Trends From Paris-Roubaix This Year

Cycling Weekly

In this video, Cycling Weekly's Sam Gupta shares the top 5 hottest tech trends to come out of this year's race. We saw everything from massive chainrings, custom chain catchers, to gravel bikes and some really big tyres.

Transcript

00:00The 121st edition of the men's Paris-Roubaix was a display of sheer power as, spoiler alert,

00:07Mathieu van der Poel broke away from the leading group with 60km to go, and by 50km to go,

00:13the chase had all but given up trying to bring him back. But, as we know,

00:18Paris-Roubaix is a race where bike tech plays a massive role. Every year there's new developments,

00:24new tech being tested, and ever more ways the teams try and tame the cobbles.

00:28So, in 2024, what were the biggest tech trends? Well, for starters, across both men's and women's

00:35pelotons, the move to 1x was vast. Mainly seen on SRAM-sponsored teams, the benefit of not dropping

00:42a chain and simplified gear shifting with the use of satellite shifters was widely adopted.

00:49Since the race holds its difficulty in the cobbles rather than any harsh gradients,

00:53it was easy for riders to simply adopt a wider range cassette to give them the gears that

00:58they needed. Also, some may have been looking to optimise drivetrain efficiency by kipping a super

01:04straight chainline, as Ineos rider Josh Tarling had a massive 62-tooth chainring fitted to his

01:12Shimano-spec Pinarello Dogma. Sadly though, thanks to a bottle which was slightly too sticky,

01:18he was then later disqualified from the race. I am really hoping that next year he will have a

01:23better shot, because he is certainly a rising star. While Josh's 62-tooth chainring was the

01:29biggest eyesore in use, there were plenty of other riders using single chainring setups in the mid-50

01:35range. Thanks to the widespread adoption of 1x setups, there was also a myriad of chain catchers

01:42being used. These range from OEM parts from brands like Wolftooth and K-Edge, through to some

01:47slightly more imaginative 3D printed solutions. Israel Premier Tech decided to opt for one of

01:54the most bizarre bike choices. They jumped aboard the Factor Ostro Gravel. That's right,

02:00they used the gravel bike for Paris-Roubaix. It's reported that the team were running some relatively

02:05wide 34C Continental GP5000 STR tyres. Arguably, it's not the most ridiculous idea. The Factor Ostro Gravel

02:15is a very aero-gravel bike, and the position and clearance would stand them in good stead over the

02:21technical terrain. However, their top-placed rider finished seven minutes down on the winner

02:25in 31st. Perhaps had the course been muddier or the weather been a little more dreary,

02:32then they may have had an advantage. But this time round, it might not have been the right move.

02:38The style of bike, which did seem to be on the rage, was out-and-out aero bikes. In fact,

02:44Uno X rider Alexander Kristoff decided to use a prototype aero bike from the team sponsor,

02:50Dare. Predicted to be named the Velocity Ace, it looks to be as aggressive as they come,

02:56with a super deep head tube making use of the new UCI rules. It was a similar story for the rest of

03:04the men's peloton, as aero bikes looked to be the go-to choice where the riders had the option.

03:09It was a slightly different story for the women, as they had a slightly wider variation of bike

03:14choices, with some opting for the Trek de Mane over the Madone, or some opting for the Canyon

03:20Ultimate over the Aeroad. But even that could be set to change over the coming years.

03:27Clearly, the current sweep of endurance bikes, including the specialised Roubaix, are no longer

03:33suitable for the cobbled classic. Perhaps they've become too soft, or perhaps aero bikes have just

03:39become versatile enough to the point where they can be used very successfully on the hardest of

03:45parkours. Personally, I think it's a mix of the two. I think it is fair to assume that the bikes which

03:52made the podium did so because of one simple fact. They can all accept much wider tyres. Maybe,

03:59just maybe, this is the most influential factor on the versatility of modern road bikes.

04:06As such, the peloton's favourite tyre size was 32C, with only a handful of teams providing an

04:12exception to the rule. The biggest tyres we saw sat on British national champion Fred Wright's bike as

04:19he was using some 35C Continental GP5000 ASTRs, which pushed his Merida's tyre clearance to the very

04:27limit. Little Trek were actually running some prototype Pirelli tyres that, despite saying they

04:33were 32mm wide, when paired with the new Bontrager Aeolus Pro 49V gravel wheels, they measured up at

04:4134.5mm. This big volume tyre will have helped Mads Pedersen run a low pressure and enjoy a nice big

04:48contact patch with the cobbles. It's worth remembering that the maximum size of tyre that

04:54can be used in a cyclocross race is 33C, so not only is the peloton's choice of 32C, one we know that

05:01can be ridden on technical terrain, but it might also be why the current cyclocross world champion

05:07won the race. This is kind of why I love Mathieu van der Poel's setup so much. Other than some

05:13wide tyres, some double-wrapped bar tape and some tyre inserts, it's just a normal Canyon Aeroad. No

05:19gimmicks or tricks up its sleeves, just big rubber and a rider who has buckets of technical ability.

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