There are always big questions at bike races. Usually, it’s around the form of the top dogs, the riders who should animate the race, or maybe it’s the management’s choices about who’s turning up to what race or even the route changes the organizers have made.
But when it comes to the Queen of the Classics, Paris-Roubaix, one more question, or more precisely a smattering of questions, gets thrown into the mix, and it’s around tech.
Also watch: Paris-Roubaix Femmes Tech: Elisa Longo Borghini’s Trek Domane SLR
In years gone by, the tech question was about how the riders modified their race bikes, maybe the timeless double wrap of the bar tape, wild geometry or bike choice, and whether they’d use CX brake levers on the tops of their bars.
But as standard race bikes have seemingly become more capable of taking on the rougher stuff with stock standard, albeit high-end components, the big question now is down to tire choice and, in the past few years, the exact type of tire.
None of the nut jobs, and yes, you have to be slightly deranged to take on the pavé, have ever used standard clincher tires for the race. It was always tubular, and those that could get their team to splash the cash either handmade luxury Dugast or FMB tubulars. But sadly, even if it was always a treat to see FMB and Dugast make an appearance, those days are long gone. Now it’s sponsor-correct rubber for all.
Tire and wheel manufacturers have advanced in the road world in a few years; tubeless technology rules the roost these days. The peloton has relatively quickly adopted it. Yes, a few pros are still holding out with tubular, but tubeless dominates now. Wide rims and chunky tires are de rigueur now. But one question about those tires is still a mystery, what pressure do they run them at for the Hell of the North? I nagged a few mechanics to see if they’d divulge the information.
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