SPECIALIZED S-WORKS TARMAC DISC
› Specialized’s most victory-laden bike now comes with hydraulic stoppers
Specialized launched the phenomenal SL6 Tarmac launched last year. It was a radical redesign with directmount rim brakes offering superior stopping power over previous generations. It’s taken nearly a year for Specialized to finalise the disc version, and it has a lot to live up to to get close to its rim brake sibling.
Specialized has retained the sorted geometry of the previous SL5 Tarmac but wrapped it up in its most advanced slice of carbon yet.
Those superbly supple, fast and tenaciously grippy Turbo tyres are are mated to Specialized’s Roval CLX50 Rapide wheels, and 1415g a pair for aero carbon clinchers is extremely impressive. The 50mm depth offers true aerodynamic benefits, and the generous 20.7mm internal rim width shapes the tyres beautifully. They run smoothly too, which is no surprise as the hubs are built around DT Swiss’s highly regarded 240 internals and spin on CeramicSpeed bearings.
The running gear impresses, with fast pick-up and acceleration and is light enough to be a big boost when climbing. On descents there are no complaints or flex, even when cranking through corners or under hard sprints. They only fall short of the very best around (ENVE SES, Zipp NSW) when it comes to crosswinds, where you get the occasional slight jitter.
Like most of its competition here the Tarmac runs Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 9170. Unlike the Cannondale, Specialized has opted for the bar-end control box fitting, which makes switching between modes simpler. We’re becoming big fans of the semi-auto mode. We love the ratio choice on the S-Works, combining 52/36 rings with an 11-30 cassette is something we saw a few top-level pros adopt last year. Having that very spinnable 30-tooth cassette for double-digit gradients
makes absolute sense. Rather than pushing your power to the limits you can adopt a lighter gear and up the cadence, relying more on aerobic fitness than out-andout power.
The S-Works is a showcase for Specialized’s own componentry. The carbon bar is light and superbly shaped, the transition between top and drop is cleverly kept tight for maximum wrist clearance when you’re down in the shallow drops and the subtle flattening at the bits you grip the most make it comfortable to hold. Along with the sublime chassis and tyres road buzz is all but eliminated up front. The long-exposed D-shaped seatpost offers a bit of give to smooth things at the back. The carbon-railed Body Geometry S-Works Toupé saddle isn’t our favourite from the Specialized camp, but we found it comfortable enough.
The slick Specialized carbon cranks incorporate an all-new power meter that Specialized has developed with power meter specialist 4iiii. This crank-based dual-sided meter is claimed to be the lightest and most accurate on the market.
The S-Works Disc weighs 6.82kg (58cm), so it’s only 175g heavier than the rim brake model, and you’d be hard pressed to feel such a small difference. We’ve ridden both versions and would opt for the disc model for UK conditions, as it has all the tractable handling that marks the Tarmac out as one of the greats.