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NBD: Specialized Tarmac Expert

3K views 46 replies 12 participants last post by  Drew 
#1 ·
First, the fun part:

Bicycle Tire Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Wheel Bicycle wheel rim


Because pictures are the most important part. :yesway:

I'm pretty sure this is actually a cruise missile, in disguise. :lol: SO comically light, and it accelerates like the thing is rocket powered (at least, making concessions for the rider, lol). It's a 2015 Tarmac Expert, carbon frame, full Ultegra except for a FSA carbon crankset. Pretty damned awesome bike - I came down to this and a Cervelo R3, and honestly both would have been amazing bikes for different reasons (the Cervelo felt stable as hell, almost effortless to keep it pointed in a straight line, whereas this one felt a bit faster out of the gate and was almost shockingly light).

I'm going to spend the winter thrashing this thing on the trainer, and then in the spring go out there with the hatred of a thousand suns fueling my legs, and just crush it. :metal:
 
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#6 ·
By the way, Dana, as another Allez owner, you really do have about the best gateway drug road bike money can buy. I was riding mine over to the shop before taking these out for a test ride, and just thinking, "do I really need a new road bike? This thing really is pretty damned nice." And, I won't lie, that feeling went away as soon as I dug in on the Tarmac (it's stiffer, lighter, and smoother riding), but I left feeling really happy about my choice of bikes 8 years ago, when I grabbed my Allez. It's a kickass bike for the money. :yesway:
 
#5 ·
Yeah, it's pretty damned badass. Ace Wheelworks here in Somerville. I'm still fighting buyers' remorse, like maybe I should have gotten the Cervelo and then grabbed a carbon crankset down the road to get them closer to the same weight, but realsitically I'd probably feel the same about the Specialized if I HAD bought the Cervelo, and IMO this one is the more attractive frame. In this price range it's tough to go wrong.

And, really, describing riding it as being strapped to the front of a cruise missile is really not a bad metaphor. :lol:
 
#15 ·
I'm still fighting buyers' remorse, like maybe I should have gotten the Cervelo and then grabbed a carbon crankset down the road to get them closer to the same weight, but realsitically I'd probably feel the same about the Specialized if I HAD bought the Cervelo, and IMO this one is the more attractive frame. In this price range it's tough to go wrong.
There's only one solution: buy them both!
 
#9 ·
I'll let you know after my first century. :lol: But, I suspect the later. This plus 25s felt "softer" on rough terrain than my current ride (aluminum main triangle, carbon rear triangle and fork) which is currently running 28s, at least on front.
 
#14 ·
I was 700x23 until the D2R2. :lol: I actually didn't notice a massive difference, though to be fair the tire set I threw on was VERY heavily reinforced (I think they were designed for the Roubaix) so maybe they just had a little less give. Who knows. Either way, the 25s currently on my Tarmac felt pretty good.
 
#24 ·
Man, I was so supremely jealous when Drew was texting me pics of the different bikes he was trying out over the weekend. Niiiiice fucking score, buddy! :highfive:
 
#25 ·
:lol: Buying a high end road bike is a blast... Right up to the point where you actually have to choose one. :lol:

The fact it was such a hard choice gives me more motivation to train even harder and get even faster, though - if in two years I've progressed as much each year as I did in the past year, then at that point I'll feel justified in buying something even nicer, and I can do this all over again, and maybe not feel bad about buying an R5. :lol:
 
#28 ·
They were, um, rather expensive. :lol: But the Rib Cage II is the same design in molded plastic of some sort rather than carbon, and are pretty cheap ($15-20 a piece?) if you like them. :yesway:

Chris - I grabbed the 6-bit version in your original thread yesterday morning, with next day delivery, so it'll be waiting for me when I get home. Making seatpost height adjustments with an integrated clamp in a $$$$$ frame without a torque wrench is a little nerve wracking. :lol: It technically calls for 6nm torque, or perhaps 6.5, but I figure I get it to 5 and then give it a slight additional twist with a regular wrench and I should be fine.
 
#32 ·
Only poor people have seatpost clamps. :crooks:

(It's kinda silly, isn't it? Looks sleek as fuck, though, and once you've got it dialed in it's basically a set-it-and-forget-it bolt.)
 
#38 ·
Chris - is that their 'cross frame? They also have the aero and TT frames - the Venge looks positively evil, but probably isn't comfortable for more than an hour or two at a time. :lol:

Dan - exactly right. I used to take a little bit of perverse pleasure passing guys on WAY nicer rides than mine on large group rides - the PMC/MS Challenge, Charles River Wheelmen rides, etc. Meanwhile, when someone did pass me on something like, well, like a Tarmac Expert, I didn't feel too badly because it was clearly a killer bike and they probably rode a ton. Now, I gotta train my ass off just to make sure I'm not getting passed by some kid on an older Allez Elite, which would make for some pretty epic role reversal. :lol:
 
#39 ·
Chris - is that their 'cross frame? They also have the aero and TT frames - the Venge looks positively evil, but probably isn't comfortable for more than an hour or two at a time. :lol:
It's not really a CX frame, more of an endurance road bike with disc brakes. Can run bigger, more plush tires and still grind some gravel but the wheels it comes with aren't really good for the beating that CX hands out.
 
#40 ·
New Saddle Day: Fizik Antares R3

I gave the Specialized saddle on my Tarmac about 200 miles since I got on pretty well with the Specialized seat on my old Allez, but after a trainer ride last week where I sat there and swore at it for 45 minutes straight, I popped into my local shop and ordered this (they had white/black in stock, but black/grey with red highlights in their other location, and since my bike is black/grey with red highlights, it was a no brainer):

Bicycle Wheel Tire Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Bicycle frame


Fizik Antares R3 - 195g, as opposed to 250 or so for the Specialized seat, and it both looks more badass, but is also a hell of a lot more comfortable. The Cervelo I almost bought had this saddle in white, and one of the things I liked about it was how immediately comfortable the seat was for me. The Specialized seat, meanwhile, if anything felt a little too wide - a little too much pressure on my thighs while I was riding, and the center channel was a little wider than the one I was used to so it was applying pressure in points a little too wide for me to be really comfortable on it. This one is a little slimmer, but the shape just fits me better.

I've logged two rides on it so far, 32 or so miles with Dana on Saturday and a VERY slow 20 yesterday for a Jingle Bell holiday ride, and so far it's been awesome. :yesway:
 
#47 ·
:lol: Awesome.

Yeah, the Cervelo was stupid comforable anyway, but right off the bat the first thing I noticed was how much I liked the seat. Easy problem to fix. I contemplated the carbon rails, but that seemed overkill. :lol:
 
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