How Much Faster Is A Modern Superbike At Paris-Roubaix?

Paris-Roubaix is "The Hell of the North" for a reason. With 50km of brutal, bone-shaking cobbles, riders and mechanics have spent decades trying to "tame" the pave. In the early 90s, one piece of tech changed the game: the RockShox Paris-Roubaix SL suspension fork. Between 1991 and 1994, these 30mm travel forks ruled the roost, winning three editions of the race before mysteriously vanishing from the pro peloton. In this video, we take a near-perfect replica of Greg LeMond’s 1991 Z-Team bike, and we head to the "four-star" cobbles of Bath's Royal Crescent to run a test with classic lugged steel Bottecchia and a Mathieu van der Poel-style Canyon Aeroad with 32mm tyres. Can a 30-year-old mechanical suspension outperform modern pneumatic tech? And why did the pros stop using forks? The data results might surprise you! 00:00 Paris-Roubaix, The Hell of the North 00:43 Greg LeMond’s 1991 Z-Team Replica 01:19 The 4-Year Era of Road Suspension 02:30 Our Test on "4-Star" Cobbles 03:09 The Evolution of Roubaix Tech 04:41 How RockShox Tamed the Cobbles 06:51 The Winning Years: 92, 93, and 94 08:08 Why Suspension Makes Sense (For Some) 08:42 Our Vintage bike and Canyon Aeroad 09:47 The Test: Vintage vs. Modern 12:27 Impressions: Which Bike Was Fastest? 15:18 Why Did Suspension Disappear? Useful Links: Join this channel to get access to perks 👉 https://gcn.eu/JoinYTmemberships Subscribe so you don’t miss a thing! 👉 https://gcn.eu/subscribe Insurance: Viewers in the USA and UK can explore GCN Insurance products 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNinsurance Sign Up To The GCN Newsletter 👉 https://gcn.eu/Newsletter GCN Uploader 👉 https://gcn.eu/gcnuploader Visit the GCN Shop 👉 https://gcn.eu/gcnshop GCN WhatsApp Channel 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNwhatsapp GCN Instagram Broadcast Channel 👉 https://gcn.eu/instagrambroadcast Join the GCN Club on Zwift and ride with us! 👉 https://gcn.eu/GCNClubRides The RockShox era only lasted 4 years, but it produced some of the most iconic bikes in Roubaix history. Do you think we’ll ever see a return to mechanical suspension in the pro peloton, or have 32mm tubeless tyres killed the idea for good?👇 Watch more on GCN... 📹 👉 https://youtu.be/QvO74sZxVs4 📹 👉 https://youtu.be/Z3s2ecKCry4 📹 Watch our Editor’s Choice Playlist 👉 https://gcn.eu/editorschoice 📹 Or why not check out our Features Playlist 👉 ​​https://gcn.eu/gcnfeatures 🎵 Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound 🎵 A Time for Tales - Jon Bjork Anaheim - By Lotus Butterflies - Peter Sandberg Bygones - Ruiqi Zhao Cassandra, I Really Know You - Marc Torch Designed, Rumble, Rumble Elegance in Chaos - Hampus Naeselius I'm Not a Flower - par Lens Flare 3 - Peter Sandberg Meet Me in the Hills - Howard Harper-Barnes Such a Bang - Sven Karlsson The King of Thieves - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen Vehicles, Bicycle, Brake Squeak 01 #paris #roubaix #canyon #rockshox #pavé #gcn #cycling #roadcycling #roadbike #bike #bikes #bikelife 📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sirotti Images The Global Cycling Network (GCN) is the largest online cycling channel in the world, bringing together a global community of road cyclists to celebrate everything that’s great about the world of cycling. Our videos bring fans compelling daily content, including expert tutorials, techniques, training, racing, cutting-edge bike tech, unparalleled behind-the-scenes event coverage, humour, entertainment, and more. Presented by ex-pro riders, GCN offers a uniquely qualified insight into the world of cycling, and most importantly, it’s fuelled by our passionate and enthusiastic fans – everyone who makes up the GCN community. We also bring the latest and greatest tech to your attention, showcase the best places in the world to ride and get exclusive access to events and races. Welcome to the Global Cycling Network | Inside Cycling Thanks to our sponsors: Canyon Bikes: http://gcn.eu/-Canyon Orbea Bikes: http://gcn.eu/Orbea Pinarello Bikes: https://gcn.eu/Pinarello Topeak Tools: http://gcn.eu/Topeak CamelBak: https://gcn.eu/Camelbak Pirelli Tyres: https://gcn.eu/Pirelli Vision Wheels: http://gcn.eu/Vision Wahoo Fitness: http://gcn.eu/Wahoo-Fitness Park Tool: http://gcn.eu/-parktool Selle Italia: https://gcn.eu/SelleItalia Zwift: https://gcn.eu/Zwift Gtechniq: https://gcn.eu/Gtechniq Core Body Temperature: https://gcn.eu/corebodytemp Precision Fuel & Hydration: https://gcn.eu/precisionhydration Elitewheels: https://gcn.eu/Elitewheels CeramicSpeed: https://gcn.eu/GCNCeramicSpeed HJC Sports: https://gcn.eu/hjcsports Shimano: https://gcn.eu/shimano Cyclowax: https://gcn.eu/cyclowax Watch our sister channels: GCN Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@gcntech GCN Racing - https://www.youtube.com/@gcnracing Global Triathlon Network - https://www.youtube.com/@gtn GCN Training - https://www.youtube.com/@GCNTraining Global Mountain Bike Network - https://youtube.com/@gmbn GMBN Tech - https://www.youtube.com/@gmbntech