The main difference however is at the front end, with a full 50mm greater stack height before you take into account the additional height created by the hoverbar.īeing noticeably more upright does make the bike feel like less of a racer, no matter how much Specialized claims this is a race bike. The Roubaix has a slightly lower bottom bracket (by 4mm), which makes the bike feel more stable and is possible (I hypothesise) because Roubaix riders are less likely to be pedalling through a tight apex and so the increased risk of pedal strike is negated. If you need to quickly throw the bars one way or another the bike does respond very quickly indeed, but things diverge thereafter. I am reluctant to use words like ‘relaxed’ to describe the ride feel, because the Roubaix is certainly no slouch, but in relative terms the geometrical difference between the two framesets does create a ride character more attuned to long days out than absolutely flat out racing.Ĭomparing the Tarmac and the Roubaix one can see they have a near identical wheelbase and head angle, and this does result in a feedback at the bars that is nearly identical. There are certainly similar characteristics to the way all three of these bikes handle, but the Roubaix is definitely less racy.
Earlier in the year I spent some time on the Specialized Allez Sprint, which has functionally the same geometry as the Specialized Tarmac SL7.
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