Bikes of Paris Roubaix

Having recently had discussions about which tyres to use in June's P-R sportive, the question of the rest of the bike came up. If you buy your kit like me using your best carbon machine is out of the question. I've ridden P-R three times now, once as a racer and more recently twice in the sportive.

Ride one was in 1984, kit was pretty standard; Reynolds 531 frame, by Bill Philbrook of Gillingham, Campagnolo Super Record Group Set, 32 spoke wheels Mavic GP4 rims, Clement Paris Roubaix tubs. So how did it perform? Frame held up well, but there were problems; shortly before the first sector at Troisvilles I punctured the front tub, a quick change from the team car saw me racing back through the convoy, sporting a skinny Barum PBW, rejoining the back of the peloton within 100m of the first cobbles, unfortunately my arrival coincided with a huge crash which I managed to leap into, puncturing my new front tyre, service here was impossible, so I rode the flat tyre to the end of the sector before grabbing a second replacement. Now in the laughing group I ploughed on through a continuous drizzle, desperately avoiding the inevitable crashes as the pave took it's toll. My bike continued to suffer, the single bolt holding the saddle stripped from the cradle, leaving the saddle pointing up at a rather uncomfortable angle. The final problem was that my shoelaces undid themselves, a problem which could have been prevented by a little Duck Tape.

So lesson learned, fast forward 20 years or so, to the P-R Sportive 2006, I had a choice of two rides; My Klein Quantum or Trek XO1 cross bike. The Trek won, with a full alloy frame, including forks, it was not the most forgiving, however it did have huge clearances and a generous wheelbase. Mavic Cosmos wheels, 28mm Conti 4 Seasons tyres, latex tubes, gel bar tape, Blackburn Ti bottle cages and 39x53 rings and 12-21 cassette made for a satisfactory mount. My only issue being a puncture when I hit a culvert hidden in the verge as I tried to dodge the cobbles.

By the time the biannual event returned in 2008 I'd upgraded my best bike to a Scott Addict, not wishing to wreck it I decided on the Klein, fat alloy tubes, carbon forks, 1inch alloy steerer, it seemed a good choice, I replaced my race wheels with a 32 spoke pair of Pro wheels, again using 28mm Conti's. It performed admirably with the only problem being a broken spoke in the front wheel, fortunately it remained pretty true.

So what will I be riding this June? In all liklihood it'll be a Scott CR1 with the new for 2010 SDS (Shock Damping System), or the trusty Klein. One thing is certain I'll be using a pair of handbuilt 36 spoke wheels, Ultrgra hubs, and Mavic Open Pro rims, courtesy of my brother Richard at Victorycycles.co.uk. Tyres are still to be decided, probably Panaracer Extreme Duro 25s.