My 'Roubaix' bike

In the wake of Sunday's Paris-Roubaix, much has been made in the popular cycling press about the equipment used to carry the riders over the very long and very rough course. In addition to travelling over many kilometers of cobbled road, the race can be wet, muddy and very hard on equipment and riders. James Huang and the gang at cyclingnews.com have published at least two reviews of Roubaix bikes. One before and one after the race. By the way, the manner in which the pro mechanics are setting up the race bikes totally validates my comments on equipment for the Boulder Roubaix (back in August of '08).

Anyway, on Sunday morning, I went out for a ride of my own on my custom steel creation and thought I'd share the technical specs with readers hungry to know what a local club pack rider is sporting this year.

Nothing but the best shock absorbing 25mm tires on box section, hand-laced aluminum rims.

Top tube cable routing - keeps cables clean and shifting performance high. If that finish gets nicked by a rock - just add more clear coat.

Lugged steal construction. Really absorbs the shock as I speed over the cobbles (or more likely, poorly paved mountain roads).

All new high tech Campagnolo Mirage 3x9 drive train. I've got more gears than Texas has steers.

Custom badging indicates that this is a special build.

Plenty of mud clearance between the Tektro brakes and Nashbar carbon cyclocross fork. The combo of the carbon fork and steel frame makes it pretty supple.

More clearance out back. I could suck a small animal through my spokes and keep on rocking.

There you have it folks. Don't tell the pro tour mechanics what I'm doing. Got to keep that competitive edge.