First Ride: Specialized Roubaix with the Future Shock

The bike was smooth, really smooth. It rolled down the street at a speed that made me think I was putting out fifty extra watts, but this was no E-bike. This was the new Specialized Roubaix road bike with a funky new front suspension system the Morgan Hill manufacturer calls the Future Shock.

The Future Shock has 20mm of travel above the head tube to provide relief from pothole hits and road vibrations. It comes with a 40 pound spring installed, but there is the option for a 13 or 25 pound option as well. The seat post also has 20 degrees of vibration support. The Future Shock moves up and down, while the seat post moves frontwards and backwards.

Was this front suspension road bike idea actually a good idea or just a marketing gimmick? Should someone actually buy it? As I rolled up and over the small rise a short distance from my childhood home, I was about to find out.

The roads we ride can often become mundane - mashed potatoes without gravy or a burger without cheese. They need a little spice - some Sriracha sauce and fresh herbs. I often feel this way about the roads closest to home. The roads we ride everyday at the beginning and end of rides, to get from home to the good stuff off in the hills. With a new bike, these mundane roads turn magical.

Pedalling down the shallow gradient I reached top speed. Approaching the four way intersection I pulled the disc brakes, slowing down almost too much for the ninety degree right hand bend. My tires gripped to the pavement, and the corner shot me out as fast as I had came in. Once again, this bike was smooth.

I began climbing a steep road just ten minutes from my house. I noticed the future shock, but it wasn’t too much to be a huge annoyance. After the ten or so minute climb was up I got to the good part. The top of this road is stunning. The tree lined valley below gives way to the hazy blue ocean in the distance. I am completely serious in saying that this is the type of road they shoot car commercials on, but nobody shoots car commercials on this road.

The descent is even steeper, a place for the Roubaix to shine. After a couple minutes of steep, tight pavement descending the grade mellows and turns to gravel. I found the Roubaix to be at home on the cool, gravel road at the bottom of a redwood tree dotted canyon.

The second half of the ride was similar, a steep pavement climb into some more gravel. However, this time the gravel seemed more suited to be ridden on a mountain bike, but the Roubaix ate it up like Brunch on Sunday. To finish off the ride I took the Roubaix down a section of smooth, buffed out singletrack. I felt like this bike could handle any terrain.

After a couple weeks of riding the suspended, disc brake carrying endurance road bike, I have came to this conclusion. My honest opinion is that the Roubaix is not for everyone. The Roubaix was designed for the world’s best to smash the cobblestone lined farm roads of Northern France. The Roubaix is an amazing and really fun bike. Some people are absolutely going to buy it and thrive on it.

The bike is fast and absolutely worth it, but for me the Roubaix fits into an awkward category. There are rides where I would want a Tarmac road bike, and rides where I would want a Crux cyclocross bike. The Roubaix is somewhere in between. It truly comes down to what kind of rider you are, so I recommend giving it a test ride and seeing for yourself.