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 50k to go,

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

00:19race where bike tech plays a massive role. Every year there's new developments, new tech being

00:25tested, and ever more ways the teams try and tame the cobbles. So, in 2024, what were the

00:31biggest tech trends? Well, for starters, across both men's and women's pelotons, the move to 1x

00:37was vast. Mainly seen on SRAM-sponsored teams, the benefit of not dropping a chain and simplified

00:43gear shifting with the use of satellite shifters was widely adopted. Since the race holds its

00:50difficulty in the cobbles rather than any harsh gradients, it was easy for riders to simply adopt

00:55a wider range of cassettes to give them the gears they needed. Also, some may have been looking to

01:01optimise drivetrain efficiency by keeping a super straight chainline, as Ineos rider Josh Tarling

01:08had a massive 62-tooth chainring fitted to his Shimano-specced Pinarello Dogma. Sadly though,

01:15thanks to a bottle which was slightly too sticky, he was then later disqualified from the race.

01:21I am really hoping that next year he will have a better shot, because he is certainly a rising star.

01:27While Josh's 62-tooth chainring was the biggest I saw in use, there were plenty of other riders

01:32using single chainring setups in the mid-50 range. Thanks to the widespread adoption of 1x setups,

01:39there was also a myriad of chain catchers being used. These ranged from OEM parts from brands

01:45like Wolf Tooth and K-Edge through to some slightly more imaginative 3D-printed solutions.

01:52Israel Premier Tech decided to opt for one of the most bizarre bike choices. They jumped aboard

01:57the Factor Ostro Gravel. That's right, they used the gravel bike for Paris-Roubaix. It's reported

02:04that the team were running some relatively wide 34c Continental GP5000 STR tyres.

02:11Arguably, it's not the most ridiculous idea. The Factor Ostro Gravel is a very aero-gravel bike,

02:17and the position and clearance would stand them in good stead over the technical terrain.

02:22However, their top-placed rider finished 7 minutes down on the winner in 31st.

02:28Perhaps 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 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 headtube making use of the new UCI rules.

03:01It was a similar story for the rest of the men's peloton, as aero bikes looked to be the go-to

03:07choice where the riders had the option. It was a slightly different story for the women,

03:12as they had a slightly wider variation of bike choices, with some opting for the Trek

03:17Du Marnais over the Madone, or some opting for the Canyon Ultimate over the Aeroad,

03:22but even that could be set to change over the coming years.

03:26Clearly, the current sweep of endurance bikes, including the specialised Roubaix,

03:32are no longer suitable for the cobbled classic. Perhaps they've become too soft, or perhaps aero

03:39bikes have just become versatile enough to the point where they can be used very successfully

03:44on the hardest of parcours. Personally, I think it's a mix of the two.

03:49I think it is fair to assume that the bikes which made the podium did so

03:53because of one simple fact. They can all accept much wider tyres. Maybe, just maybe,

04:01this 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

04:12an exception to the rule. The biggest tyres we saw sat on British National Champion Fred

04:18Wright's bike as he was using some 35C Continental GP5000 ASTRs, which pushed his

04:25Merida's tyre clearance to the very limit. Little Trek were actually running some prototype

04:31Pirelli tyres that, despite saying they were 32mm wide, when paired with the new

04:36Bontrager Aeolus Pro 49V gravel wheels, they measured up at 34.5mm. This big volume tyre

04:44will have helped Mads Pedersen run a low pressure and enjoy a nice big contact patch with the

04:50cobbles. It's worth remembering that the maximum size of tyre that can be used in a cyclocross race

04:56is 33C, so not only is the peloton's choice of 32C one we know that can be ridden on technical

05:03terrain, but it might also be why the current cyclocross world champion won the race.

05:08This is kind of why I love Mattia Van Der Poel's setup so much.

05:12Other than some wide tyres, some double wrap bar tape and some tyre inserts,

05:17it's just a normal canyon air road. No gimmicks or tricks up its sleeves,

05:21just big rubber and a rider who has buckets of technical ability.

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