XXV.SEVEN/COLLECTIVERIDERBLOG – WEEKENDINHELL
- eightbikeco5
- Apr 15
- 4 min read
For cyclists, the spring is made up of week long stage races and Flemish one-day classics, but just over the border in France is the setting for the biggest baddest cobbled classic of them all - the Paris Roubaix. The Tour of Flanders is more beautiful, but the stones on the way to the Roubaix Velodrome are much worse - bigger, broken, and seemingly randomly placed, dragons teeth, waiting to chew your wheels up and spit you in any direction. Hadley went to see what it was all about...
“We arrived in Roubaix on Friday morning, dumped our bags and headed straight out on the bikes. We rolled out to the Carrefour de l'Abre taking in a few sectors of pavé along the way to dial in the bike and tyre pressures for the sportive on Saturday.”
Glen - All the big races these days have a Sportive, where riders ride on the same course as the pros. At Paris Roubaix they’re only a few hours before the Women’s race and the day before the Men.
“Having ridden cobbles before I quickly realised the difference in comfort and ease on a modern steel frame compared to a carbon frame, floating over them effortlessly. Once we’d done our recce, it was back to the Roubaix Velodrome! We signed on, in the start village, had chips and mayonnaise, and then headed back for an early night.”
Glen - Hadley is riding and racing on my AEIGHT HMŔ frameset. It’s made from Columbus Spirit so it’s super light, and is designed for real riding conditions - what does that mean? I’ve never found a carbon bike which responds in the same way to bad road surfaces - the HMŔ just soaks up all the vibration and paired up with the ULTIMÄTE handbuilt wheelset that Hadley is using, I believe, it’s the ultimate combination for races like Flanders and our own CiCle Classic in the UK. That’s where Hadley tested the setup last month.
“In what seemed like no time, the alarm went off early the next morning, but we were super excited for the day ahead! We headed down for breakfast and then rolled out at about 6:30. At the velodrome we joined the other 6000 riders waiting to start! The first couple of hours were fairly sociable, rolling along in a big bunch down to the famous Arenberg Trench. From here on, it's pretty brutal, cobbled sectors come thick and fast and so do the blisters and aching joints!”
You never can really explain cobbles to someone who hasn’t ridden them - it’s like taking your road bike to your local trail centre and then ignoring the nice smooth line, whilst intentionally hitting all the big rocks on either side - it’s mental... “Before you know it you're at the Carrefour de l'Abre, for the worst section of cobbles, and then you make your way back into the Velodrome in Roubaix. My post “race” meal was more chips and mayonnaise whilst watching the finish of the Women's race. What a day!”
“On Sunday we did an easy spin to a couple of different sectors to watch the men's come through and then we headed to the team busses to see the riders after the finish! Thanks to Glen for a mechanical free ride on the HMR and to Schwalbe for keeping me puncture free on the 30mm Pro One TLE.”
Photos by Hadley Davis
2025.RIDERS – HADLEYDAVIS
Hadley races XCO, Road, Cyclocross and Track and has just completed his first Junior Cyclocross season. He’s a regular on a league podium and won the Regional Champs race at Herne Hill. He’s our newest member of the COLLECTIVE - This year he’ll be racing on the road, on our bespoke HMR Frameset complete with our ULTIMATE road wheelset. He’s a TORQ Ambassador and he rides for VCL, who he’ll represent nationally, and hopefully internationally if his GCSEs go well! “Overall,” Hadley says, “my main aim for this year is to continue having fun on two wheels.” You can find him on Instagram and Strava
GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO RACE WITH US?
We’re always looking for riders to be part of our ÆIGHT CØLLECTIVE. The #aeightbikeco is about doing things a little differently - Rather than a jersey being the common theme, we kit our riders out with bespoke steel bikes and handbuilt wheels made in our Sussex workshops, the ÆIGHT WHEELWØRKS and the ÆIGHT MANUFACTØRY. We then support each other at events and races regionally, nationally and internationally - whether that’s for mountain bike, ‘cross, gravel, crit, road or TT - it’s what we call, the #aeightbikeco
The best part is that we’re not asking you to leave your team or club - that includes racing in your club/team kit. We’ve got certain brands that we work with, mostly so we can standardise shared equipment, but your own sponsors and clubs are almost always welcome. We have some strict qualifying criteria but don’t be put off by this – if you’re interested in being part of the #aeightbikeco then please get in touch by emailing your racing CV to eightbikeco@gmail.com
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