REVIEW: Specialized Roubaix S-Works SL3 2011

Hi everyone,

I would like to give my review on the Specialized Roubaix S-Works SL3 2011 road bike. I have to say that this is one of the best bikes I've ever ridden to date (I have to say though that I have not ridden that many bikes anyway).

But before we go further into the review let me first of all introduce myself and my riding profile.

Rider Profile

• Start riding: 2010
• Type of riding: Commuting from/to home/work around ~60km a day, endurance and century riding on the weekend.
• Speed: Slow-moderate 24-28kmh flats, 32-35kmh sprint and peloton riding, 14-16kmh climbing.
• Road condition: Bike path, rough surface and rarely smooth with a lot of tree drops and branches especially during winter and wet season.
• Climb condition: Short climb less than a kilometer with 2-14% gradient.
• Age: 29
• Height: 170cm
• Weight: 74kg
• Bikes ridden: Giant CRX-3, Giant TCR Advanced 1 & 2 2010, Merida Reacto 909 2011, Specialized Roubaix S-Works SL3 2011.
• Riding goal: Fitness, endurance riding.
• Profession: Website and SharePoint developer and consultant. I carry my laptop everywhere.
• Location: Perth, Western Australia.
• Sex: Male

I will not call myself a fast-paced rider. I'm however quiet competitive when it comes to group riding. I like to push myself although I'm very limited with time - which has now become one of my excuses of not putting a lot more effort into increasing my leg strength.

Bike Details

Prior to riding my Specialized Roubaix S-Works SL3, I rode the Merida Reacto 909. I loved that bike so dearly. Compared this to my Giant TCR Advanced 1, man I would choose the Reacto any day. This bike is just a beast. Fast, very stiff, stable and comfortable.

The only thing that forced me to sell was its aggressive geometry. As I'm commuting to work daily, I have to carry 5-7kg weight on my shoulder every time I commute. The race geometry simply didn't work well with my back. After few months riding I started to feel sore on my back. 

Initially I didn't notice that it was the result of my riding with the Reacto. I only noticed it when I stopped riding. There was a moment when the weather was rainy and I had to stop riding for a week. My back pain was just gone. As soon as I started riding again, the pain came back.

I have attempted to turn the stem upside-down so I get ~8-degree increase there and it helped a little bit but still my back pain has not gone away. That's when I then made the decision to sell the bike.

Initially I was thinking of selling the complete bike however I noticed that the Merida bike came with Shimano Dura-Ace C35 wheelset and Dura-Ace 7900 out-of-the-box. I realized that for me to get a new bike (any brand) with the same spec would have cost me $5-8K at least. In the end I sold the Merida frame on its own and I kept the components and the wheels.

So this is where the story begins. Dura-Ace C35 wheelset and Dura-Ace 7900 components on my hands with no frameset to put them on. I have realized by now that I need an endurance frame. I'm also that type of guys that simply wants to buy the best and expensive stuff although my skill is not there yet (yeah I know it sounds silly). Anyway, after looking around, the only brands/models that I like were Trek Madone 6.9SSL H2 and Specialized Roubaix S-Works SL3. I'm not sure why I didn't consider other brands/models. Maybe I'm too blinded with their popularity and marketing gimmicks? 

In the end I chose the Roubaix S-Works SL3 although I have always wanted to ride the Trek. It's just they are too expensive (I still want to save for it and hopefully in the near future I can ride one of them though). During that time Specialized also did a great deal on the Roubaix S-Works SL3 2011 frameset. I think back then the 2011 models have not been sold due to a delayed delivery and the 2012 models have already come out. So Specialized are left with so many unsold 2011 stocks. 

Anyway, the frame was $4K RRP but they sold to me for $2600 which I think was an excellent value. I ended up getting the Team HTC color which I love so dearly. I like yellow by the way. So that's how everything came together. I then get the guys to put on the components and wheels for me. 

So, my new completely built bike profile is as follows:

• Specialized Roubaix S-Works 2011 Team HTC frameset
• Shimano Dura-Ace C35 wheels
• Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 components
• Selle SMP Extra Yellow saddle
• Garmin Edge 500 bike computer and cadence
• Shimano XTR MTB pedal
• Mavic Fury Yellow shoes
• Size: Extra Small 50cm

The Ride

This is it....the moment that I've been waiting for.It was one particular sunny day and I was ready to go to work with my bag containing my laptop, clothes for change, etc on my back. I clipped in my legs and here I went commuting.

My first impression on this bike was..........this bike was just so comfortable geometrically. My position was a lot right up. I knew for sure that I wouldn't get any sore back although I wouldn't be able to tell until I arrived back at home later on the night. But so far the geometry was a lot better for me.

Specialized - on their marketing campaign - specifies that this bike is supposed to be comfortable and soaking up a lot of road bumps and buzz. Well, that's what other people say so, too anyway. For me this wasn't the case. I still felt the bump as much as my Merida Reacto 909 and as much as my Giant TCR Advanced 1. It absorbed as much (and as little) road buzz as my Merida and Giant. Maybe this is due to my speed which is slow-moderate? But who cares...what matters is not what other people feel or say about it, it's what I say and feel about it.

The handling of the bike unfortunately wasn't as precise and stable as my Merida. When I went down hill I felt the bike was a bit twitchy. On flats my Merida also felt more solid. Cornering also my Merida still felt better and easier to control. 

Attacking and accelerating are also better on my Merida but I think this is due to the geometry. I think the lower your position is on the bike, the better and easier it is to generate power for acceleration.

Look, it's not to say that the Roubaix wasn't solid nor stable, I'm just saying that comparing this to my Merida, my Merida is still a winner on these criteria.

Climbing however felt faster and easier than my Merida. I think it's safe to say that my Merida is more suitable for sprinting and on-flats riding but for climbing and endurance ride I will still choose my Specialized.

Arriving back at home later on the night I felt absolutely NO BACK PAIN whatsoever. Let me repeat it again, MY BACK PAIN IS FULL GONE which what I've always dreamed of.

Can you still ride fast with the Roubaix? Definitely! Otherwise Tom Boonen and Cancellara wouldn't have won Paris-Roubaix, would they? However, the geometry is very-very right up. Therefore, to get aerodynamics advantage you have to ride on the drop-bar (which what Tom Boonen did when he soloed for the last 50km of the last Paris Roubaix).

Conclusion

Is this the right bike for me? I would say YES! Any day I would choose this bike for commuting and century-riding. It's so comfortable and most importantly, the geometry is very-very friendly to my body, hip and back.

Is this the right bike to ride fast and flat-racing? I'm not sure. To be quiet fair I never race so I wouldn't know what it's like but judging from my day-to-day ride only, this bike needs a bit more effort to be ridden fast compared to the other race-geometry bikes.

What it's better at compared to others:

• Climbing
• Long and century rides
• Commuting

What others better at compared to this:

• Cornering
• Flats
• Sprinting and accelerating