive side. He tightened it and it went away, but creaking is back as of my ride last night.


cranks and BB, the whole set. try loctite on all the crank and chainring bolts. that's a common quick fix for this set, and may eliminate the new creaking. it worked on mine, then the teeth on the chainring started to wear, bend and file down before I hit 1000 miles.


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## twoyacks (Jun 25, 2003)

be careful when you gram shop on wheels. I know how important it is to have light wheels, but when it comes at the expense of stiffness you will not be happy. I have 2 sets of neuvations (r28 sl5's & m28 sl's) same rims on both just different gauge spokes and hubs. These rims are plenty stiff. I had some Nimble Spider rims before this and the Neuvation rims are much, much stiffer. They also have fewer spokes, 20 up front. Don't discount the low spoke count either as this does provide a aero advantage over 28-32 spoke count front wheels...rear does little for aerodynamics what with the frame and your legs in the way...thats all i got


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## TenaciousB (Oct 18, 2009)

Well, maybe I'm a "semi-newbie" now after 1200miles of riding....gotta say I am very happy with my bike. 
I've done a few upgrades since my last post. A new custom set of Velocity wheels, Ultremo R.1's, fizik antares and bar tape, dura ace brake pads, carbon K wing handlebar, fuji carbon seatpost and some Look carbon mtb pedals....I think I'm done for now.

<a href="https://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll26/TenaciousB74/?action=view&current=DSCF0002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll26/TenaciousB74/DSCF0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


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## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

Looks good, but of course I'm a little partial to it as well.


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## CROCK U (Aug 5, 2010)

How is that carbon K bar working for you? Did it reduce road vibrations?


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## TenaciousB (Oct 18, 2009)

CROCK U said:


> How is that carbon K bar working for you? Did it reduce road vibrations?



Honestly, it was the second best upgrade I made. The wheels were first. I have had problems for years with the tingling sensation in my hands, and these bars helped tremendously. I wrapped them with thin 3m foam tape, and then the fizik bar tape and it seems to mute the vibrations fairly well. The shape is what is the best, the flat top is very comfortable. I highly recommend them!


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