Come with us behind the scenes at Paris-Roubaix 2026 โ the most important bike race of the year for tech nerds!
From mountain bike derailleurs and supersized tyres with secret inserts, to prototype tech and enormous chainrings, we get up close with the best bikes in the pro peloton, and reveal how they’ve been modified for the toughest single-day race in cycling.
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/paris-roubaix-tech-picture-gallery
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/van-der-poels-pedals-paris-roubaix-2026
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/pro-bike/wout-van-aerts-paris-roubaix-winning-bike
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/wout-van-aert-has-just-won-the-fastest-ever-edition-paris-roubaix
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/van-der-poels-arenberg-pedal-incident-roubaix-2026
00:00 intro
00:06 Cube Litening Aero C:68X
00:44 Odessey OPTIS system
01:30 Bicarb gel
01:47 Canyon Aeroad
02:11 Pinarello Dogma
02:41 Colnargo V5rs
03:07 Specialized BORA-Hansgrohe
03:40 Jasper Philipson Canyon Endurace
06:14 Pauline Ferrand-Prรฉvot Cervelo S5
08:08 Schwable Click Valves
08:44 2 Piece Cock-Pit
09:02 Factor Monzo
09:27 Alison Jackson Cannondale
09:46 Letizia Borghesi Specialized
10:16 Campagnolo Direct Mount
10:49 Cannondale Super Six
11:02 XDS Astana
11:16 Jayco Alula
11:42 Mackenzie Coupland Liv
12:03 Rose Rockets
12:30 Continental Corsa Pro Control
12:54 Wilier Filante
13:04 Soudal Quick-step GRX
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37 Comments
Okay, butโs see a video on all of the custom derailleur hangers for these. Pogacar (on one of the bikes he rode during PR) had an anodized purple one with what looked like Shimano DA rear mech.
The Trek bikes have the Gravel wheelset on them as indicated by the "V" designation.
Good job snooping around… Great video!
So many flats! Tech not so good when it fuks up all over the race
I didn't know the XTR rear derailleur could shift well with a 'small' road cassette, given it was designed for the large MTB cassettes. My sugestion would have been to use the GRX rear derailleur form the 2X Grx di2 groupset that has the clutch system as that was designed for an 11-34/11-36 cassette. Also the XPLR Red rear derailleur working with a Red road cassette on the Trek bikes.. the pro teams seem to be going against manufacturer recommendations here quite a bit. Makes you wonder
The fear and loathing fit
The ridiculous thing with the GRX is that the Dura ace and Ultegra derailleurs work perfectly well in 1x. They don't need to go to GRX or XTR, i imagine its just because Shimano want people to consider buying the new GRX.
Cyclists aren't what they used to be, able to ride crummy fixed gear bike without modern comfort features.
2:04 wonder if he had those flats with that Endurace and wider rubbersโฆ
Can someone explain to me the reason that no rides tubs in this race? I rode six miles, Cambridge to Sawston, with a dead flat front tyre once.
How about subtitles for those of us across the pond?
Tasty and cool!!
โSuper tasty build."
"a couple of little tasty tech highlightsโฆโ
โThey got really tasty bikes.โ
โmachining is very tasty.โ
โHow cool is that?โ
โVery, very cool.โ
โYeah, cool stuff.โ
โSuch a cool piece of kit.โ
โBut yeah, a really cool hackโฆโ
โI love it. Itโs such a cool little hackโฆโ
โReally cool bikes.โ
โSuper cool to see this bike in the flesh.โ
Why does shimano need a 1x group? They have grx, it serves that purpose. Your question implies u donโt cycle!!!!!
Does Shimano need 1x road? Would it not just be a copy of grx? Isn't the beauty of electronic shifting the inherent cross compatibility?
I think it'll be an excellent opportunity to test prototype tyres….I'll get me coat.
All that tech to shave of a few seconds, yet we see almost all participants suffer from one or more flats, year after year, loosing 30seconds or even minutes. I don't understand why the teams choose to accept the huge risk of tire failures in favor of a lower rolling resistance. It seems a poor trade-off.
Great video. Give jack a raise ๐
What would i run for the cobbles? Some 2.2s on a gravel bike with front suspension.
Chronic sleep problems? Suffer no more……..
I'm on a gravel bike with 1x drivetrain that I've been riding on the road more and more lately and I can't wait to switch it to 2x. 1x is super annoying on rolling terrain. Maybe it makes sense for very specific scenarios and races but in general 1x is just one big mismatch for typical road riding.
Schwalbe click valves should be the standard from now.
rode the Roubaix cyclosportive last year with GRX and g one schwalbe aha guess some of the mechanics are following me on strava
The fat tier was extremely high puncture rate the most ever in the race
is tubeless still better on boulders ?
4.25; FORESHADOWING!!!
Sad that the bike named after this race is no longer used…..(the Roubaix) not sure what the point of it is anymore when the Diverge can cover the same.
No one wondering how the wireless XTR derailleur connects to the DA shifters? Do they connects that easily through etube app?
Which tech resulted in the fewest punctures?
1:38 Itยดs the Cousin of the big Richard Weinheimer๐ฎ
Carbon chainring is just insanity. Very little benefits, very little durability.
Odessey optis system – aka 'Tubliss' to any dirt bike riders out there.
Whatโs a nasty shit!!๐คฎ๐โฆ
Those prototype pedals look a little like a carbon version of the old 7810/6620/5610 pedals, though I bet the older ones wouldn't have given Mvdp any issues clipping in…
The shit with the double valve was available from schwalbe 10 years ago it was called Schwalbe Procore. Nobody wants to have and it works not good. Absolut bullshit.
Race is over, man. This should be a video about all the way these bikes broke, so many mechanicals and excursions. I'd love to see a review of all Pogi's broken bikes in this race, that would be interesting. Also: How did those fancy double tire outfits stand up to the cobbles?
The diameter of the front gear is very satisfying.54 and more? Not like 48 on aerobike for a 15k euros in shops today.
@bikeradar I remember green 27c pavรฉ tires for Paris Roubaix. How on earth have they moved up to 35c tires, and now have a comical amount of flats over the race distance? Is the cycling industry a bunch of Wile E Coyotes? We'll make it better. Would more flats be better? ๐๐ ๐