A lot of speculation is that SL7 will be a combination of the aeroness of the Venge and the lightweight of the SL6 Tarmac so Specialized will only have to make one bike that ticks both boxes.

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Matt

I was told by my LBS - a big Specialized dealer - the Venge is gone, no mas.

From what I can see, the SL7 seems like the combo of Venge front end with Tarmac SL6 rear.

Then again, all new bikes these days look pretty much the same: drop seatstays, lower BB, aero front-end, integrated/internal cable routing, wide tire clearance, etc.

The Madone might be in it's twilight stage too. I'm sure we will start seeing used Venges on the classifieds. I wouldn't buy one, as the Tarmac is a better riding bike, and now just as aero.

I’d be on the lookout for a used Venge if I didn’t already own one

SL7 - slightly lighter , slightly less aero
Venge - slightly heavier , slightly more aero.

Easy choice for me. Venge

It’s the best bike I’ve ever owned . Got a used one, 2019 , about 6 weeks ago .

Ditto on the aero being preferable to weight.

 [url=https://postimages.org/][/url]

While I think both are great bikes, I agree with this. My Venge Pro is the best thing I've ridden. No, it's not 14 pounds, but it's also not heavy either. It' sprints and accelerates extremely well and holds speed like nothing else I've used. Still, I'm not surprised Spesh will most likely stop making it. The LBS guys here say that most riders want that super light rig and there are lots more Tarmacs on the roads than Venges.

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Human Person

That's the thing though - according to Specialized the SL6 was as aero as the previous generation of Venge, and the noise coming from them now (guess we'll know more when they officially launch) is that the SL7 will be as aero as the latest Venge.

In which case it would actually be:

SL7 - light and aero
Venge - just as aero, slightly heavier

Which is a no brainer. A bit of scepticism is always necessary whenever it comes to manufacturer's own aero claims, but if it's true that Specialized are going to discontinue the Venge then I think it's safe to say that the frames must at least be so close aero-wise that they can't justify continuing with both bikes.

It’s always interesting to hear the sales pitch from Specialized. When the 2020 Roubaix came out they said it was more aero at all Yaw angles than the SL6.

(About half way down the article) https://www.google.com/...know-about-new%3famp[/url]

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Matt

New SL7 800g frame 56cm painted, highest builds at 6.8 kg "ready to race". Full builds are most likely to be slightly heavier than outgoing SL6 due to Specialized moving to BSA bottom bracket and discontinuing the Sworks cranks, which would not fit that one anyway.

SL7 still a tiny bit slower than Venge, but I guess in reality that might be 1-2, maybe 3 watts.

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Need more W/CdA.

Unless they change the geometry of the SL7, I will be in a less aero position due to the higher stack since I slam the stem on my Venge now.

Venge , 56 , stack 555, reach 398
SL6 , 56 , stack 565, reach 395

So the frames might test equal aero wise I doubt I will be able to get in the same position. We all know aero is more about position and less about the bike.

Buy a 54, use a 15 mm longer stem, and use 10 mm of headset spacers? I bet the new tarmac is more like the venge than the current tarmac as far as geometry goes though

I thought the were going to T47? Valid point about the aero. If it's significantly lighter and the aero difference is negligible then there's no reason to carry two separate models. Truth be told lighter still sells on the floor.

No, BSA, God knows why (except the new Roubaix was the first high end Specialized bike which went with BSA). Trek is all-in with T47.

The new SL7 unlikely is going to be significantly lighter than Venge. Already with SL6 if you built both bikes with identical components (except integrated stem on the Venge), the difference was very small, like 100g or so.

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Need more W/CdA.

I honestly don’t know too much about the new BB standards, but T47 looks like a return to the good old days of threaded BB. Amen to that!

And it's here, reviews up on all the major sites. Pretty bummed the expert model is not for sale in the US.

https://www.bikeradar.com/...-specialized-tarmac/

Thoughts on the s-works specs with the new non-tubeless CLX wheel set option vs. build your own and going with a different wheelset?

According the Bike Rumor article, the Expert Ultegra Di2 will be offered in the US $5000, but the mechanical Ultegra will not.

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Shawn
TORRE Consulting Services, LLC
http://www.TORREcs.com

Seems people were too excited. Specialized site crashed during the launch.... still down.

The Trainer Road guys did a podcast last year on the 2019 Venge vs Tarmac. They owned both and said they would get rid of the Tarmac because the Venge is such a better machine for various reasons.

Jeff (norcalcycling) just released a first ride impression on the new Tarmac (he's riding a Venge now). I won't spoil it, just watch....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Important caveat - Chris is a former employee @ Specialized. Jeff still works there.

Well, I’d apply the same skepticism to anything I see about marketing. Main point is that the new tarmac seems to cover the same territory as the old Venge and the old tarmac. Looks like the venge is going bye bye.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Yes it has been confirmed that the Venge is no longer.