Hey Reginald, I happen to agree with your points of view stated. It’s all marketing , and people sop it all up. And as usual , looking forward to your next video. All the best!
After the last 3yrs of absurdity. Perhaps corporations have realized that you can tell most people anything and they'll believe it. $5500 for the sworks. You'd have to be crazy.
Really concerned for where they have shaved off for the weight savings. You called it out earlier than durianrider on this! I am also waiting for his take on this. Btw the pros ride a different carbon layout for the SL7 - I suspect it's gonna be the same for SL8. There is no way that the power they are laying down will not affect the frame integrity and now having the grams shaved off will only compromise this further. Thks for the great video
After working on SL7s I have mixed feelings, they are somewhat underwhelming but kinda impressive at the same time. I think the underwhelming part is knowing in advance what they cost and just not seeing it when you have them apart. If im paying $20k AUD for a bike i dont want a flimsy plastic headset cap. Admittedly it does the job but at that asking price make that part out of something a little more premium, like they did with the 2015 Venge. But for me the biggest saftey concern of the SL7 and SL8 is the hydro hose going through the upper headset bearing. Not from a "this is going to snap the steerer" perspective but more that consumers wont service their headsets when they realise the cost. A headset service now requires the hoses to be disconnected from the shifters and hose snipped as the nut wont feed through the bar, and a double brake bleed. Now if you are lucky and Specialized have put some hose slack in the bar then you'll get away without having to replace the hoses maybe once. After that you are talking hose replacement as well which also means crank and BB out, you are basically doing an 80% full bike rebiild just to service a headset. What was a 15 min job is now a 2-4hr job and charged accordingly to the customer.
As a bike mechanic I can attests to this, I wanted to make some adjustments to a bike I was selling in the shop that had hydraulics and internal cables… in the end I gave up on the idea because to do a small adjustment would require completely re-building the bike just to remove the fork! Until someone pays me to do it I’m just going to leave it as it is. I had a customer complain online that I charged them $100 BND ($75 USD) to fit a set of internal bars to their bike. The hydraulic housing alone cost $25 for me to get. I checked the prices in the US for the same service and it was over $100 USD. I feel sorry for the customer but at least I know I’m under charging. 🤷🏻♂️
This isn't talked about enough. People only lust over the clean aesthetics of integrated internal routing and never know about the ugly side of it. Almost all of them don't know what they're signing up for until their headset bearings need to be serviced or replaced. Imagine if that's the only part of the bike that needs to be rectified immediately at any given time as not everybody's bike parts deteriorate equally.
I will still be riding my rim brake litespeed t1 sl by the time the sl15 comes out and my bike will still be far superior to any and all specialized carbon ( aero ) bikes . Funny how every new iteration save you an additional 4 watts via the frame and the 4 watts via the bars . How about keep the bike you have , work on your flexibility, mobility and positional conditioning while riding to save 20-30 watts for free and save your 12k And if you really need it to have someone say oooooohhh the new sl8 spend some $$$ on a therapist to get a handle on your insecurities and need for meaningless attention.
They said only the cockpit and front of the bike matters and everything behind is dirty air. And they said that it has better stiffness to weight ratio. Since this frame is much lighter it probably is not that much stiffer than SL7. If you believe them in the first place. I find it really funny how those youtubers get hyped about this bike and sing this marketing nonsense in their videos. It was also funny watching a video from David where lightweight bike was faster than aero bike in his testing.
I have an SL6 (Ultegra Disc) that I bought in a sale in 2021 - my first carbon road bike - and it´s has been a solid bike since I´ve got it. I´m happy that I chose a frame that has no integrated cables (handlebar) and still uses a round seatpost. Also 30mm tire clearence is futureproof enough for me. I´m not entirely sure as I only have a regular bodyweight scale here, but with my current setup it´s around 7.2kgs. I´m not using the highest-end components as I cant pay for them nor would make enough use of something like a Dura-Ace groupset. I could get it down to 6.8 or so, but thats not really important. I chose Spesh back then over the others because of the lifetime gurantee (while in 1st hand ownership) that comes with it. Should there ever be a damage related to poor construction anywhere, I´d be covered and I wanted this given it´s a carbon frame / fork. If I needed it, Specialized support was always helpful so far. It´s a solid bike, very stable, surely pretty aggressive geo so not really something for very long trips. I love that thing, even though most probably only consider it a very common "big brand" frame. Since C-19 prices have gone down the drain... I´m always shocked looking at new frames that are more expensive, heavier, often with worse components (Electronic shifting being basically the only "benefit") costing almost twice as much as the SL6 back then. The SL8 Expert comes with SRAM Rival (the worlds ugliest shifters) on a 6500€ bike LOL.
Listen folks, if you like it buy it and if you dont like dont buy it..its just that simple..i still have my 2020 s-works sl6 and 2022 s-works SL7 ...the new SL8 looks great but im happy with my bikes. I dont get these long drawn out comments by folks just to say they're not going to buy...deep down they like the bike but dont have the money or refuse to pay the high price tag.
Humm I’m not sure I agree with the last part of your statement. Even if I was a Millionaire I wouldn’t buy a SL8 or any specialised for that matter because it’s just not my thing. (I think other bikes are a better choice in short) but I agree with the first part of your comment and I think it’s good advice to follow. 🙂👍🏻
Thank you for keeping it real. The specialized fan club is like a cult. They buy that stuff and after spending 5 digits on it they can’t ever tell the truth that the bike feels the same they then have to justify the thousands they’ve spent , come on say it with me, “it’s the best bike I’ve ever ridden” such bike industry marketing BS! Cheers 🍻
My family rides: 3 x Tarmac SL6, I ride an Aethos and a Tarmac SL6. Total distance ridden approx. 50.000 km. I have ridden a lot of other bikes. For me, the Tarmac (and Aethos) ride feel is just perfect. Love these bikes, love Di2, love tubeless. Quite obviously, our preferences do not match.
@@Slow.Smooth yes, a really good bike. Could be a little bit less reactive at high speeds (i am using light high profiled wheels). Doing more than 70 km/h at crosswinds is frightening
Somebody said that SL8 CdA gains are mostly from the integrated Cockpit... So your observations regarding BS that the frame is more aero... seems totally true... Regards 👍
Hi Reginald. I know you are not a fan of carbon bikes in general. I would love to hear your thoughts on Time bikes. Specifically the way they are made compared the competition. It seems like they are widely regarding as the pinnacle of carbon bike quality but I would love to hear your view, as a carbon sceptic. Thanks
I will tell you what you want to hear. 😅 LOOK and TIME bikes are the best carbon bikes because (lost well known reasons) if you are going to buy a new carbon bike it makes sense to buy a (……………..) But in all seriousness, I have only ridden one time and it was from the 90s so I honestly couldn’t give them a fair shake. 🙂
I love my Specialized SL7 (bought at a substantial discount). On our local bumpy, hilly roads it handles beautifully, it is really comfortable and feels rapid. By way of contrast, I recently sold my Canyon Aeroad (2019). It may well have been fastest bike I have owned and that made it quite fun to ride but the frame was so stiff and the ride was consequently very unforgiving. Pro racers may gain some benefit from the SL8 being stiffer but, for the rest of us mere mortals, surely this is a retrograde step?
The CFR Aeroad is less compliant than the CF SLX version. I have the CF SLX and I'm shocked by how comfortable it is. I've ridden it on longer rides than my endurance bike.
Ha ha, good for you! I hope you get the colour you like. I will be honest, they do a really good paint job. 👍🏻 And that amazing paint job comes with a FREE bike! 😁
A stock 56cm SL7 is 6.9kg, Maybe not a featherweight hill climber but certainly no pig, at least by my standards. I rode a 2016 Tarmac for a few years, I'm no fanboi and only bought it because it was a good deal but man that was a sweet ride, no complaints at all.
2016… would that have been the SL4? That is a very different bike from the SL7, the only 3 things they have in common are 1) made by Specialized, 2) they are road bikes, 3) they are made of carbon. Everything else is totally different, the geometry, climbing Vs aero, the rim Vs disc… I’m sure it was a great ride. 😁 That stock weight is the end top model, with sram red etap axis and carbon rims, the bike probably costs $15k new and that’s without adding pedals or bottle cages. But it did come with a faulty headset that snapped off for free! 😅 Personally the only one I’ve had in the shop that managed to get to 6.8kg ride weight was a size 52 that was fully tricked out with all lightweight parts and the bike cost $20k+ 🤦🏻♂️
It was an S-works. One of the reasons I sold it was so I could get a bike with disc brakes because those rim brakes were sketchy on some of the long descents around here. Loving my new Emonda SLR with sram red. @@reginaldscot165
SL6 SW rimbrake 6.8 kg here. Best tarmac I’ve ever had (had the 4 as well), love this bike. I agree on your arguments though. If I would crash this bike I would go for a Time or Colnago. Thanks for the review👍
I built a Time ADH01 rim brake a couple weeks ago for myself. Best bike imo, especially for rougher roads as it filters all the road buzz out as no other frame set I have ridden so far. If you go for one, be careful choosing the right sizing as they are very long frames. An L elsewhere will be an M for Time.
@@82vitt Thanks! I didn't crash this one sofar and I love it to death, so I'll wait. I know from experience it's very hard to find another not trashed 54 SL6 rim brake S-Works 54 DA Tarmac to my likings. Very much like the engineering of Time though and they're hard to find in rim brake too.
Wow…the “Specialized bridge” gets torched! Can’t we just get along?!🤣. Thanks for your honest observations. Makes the decision to buy an overpriced bike that much…less likely. In David Arthur’s defense, he may have been using a looser definition of “stiff”. Perhaps more of a feeling than…reality. Keep the reality coming!!
I’m 33% almost convinced🤣. Thanks dude for your sponsorless videos…may not be fruitful for you, but it does provide an alternative view…now off to view what Hambini has to say🤣🤣🤣
After to years of riding a disc brake racing bike with electronic shifting (Cannondale Super Six,, Team Edition) I got back to my 15 years old mechanical shifted rim brake bike, an De Rosa Avant. And well, the braking is so good, the bike is lighter and I can shift all the time and no issues here. So where is development?
Specialized sells the SL8 "Expert" equipped with Sram Rival incl. powermeter and Roval C38 carbon rims for 6500.- Swiss francs. For the top model, they charge 5500.- just for the frame without handlebars and stem. That's when you realize they're ripping you off. Think about what the efective additional production costs are from the "Expert" to the "Top" model..... If there are any significant differences at all. According to Joe from the RUclips channel "China Cycling", the prototype of the Tarmac SL8 (which he saw) is produced in China. Taht would mean that the inscription "Made in Taiwan" t's only possible ift the frames are shipped to Tawain to be painted there.
I’m pretty certain that your opinion mirrors a large proportion of the sensible among us ✊🏾The savings made in weight will probably be at the expense of structural integrity 🤔
Just bought a SL-8 frame, waiting for it to come, had my Scott Foil 10 6 years, 3,500 miles per year, never had a headset problem. Wanted internal cables, Specialized realized they were overbuilding some corners of the frame and reduced the carbon fiber, that's where they reduced weight. In 4 yrs I feel Specialized has a completely different Tarmac in the works. That's why they reworked this old frame and badged it as new SL-8, doing very little, really.
I don't understand how they test these bikes and claim it's 16 seconds faster vs the SL7. I know they test in a wind tunnel, but there are so many variables.
That’s about it, a wind tunnel, hopefully with the same guy that tested the last bike? 😅 But I find it funny how they are so incompetent at aerodynamic testing that every bike is such a massive improvement. 🤔🤭
THe carbon layup on the thinner tube sections may be thicker or even solid carbon plugs, with thinner layers towards the wider tube sections, haven't seen it person. Still wish they'd just give us a new rim brake Venge.
I call this the job's effect, from the Apple man- '"we won't give customers what they want, we'll tell them what they want". This has infected the Corporate brain.
I want a bike that transforms my zone 3 into my zone 2 power twice in 2 years and gives me an ftp of 280 for 57kg. That would be perfect. No electricity allowed 😅. Cheers. I own 2 specialized allez 2012. Two of my favourite bikes ever. No disk brakes for me thank you.
@@reginaldscot165 I really like the frame and as I hate to carry my bikes arround, I decided to build two and keep One at my house and the other at my parents house XD. Its mainly that.
funny thing is i almost never seen any of these big brand hi end frames in local crits and dropped group rides. Ive only seen them leaning on cafe wall and instagram pages.
I have a lot of laugh when people thinks that other bike brands or companies does not have design problems.... Personally I have more trust to a company who admits to a fc*p and announces a recall than others who does nothing.
The problem is specialised didn’t let people know there was a problem and let people continue to ride… as for other brands, as far back as I can remember my favourite brand has never had a recall/stop ride… so some companies definitely get it right. 🙂
They asked Colin Chapmans ghost at a seance... In an attempt to escape my 20 stone fatsuit some years ago I split my aluminium bike in half on an uphill. It failed near the bottom bracket making the bike safely wobble and scrape to a stop. Here's hoping when these bikes fail it'l be alot less catastrophic than losing your handlebars.
Thank you for making this video. A breath of fresh air in the cycling RUclips feed, and something that really needed to be said. However I will also add that specialized in general makes mediocre/shitty products and are full of marketing BS.
Yeah... the feeds will be flooded with all the talks about the latest and greatest, dream builds... ugh! But I wonder, is the bike industry in general benefitting from the sugar daddies? Are bikes for normal people better these days? I tend to think so: marketing follows fat wallets, and so does R&D.
Stop the hate..smh..I've owned several specialized bikes as well as trek, cervelo, cannondale, etc..they're all basically the same..I never had a problem with a specialized bike from low tier all the way up to s-works..I think the hate comes in because of the exaggerated price tag..if you don't like it dont buy it..its just that simple..I look all these companies the same..I think alot of people are jealous of specialized marketing and fame..alot of people(not all) know they would love to buy the latest and so-called greatest products but don't have the money or just refuse to pay the hefty price tag. Be safe and enjoy whatever you buy..
@@LOGICAL-JAY I have plenty of bikes. Price is not an issue. Mainly it’s company reputation and also unique design that draw my attention. Not to mention philosophy and being able to get get custom geometry. My most expensive road bike for reference currently cost around $17,000.
So much of these carbon frames are just marketing bullsh/t. I was a fanboy but really hated the way they felt on the road and the constant yearly updates; I fell into the trap of upgraditis. I subsequently ended up buying my dream bike, a Moots RCS, just as racy but more of an all road bike. Feels like heaven, just as quick as most non-world tour pro bikes (and let's be honest, most people don't race). And it's a custom work of art, not mass produced crap from the same far east factories. Refreshing video on the truth
The Aethos and Crux have been out for a while and not a lot of reports of failures.. I ride the Crux.. Can call if witchcraft but it flies. It's like taking off weight vest. I barely touch my titanium bikes except to polish them with lemon pledge.
@@reginaldscot165 I am old fart in california desert... my Crux is about a year old and ride it fairly hard but not much off road. I told myself if it breaks then I have the fall back Moots ready to go... FWIW... It seems delicate for offroad... but on the road and rough surfaces I love it.. 8 kg with 38c tires.. bunny hops are effortless.
I recall Peter Sagan destroying a Roval wheel not long ago... causing Specialized to re-design it. This is when the Rapide CLX became the Rapide CLX II. Are their carbon products safe? Clearly not always.
Having watched Peak Torque and knowing every Spesh model has had a recall the Tarmac 8 will be next. They have always been overpriced and overhyped. The aero claims are due to the handlebars which do improve by the claimed amount. As to the weight reduction I would not want to own a high mod carbon frame such as this.. They were already fragile enough without removing more material. One fall or drop and it would crack for sure.
Yes you make some good points. When you tap the down tube it’s paper thin, it wouldn’t take much to crack it. My friend got an SL5 and in the first week a stone kicked up by a passing car cracked his frame! Not covered by warranty obviously. 🫣
Think you missed the point that the claim is 33% increase in "stiffness-to-weight" ratio, NOT just absolute stiffness. Obviously some of that gain comes from shedding the weight (denominator in ratio). Also the Tarmac SL7 weight did not decrease until the SL8 iteration when significant learnings from producing the Aethos could be applied. Granted aero gains are marginal, but that's a whole other discussion as the subject is very complex and the only thing that counts is the rider-bike-wind interaction. Also take your point that Specialized marketing requires careful parsing, but don't think in this case they made any exaggerated claims. That's my two cents...
If that’s true (and I won’t argue it isn’t) it’s odd that non of the reviews I watched or articles I read said that. It’s obviously something that most people didn’t understand. But it makes sense because a 33% improvement is almost impossible. Perhaps the marketing department intentionally made that obscure? Thanks for your comment! 🙂👍🏻
If you re-read/re-watch the reviews, they ALL say stiffness-to-weight ratio. You just missed it and zeroed in on the wrong part of the claim. It's not that hard to admit you made a mistake...
And last comment.... Weight Especially when I weight myself in the morning... 82kg and not a gram less... So yes, I'm excited to sht to buy new SL8 and save 1kg in the combined system weight 🤣
Regarding the down tube shape, i believe you're confusing the properties of carbon vs metal. Carbon can be layed up in an enormous number of ways, rendering the shape of the tube to be mostly immaterial to the performance of the tube. With an sort of metal, besides butting the tube, the shape is directly material to the performance of the tube, hence why your Ti bike has tube shaped the way they are.
Ah yes the magic lay up, it often sounds like marketing guff to me. 😂 unfortunately You can’t cheat physics, a narrow thin tube is going to be less strong no matter what your lay up is. 🙂
Agreed the aero vs weight marketing BS was over done. But unless you're a specialist aero engineer, i think it's difficult to comment on the structure of the frame in terms of stiffness. A thick tube can be poorly constructed and not feel stiff. Size is not everything.
Ha ha the other commenters already made all the funny comments so I will just say yes I can’t prove or disprove their claims… I just find them somewhat illogical and dubious based on the limited available evidence. 😁 And size isn’t everything, unless you have the wrong size… like trying to put a 6mm bolt in a 5mm hole. 🤭
There is alot magic air inside most technology. When the Tarmac SL7 image in two pieces vanished from the internet is evidence that some of these conspiracies could be based in fact.
33% stiffer... If every new generation is stiffer than the previous one by 15-35%, compared to bikes of early 00's the new bikes must be stiffer 180-240% and their ride quality must be on par with the bike made of solid concrete with thick rebar reinforcement inside. And that's not what happens in real life. If anything, bikes are getting LESS stiff than before, especially the new Madone. So it's just another number juggle session from the major bike brand. A lie legitimized. eFF this. Buy a steel or titanium frame from honest manufacturer you truly trust. Or buy second hand. Specialized hasn't made a single bicycle on their own since the inception.
In topic weight vs aerodynamics is necessary realize how fast amateurs are riding and how fast pros are riding. Average speed on technical and wet track of world championship was 44 km/h. Won MVDP on heaviest bike in peloton and he attacked on climb. Amateurs can hardly drive such track on speed 30-35 km/h in average. That mean half of aerodynamic drag. I as amateur don't care about aerodynamics, because it can be most expensive part of biking. Aerobike, wheels, helmet, suit etc. But I'm also not obsessed with bike weight. In overall system weight rider weight make biggest part. And mostly cheapest way how to save some weight is shrink down rider weight :)
I would take it, then sell it. Right now I have 4 bikes (1 too many to be honest) so I’d just keep the money… for the price of the SL8 maybe buy a new car? 😅
Steady on, I have an sl5 and have no intention of upgrading it to another specialized.😂 I also own an Android phone. Maybe that's the correlation - iPhone and specialized?
LETS BE REAL NO ONE NEEDS ONE OF THESE ,lf you do cycle alot there s many mid range bikes to choose from that are just as light and fast to ride ,NOW if want a long lasting bike get Ti or high grade steel bike and never worry about the HYPE ever again JUST ENJOY RIDING :)
Another sour review of a new bike. If you think this is marketing, don't buy this new bike or any specialized bike. I'll buy one. We all know the bike industry needs to make a profit through marketing. It's up to us whether to buy their bike or not.
Go custom steel or if you have the money titanium. But I also bet if you look you will find brands in aluminium as well. Or the second hand carbon market probably has what you want. 🙂👍🏻
So you never will buy nothing man, because everything goes to same direction, MKT, MKT, MKT….the NeXT version always ill gona be better etc etc etc…just Stay with your rim brake bike 7kg for ever and be happy. Be honesty dudes, if you are here, and have the Money, sl8 already be in your house!!! And the game continues…
You are right, I’m stuck riding my 6.4kg rim brake titanium bike. It’s so horrible, I’m literally crying as I ride and I always complain to people “it’s so light, responsive and at the same time incredibly comfortable. What’s worst of all is it’s so reliable and easy to maintain… oh the calamity!” 😂😘
@@reginaldscot165 you can try rant about stuff all you want but that way the joke is on you. its called facts and in the world of physics it is possible to have a tube with less circumference to be stiffer than one with more. im not saying it is the case there but your approach is outright wrong.
Hey Reginald, I happen to agree with your points of view stated.
It’s all marketing ,
and people sop it all up.
And as usual , looking forward to your next video.
All the best!
Thank you kindly 🙂❤️
After the last 3yrs of absurdity. Perhaps corporations have realized that you can tell most people anything and they'll believe it. $5500 for the sworks. You'd have to be crazy.
Really concerned for where they have shaved off for the weight savings. You called it out earlier than durianrider on this! I am also waiting for his take on this. Btw the pros ride a different carbon layout for the SL7 - I suspect it's gonna be the same for SL8. There is no way that the power they are laying down will not affect the frame integrity and now having the grams shaved off will only compromise this further. Thks for the great video
That’s an excellent point I completely forgot to mention. Yes the Pros do indeed ride bikes made in a different factory to a different spec. 🤔👍🏻
So take action against SPZ!!! You ill be famous… are you “ Flat-earther “ ?! Kkkkk
After working on SL7s I have mixed feelings, they are somewhat underwhelming but kinda impressive at the same time. I think the underwhelming part is knowing in advance what they cost and just not seeing it when you have them apart. If im paying $20k AUD for a bike i dont want a flimsy plastic headset cap. Admittedly it does the job but at that asking price make that part out of something a little more premium, like they did with the 2015 Venge.
But for me the biggest saftey concern of the SL7 and SL8 is the hydro hose going through the upper headset bearing. Not from a "this is going to snap the steerer" perspective but more that consumers wont service their headsets when they realise the cost. A headset service now requires the hoses to be disconnected from the shifters and hose snipped as the nut wont feed through the bar, and a double brake bleed. Now if you are lucky and Specialized have put some hose slack in the bar then you'll get away without having to replace the hoses maybe once. After that you are talking hose replacement as well which also means crank and BB out, you are basically doing an 80% full bike rebiild just to service a headset. What was a 15 min job is now a 2-4hr job and charged accordingly to the customer.
As a bike mechanic I can attests to this, I wanted to make some adjustments to a bike I was selling in the shop that had hydraulics and internal cables… in the end I gave up on the idea because to do a small adjustment would require completely re-building the bike just to remove the fork! Until someone pays me to do it I’m just going to leave it as it is.
I had a customer complain online that I charged them $100 BND ($75 USD) to fit a set of internal bars to their bike. The hydraulic housing alone cost $25 for me to get. I checked the prices in the US for the same service and it was over $100 USD. I feel sorry for the customer but at least I know I’m under charging. 🤷🏻♂️
This isn't talked about enough. People only lust over the clean aesthetics of integrated internal routing and never know about the ugly side of it. Almost all of them don't know what they're signing up for until their headset bearings need to be serviced or replaced.
Imagine if that's the only part of the bike that needs to be rectified immediately at any given time as not everybody's bike parts deteriorate equally.
I will still be riding my rim brake litespeed t1 sl by the time the sl15 comes out and my bike will still be far superior to any and all specialized carbon ( aero ) bikes . Funny how every new iteration save you an additional 4 watts via the frame and the 4 watts via the bars . How about keep the bike you have , work on your flexibility, mobility and positional conditioning while riding to save 20-30 watts for free and save your 12k
And if you really need it to have someone say oooooohhh the new sl8 spend some $$$ on a therapist to get a handle on your insecurities and need for meaningless attention.
Ha ha ha I love it! 😁👍🏻
They said only the cockpit and front of the bike matters and everything behind is dirty air.
And they said that it has better stiffness to weight ratio. Since this frame is much lighter it probably is not that much stiffer than SL7.
If you believe them in the first place.
I find it really funny how those youtubers get hyped about this bike and sing this marketing nonsense in their videos.
It was also funny watching a video from David where lightweight bike was faster than aero bike in his testing.
Money money money money!!! 😂
I have an SL6 (Ultegra Disc) that I bought in a sale in 2021 - my first carbon road bike - and it´s has been a solid bike since I´ve got it. I´m happy that I chose a frame that has no integrated cables (handlebar) and still uses a round seatpost. Also 30mm tire clearence is futureproof enough for me. I´m not entirely sure as I only have a regular bodyweight scale here, but with my current setup it´s around 7.2kgs. I´m not using the highest-end components as I cant pay for them nor would make enough use of something like a Dura-Ace groupset. I could get it down to 6.8 or so, but thats not really important.
I chose Spesh back then over the others because of the lifetime gurantee (while in 1st hand ownership) that comes with it. Should there ever be a damage related to poor construction anywhere, I´d be covered and I wanted this given it´s a carbon frame / fork. If I needed it, Specialized support was always helpful so far.
It´s a solid bike, very stable, surely pretty aggressive geo so not really something for very long trips. I love that thing, even though most probably only consider it a very common "big brand" frame.
Since C-19 prices have gone down the drain... I´m always shocked looking at new frames that are more expensive, heavier, often with worse components (Electronic shifting being basically the only "benefit") costing almost twice as much as the SL6 back then. The SL8 Expert comes with SRAM Rival (the worlds ugliest shifters) on a 6500€ bike LOL.
To be honest I think the 6 is the best of the 3 (as far as I can gather.) 🙂
Love this dude, talks so much sense
Well I don’t know if I agree with that? 🤭
Listen folks, if you like it buy it and if you dont like dont buy it..its just that simple..i still have my 2020 s-works sl6 and 2022 s-works SL7 ...the new SL8 looks great but im happy with my bikes. I dont get these long drawn out comments by folks just to say they're not going to buy...deep down they like the bike but dont have the money or refuse to pay the high price tag.
Humm I’m not sure I agree with the last part of your statement. Even if I was a Millionaire I wouldn’t buy a SL8 or any specialised for that matter because it’s just not my thing. (I think other bikes are a better choice in short) but I agree with the first part of your comment and I think it’s good advice to follow. 🙂👍🏻
@reginaldscot165 no doubt
The psychological advantage of having the latest s-works bike at the cafe rides outways aero and weight 😂
Well that’s true. 👌🏻😎
Thank you for keeping it real. The specialized fan club is like a cult. They buy that stuff and after spending 5 digits on it they can’t ever tell the truth that the bike feels the same they then have to justify the thousands they’ve spent , come on say it with me, “it’s the best bike I’ve ever ridden” such bike industry marketing BS! Cheers 🍻
Ha ha so true! Yet again I couldn’t agree with you more. Wonderful to have your input as always. Safe riding my friend. 🙂👍🏻
My family rides: 3 x Tarmac SL6, I ride an Aethos and a Tarmac SL6. Total distance ridden approx. 50.000 km. I have ridden a lot of other bikes. For me, the Tarmac (and Aethos) ride feel is just perfect. Love these bikes, love Di2, love tubeless. Quite obviously, our preferences do not match.
Thanks for sharing! 👍🏻🙂
Aethos is the best bike ever
@@Slow.Smooth yes, a really good bike. Could be a little bit less reactive at high speeds (i am using light high profiled wheels). Doing more than 70 km/h at crosswinds is frightening
I find people crazy there is nothing aero about the human body, it doesn't matter what manufacturers do to the frames or wheels .
Exactly, “aero” bikes are stupid.
Your position in the bike and your choice of clothing/kit is way more important than wheels/frames/handlebars etc
I think you might be closer to the truth. 🤔
@@astrayagrarianThe Aero bike looks fantastic regardless of any brand.
Recumbent bikes fix this, but the UCI isn't interested in going faster it seems.
Somebody said that SL8 CdA gains are mostly from the integrated Cockpit... So your observations regarding BS that the frame is more aero... seems totally true... Regards 👍
Yes I heard the same… so all we need to do is buy the bar! 😅
Hi Reginald. I know you are not a fan of carbon bikes in general. I would love to hear your thoughts on Time bikes. Specifically the way they are made compared the competition. It seems like they are widely regarding as the pinnacle of carbon bike quality but I would love to hear your view, as a carbon sceptic. Thanks
I will tell you what you want to hear. 😅
LOOK and TIME bikes are the best carbon bikes because (lost well known reasons) if you are going to buy a new carbon bike it makes sense to buy a (……………..)
But in all seriousness, I have only ridden one time and it was from the 90s so I honestly couldn’t give them a fair shake. 🙂
Hmm... I mean no offense, but you haven't ridden the SL8 either and yet you seem to be more than happy to give it a fair shake... 🤔
@@eab2959not so much the sl8 but specialized with dodgy design and marketing
I love my Specialized SL7 (bought at a substantial discount). On our local bumpy, hilly roads it handles beautifully, it is really comfortable and feels rapid.
By way of contrast, I recently sold my Canyon Aeroad (2019). It may well have been fastest bike I have owned and that made it quite fun to ride but the frame was so stiff and the ride was consequently very unforgiving. Pro racers may gain some benefit from the SL8 being stiffer but, for the rest of us mere mortals, surely this is a retrograde step?
They (the pros) don’t even ride the same frame that is publicly sold, they have their own special custom made frames.
The CFR Aeroad is less compliant than the CF SLX version. I have the CF SLX and I'm shocked by how comfortable it is. I've ridden it on longer rides than my endurance bike.
Tarmac all day! I'm not waiting for a recall, Im waiting for more colours.
Ha ha, good for you! I hope you get the colour you like. I will be honest, they do a really good paint job. 👍🏻 And that amazing paint job comes with a FREE bike! 😁
A stock 56cm SL7 is 6.9kg, Maybe not a featherweight hill climber but certainly no pig, at least by my standards. I rode a 2016 Tarmac for a few years, I'm no fanboi and only bought it because it was a good deal but man that was a sweet ride, no complaints at all.
2016… would that have been the SL4? That is a very different bike from the SL7, the only 3 things they have in common are 1) made by Specialized, 2) they are road bikes, 3) they are made of carbon. Everything else is totally different, the geometry, climbing Vs aero, the rim Vs disc… I’m sure it was a great ride. 😁
That stock weight is the end top model, with sram red etap axis and carbon rims, the bike probably costs $15k new and that’s without adding pedals or bottle cages. But it did come with a faulty headset that snapped off for free! 😅 Personally the only one I’ve had in the shop that managed to get to 6.8kg ride weight was a size 52 that was fully tricked out with all lightweight parts and the bike cost $20k+ 🤦🏻♂️
It was an S-works. One of the reasons I sold it was so I could get a bike with disc brakes because those rim brakes were sketchy on some of the long descents around here. Loving my new Emonda SLR with sram red. @@reginaldscot165
SL6 SW rimbrake 6.8 kg here. Best tarmac I’ve ever had (had the 4 as well), love this bike. I agree on your arguments though. If I would crash this bike I would go for a Time or Colnago. Thanks for the review👍
Ah rim brakes! ❤️ Now you are talking my language! 😅
I built a Time ADH01 rim brake a couple weeks ago for myself. Best bike imo, especially for rougher roads as it filters all the road buzz out as no other frame set I have ridden so far. If you go for one, be careful choosing the right sizing as they are very long frames. An L elsewhere will be an M for Time.
@@82vitt Thanks! I didn't crash this one sofar and I love it to death, so I'll wait. I know from experience it's very hard to find another not trashed 54 SL6 rim brake S-Works 54 DA Tarmac to my likings. Very much like the engineering of Time though and they're hard to find in rim brake too.
Wow…the “Specialized bridge” gets torched! Can’t we just get along?!🤣. Thanks for your honest observations. Makes the decision to buy an overpriced bike that much…less likely. In David Arthur’s defense, he may have been using a looser definition of “stiff”. Perhaps more of a feeling than…reality. Keep the reality coming!!
Ha ha yeah he got a feeling it was about “33% stiffer.” 🤭😉
I’m 33% almost convinced🤣. Thanks dude for your sponsorless videos…may not be fruitful for you, but it does provide an alternative view…now off to view what Hambini has to say🤣🤣🤣
They never said it’s stiffer than the SL7, it’s more compliant. It’s an Aethos carbon layup so lighter. It being more aero is debatable.
They said 33% stiffer…
After to years of riding a disc brake racing bike with electronic shifting (Cannondale Super Six,, Team Edition) I got back to my 15 years old mechanical shifted rim brake bike, an De Rosa Avant. And well, the braking is so good, the bike is lighter and I can shift all the time and no issues here. So where is development?
Good point and this is what I’ve been saying for years. 🤷🏻♂️🙂
Specialized sells the SL8 "Expert" equipped with Sram Rival incl. powermeter and Roval C38 carbon rims for 6500.- Swiss francs. For the top model, they charge 5500.- just for the frame without handlebars and stem. That's when you realize they're ripping you off. Think about what the efective additional production costs are from the "Expert" to the "Top" model..... If there are any significant differences at all. According to Joe from the RUclips channel "China Cycling", the prototype of the Tarmac SL8 (which he saw) is produced in China. Taht would mean that the inscription "Made in Taiwan" t's only possible ift the frames are shipped to Tawain to be painted there.
Yes agreed, DR mentioned they are definitely made in China. 👍🏻
I’m pretty certain that your opinion mirrors a large proportion of the sensible among us ✊🏾The savings made in weight will probably be at the expense of structural integrity 🤔
We can but hope 😂👍🏻
Just bought a SL-8 frame, waiting for it to come, had my Scott Foil 10 6 years, 3,500 miles per year, never had a headset problem. Wanted internal cables, Specialized realized they were overbuilding some corners of the frame and reduced the carbon fiber, that's where they reduced weight. In 4 yrs I feel Specialized has a completely different Tarmac in the works. That's why they reworked this old frame and badged it as new SL-8, doing very little, really.
Hope it all goes well for you. 👍🏻🙂
@@reginaldscot165
Thanks.
First brand new bike ever bought.
I don't understand how they test these bikes and claim it's 16 seconds faster vs the SL7. I know they test in a wind tunnel, but there are so many variables.
That’s about it, a wind tunnel, hopefully with the same guy that tested the last bike? 😅 But I find it funny how they are so incompetent at aerodynamic testing that every bike is such a massive improvement. 🤔🤭
THe carbon layup on the thinner tube sections may be thicker or even solid carbon plugs, with thinner layers towards the wider tube sections, haven't seen it person.
Still wish they'd just give us a new rim brake Venge.
Agreed 👍🏻
I call this the job's effect, from the Apple man- '"we won't give customers what they want, we'll tell them what they want". This has infected the Corporate brain.
Interesting 🤔 👍🏻
We need to invent an aero jacket and leggings and actually make an aero difference. (they probably already have this)
Oh definitely 👍🏻
I want a bike that transforms my zone 3 into my zone 2 power twice in 2 years and gives me an ftp of 280 for 57kg. That would be perfect. No electricity allowed 😅. Cheers. I own 2 specialized allez 2012. Two of my favourite bikes ever. No disk brakes for me thank you.
Out of interest why 2 of the same frame type? 🙂
@@reginaldscot165 I really like the frame and as I hate to carry my bikes arround, I decided to build two and keep One at my house and the other at my parents house XD. Its mainly that.
funny thing is i almost never seen any of these big brand hi end frames in local crits and dropped group rides. Ive only seen them leaning on cafe wall and instagram pages.
That’s because they are so fast they finish the Crit early and get to the coffee shop first to update their IG page. 🤭🤪
I have a lot of laugh when people thinks that other bike brands or companies does not have design problems.... Personally I have more trust to a company who admits to a fc*p and announces a recall than others who does nothing.
The problem is specialised didn’t let people know there was a problem and let people continue to ride… as for other brands, as far back as I can remember my favourite brand has never had a recall/stop ride… so some companies definitely get it right. 🙂
They asked Colin Chapmans ghost at a seance... In an attempt to escape my 20 stone fatsuit some years ago I split my aluminium bike in half on an uphill. It failed near the bottom bracket making the bike safely wobble and scrape to a stop. Here's hoping when these bikes fail it'l be alot less catastrophic than losing your handlebars.
Yes let’s hope so. 🙂👍🏻
I’m a soy boy, so I’m going to love this SL8 😃 👍
Good for you! ❤️
Thank you for making this video.
A breath of fresh air in the cycling RUclips feed, and something that really needed to be said.
However I will also add that specialized in general makes mediocre/shitty products and are full of marketing BS.
That is my opinion also. 🙂🙏🏻❤️
@@reginaldscot165 more like a fact.
Yeah... the feeds will be flooded with all the talks about the latest and greatest, dream builds... ugh! But I wonder, is the bike industry in general benefitting from the sugar daddies? Are bikes for normal people better these days? I tend to think so: marketing follows fat wallets, and so does R&D.
Stop the hate..smh..I've owned several specialized bikes as well as trek, cervelo, cannondale, etc..they're all basically the same..I never had a problem with a specialized bike from low tier all the way up to s-works..I think the hate comes in because of the exaggerated price tag..if you don't like it dont buy it..its just that simple..I look all these companies the same..I think alot of people are jealous of specialized marketing and fame..alot of people(not all) know they would love to buy the latest and so-called greatest products but don't have the money or just refuse to pay the hefty price tag. Be safe and enjoy whatever you buy..
@@LOGICAL-JAY I have plenty of bikes. Price is not an issue. Mainly it’s company reputation and also unique design that draw my attention. Not to mention philosophy and being able to get get custom geometry. My most expensive road bike for reference currently cost around $17,000.
So much of these carbon frames are just marketing bullsh/t. I was a fanboy but really hated the way they felt on the road and the constant yearly updates; I fell into the trap of upgraditis. I subsequently ended up buying my dream bike, a Moots RCS, just as racy but more of an all road bike. Feels like heaven, just as quick as most non-world tour pro bikes (and let's be honest, most people don't race). And it's a custom work of art, not mass produced crap from the same far east factories. Refreshing video on the truth
Great choice! I’m happy you found a good dream bike. 😍
The Aethos and Crux have been out for a while and not a lot of reports of failures.. I ride the Crux.. Can call if witchcraft but it flies. It's like taking off weight vest. I barely touch my titanium bikes except to polish them with lemon pledge.
One crash and you are 3000$ in the hole..Cheap chinese carbon its where its at, if you must have carbon.
I don’t know many people with an Aethos, only one in Brunei and it’s a little lady who rides it. Not some 100kg chap putting 1000w through it. 😁
@@reginaldscot165 I am old fart in california desert... my Crux is about a year old and ride it fairly hard but not much off road. I told myself if it breaks then I have the fall back Moots ready to go... FWIW... It seems delicate for offroad... but on the road and rough surfaces I love it.. 8 kg with 38c tires.. bunny hops are effortless.
I’ve always thought of Specialized as a marketing department that happen to sell bikes.
That’s a burn 🔥 but yes you are correct. 😁
I recall Peter Sagan destroying a Roval wheel not long ago... causing Specialized to re-design it. This is when the Rapide CLX became the Rapide CLX II. Are their carbon products safe? Clearly not always.
Good point 👍🏻
Having watched Peak Torque and knowing every Spesh model has had a recall the Tarmac 8 will be next.
They have always been overpriced and overhyped.
The aero claims are due to the handlebars which do improve by the claimed amount.
As to the weight reduction I would not want to own a high mod carbon frame such as this..
They were already fragile enough without removing more material.
One fall or drop and it would crack for sure.
Yes you make some good points. When you tap the down tube it’s paper thin, it wouldn’t take much to crack it. My friend got an SL5 and in the first week a stone kicked up by a passing car cracked his frame! Not covered by warranty obviously. 🫣
Damn straight as Bud Spencer would say.
Please make that video on the disc break conspiracy.
I’m making it now. 😁👍🏻
Think you missed the point that the claim is 33% increase in "stiffness-to-weight" ratio, NOT just absolute stiffness. Obviously some of that gain comes from shedding the weight (denominator in ratio). Also the Tarmac SL7 weight did not decrease until the SL8 iteration when significant learnings from producing the Aethos could be applied. Granted aero gains are marginal, but that's a whole other discussion as the subject is very complex and the only thing that counts is the rider-bike-wind interaction. Also take your point that Specialized marketing requires careful parsing, but don't think in this case they made any exaggerated claims. That's my two cents...
If that’s true (and I won’t argue it isn’t) it’s odd that non of the reviews I watched or articles I read said that. It’s obviously something that most people didn’t understand. But it makes sense because a 33% improvement is almost impossible. Perhaps the marketing department intentionally made that obscure?
Thanks for your comment! 🙂👍🏻
If you re-read/re-watch the reviews, they ALL say stiffness-to-weight ratio. You just missed it and zeroed in on the wrong part of the claim. It's not that hard to admit you made a mistake...
And last comment.... Weight Especially when I weight myself in the morning... 82kg and not a gram less... So yes, I'm excited to sht to buy new SL8 and save 1kg in the combined system weight 🤣
Well I always appreciate the loss of system weight… but there are other bikes that are better at the job. And cheaper! 😁
My God! Red pilled to the max. Can we have just one thats not a pipe dream? Its not basic physics, ITS SPACE MAGIC!
😁👍🏻
@@reginaldscot165 hey Reg!! Hows it goin? What do you think of the speed shitter?
Regarding the down tube shape, i believe you're confusing the properties of carbon vs metal. Carbon can be layed up in an enormous number of ways, rendering the shape of the tube to be mostly immaterial to the performance of the tube. With an sort of metal, besides butting the tube, the shape is directly material to the performance of the tube, hence why your Ti bike has tube shaped the way they are.
Ah yes the magic lay up, it often sounds like marketing guff to me. 😂 unfortunately You can’t cheat physics, a narrow thin tube is going to be less strong no matter what your lay up is. 🙂
Sir Reginald Scot interesting opinions
As always. 😉🙏🏻
@@reginaldscot165nice Specialized bashing, pooh-poohing
Agreed the aero vs weight marketing BS was over done. But unless you're a specialist aero engineer, i think it's difficult to comment on the structure of the frame in terms of stiffness. A thick tube can be poorly constructed and not feel stiff. Size is not everything.
That's what she said...
That’s what I tell my GF.
Ha ha the other commenters already made all the funny comments so I will just say yes I can’t prove or disprove their claims… I just find them somewhat illogical and dubious based on the limited available evidence. 😁
And size isn’t everything, unless you have the wrong size… like trying to put a 6mm bolt in a 5mm hole. 🤭
Haha yes then the mine is bigger than yours thing loses validity.
There is alot magic air inside most technology. When the Tarmac SL7 image in two pieces vanished from the internet is evidence that some of these conspiracies could be based in fact.
All conspiracy needs some fact to make it a good conspiracy. 😁
33% stiffer...
If every new generation is stiffer than the previous one by 15-35%, compared to bikes of early 00's the new bikes must be stiffer 180-240% and their ride quality must be on par with the bike made of solid concrete with thick rebar reinforcement inside. And that's not what happens in real life. If anything, bikes are getting LESS stiff than before, especially the new Madone.
So it's just another number juggle session from the major bike brand. A lie legitimized.
eFF this. Buy a steel or titanium frame from honest manufacturer you truly trust. Or buy second hand. Specialized hasn't made a single bicycle on their own since the inception.
Ha ha yes I was thinking they must be as stiff as a Frenchman next to a Brothel. 😂 and have the ride quality of granite! 🤪
@@reginaldscot165 Spesh claimed that SL8 have 33% better stiffness-to-weight ratio and that is comething else than being 33% more stiff
But the internet and bike porn magazines say that i NEED this !
Well, you definitely NEED a bike. So they are half right. 😁
@@reginaldscot165 greetings from Chicago !
In topic weight vs aerodynamics is necessary realize how fast amateurs are riding and how fast pros are riding. Average speed on technical and wet track of world championship was 44 km/h. Won MVDP on heaviest bike in peloton and he attacked on climb. Amateurs can hardly drive such track on speed 30-35 km/h in average. That mean half of aerodynamic drag.
I as amateur don't care about aerodynamics, because it can be most expensive part of biking. Aerobike, wheels, helmet, suit etc. But I'm also not obsessed with bike weight. In overall system weight rider weight make biggest part. And mostly cheapest way how to save some weight is shrink down rider weight :)
Excellent well made points. 👍🏻🙂
If someone can’t gift you a sl8, sounds like you really don’t like this bike. What bike would you take?
I would take it, then sell it. Right now I have 4 bikes (1 too many to be honest) so I’d just keep the money… for the price of the SL8 maybe buy a new car? 😅
Steady on, I have an sl5 and have no intention of upgrading it to another specialized.😂 I also own an Android phone. Maybe that's the correlation - iPhone and specialized?
Could be? Well let’s face it, the SL8 isn’t half the bike the SL5 was. 😉
LETS BE REAL NO ONE NEEDS ONE OF THESE ,lf you do cycle alot there s many mid range bikes to choose from that are just as light and fast to ride ,NOW if want a long lasting bike get Ti or high grade steel bike and never worry about the HYPE ever again JUST ENJOY RIDING :)
Agreed. I’d add that far from “need” I don’t even want one. 😂
But but.. i like new shiny things…
Why not. 🙂👍🏻
Another sour review of a new bike. If you think this is marketing, don't buy this new bike or any specialized bike. I'll buy one. We all know the bike industry needs to make a profit through marketing. It's up to us whether to buy their bike or not.
Was the title not clear enough? 🤭 Don’t worry their is no danger of me buying an SL8. 👍🏻🙂
Looking for a new ladies bike, BSA BB, external cables, round seat post. Do any exist?
Cinelli Veltrix maybe? 🙂 but semi-integrated-cable-routing... I think...
Go custom steel or if you have the money titanium. But I also bet if you look you will find brands in aluminium as well. Or the second hand carbon market probably has what you want. 🙂👍🏻
Aethos 10r
So you never will buy nothing man, because everything goes to same direction, MKT, MKT, MKT….the NeXT version always ill gona be better etc etc etc…just Stay with your rim brake bike 7kg for ever and be happy. Be honesty dudes, if you are here, and have the Money, sl8 already be in your house!!! And the game continues…
You are right, I’m stuck riding my 6.4kg rim brake titanium bike. It’s so horrible, I’m literally crying as I ride and I always complain to people “it’s so light, responsive and at the same time incredibly comfortable. What’s worst of all is it’s so reliable and easy to maintain… oh the calamity!” 😂😘
I think Specialized are very creative liars, but not very clever.
Well you know what they say, keep your lie’s simple. 😅
Conspiracy theories😂😂😂😂
FFS Reginald get back into bed and sleep it off.
Everything is a conspiracy!!! They are putting chemicals in our cycling bottles that are turning the freaking frogs gay! 🤪
I find the David Arthur guy so incredibly annoying. Also he needs a speech therapist.
I’m sure he has the money for it. 😁
I know why I haven't unsubscribed from this channel.
Do tell! 😅
A thinner tube can be stiffer it has to do with the layup. Your observations are full of holes m8.
Ah yes… it’s all about the magic “lay up.” I forgot about that. 😁👍🏻
@@reginaldscot165 you can try rant about stuff all you want but that way the joke is on you. its called facts and in the world of physics it is possible to have a tube with less circumference to be stiffer than one with more. im not saying it is the case there but your approach is outright wrong.
Lost me at propaganda and conspiracy
Hope you find your way home? 🫣