Light, Fast and Lively!
Working in the bike industry for 25 years I’ve been blessed to be able to own and ride the best road bikes in the world. I wish I still had some of my favorites, a Colnago C40, and a custom steel Serotta come to mind. One characteristic that those bikes shared is a liveliness, especially sprinting and climbing out of the saddle. Something that I don’t feel in most of top shelf bikes today. They are stiff, can be light, are way more aero, but they are not lively. The new Tarmac SL8 has it! That lively and light feel! Before I get into the heart of the review, I think it’s best to explain my interpretation of comfort and liveliness. Comfort: Perfect comfort is when you become one with the bike, and it disappears under you. I feel this has a lot to do with the right bike fit and setup, and the right amount of stiffness. If the bike is too stiff it is hard to relax, and ride supple. If the bike has too much “flex” it moves in ways you must correct to control the bike. In both cases too stiff or too flexible the bike is fighting you. Liveliness: A slight flex that springs back when under a hard load. For example, when sprinting or climbing hard out of the saddle the frame flexes slightly and springs back. I find when there is the perfect balance of liveliness the slight spring or snap back helps my sprinting and climbing. Specialized has an excellent white paper that explains the factors they targeted to achieve the optimum “State of Speed” for the new SL8. Using the characteristics below, they benchmarked the SL8 against the previous Tarmac SL7, the aero Venge, and the light and comfortable Aethos.
Specialized surpassed their target bikes in all categories except for lightness and comfort where the sub-UCI weight limit Aethos was slightly better. When considering speed and the UCI weight limit, the SL8 was the clear leader. CLEAN LINES Aesthetically I love the clean lines of the Tarmac SL8. Almost minimalistic. By comparison Trek’s Madone looks downright hefty. The down tube and top tube are reasonable in size, and seat tube, seat post and seat-stays almost disappear when looking from the back. TEST RIDE I had the opportunity to test ride two levels of the Tarmac SL8. The first was a Tarmac SL8 Expert during a Specialized demo day at our shop. The second was a series of rides on our S-Works demo bike. Frankly I wasn’t blown away by the SL8 Expert level Tarmac. The frame had a lively feel, was fast handling, but the heavy Sram Rival component group and Roval 38 wheels took away from the speed and feel. I currently ride the deeper aero Roval Rapide CLX wheels, and they hold sustained high speed much better. Specialized spec says a 56cm Expert level Tarmac weighs 17.2 pounds, so that puts it around 18 pounds with pedals cages and flat kit. Not exceptional. If I compare published weight for a 58cm frame and fork (size I ride) the Expert/Pro level 10R is 4.69 ounces heavier than the S-Works 12R frame and fork. This is not really a huge difference. Most of the weight over the 15-pound S-Works is coming from the heavier components. I voiced my opinion to the Specialized demo rep, that I felt demo days are awesome, but they did this bike a disservice by picking the Expert specced bike. The Pro level would have been more representative to the audience this bike is targeted at. Fortunately, we were able to buy a 58cm S-Works demo bike. I have been able to get some quality rides on this bike and it totally changed my impression. This is hands down a pro racing bike! The S-Works version has a 12R carbon frame and fork and Specialized lists the weight at 15 pounds 1.6 oz for the 56cm with the Shimano DuraAce spec. The S-Works model is also the only spec that comes with the more aero Roval Rapide integrated bar/stem cockpit. It also comes with excellent Roval Rapide CLX II wheels. When evaluating any bike it is important to set it up to match your optimum bike fitting coordinates. In this case I had no problem matching the seat’s XY position. The bar height was good, but the bar XY reach was 10mm too short. The 58cm frame was specced with a 44/110 bar stem combo. I typically need a 120mm stem with this size bike, and most 58cm bikes come with a 120mm stem. My first impression on the S-Works, was how light and lively the bike felt. Agile and responsive, not overly stiff. During some longer group rides the bike’s speed and change of speed surprised me a few times. I had to drag the brakes not to overlap wheels until I got used to it. This was certainly related the aerodynamics of the frame, wheels, and one-piece bar/stem. I did a few flat-out sprints and the bike has that lively “snap” and was noticeably faster in my initial jump, than my current bike. Great acceleration, love it! As expected, the cockpit felt cramped with the bars being too close. This became painfully obvious on a 85 mile group ride. I also need (based on my shoulder width) and prefer a narrower bar that the stock 44’s. Narrower bars are also better in respect to aerodynamics. There is a fix, but it is quite expensive. Specialized offers 15 bar stem configurations (only 6 are not sold out) at the cost of $600. Add another $200+ for labor to remove the old bars, route the cables, bleed the brakes, and add new tape. But a bike at this price point should fit perfectly (as I explained above this is critical to comfort). So, it’s worth doing a bike fitting before purchase to determine the size and bar/stem needed for your bike. Or if you have a bike that fits great great I can take XY measurements off your current bike to see what is needed to match your new bike. Both BMC and Pinarello (with the Dogma) allow us to pick the bar/stem combo to match the rider’s fitting needs when we order a frame or even complete bike. Specialized really should do this with the S-Works bikes. CONCLUSION The Tarmac SL8 is an awesome all-around racing bike! The performance is hard to beat. The Tarmac SL8 Pro has been our go-to racing bike in the $8000 price range. And the S-Works has that magical feel offered by only the very top tier of racing bikes. Come in and test ride one today and see for yourself. We have a 54, 56, and 58 demo S-Works in stock and a 54, and 56 Pro. A pro bike fitting is included with a road bike purchase. Enjoy the ride! Greg
2 Comments
Scott Patsiga
1/11/2024 02:24:01 pm
Greg, Great insight. I may have to take you up on that 58cm Demo S Works
Reply
1/12/2024 04:26:56 am
Thanks Scott, stop by when you get a chance and give this a ride!
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AuthorGREG PELICAN: GM of Naples Cyclery, cyclist and multi-sport athlete. 20+ years in Bike Industry. Past Marketing Manager for FUJIFILM, KODAK and Trek Florida. Archives
January 2024
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