- Riding over cobbles can be a brutal experience.
Watching the pros do it on TV doesn't
even come close to doing it justice.
These things are rough.
And the really cruel thing about cobbles
is that the slower you go, the rougher they feel.
- But the good news is you can make
things just a little bit more comfortable and even faster
by making a few small adjustments to your bike.
Now, we're luck enough to have with us
today this Trek Domane belonging to
Yaroslav Popovych of Trek-Segafredo.
It's the bike that he rode in last years Paris-Roubaix.
And as you can see, it's completely race ready
with FMB Paris-Roubaix 27 millimetre tyres,
and even the Paris-Roubaix parcours on the top tube.
Now, we also have with us our very own
Orbea Avant off the peg, a bike that's
perfect for the pave and is gonna be ridden by
Cofidis in this years Paris-Roubaix.
- Does Yaroslav know you've got his bike, by the way, mate?
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- The most important equipment choice
when riding the cobbles are tyres.
They provide contact point with the road,
cushioning, and grip.
- Yeah, basically, the bigger the tyre
that you can fit on your bike, the better.
Bigger tyres need lower pressures,
and then they're much, much, better
able to absorb the vibration and the hammering
coming up from the road, so you stay more comfortable
and you got much, much, faster.
Then as an added bonus, bigger tyres also have more grip
and greater puncture resistance.
- Now, for most races, the pros will
ride 25C tyres running a pressure
of around 110, 120 PSI, sometimes even more.
But for Paris-Roubaix they'll be riding tyres
with a width of 27C to 30C, but running half that pressure.
So, the losses that they make in rolling resistance
on the smooth asphalt, will be more than made up for
at the games that they make on the pave.
now, the amount of pressure that you put in your tyre
is dependent on your weight, but what's
really worth bearing in mind is that fact
you increase the risk of punctures
or pinch punches when you're running clinchers
as apposed to the tubeless, favoured, or used exclusively
by the pros in Paris-Roubaix, so don't go too low.
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You could also consider double wrapping
your bar tape like Yaroslav Popovych has done here,
just to give you that extra layer of padding.
Now, it's a very simple job, and combined
with a good pear of track mitts,
should you choose to wear them,
can really may a fare bit of difference
in relation to your comfort.
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- Water bottle cages, probably not the
first thing you'd think about when
modifying your bike for the cobbles.
And yes, they will not give you instant speed
or more comfort, but they play a vital role.
You will often see water bottles
flying left right and centre at a cobbled sportive or
even at the Tour of Flanders, or Paris-Roubaix,
and if you lose your water bottle,
then you're not gonna be able to stay on top
of your drinking and your fueling strategies.
So, it's for that reason that pro mechanics
will often either completely swap out
carbon bottle cages and replace them with aluminium ones
that can then be compressed so they hold
the bottle more tightly, or actually
modifying carbon bottle cages,
perhaps putting a little bit of grip tape in there,
or like these Trek ones here,
they've added little rubber O-rings
that mean that your bottle is held really securely.
And if you don't have little rubber O-rings,
then actually, just zip ties tied tightly around there
will help to keep that bottle held tightly.
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- As well as bottles rattling loose,
you're gonna see plenty of chains rattling off.
So, first up, make sure that your
front mech is indexed properly.
And secondly, install a chain catcher.
It's a really handy simply bit of kit
that is remarkably effective and will save you
from getting oily hands at the side of the road,
and worse still, the chain getting wedged
between your chain set and frame,
and possibly even damaging the frame itself.
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- It is definitely worth checking over
every bolt on your bike for tightness,
and preferably, with a torque wrench,
because the last thing that you want
is for all the hammering from the cobbles
to them make your seat post slip,
or your bars to rotate forward,
or for the aforementioned bottle cage to rattle loose.
And then, likewise, it's not just your bike,
the accessories that you put on it,
make sure they are firmly attached.
Whether that's a saddlebag, or indeed,
your head unit here.
This one has a little screw underneath
that means that you can lock it in there.
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- Many pros also opt for cyclo-cross style levers
here on the tops of the bar.
But whether you use those yourself
will depend on how you ride the cobbles.
Either on the tops or down on the drops.
Although, they may actually get you
out of a difficult situation,
should you have to break suddenly
whilst riding on the tops, because you
won't have to move your hands 'round to the breaks.
And they're probably more relevant
if you're riding on an organised ride
with a lot of people around you,
but not so much if you're just riding solo.
So, hopefully, those little tweaks
will make your cobbled experience
a little bit more comfortable,
and maybe, a bit quicker too.
- That's right, and make sure you pack
your best pair of legs before you set out.
- Good point, Simon.
Now, if you haven't all ready subscribed
to GCN, you can do so for free
by clicking on the globe.
- Yeah, and if you're up for some more
cobbled content, well, why not check out
a very special Retro Versus Modern
on the cobbles of Flanders.
That one is just down there.
- Or, for how to ride the cobbles
with me and Lasty, we rode here
in the rain, click just down here.
- That was wet.
- That's pretty brutal, that. - Very wet.