SPECIALIZED ROUBAIX TIMELINE

From zero to hero in 16 years, here’s how Specialized’s Roubaix became a pro favourite and one that’s popular with regular riders

2004

Specialized introduces a new category of road bike: endurance road. The first Roubaix is launched with an unprecedented combination of torsional sti ness and vertical compliance.

2005

Specialized adds to the first iteration of the Roubaix platform with a lighter S-Works frameset and Pro full-build model; it also signs Team Gerolsteiner.

2006

Gerolsteiner rides the Roubaix for the first time on the cobbles; some of the team’s riders use the bike for other races during the remainder of the season.

2007

Gerolsteiner and Quick-Step ride the new Roubaix; changes are made to improve performance and increase e ectiveness of Zertz damping. Specialized collate feedback from races.

2008

Quick-Step’s Tom Boonen rides the Roubaix to claim its first victory at the bike’s namesake, Paris-Roubaix, on board a new 2009 prototype model.

2009

Quick-Step and Boonen do it again: making him one of only a handful of elite riders to have won the race three times. The bike gets a redesign making it lighter, and it signs Saxo Bank to the line-up.

2010

Specialized has three past Paris- Roubaix winners (Boonen, Stuart O’Grady, and Cancellara). Cancellara rides away en route to a huge victory on a Project Black 2011 development bike.

2012

After a fourth win at Paris-Roubaix, Tom Boonen has the final word on the new Specialized Roubaix SL4. “Everything is better. It’s faster and it absorbs the vibrations of the cobblestones.”

2014

Building on Specialized’s now focused path to prove ‘smoother is faster’ with the next generation of Roubaix. Niki Terpstra rides the SL4 to victory in the 2014 edition of the Paris-Roubaix.

2017

The 2017 Roubaix SL5 introduces Future Shock for the first time. Combined with an innovative frame design and the CG-R seatpost. Zdenek Štybar logged a second place in its debut at Paris Roubaix.

2019

Specialized brings the 2020 Roubaix to pro riders just in time for Paris-Roubaix. In its debut race Philipe Gilbert rides to victory and five of the top 10 finishers were riding the new Roubaix.