Cantilever brakes, endurance bikes and box-section rims | We mourn the lost tech that once defined Paris-Roubaix

Cantilever brakes, endurance bikes and box-section rims | We mourn the lost tech that once defined Paris-Roubaix

An ode to the golden era of Paris-Roubaix tech – and the oddities that made the race so special

James Huang/BikeRadar

Published: April 8, 2024 at 4:06 pm

Paris-Roubaix is the pinnacle of the season for Classics riders.

It’s the pinnacle of the season for tech fans, too, with the Queen of the Classics putting an intense focus on a rider’s equipment – and its ability to withstand the pavé of northern France.

However, where Paris-Roubaix once saw a complete equipment overhaul for riders, the latest aero road bikes, with a switch to wider rubber, have become commonplace on the cobbles.

The race still throws up its fair share of tech quirks, be it Israel-Premier Tech’s switch to a gravel bike for this year’s edition, or the nuances of individual setup from one rider to the next, but it’s no longer the treasure trove of tech it once was.

Over the past decade, we’ve waved goodbye to box-section alloy rims, cyclocross bikes, boutique tyres and now even endurance bikes at Paris-Roubaix.

Here, then, is an ode to the Paris-Roubaix tech oddities of old.

You can't trust carbon

Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Dogma for the 2024 Paris-Roubaix
Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Dogma F, with carbon fibre Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels, from the 2024 race. - Matt Grayson / Our Media

Just as most riders now ride their usual aero bike at Paris-Roubaix, the latest carbon wheels – set up tubeless and typically with a foam liner – are now ubiquitous at Paris-Roubaix.

That wasn’t always the case. While Franco Ballerini became the first rider to win Paris-Roubaix on a carbon frame, the Colnago C40, in 1995, carbon wheels couldn’t be trusted when hitting the rough, irregular cobbles. 

Ambrosio Nemesis rim at Paris-Roubaix
A Paris-Roubaix classic: the Ambrosio Nemesis rim. - Matt Pacocha / Our Media

Instead, riders turned to box-section aluminium rims, reinforced with 32 spokes. The Ambrosio Nemesis was the rim of choice for many.

With its hard-anodised finish and double eyelets, the Ambrosio Nemesis was a rim built to withstand punishment.

Fabian Cancellara's prototype Specialized Roubaix SL3 from the 2010 Paris-Roubaix
Fabian Cancellara became the first rider to win Paris-Roubaix on carbon wheelset, riding this prototype Specialized Roubaix SL3 with Zipp 303 wheels in 2010. - James Huang / Our Media

It took until 2010 for Fabian Cancellara to win on a set of carbon wheels, in the form of Zipp’s 303s, and several years beyond Sparatcus’ second Roubaix victory for aluminium wheels to disappear altogether.

Today, it’s carbon all the way.

Oliver Naesen's Van Rysel with integrated carbon handlebar for 2024 Paris-Roubaix
Carbon bars now dominate at Paris-Roubaix, too. - Matt Grayson / Our Media

That extends to handlebars, too.

Aluminium bars used to be common at Paris-Roubaix but with advancements in carbon tech – and the fact that many riders are locked into carbon bars due to ever-increasing bike integration – the 2024 edition was a sea of one-piece carbon cockpits.

Goodbye to endurance bikes

Tom Boonen riding the Specialized Roubaix SL2 at the 2008 edition of Paris-Roubaix
Tom Boonen won the 2008 edition of Paris-Roubaix on the Specialized Roubaix SL2. - Tim de Waele / Corbis via Getty Images

Paris-Roubaix gave name to the first endurance road bike, the Specialized Roubaix, in 2004 – and Tom Boonen won the 2008 edition of the race on the second iteration, the Roubaix SL2.

Boonen ushered in the era of the endurance bike at Paris-Roubaix. The pavé became the pro proving ground for a category of bikes that sought to meet the demands of professional and amateur riders alike.

Fabian Cancellara’s 2013 Trek Domane 6-Series Paris-Roubaix
This has to be one of our favourite Classics bikes of all time: Fabian Cancellara's 2013 Trek Domane 6-Series. - James Huang / Our Media

The Specialized Roubaix, Trek Domane and Cannondale Synapse dominated the race through the 2010s.

IsoSpeed decoupler on Fabian Cancellara's 2013 Trek Domane 6-Series
Trek's IsoSpeed pivoting seat cluster might seemed like a gimmick when first launched, but it was highly effective. - James Huang/BikeRadar.com

All of these bikes used some kind of wizardry to tame the cobbles, be it the Roubaix’s move from Zertz inserts to Futureshock suspension, Trek’s IsoSpeed decoupler or Cannondale’s radically-shaped SAVE stays and slender 25.4mm-diameter seatpost.

Pinarello Dogma K8-S
Pinarello's take on the endurance race bike, the Dogma K8-S, had elastomer suspension for rear-end bounce. - Ben Delaney / Our Media

Elsewhere, we saw Pinarello’s shortlived K8-S, with elastomer rear suspension, and even Roubaix-specific race bikes, such as Cervélo's R3 Mud.

Johan Vansummeren's Cervélo R3 Mud
This Cervélo R3 Mud, adapted to offer increased tyre clearance and a longer wheelbase for the cobbles, belongs to former Paris-Roubaix winner Johan Vansummeren. - James Huang / Our Media

The Mud was adapted from the regular R3 to lengthen the wheelbase and increase tyre clearance.

However, Mat Hayman’s 2016 win on the Scott Foil marked the beginning of the end of the endurance bike at Paris-Roubaix, and the start of the aero era.

Mat Hayman's Scott Foil from 2016 Paris-Roubaix
Mat Hayman ushered in the start of the aero era at Paris-Roubaix with his 2016 victory on this Scott Foil. - Ben Delaney / Our Media

With its sculpted tubes, 28mm tyres and carbon wheels, Hayman’s bike was remarkably similar to his regular race-day ride, with few concessions for the cobbles.

Admittedly, further victories followed for the Specialized Roubaix in 2017 and 2019 but generous tyre clearances on the latest race machines leave the endurance bike out in the cold.

This year, all of Specialized’s sponsored teams took to the start of Paris-Roubaix on the Tarmac SL8.

Kasper Asgreen's Specialized Tarmac SL8 at 2024 Paris-Roubaix
All of Specialized's sponsored teams used the Tarmac SL8 race bike at this year's Paris-Roubaix, with the Specialized Roubaix left out in the cold. This is Kasper Asgreen's bike. - Matt Grayson / Our Media

Is Paris-Roubaix even a road race?

Pinarello Cross from Paris-Roubaix 2009
The Caisse d’Epargne team used this Pinarello Cross in 2009. - James Huang / Our Media

Before endurance bikes caught on, and even for a while after, some riders switched to a cyclocross bike for Paris-Roubaix.

Take the 2009 edition – and this distinctly retro Paris-Roubaix gallery from the early days of BikeRadar. The Milram team used Focus’ new carbon cyclocross bike, while Caisse d’Epargne – now Movistar – used Pinarello’s Cross bike.

William Bonnet's BBox Colnago Cross Prestige with TRP cantilever brake from Paris-Roubaix 2010.
The cantilever brakes found on cyclocross bikes allowed riders to use tyres wider than the 25mm rubber that often maxed out the caliper brakes of the time. - James Huang / Our Media

A year later, we saw William Bonnet on the Colnago Cross Prestige, and in 2012, Lars Boom on the Giant TCX Advanced SL.

The reason? Tyre clearance. With disc brakes yet to feature, cyclocross bikes of the era used cantilever brakes to offer the clearance required for 33mm ‘cross tyres.

Shimano cantilever brake on a Pinarello Cross bike from Paris-Roubaix 2009
Campagnolo didn't make a cantilever brake so Caisse d’Epargne needed to use this Shimano stopper. - James Huang / Our Media

Campagnolo didn’t make a cantilever brake so, despite being sponsored by the Italian brand, Caisse d’Epargne needed to use Shimano stoppers for the race.

While we’re talking about brakes, cross-top levers – another nod to CX tech – have also disappeared from Paris-Roubaix.

Cross-top brake lever at Paris-Roubaix
A cross-top lever allows easy access to the front brake from the handlebar tops. Note the satellite shifters on the inside of the bar, too. - James Huang / Our Media

These allowed riders to temper their speed without moving their hands from the tops, the preferred position when smashing into the cobbles.

Back to the Pinarello Cross, and the frame was made from TIG-welded aluminium tubes, supplemented by carbon seatstays. The fork used an alloy crown and steerer tube – a far cry from today’s sea of carbon.

The build was also typical of the time, with mechanical gearing (Campagnolo Super Record 11-speed) and box-section aluminium rims.

Lars Boom's Giant TCX Advanced SL from the 2012 Paris-Roubaix
Lars Boom's Giant TCX Advanced SL from the 2012 Paris-Roubaix. - James Huang / Our Media

It’s all about the tyres

This tyre from Matti Breschel's 2010 S-Works Roubaix SL2 may have Specialized printed on it, but it's made by FMB.
This tyre from Matti Breschel's 2010 S-Works Roubaix SL2 may have Specialized printed on it, but it's made by FMB. - James Huang / Our Media

Even if box-section alloy rims, endurance bikes, cross-top levers and cantilever brakes have all disappeared from Paris-Roubaix, one thing hasn’t changed – it’s all about the tyres.

Unbranded Paris-Roubaix tyre
Paris-Roubaix used to see the once-a-season tyres rolled out – with a generous scribble of marker pen to hide the manufacturer. - Ben Delaney / Our Media

Tyre choice can be the difference between success and failure on the cobbles of northern France. In years past, that meant ripping up sponsorship contracts and making an annual order for specialist tubulars from companies such as Dugast and FMB.

When we visited FMB's artisan workshop in 2012, five of the last six editions of Paris-Roubaix had been won by riders on its tyres.

FMB being made in the company's workshop
FMB's tyres were handmade in the company's workshop in France. - FMB

Handmade, and using natural materials such as cotton or silk for the casing, FMB’s tyres had a reputation for a supple ride feel – improving comfort when hitting the cobbles – and for favourable rolling resistance when run at the low pressures required for Paris-Roubaix.

Continental GP5000 S TR tubeless tyre on Oliver Naesen's Van Rysel bike at Paris-Rooubaix 2024
While tyre choice is still key, it's rare to see teams deviate from sponsorship agreements at Paris-Roubaix. - Matt Grayson / Our Media

Today, with the switch to tubeless in the pro peloton, and sponsorship contracts inked in blood, FMB and Dugast (now owned by Vittoria but still producing handmade, tan-wall tyres) are no more at Paris-Roubaix.