The previous Tarmac had an exceptional palmarsa win in every grand tour plus two world championshipsso you might ask yourself "why a new tarmac?" well Specialized have never been one to rest on their laurels which is why they're constantly hunting for even the smallest of improvements. In other words 'innovate or die'. And for this exact reason the new S-Works Tarmac breaks all the traditions of race bike design to create the fastest bike for all conditions.
To get the weight below 800 grams they utilized advanced aerospace composite optimization software to revolutionize the construction and layup of the new FACT 12r carbon. It's the most advanced material and schedule they've ever made, the shape schedule and material optimization allowed them to shed nearly 200 grams. That's right a 20% reduction in frame weight, the perfect recipe for your next hill climb pr.
They then further improved the rider-first engineered technology to ensure that the new Tarmac is stiff and compliant in exactly the right places. With this revamp they also updated the geometry, basing it on countless retl data points and professional rider input. This enabled them to develop a performance road geometry that perfects the combination of a responsive front end and short wheelbase delivering instantaneous response and optimal power transfer.
And while stiffness aids in the aforementioned compliance must also be utilized for an optimal ride quality. That's why they designed a seatpost that builds compliance into the upper 120mm where clamping doesn't happen, dropped the seatstays and altered the seat tube shape. They also added tire clearance up to 30mm which translates to a 28mm turbo cotton on a Roval CLX 50 wheel. This allows lower pressures for decreased rolling resistance increased traction and more comfort. Altogether these additions still have the Tarmac riding like a true race-machine but just takes a bit of the sting out of those road imperfections.
And while this is all great we know that aerodynamics are the most important thing to make you faster. Both the bora-hansgrohe and team quick step floors Pro tour riders are demanding aero improvements on every bike. With this the aero goal was to discover where we could essentially "add aero for free" by not taking anything away from the hallmarks of the Tarmac design. During the six-month iterative process three areas were discovered where they could do this, a new fork shape, dropped seatstays with aero tubes and a d-shaped seatpost and seat tube. The result? A bike that's approximately 45 seconds faster over 40km compared to other lightweight bikes in the same category. A speed savings that you'll feel when you're attacking off the front of the peloton.