The Queen of the Classics, the Hell of the North, the Paris-Roubaix “road” race from the suburbs north of Paris over the famed cobbles of northern France and into the velodrome at Roubaix takes place this Sunday, and we can’t help but think (mostly because our own Rob Vandermark is there riding the course on Saturday) that titanium makes a lot more sense for a cobbles bike than carbon fiber.
Carbon fiber is great at being light and stiff, but it’s no mystery why many of the big bike companies put elastomers or pivots in their rough road bikes, because carbon fiber doesn’t absorb the bigger impacts as well as a more compliant material, like titanium.
Here’s Rob’s bike with Paris in the background. Look for more photos from his trip over the pavé in the weeks ahead.