Roker Comp Review

They put too much weight on top of them and there is hidden damage. I am wondering if this is what's happening to our Raleigh bikes.

Really kind of surprise how many Roker owners just on this forum had the derailleur hanger bent right out of the box.
If I understand it correct it is meant to break or bend to save the frame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AFp3X8X8g

Site maybe can use  A official Raleigh roker thread?

Anyone know is the Roker front derailleur Band On size is it 34.9mm?
I measured and chatted with Raleigh it is 34.9mm clamp on.

Thinking of upgrading to Shimano Ultegra.

jjbnum3 wrote:

Really kind of surprise how many Roker owners just on this forum had the derailleur hanger bent right out of the box.
If I understand it correct it is meant to break or bend to save the frame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AFp3X8X8g

Site maybe can use  A official Raleigh roker thread?

Anyone know is the Roker front derailleur Band On size is it 34.9mm?
Thinking of upgrading to Shimano Ultegra.

jjbnum3 If you look up the Roker Sports specs I think it is set up 2x with Shimano.Same bike just weighs 2 lbs more than the Roker Comp. Also yo could go over to gravel cyclist.com and look up 17.4 lbs. of sweetness where JOM stripped down a Roker Sport and made it that light. Good luck

Zman

I'm still waiting for my replacement RD hanger from Raleigh.Going call the Raleigh dealer that is about 25 miles away from my house tomorrow and
see if they have the part in stock.

I know these bikes got damage during shipping.But I believe Raleigh should offer to send the bike to the local dealer to be fix at their cost.Not just send out A replacement hanger in the snail mail.I might send my bike back,even though the price was right.But it is the cost of buying online sometimes.I bought quite A few bikes online over the years.This is the 2nd bike I received that had the same damage.The other was A Raleigh Tamland from Amazon warehouse deals.And they gave me A extra discount to get the parts repaired and replaced.

Okay I'll start A official Raleigh roker or Raleigh  thread sooner or latter.I'm still enjoy their bikes.The Redux 3 is A fun bike to ride around town or shorter dirt rides.

jjbnum3 wrote:
I'm still waiting for my replacement RD hanger from Raleigh.Going call the Raleigh dealer that is about 25 miles away from my house tomorrow and
see if they have the part in stock.

I know these bikes got damage during shipping.But I believe Raleigh should offer to send the bike to the local dealer to be fix at their cost.Not just send out A replacement hanger in the snail mail.I might send my bike back,even though the price was right.But it is the cost of buying online sometimes.I bought quite A few bikes online over the years.This is the 2nd bike I received that had the same damage.The other was A Raleigh Tamland from Amazon warehouse deals.And they gave me A extra discount to get the parts repaired and replaced.

Okay I'll start A official Raleigh roker or Raleigh  thread sooner or latter.I'm still enjoy their bikes.The Redux 3 is A fun bike to ride around town or shorter dirt rides.

jjbnum3 I took my bike to a Raleigh dealer around 10 miles from my house. They took a hangar off another bike which wasn't exact but worked on my bike and then Raleigh sent the hangar direct to the shop. This was done all within about a week time frame if I remember right. I was going to turn a bill into Raleigh but they didn't charge me for the repair since they were a Raleigh dealer.

Zman

Zurichman wrote:


jjbnum3 I took my bike to a Raleigh dealer around 10 miles from my house. They took a hangar off another bike which wasn't exact but worked on my bike and then Raleigh sent the hangar direct to the shop. This was done all within about a week time frame if I remember right. I was going to turn a bill into Raleigh but they didn't charge me for the repair since they were a Raleigh dealer.

Zman

Thanks for the info.I talked to Raleigh last week and the hanger came today.I think I'm also going to take it to one of the Raleigh dealers around Sacramento instead of A LBS.And just do some shopping at Costco the same day.
My town has neither.The weather is really warm for this time of year.So
I'll have to ride my endurance bike until the Roker gets  A new hanger.

Ok I probably have a dilemma here at my end. I have 2 LBS that I use. One is a authorized Raleigh dealer but he only sells bikes to the Amish and Mennonites as his main customers and then he has I guess a few customers like me come in. He is what I would call a Mom and Pops bike dealership. The original owner(probably had the shop for 30 years)has passed the torch over to one of his relatives probably in his twenties. They are a great place for sure to buy accessories as he is always cheaper than anyone else. The other shop the guy has probably been in business for about 10 years(checked and it is 5 years onlyu but worked in other shops when he was in the service)but does lots of mt bike/gravel bike stuff.


Now for the question. When I went to price out the price of converting my Roker over from 1x Sram to 2x Shimano the shop that does all the mt bike stuff wanted $1000 for the conversion and trading all my Sram parts in. I was going to use a Shimano 50/34 105 crank off my Tamland as he replaced it when I tacoed the outside front ring on my last gravel race when I must have hit something. The Mom and Pops Raleigh shop has priced it out and wants $618 to convert everything over plus getting my Sram stuff back.

I guess this also might play into my decision making. I plan on retiring in 2-3 years and the thoughts are I might be driving versus flying to some of my races in the Mid West/South or wherever I was racing. If I had everything set up the same aka Shimano if something broke I could replace it off the other bike. I also then could have 2 different bike set ups the Roker probably for dry conditions and the Tamland for muddy/wet conditions. There has always been a talk when we discussed bikes of getting a lighter wheel set which would cost about $500 - $600. If I do the Shimano switch I probably wouldn't get another lighter wheel set for the Roker until next season. I plan on at least taking the Roker out for another ride or so to see if I can get use to the shifting.

Oh if I get the conversion done at the Raleigh dealer I probably won't be able to take the bike to the other LBS because he will become pissed and I won't be able to tell him that he was $400 higher.  

Thoughts or suggestions
Thanks Zman

We had a guy here in town who was very mountain-bike focused.  No one who took their road bikes to him ever felt like he was any good.  I'm not sure how different of a skill-set it is, but that's just one example.  He's out of business now.

If one guy is going to be pissed that you went to the other LBS, that's not the guy I would go to for anything.

I clearly have more options than you, but I bought everything online, and can install everything myself.  I'll bring it in to my LBS for new cables and bar tape.  The shop I take it to hasn't ever said anything, and appreciates my business.

zimdba wrote:We had a guy here in town who was very mountain-bike focused.  No one who took their road bikes to him ever felt like he was any good.  I'm not sure how different of a skill-set it is, but that's just one example.  He's out of business now.

If one guy is going to be pissed that you went to the other LBS, that's not the guy I would go to for anything.

I clearly have more options than you, but I bought everything online, and can install everything myself.  I'll bring it in to my LBS for new cables and bar tape.  The shop I take it to hasn't ever said anything, and appreciates my business.

I live here in rural Pa. good LBS or bike shops are hard to find. This is the only 2 within 20-30 miles I would trust. Then around 30 miles away there is one when every time I go to it has that big city feel as everything is marked up. There is another one I use to go 50 miles away(Harrisburg)that I liked but it was hit or miss on whether I could get my bike fixed there right then instead of just dropping it off. The shop that knows that I got a smokin deal on the 2 Raleigh's keeps giving me a discussion on how if I keep buying everything online that he might not be there as a shop when I need him. To a point his is right but at the same time I need to save some money to go on some trips lol We had a shop here in the late 80's early 90's that only catered to high end cyclists and not young kids bikes etc. Needless to say he is not around now either. There weren't enough high end bicyclists around back then to support them. There is now.

I guess it comes down to what I really want to do. I only wish the weather would cooperate some. I wanted to have the bike(Roker) all sorted out before the ride in Fl. Dirty Pecan on March 3rd but might have to wait until later this spring.

Zman

Zurichman wrote:
I guess it comes down to what I really want to do. I only wish the weather would cooperate some. I wanted to have the bike(Roker) all sorted out before the ride in Fl. Dirty Pecan on March 3rd but might have to wait until later this spring.

Zman

I wouldn't feel bad about doing business with either LBS.  The $1k + trade in is a lot of $$$.  The other shop sounds very very inexpensive for what is needed so I would have expected their price to be nearer the first.  

FWIW the Tiagra 10spd front shifting still doesn't work on my Roker Sport. The folks at Raleigh are trying to help.  I'm tempted to pull off the Shimano Tiagra and replace it with some 10spd SRAM Red - the one issue is the RD.  I don't know of a SRAM 10spd road derailleur (the mtn derailleur doesn't have a cable adjust barrel). 

Greg 

NoCoGreg wrote:
I wouldn't feel bad about doing business with either LBS.  The $1k + trade in is a lot of $$$.  The other shop sounds very very inexpensive for what is needed so I would have expected their price to be nearer the first.  

FWIW the Tiagra 10spd front shifting still doesn't work on my Roker Sport. The folks at Raleigh are trying to help.  I'm tempted to pull off the Shimano Tiagra and replace it with some 10spd SRAM Red - the one issue is the RD.  I don't know of a SRAM 10spd road derailleur (the mtn derailleur doesn't have a cable adjust barrel). 

Greg 

NoCoGreg I didn't look your bike(Roker Sport) specs up but is it hydraulic or mechanical Spyre brakes?

Zman

Zurichman wrote:Ok I probably have a dilemma here at my end. I have 2 LBS that I use. One is a authorized Raleigh dealer but he only sells bikes to the Amish and Mennonites as his main customers and then he has I guess a few customers like me come in. He is what I would call a Mom and Pops bike dealership. The original owner(probably had the shop for 30 years)has passed the torch over to one of his relatives probably in his twenties. They are a great place for sure to buy accessories as he is always cheaper than anyone else. The other shop the guy has probably been in business for about 10 years(checked and it is 5 years onlyu but worked in other shops when he was in the service)but does lots of mt bike/gravel bike stuff.




Thoughts or suggestions
Thanks Zman

You are lucky to still have A authorized Raleigh dealer close.I'm at my dads house in Auburn,Ca,and the two dealers I called that are located  around Sacramento are no longer going  to carry Raleigh brand this year.The whole direct to consumer burned A bridge with many LBS.

Shimano and A few makes have A 48/32 crankset. I'm going to try this out on my endurance bike.But I'm older(I think),clydesdale and lots of hills around here in Auburn. 

The Mom and Pops Raleigh shop has priced it out and wants $618.

Yeah I would for the best deal.Just tell the other shop why,I'm sure they'll understand.

Do either of these shops build good custom wheels?So many choices online too.
I would look into getting A basic tool set for some repairs.I bought mine online from A Uk dealer.


Shimano vs. sram.I still have not tried Sram yet.But I'm building A red/force road bike set piece by piece when I find parts on sale,and might even mix it with Shimano to try out sooner or latter. Shimano does cost less.


As for your Roker. That is A tough one.If you for sure want to keep it and like the geometry and the fit.
Yeah do the upgrades.what size Cogset and crank ring size are you planning on using?

I'm still on the fence with my sport.I always planned to build it up with Shimano 11sp.
Going to look at the Giant Anyroad as I like the short ST.Before making up my mind.

I'll add some more latter when I get back home.

Added:
The sport comes with mechanical Spyre brakes.46/36 cranks.
After looking at the  Giant Anyroad A little closer.I'm going to test ride one someday.
But I doubt I'll  buy one.The stack is really high vs. reach on the size I would need.

For now I'm going to keep the Roker.

[QUOTE=jjbnum3]


You are lucky to still have A authorized Raleigh dealer close.I'm at my dads house in Auburn,Ca,and the two dealers I called that are located  around Sacramento are no longer going  to carry Raleigh brand this year.The whole direct to consumer burned A bridge with many LBS.

Shimano and A few makes have A 48/32 crankset. I'm going to try this out on my endurance bike.But I'm older(I think),clydesdale and lots of hills around here in Auburn. 

Yeah I would for the best deal.Just tell the other shop why,I'm sure they'll understand.

Do either of these shops build good custom wheels?So many choices online too.
I would look into getting A basic tool set for some repairs.I bought mine online from A Uk dealer.


Shimano vs. sram.I still have not tried Sram yet.But I'm building A red/force road bike set piece by piece when I find parts on sale,and might even mix it with Shimano to try out sooner or latter. Shimano does cost less.


As for your Roker. That is A tough one.If you for sure want to keep it and like the geometry and the fit.
Yeah do the upgrades.what size Cogset and crank ring size are you planning on using?

I'm still on the fence with my sport.I always planned to build it up with Shimano 11sp.
Going to look at the Giant Anyroad as I like the short ST.Before making up my mind.

I'll add some more latter when I get back home.

Added:
The sport comes with mechanical Spyre brakes.46/36 cranks.
After looking at the  Giant Anyroad A little closer.I'm going to test ride one someday.
But I doubt I'll  buy one.The stack is really high vs. reach on the size I would need.

For now I'm going to keep the Roker.


jjbnum3 look over at gravelcyclist.com on JOM Roker Sport that he built up and got down to 17.3 lbs. or something like that. He would be I guess what I call a weight weenie as he even used ti bolts in the build and a ti QR that probably cost some major bucks. I rode a Giant anyroads bike and it IMHO can't hold a candle to the Tamland or the Roker. Yes I do love my Roker just not used to the Sram shifting. If I change it out probably going with a 46/34 and my Tamland was to come through with the 46/34 but instead came thru with a 50/34 I am guessing I could just swap out the 50 for a 46. I  have a really nasty rutty ill maintained fire tower mt. road that I use to gauge the 2 bikes even though my fitness level is pretty bad right now. The Roker climbed it sweet but what really impressed me was the damping no rough ride coming off the mt. along with the instant stopping of the hydro brakes. Not being a downhill guy it for sure did impress me in that area. The Raleigh's original owner has owned it for probably 30+ years and the other shop sends all his guys there to get his wheels built so when I need a set built I know where to go. His relative pretty much now runs the shop and no I couldn't tell him what I paid for my bikes. I guess that is all for now enjoy your Raleigh's


Zman

Granted I have the lower end Roker Sport, but figured I'd continue the thread...

The front derailleur shifting problems I encountered were in fact due to the front shifter.  The LBS got a warranty replacement shifter from Shimano and that fixed the shifting problems and I can at last use all the gears! :-)

Today I did one of the local lunch time group rides.  It can get  very fast in the summer but in the winter it's more casual and we cruise at 20-ish mph and have a couple long intervals where the pace goes up.  I decided to bring the Roker out as others have been showing up on their new CX and gravel bikes.  With 45/50 PSI front/rear, the Clement 40mm tires roll very nicely making it easy to hang in the pack.  In fact the Roker far exceeded my expectations in how it would respond to accelerations.  Sweet!!!  The longer wheelbase end extra rake give lots of comfort in corners and changing one's line at speed is very smooth and predictable - no twitchy handling here!  If I end up getting a 2nd set of wheels for road specific tires I could see the Roker getting much more use.

One comment on going tubeless with the stock tires.  Clement has two (yes 2) lines of Explor tires - the original tires require tubes and the 2nd line is tubeless specific.  The Clement dealer strongly recommended AGAINST trying to setup Clement's as tubeless - unless of course these are the tubeless specific Clements.  The two reported problems in going tubeless with the tube specific tires are: sealant leaking through the casing, beads which do not seal completely with the rim so they slowly leak.  Some people have had success in running tubeless with the tube tires, but just be aware it may be a messy exercise in futility. 

NoCoGreg wrote:Granted I have the lower end Roker Sport, but figured I'd continue the thread...

The front derailleur shifting problems I encountered were in fact due to the front shifter.  The LBS got a warranty replacement shifter from Shimano and that fixed the shifting problems and I can at last use all the gears! :-)

Today I did one of the local lunch time group rides.  It can get  very fast in the summer but in the winter it's more casual and we cruise at 20-ish mph and have a couple long intervals where the pace goes up.  I decided to bring the Roker out as others have been showing up on their new CX and gravel bikes.  With 45/50 PSI front/rear, the Clement 40mm tires roll very nicely making it easy to hang in the pack.  In fact the Roker far exceeded my expectations in how it would respond to accelerations.  Sweet!!!  The longer wheelbase end extra rake give lots of comfort in corners and changing one's line at speed is very smooth and predictable - no twitchy handling here!  If I end up getting a 2nd set of wheels for road specific tires I could see the Roker getting much more use.

One comment on going tubeless with the stock tires.  Clement has two (yes 2) lines of Explor tires - the original tires require tubes and the 2nd line is tubeless specific.  The Clement dealer strongly recommended AGAINST trying to setup Clement's as tubeless - unless of course these are the tubeless specific Clements.  The two reported problems in going tubeless with the tube specific tires are: sealant leaking through the casing, beads which do not seal completely with the rim so they slowly leak.  Some people have had success in running tubeless with the tube tires, but just be aware it may be a messy exercise in futility. 

Funny, I thought the accelerations were pretty sluggish - but my only bike to compare it to is my Madone - which is super responsive.  As far as the tires go - let's just say I feel more confident in the Maxxis Ramblers setup tubeless than the clements that came on it.

I've gotten the Ultegra R8000 setup on the Madone.  Now to install all of the 6800 goodies on the Roker.  I did go with the FD-R8000 on the Roker - the snap/snap action is really cool - and it was a relatively cheap upgrade.

I am really starting to like my Raleigh Roker Comp, It performed very well at the Dirty Pecan this weekend. I missed a couple of shifts but nothing to worry about. I weigh a tad over the 200 lbs. side right now. Being around other riders I was pulling away from guys on  the downhills that weighed more than me so that tells me it has a great freewheel on the rear. The stock tire set up to me seems fine but then I haven't a lot of tires to know what is good or bad because my old mt. bike had nasty tires on it and the rear was actually out of round and had a knot on the tire. I do have a question for you gear heads though. I have thoughts right now of doing the Bootlegger 100 next month in Lenoir NC. From what I have read it has some nasty climbing in it. So I want to get some lower gears and will be willing to sacrifice some on the top end for this. I have no clue what to get though. I am going to go look at the specs on my bike and repost.

I see the bike gearing specs are 11 x 42

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Zman

NoCoGreg wrote:Granted I have the lower end Roker Sport, but figured I'd continue the thread...

The front derailleur shifting problems I encountered were in fact due to the front shifter.  The LBS got a warranty replacement shifter from Shimano and that fixed the shifting problems and I can at last use all the gears! :-)

Good to hear you got your Roker shifting working good.
I'm going to give the Tiagra one ride before I change it out.

Raleigh paid the bill to get the rear hanger replaced.

I noticed A good size hole under the one of the chainstay. Look like it is just in the carbon.
going send A picture to Raleigh.No miles yet.

The  Shimano  Tiagra shifting problem is posted on quiet A few bike forums and on different brand bikes.

Zurichman wrote:I am really starting to like my Raleigh Roker Comp, It performed very well at the Dirty Pecan this weekend. I missed a couple of shifts but nothing to worry about. I weigh a tad over the 200 lbs. side right now. Being around other riders I was pulling away from guys on  the downhills that weighed more than me so that tells me it has a great freewheel on the rear. The stock tire set up to me seems fine but then I haven't a lot of tires to know what is good or bad because my old mt. bike had nasty tires on it and the rear was actually out of round and had a knot on the tire. I do have a question for you gear heads though. I have thoughts right now of doing the Bootlegger 100 next month in Lenoir NC. From what I have read it has some nasty climbing in it. So I want to get some lower gears and will be willing to sacrifice some on the top end for this. I have no clue what to get though. I am going to go look at the specs on my bike and repost.

I see the bike gearing specs are 11 x 42

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Zman

Ahh good the the 1x Sram is getting better. They have so many different models for shifting it is confusing for me.Do they have live chat? I'm not going to try my 1x Sram until I get some miles on my 2x  Shimano .

Front derailleur gearing is going to be  46/32.Not sure about rear.I guess try 32 and see if my old legs can
make it up these hills around here.
Prices on the Rokers and Tamlands have gone way up and not many models left at Raleigh.com

It would be A shame if they get rid of the Roker model.Having crazy weather here in the Sierra Nevada
foothills.Goes from 70's to snowing A little the next week.Good weather last few days,but I think another storm is coming in.cheers jj

jjbnum3 wrote:

Good to hear you got your Roker shifting working good.
I'm going to give the Tiagra one ride before I change it out.

Raleigh paid the bill to get the rear hanger replaced.

I noticed A good size hole under the one of the chainstay. Look like it is just in the carbon.
going send A picture to Raleigh.No miles yet.

The  Shimano  Tiagra shifting problem is posted on quiet A few bike forums and on different brand bikes.



Ahh good the the 1x Sram is getting better. They have so many different models for shifting it is confusing for me.Do they have live chat? I'm not going to try my 1x Sram until I get some miles on my 2x  Shimano .

Front derailleur gearing is going to be  46/32.Not sure about rear.I guess try 32 and see if my old legs can
make it up these hills around here.
Prices on the Rokers and Tamlands have gone way up and not many models left at Raleigh.com

It would be A shame if they get rid of the Roker model.Having crazy weather here in the Sierra Nevada
foothills.Goes from 70's to snowing A little the next week.Good weather last few days,but I think another storm is coming in.cheers jj

jjbnum3

It is a given that the Roker is out of their line up. I am only guessing here but guess that they want to get as much buckaroos out of the remaining Roker's they have left. Yes they do have live chat over on the RaleighUSA website. I have found it somewhat helpful at times and other times not. I do know that Leif at Raleigh is very helpful and I actually saw him post here one time on one of the threads.

Looks to me like Raleigh is going in another direction of their bike lines as I keep getting all kind of emails well I did of them wanting to sell beach cruisers and the old retro bikes. Not sure why they decided to go that route. That was one of the deciding factors of me buying my Roker Comp as I knew it wasn't in the  line up for 2018. From doing my research I really never saw anybody give the bike a bad review. I need to work hard on getting the engine trimmed down like the bike is and eventually will buy a lighter better wheel set but need to pay some other bills off right now along with that n+1(Roker) bike that I couldn't live without. I will say that the bike keeps impressing me the more I get to ride it. The Dirty Pecan ride was only the 3rd ride for me on that bike. I thought I really might have some trouble getting the bike set back up with traveling with it for the first time but it went together pretty smooth. The only thing I did notice is that the bike didn't fit as well in my Trico Iron Horse bike case like my roadie bikes do. Has anybody else noticed that? Length was fine and yes I removed the rear derailleur. When the bike was taken apart and placed between the padding the bike was thicker and I didn't get the case completely closed like I do on my road bikes.

Good luck in getting some good weather and getting that bike out. We have Robins here now in PA. which is a good first sign of spring. I am just hoping they didn't pack up their suitcases early and it soon on it's way. lol

Zman

noCoolGreg Did you ever get your shifting problems fixed on your Roker Sport. This possibly could be the problem as my Roker Comp developed this problem after only 3 rides

a 32 mile ride
same 32 mile ride on the mts nearby
80 mile ride at Dirty Pecan

I took my Roker Comp today to a Raleigh LBS to get the 42 gear tooth changed out on the front end to 36. While there he noticed that the rear derailleur was hanging up in the last 3-4 gears while downshifting only. He had to take the entire cable assembly apart and found out that the cable was eating away at the end cap on the top tube where the cable goes into the inside of the bike. After all this rewrapping the bar tape and fishing the cable back down thru the down tube the bike shifts fine. My bill for all this repair was something like $30 but I still want to turn it into Raleigh as this shouldn't be happening this fast.

Greg you bike has the cable going thru the inside of the frame right?


Zman

Zman,
The root cause of the problem I encountered was due to a faulty front shifter which was replaced by Shimano under warranty.

Did the LBS indicate if the root cause on your bike was due to improper initial setup or is there a design problem?  I don't have many miles and for now the shifting works great.  

Thanks,
Greg

NoCoGreg wrote:Zman,
The root cause of the problem I encountered was due to a faulty front shifter which was replaced by Shimano under warranty.

Did the LBS indicate if the root cause on your bike was due to improper initial setup or is there a design problem?  I don't have many miles and for now the shifting works great.  

Thanks,
Greg

Greg:

He really didn't say. What somewhat surprised me is that he said he never quite saw a set up like that. He sells mainly to Mennonites and so doesn't sell any gravel bikes would be my guess. I would have thought though that he has seen other bikes(road bikes)with cables running down thru the frame though. My good guess is that the cable rubbing/eating into the stop was a design problem not an improper initial setup. It looked to me like there was too much of an angle/pull on that stop with the way it went into the frame at the top tube. I am not sure though. I just hope that the problem is fixed(looks like it) and that it doesn't happen again say in the middle of a race.

BTW Glad to hear you have yours fixed. Nothing like riding a smooth shifting bike. When it's not working though not so much fun.

Zman