When the new designed Tarmac was released, I'm pretty sure I remember reading that it was as aero (or maybe slightly more aero) than the original Venge (caveat: it's likely this was in Specialized's own marketing materials). If that's the case, you could likely find a comparison test somewhere between the original Venge and that model S5 and that would give you a relatively accurate answer.

You are thinking of buying a second Tarmac? If I were buying a specialized, I think it would be the Venge . If I already owned a Tarmac, it would definitely be the Venge. Sorry, I know this doesn't address your question, I am just curious why the Venge isn't on your list here.

Good Q; couple reasons:
--Trying to make this as costless as possible. S5 to Tarmac will be frame cost + direct mount brake cost - S5 on ebay proceeds. Will go pro level frame, not SWorks, because, well, crits. Venge currently only sells SWorks frame (at $5.5k--above even SWorks Tarmac frame at $4.0k) & it's disc, so even more spend on hoods, wheels, etc. I don't have any disc wheels currently save my cyclocross gear
--There are theoretically synergies between having two of the exact same race bikes for whole season--no change, however slight, in handling you have to get used to, and complete interchangeability of parts if anything mechanical arises
--...I think that's all I've got :)

Why a second identical bike? In case you crash the first you have an immediate backup?

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Matt

What about an Allez Sprint? The geometry is pretty close to the latest Tarmac and it is way cheaper than a Tarmac pro especially if you are doing crits.

Just not really into it. Don't mind the incremental dollars. Honestly I'm enough of a gear head / weight weenie that it was a hard call for me to accept downgrading to the Tarmac Pro. There's a lot of positive press on the Allez in rags but anecdotes I've heard from people who ride them haven't been as glowing. Think the stack would also necessitate a decent amount of additional spacers on the Allez and I'm not exactly slammed on the Tarmac as is.

@Pun_times yep. Just makes things seamless. No adjustment to changes in handling. Easy duplication of position (especially if changes). Can swap out parts if need be. But it's also taking advantage of the situation--S5 value likely to continue to decline with new model out there so why not seize on the swap now.

The Sprint's really aren't that cheap, though. $1250-$1750 for an Allez Sprint frameset, vs $2500 for a Tarmac Pro frameset. Geometry on the Sprint's a little more aggressive in many measures, too. With those geo differences, and the differences in construction, I'd imagine it's a very different feel underneath you than an SL6 Tarmac or an S5.


I also recall Specialized claiming the SL6 Tarmac matching the 1st-gen Venge for aero efficiency. I don't know if it's quite as slippery as a last-gen S5, but I'd imagine that with some smart build choices (brakes, bar/stem, wheels) you can get it so close that the differences are immaterial.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

I don’t have data at hand but my guess would be 10-15 seconds at most over 40k at most ceteris paribus.

I had both Tarmac and Venge and got rid of the Venge. It's great on the flats but climbing feels like you are dragging a load of bricks compared to the Tarmac. Unless you are riding pancake flat routes, there just isn't any reason to get the Venge.

How different do the Tarmac and the S5 feel? I have a current gen S5 (rim brake) and used to ride a 2011 R series. I didn't have a hard time switching between the two. Is it a pretty noticeable change between the two?

The new Tarmac is supposed to be as aero as the original Venge, which means it is pretty much an aero turd compared to the S5. The German cycling magazine, sorry the name escapes me, had a windtunnel test with the Venge and many other bikes. The Venge basically got smoked. The Felt AR white paper has the Venge kitted out to be as fast as it will ever be (Di2 to address the horrible cable routing) and it still lags the AR and S5 by quite a bit.

By modern standards it is not a fast bike. It was originally marketed as being 20 watts faster than the S3 Tarmac, but that thing was probably the least aero road bike ever made. Huge head tube and the fork was hideous. On the other hand, Cycling Weekly did some aero bike track testing and the S5 is about a watt or two behind the second generation Venge and the Madone, and those are still probably the fastest bikes on the market.

I rode a Venge up until a couple months ago. It wasn't a bad bike back in 2012 or so, but I replaced it with a Madone 9. Holy crap that is such an improvement.

it really does not matter,spliting hairs witch do you like?

I've never understood the big deal with aero road bikes for 40K TTs. If you want to go fast, get a TT bike. I guess if you plan on doing crits and road races where you are off the front the whole time without a draft, then OK. Really no need for 2 high end road bikes, let alone 2 identical road bikes. It's not like a crash bad enough to take one completely out would leave you time to go to the pit and get the backup bike for a crit. This isn't 'cross.

We have new aero king..

A lot local TTs in my area have road bike categories. Kind of cool because it allows people to dabble in TT without having to go full Slowtwitch.




Of if you plan to sprint for the win. The first converts to aero in pro RR were the sprinters.

Crazy how a frame from 2013 is still the 3rd fastest.

Ya that kind of points out the "Peak Aero" time for road bikes. Only minimal improvements with tons of additional development work.

The AR is probably the best deal you can find if you are looking for used. I was watching EBay this fall and there was a pretty nice 54 that went for under 500$. Even the first gen S5s were about twice as much and Madone 9s were typically 1800-2000$.

I wonder where the Fuji Transonic fits in? See those new for as little as $1200, and have heard they're reasonably slippery.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

The Sprint is amazing for crits. Many of our tarmac guys choose it when racing. Several continental pro teams ride it as well.

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Human Person