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TECH NEWS
Specialized Roubaix Expert - Future Shock and stem.jpgSpecialized admits Niki Terpstra Paris-Roubaix bike failure was due to pre-production part in new Roubaix bike
Specialized has issued a statement in which it takes the blame for the pre-production part that failed in Niki Terpstra’s Roubiax race bike, causing him to crash during the Paris-Roubaix race recently and preventing him from being able to support Tom Boonen in his final
One of the biggest new bike developments this year has been Specialized’s revamped Roubaix, a bike designed for the brutal pave of the bike race it’s named after. Though it was designed around disc brakes, Specialized adapted it for rim brakes especially for the team (and says it will be offering a short production run) and the entire team used it in the cobbled race.
Impressionnant @NikiTerpstra casse son guidon puis abandonne #ParisRoubaix devant nous @quickstepteam (video link available) pic.twitter.com/qzXkNXRLum
— MATONLUC (@MATONLUC) April 9, 2017
- Pro Bike: Tom Boonen’s Specialized LTD Roubaix - with rim brakes and not discs
A key feature of the Roubaix is the FutureShock, a cartridge containing a spring in the top of the head tube with 20mm of vertical travel that isolates the rider from the vibrations and impacts coming through the front wheel.
Only not all the pros wanted it, and to accommodate Niki Terpstra’s apparent demands for a rigid version, Specialized replaced the FutureShock with a rigid steerer cartridge that removed the vertical movement offered by the FutureShock.
Only it transpires that a pre-production component, and not a fully tested and engineered part, was accidentally used due to a breakdown in communication and this part failed during the race, causing the handlebars to become detached from the bike and Niki Terpstra crashing out of the race.
Here’s the full statement from Mark Cote, Leader of Global Marketing at Specialized Bicycle Components:
Heading into Paris-Roubaix, a few of our riders asked to try a rigid cartridge as well as the fully-active Future Shock on their new Roubaix bikes. In response to this, we developed a pre-production rigid steerer cartridge and later an approved engineered cartridge for the race.
In the days leading up, Niki Terpstra chose to race the rigid option. Unfortunately, a missed communication on the Specialized team resulted in the pre-production part remaining in Niki’s bike instead of being replaced by the approved engineered part. Ultimately, this failed during the race. All other riders raced on Future Shock equipped bikes.
Rider safety is always our first concern and we are relieved that Niki was not seriously injured. This was an isolated incident and does not present any further risk to our riders.
All of us at Specialized sincerely feel the weight and responsibility of our mistake. Both Mike Sinyard and I apologized in person to Niki and the team. We wish him the fastest recovery possible.
Does this mean there's anything to worry about for anyone owning a Specialized Roubaix? No, this is an isolated case, and credit to Specialized for holding up their hands to the cause of the incident. Specialized has no plans to make this rigid FutureShock available to the public, it was produced solely for the team to use and apparently only Niki Terpstra was riding it
I’ve reviewed the Specialized Roubaix and was highly impressed, and I’ve continued riding it as apart of a long-term test (update coming soon) and I’ve had no problems whatsoever with the FutureShock even though this incident did spark a little concern. I battered it around 170km of the Cotswold’s roughest roads yesterday and 70kph descents with plenty of twists and turns and it didn't put a foot wrong.
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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19 comments
Some proper salty and angry people commenting about something they know nothing about.
Indeed. Welcome to the Internet.
Sounds like the special part failed, and they invented this story about it being a 'pre-production' part, though they admit it's not going into production.
Exactly, what's the point in having a disc frame supposedly for the extra width tyre you can fit when you're fannying around with seat and head tube vibration dampeners.
Instead of all these modifications simply using a mid range deeper drop brake as FDJ did which means being able to fit a 30mm tyre to many frames, or just a few extra millimetres extra width on the stays/forks, maybe even having a saddle that can absorb the vibrations better rather than a post that actively moves which really isn't efficient as stated above.
But why do something so simple when you can make a whole new frame and flog stuff that no-one really needs, money, plain and simple.
It's called "innovation" or, to some, "progress". Do you still watch a 14" tv with a tube in the back whilst thinking that it's cutting edge and a quality picture?
Until last year, yes, because it wasn't broken.
The roads in Sydney are nowhere near as harsh as Paris Roubaix so can't compare. It's no gimmick when you ride the future shock although it is different but honestly, would you race a Roubaix over some other model? No chance. Its not quicker than a Tarmac. For mine it defeats a the purpose of using the Roubaix as a pro, particularly if you are going to stick with the same race set up as you would on a Tarmac as was the case for Boonen. A Roubaix is taller in the head tube, has the future shock to assist over the bumps and has a seatpost that flexs beneath you as you pedal. None of that is fast. Comfortable? More so but pros want to go fast and would generally sacrifice comfort to win. Besides you can make a Tarmac more compliant by sticking on the cbl seat post and using wider tires. I'd say it because specialized want to promote the bike over giving pros a bike they can win the race with. Having said all that, I love my Roubaix for what it is - but a full blooded race bike it is not!
"Specialized has no plans to make this rigid FutureShock available to the public, it was produced solely for the team to use and apparently only Niki Terpstra was riding it"
Genuine question - to what extent must manufacturers make competition bikes available to the market? Are some components exempt?
None of the gimmicks help in the Paris roubaix.
"Preproduction".... Yet these are already being manufactured in bulk for delivery.
FTA
..so probably not already being manufactured in bulk for delivery, unless you have some inside info.
Perfect example of how to spin bad news to good. A+ for marketing.
Utter bullshit. Sort of thing I'd come up with in the same situation though.
Special Lies
I wonder what ever came out of the Team Sky Shimano wheel failiure... x3 the other month, not heard a sniff from that disaster.
I though that was accounted for by 'pothole strike exceeded design spec of wheel' given that the winning team and several others were on the same wheels but didn't hit the pothole.
They've been learning from Sky - don't mention any of the bad stuff you do, say you're transparent but never actually explain anything dodgy when it's brought up.
I like it when companies just hold their hands up and say, we cocked up, sorry.
So long as they're telling the truth.
"Heading into Paris-Roubaix, a few of our riders asked to try a rigid cartridge as well as the fully-active Future Shock on their new Roubaix bikes."
Translation: Terpstra didn't want to race with our stupid gimmick, he wanted to ride on last year's Roubaix and we wouldn't let him, despite him being a previous winner. Instead we tried to pretend he was riding a new one and now we look stupid.