I was crew chief for a RAAM team this summer and our solo rider used a pair of these as his primary bikes - with the idea that the comfort factors would play a big part in keeping him fresh as he averaged 260 miles/day for almost two weeks. ( he got the UDi2 models). I rode them around for a few miles for one reason or another. Wheels were upgraded to ENVY of various depths depending on the wind...

The headshock is legit - it provides something of a magic carpet ride, I was looking down to check if there it really was on chipseal because it made the road feel like fresh asphalt. We also loved it on mountain roads - the through-axles with disc brakes make for a very different experience than QR/ Rim brake going over rough surfaces in the dark.

We never had any maintenance issues with the Headshock, the gobbler seat post was also very compliant - your could deflect it quite a bit just by pressing down. As a comfortable bike that still handled crisply - I thought it was great. Probably not what I would pick for pack racing ( even if pros use it a Paris-Roubaix) - but touring, training, group rides would all be great uses.

Full disclosure was that much of the last 1000 miles were on a Tarmac S-Works Disc because our rider felt like it was lighter and faster.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

Hello,
Thank you for the thorough description. I am an older rider who just likes nice bikes and I'm trying to decide between this model and a Cervelo C3.

I ride the occasional club ride but mainly a lone wolf and likes getting out and putting miles on a bike.


Any opinion on the C3?

Again thank you much

Gene

I don't have any personal experience, but I've read a couple reviews where the rider said the tuning of the Future Shock on the new Diverge was better than the Roubaix. Apparently the springs are interchangeable between models.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I recently bought a C5, and absolutely love it. I didn't ride it head to head with a Roubaix, but it is also an extremely compliant ride. I liked that it's a bit less complicated mechanically than the Roubaix without the futureshock. With 28c tires I think pretty much anything is going to feel like a magic carpet ride.

I have a 2017 Roubaix (well, most of it, still waiting on parts from the guy I bought it from).

It's super, super comfortable. As others have said, smooths the road right out.

My biggest "complaint" is that I periodically feel like I might have a tire going flat because the ride is so soft.

and I love the hydraulic disc brakes.

I rented one of these for 5 days in the summer.

As other people have said - it smooths things out. Probably to the point where I lost quite a bit of road feel.
The front shock took a bit to get used to. The ride is very plush, but when you hit a bump there is a delay before you feel the reaction in the bars.

Also - great disc brakes, comes with wide gearing standard and nice paint jobs available.

The bottom-bracket tool storage is also very nice. Don't need to think about forgetting flat kits/saddlebag. It would be a nice plus that I'd be willing to pay my own money for.

I've had one since April of 2017. It has 2500 miles and 4 crits on it. The only mod I've made is I'm not using the road kit that is supposed to come with it because mine showed up missing, so I took the credit and bought a road bandit instead. I also have a Praxis crank and a Power Tap C1 on it instead of the shimano crank. Otherwise it is still stock, although the rear tire was replaced 2 weeks after I bought it due to a broken glass bottle I didn't see in time. Tire had no chance. I even have the same chain on the bike.

I'm 6 ft, 175 lbs., and ride a 54. That is one size smaller than I measure, but I do that because I crit race and, at least in my head, a smaller frame handles quicker. The 54 could be fitted to me perfectly with a new stem, so no loss.

I have the heavy spring installed (40 lbs?) and I never notice it move except at the start of the race when I bounce it to show someone how it works. The seat flex is another story. I notice the seat flex when descending really fast (over 30 mph) on rough roads. Unlike the front end that I can't really feel move, my ass tells me every time the seat moves. A bit unnerving at first but now I just go with the flow.

As far as handling goes, it handles as well as my old (2007) Allez. It is no heavier, probably lighter, and it can be tossed into and out of corners with no problem. Climbing out of the saddle is the same story. I don't notice the front end moving when I am pulling on the handle bars. Same story in an out of the seat sprint - no movement as I toss the bike back and forth. So is it worth the hype? Not sure. There are too many differences between it and what I came off of to be able to isolate what is making it better. I know it is a much more compliant ride than the Allez, but it is also running 28c tires on a 24mm rim at 90 psi, instead of 23c tires on a 19mm rim at 115 psi.

The bike seems to be a well thought out total system. Oh, and it stops better than any bike I've had under me.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I don't have any experience on the C3.

I would look at it this way. The Roubaix is a more complex bike with some undeniable comfort advantages, but being complex just figure it will be a bit more maintenance intensive. ( we found them very reliable - but moving parts eventually need adjustment and or repair) . If you have a shop you can trust, and amuse yourself riding/doing something else while it is serviced 1-2 times a year, it is a great solution.

If you don't have a top-quality shop handy, then a more classic bike like the C3 will spend less time in the shop and be easier for the average mechanic to service.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978