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Gallery: The big, squishy tech of Roubaix

VeloNews goes behind the scenes to showcase some interesting tech solutions and combinations used to combat the cobbles at Paris-Roubaix.

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Paris-Roubaix — Paris-Roubaix is full of quirky tech choices, though much fewer than it used to be. Most riders are on standard bikes with normal wheels. The only major concession to comfort are big tires — at least 28mm — and occasionally little touches like this. John Degenkolb added a single Paul brake lever for his rear brake. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Degenkolb used Shimano Di2 sprint shifters. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — The Trek leader also used a Di2 remote shifter. So he had eight different shift buttons available to him. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Degenkolb’s bottle. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Tight 11-23 cassettes. No need for anything wider. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — 54-42 for Degenkolb. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Trek sells these special race-oriented Domane’s, but you better want a super short head tube and aggressive cornering geometry. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Dege didn’t quite have it on Sunday, but his ride was a good step forward after last year’s accident. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — 40cm bars for the German. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — And a classy sector list. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Roubaix wheels just get deeper and deeper. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Oodles of room on the Domane. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — The Domane has an adjustable rear IsoSpeed decoupler. Seven is the softest. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — ‘Pinarellow’ recently launched a new version of its Dogma K8s softail frame that has automatic lockout. It senses how rough the road surface is an adjusts accordingly. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Engage: ‘Tourism Mode’ on the Dogma’s suspension remote. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Only two Sky riders, Gianni Moscon and Ian Stannard, ran the new system at Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Sky was on FMB tubulars, all 28mm. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Moscon, Sky’s young cobblestone revelation, used a Di2 climbing shifter. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Matthew Hayman came into Roubaix with tempered expectations, but was still dissapointed at the finish when he failed to defend his title. He rode the same bike as he did last year, a Scott Foil aero frame with big 28mm Continental Pro LTD tires. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Hayman’s bike was checked for a motor before the start, along with most of the bikes at Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — A blocky Syncros stem and aluminum bar for Hayman’s Foil. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — A bit of a Roubaix theme for Hayman’s bike. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Most aero bikes won’t take a tire this big, but the Foil uses direct mount calipers, which provide quite a bit more room. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Teams roll into Compiegne on Sunday. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Sector list. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Only one Cannondale-Drapac rider, Will Clarke, rode discs on Sunday. He rode mechanical TRPs instead of hydraulic Shimanos. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Riders ran between 55 and 75psi. Most of the Cannondale team was on 4.8 bar, or 69psi, to start. The latex tubulars leak quite quickly, so mechanics expected them to be at around 62 by the time the race reached the cobbles.

Paris-Roubaix — Clarke’s mechanical discs. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — All of Direct Energie was on discs. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Most riders run a 53 or 54-tooth big ring and a 42 or 44-tooth small ring. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Direct Energie rode big, rebadged Hutchinson tires (they’re actually Dugast) and discs brakes at Paris-Roubaix 2017. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Pros use a “rounded” rotor, but it looks almost identical to the regular rotors. Just a bit of beveling on the edges. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — We’re almost certain these aren’t Hutchinsons. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — That looks like a Dugast stamp. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — A rubber band around the bottle cage helps keeps bottles from ejecting. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Sunweb got the new goods from Shimano. They were the only team on the company’s new Dura-Ace rotors. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — A line of Cofidis bikes. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Rough grip tape on all the bottle cages at Cofidis. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Keep an eye out for in-race footage. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — A mechanic mounts a front wheel to one of BMC’s Roubaix bikes. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Some sector charts are more pro than others. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Campagnolo has a direct-mount brake now. Just like it’s Shimano counterpart it offers far more tire clearance. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Grippy. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Team Delko-Marseille Provence KTM used mechanical discs and 140mm rotors. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Schwalbe was back with its big G-One tire. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — There’s a lot of pressure checking going on on Roubaix morning. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — And a lot of bottles to be doled out. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Even the police get special bikes for Roubaix. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — The ProLTD badge indicates that this Continental Competition 28mm tire is made with a latex inner tube for lower rolling resistance. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — At some point they’ll all just run single rings. The little ring is really just there to catch the chain if it pops off. If you have to use it, it’s already too late. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Aero bikes at Roubaix? Yep. Tech has come a long way in the last decade. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Careful, don’t step on Tom. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Check ’em off. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Di2 sprint shifters and double wrapped bars. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Vittoria’s 28mm Corsa. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — The throng around Peter Sagan’s bus. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — AG2R’s Factor bikes use direct mount brakes and can fit a 28mm tubular without issue. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — We measured this Dugast at 31, actually. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Bianchi’s claims that its Countervail tech helps decrease vibration. Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

Paris-Roubaix — Molto celeste! Photo: Caley Fretz | VeloNews.com

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