Bump for the evening crowd....

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

Curious about this as well. Considering the Trek Emonda SL7 and the Tarmac Pro. Never ridden a tarmac and looking for a more aggressive geometry for flatland crits and such.

I'm interested in this too but have yet to see one in the wild, including our local Specialized shop.

I heard that shipment of a lot of 2018 bikes across brands is being delayed due to supply issues with the new Ultegra R8000 groupset that a lot of them are specced with.

I see to recall reading that they weren't due to ship until September as it was, but this could be a reason for the delay.

IIRC, my LBS has one or two on the floor. Not sure if this matters to you or not, but I was asking about the availability of disc brakes on the new Tarmacs and was told that they wouldn't be available on the new frames until 2019.

I can't speak to the 2018 Tarmac but I just picked up the 2017 Tarmac Pro with Di2 and Disc breaks. Swapped out the compact rings and put a 53/39 and 11-23 on the back. 11 speed. Also put the quarq dzero on there.

The bike is very nice, nimble and very responsive. I've only ridden on a TT bike for the last 10+ years with the exception of a Cannondale Super Six a few years ago. I only had that bike for 3 months. The Tarmac is amazing and I'm having a blast out there on my bike for the 1st time in years. I rode 250 miles last week and felt great by weeks end. Definitely worth it in my opinion. Im not sure what changes on the 2018 but I can't imagine its all that much.

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Team Zoot Northeast

All the reports I've heard about the Ultralight is that it is an amazing bike and a step up from the last generation Tarmac. Having said that, if you are doing technical crits the Allez Sprint is the way to go.

Good to hear. I am having a 2017 tarmac built up right now with new dura ace components. Can't wait to get it and start logging miles.

I own the older gen Tarmac and a Venge, a friend i road race with just started riding the new Tarmac. He said it rides just like a tarmac, which is great news! It looks very nice and the attention to detail on the frame is second to none. As many have noticed the tarmac just rides smoother than the venge and i think this latest iteration might finally put the vias to rest. Specialized does a very good job on the tolerances, in particular with the s-works models. This leads to minimal BB or headset issues assuming proper installation. I am planning on ordering a frameset this winter as the primary road racing bike for next season.

For road racing i really like simplicity, this is a bike that i can work on myself at the last minute with no issues. That was my concern with the VIAS and other frames which place the brakes in hard to reach areas. It's in the details, great seatpost design, saddle rail clamp system is rock solid and easy to adjust. At 760g that is an incredibly lightweight frame and lets be honest we all love a light bike.

Blimey, when the new design was unveiled they were saying Q1 2018 for a disc version; I wonder what's changed...

I find that interesting as well, went by 2 shops recently in Denver, both heavy in Specialized, and NO new Tarmacs. One shop employee even said "I am not sure what changes are even being made not the Tarmac?". This was 4 days ago. How does the customer know more about the bike than the employee??!!

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

I have a 2012 S-works Tarmac. Love it. Ride is really really nice. Only curious about the new Tarmac as I could see selling my older S-works and one of my 2 tri bikes and getting a new roadie, just because. Hoping to hear some live updates on peoples experiences so far!

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

have one, love it...fantastic ride and ridonk light (14lbs out the door for a size 54)

To my knowledge the only Tarmac's that have shipped are the Ultralights just recently followed by the S-Works models. If your local dealer isn't an S-Works dealer...and probably a high volume one at that...you won't see them at shops yet. Now the employee not knowing about them...that's either an attempt to get rid of last years stock...or ignorance.

Thanks for the info!... interesting that they choose to ship the highest end bikes first, instead of those more accessible by the common rider. Pretty sure the guy at the shop was just clueless and not trying to sell older models :)

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

They are shipping the high end bikes first because the mid range bikes aren't available yet due to the Ultegra 8000 rollout. This isn't limited to Specialized either.

Ah, makes sense...

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

It's pretty normal to sell the high end bikes first regardless of the Ultegra supply problems. The higher end bikes usually have a bigger margin on them and people are willing to pay to have the "latest/greatest".

Shop employee here... Most Tarmac's aren't in stock on the dealer website with exception of a couple random size S-Works (i.e. the super light someone mentioned). Most will be Mid-Oct to Mid-Jan. Its Specialized that's holding things up-not the Ultra 8000. I talked to a friend over at Specialized a couple weeks ago and she said they goofed with getting them over from Taiwan as its taken a little longer than expected. Ultegra is already rolling out-its available for dealers to buy (Chain Reaction has some stuff available from them)

I was fortunate to ride a pre-release version the bike.

For reference, I've owned/ridden extensively the Tarmac SL2, SL3, and SL4, as well as the Roubaix (SL, SL2), original Venge and ViAS. I never rode an SL5 but I'm on a 56, and I understand the SL5 was the same as the SL4 in that size.

At the time, the identity of the bike was unknown to me.

As anyone who has ever been on a Tarmac knows, it's a dialed bike; one might prefer another bike, but it is really hard to find fault with it. The new Tarmac has the sharp handling it has always had. It also has a subjective ease when you get it up to 25mph and try to accelerate from there. I was reminded of the original Venge in that way.

However, when I ride the SL4 and Venge back-to-back in the mountains, I've noticed what I would characterize as a bit of 'understeer', meaning it takes a little more input to hold its line in turns. This is most noticeable for me on a local 5-mile 10% descent. It's a subtle difference, but it's there.

Splitting hairs: At lower speeds, my SL4 had a slightly more responsive feel when stomping on the pedals vs the Venge.

The SL5 was not enough to tempt me to upgrade from my SL4 (esp given that I was on a 56cm frame); riding the SL6 gave me the immediate impression that I would drop my SL4 and Venge in favor of this bike.

It represents the best of the Venge and the best of the SL4 (/SL5) -- at *reduced* weight.

There's a solidity to the ViAS and perhaps an edge in aerodynamics, but it comes at a cost: a notable weight difference. If you ride in flat terrain, this is something you only feel in a parking lot, but it is notable on longer/steeper climbs. (FWIW, in race shape I'm at 6% BF and can notice an extra kilo.) There are still scenarios where the ViAS is faster depending on the course, but the SL6 is a dream bike for many. It's no longer light OR aero: you can have both.

Can you tell I recommend it? :)

I'll put my $$ where my mouth is this fall as they become available.

I have no affiliation with Specialized other than having extensive experience with many of their products.

Wow Tetonrider, thank you for that! Very helpful for someone hovering around a decision.

Excellent info, thanks tetonrider :)

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Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

anybody have any pictures of their rigs?

I have it, received in November and rode during the month of December down south.

I am coming off a 2016 BMC Teammachine slr01, 14 lbs. Without using super light tubular tires I don’t see how anyone can get this new Tarmac down to 14 pounds unless the ultralight version is 600 grams less.

Here are my thoughts... (written in December)


I am comparing the new SL6 to the previous two versions. SL5,4 and my 2016 BMC all of which I have owned and put thousands of kms on.

The new SWorks Tarmac is very stiff compared to the other bikes I have owned (or still own). Fairly comfortable for such a stiff bike. Instant acceleration. Seems faster for sure. Love how I climb with it. It is a true size 54 which fits me perfect.

I also find the new SL6 to be extremely twitchy, almost dangerous actually. Had an awful crash 12 days ago and one the week prior. I ride 12,000 km a year and this is not normal for me. One crash, I turned my head to check for a flat and I just lost control. I have done this thousands of times - weird. The other crash my wheel got caught in a rut and down I went hard!!!

Is it me or does it seem like this bike is abnormally light in the front end? I have heard of some people sprinting and the front wheel comes off the ground. Also just picking the bike up it seems unusually unbalanced with a lot of the weight in the rear. Could explain the twitchiness? I can ride my BMC all day with hands off the bars to check for wheel flats, to take off my helmet to get the bee out etc etc with no issues. But this one I wouldn’t dare go hands free. I am running Roval CLX 40s or Zipp404FC depending on the day and DA9070, Fabric Scoop Pro saddle and Full ENVE cockpit.

These are my thoughts from my month on the bike. Mixed feelings obviously and I am sure people will disagree. Luckily, the bike doesn’t even have a single scratch!! Me - pretty banged up but I will heal eventually.

Update... I have healed up, have some nasty scars and put another 500 on the bike. Despite the twitchiness I absolutely love to ride this bike. And it looks great too.

I weighed my bike with the 1400 gram CLX40s and a SWorks Romin Saddle and it was 15 lbs.