The most marketed bike of the year rated by a racer
It’s safe to say the Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 was perhaps the most anticipated bike of 2023.
The bike was officially released in Glasgow at the UCI Cycling World Championships; however, thanks to a torrent of rumours and a few leaked images before the release, we had a pretty good idea of what was coming.
The media storm that enveloped the new Tarmac resulted in a vibrant online discussion about whether the new Tarmac was a real upgrade or just one big marketing ploy by the American bike giant. The truth, I think, lies somewhere between the two. But this bike requires careful analysis to be truly understood.
Construction
First things first, the bike’s new design.
Aesthetically at least, the SL8 shares many similarities with its older relative, so what exactly has changed?
The most drastic development comes in the bike’s frame shape. The bike as a whole has taken on a much more rounded design, which Specialized claims is a product of its new ethos: ‘aero where it matters not where it looks good’. Though I must say, you would hope that they had been following that practice for the last decade of development… who knows!
The most polarising part of the philosophy is the head tube, which Specialized has dubbed the ‘speed sniffer’ due to its less than beautiful (in my humble opinion) protrusion beyond the fork. It’s not dissimilar to the design of the Pinarello F, opting for more material in front of the steerer, rather than a longer trailing edge.
The changes, Specialized claims, lead to a 33% stiffness to weight increase thanks to lessons learned from the super-light Aethos. In fact, the new SL8 started life as an Aethos in digital form. The Specialized engineers applied the carbon lay-up of the Aethos to the new SL8’s shape, where it then went through over 50 different computer-modelled iterations. This allowed Specialized to increase stiffness and achieve a 685g frame weight (size 56), which is staggering if you believe the bike’s aerodynamic claims.
Geometry-wise, Specialized took an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, and has changed precisely nothing, and I think this makes sense given the praise the SL7 received for its handling ability.
Finally, increased comfort. Specialized claims a 6% increase in vertical compliance, mostly thanks to a slimmer seatpost; the brand says this decreases its aerodynamic interference, and increases its flex to aid all-day comfort.
COCKPIT
New Roval Rapide cockpit is said to save four watts over the outgoing carbon-fibre two-piece design
