Specialized reveals why Tom Boonen wasn't using disc brakes at the Tour of Flanders

Tom Boonen raced his final ever Tour of Flanders aboard a very specialized Specialized Roubaix

Tom Boonen on his new rim brake equipped Specialized Roubaix (Credit: Brakethrough Media)

(Image credit: BrakeThrough Media)

Tom Boonen took to the Tour of Flanders last weekend aboard a very special Specialized Roubaix. The new bike is a curious beast in a couple of ways, but we'll begin with the most curious: those rim brakes.

We're particularly interested in these because Specialized originally said that the new Roubaix model would disc specific, and that they will not be releasing a rim brake version of the bike.

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