Specialized vs. S-Works

You can get a 56cm S-Works Tarmac Ultralight which weighs in at 6.3kg.

My current S-Works 56cm SL5 Tarmac is 7.3kg. If I remember correctly, the new SL6 frame dropped 200g. The Ultra-light edition loses some more weight due to special paint and lighter brake calipers.

hey there. I went from a Venge Pro to S-Works Tarmac Ultralight. I know they are different bikes, but the difference was clearly recognisable. The S-Works is snappier, handles better (which I expected) and holds top speed better (which I definitely didnā€™t expect). Iā€™ve measured it and I go a lot faster for the same watts. I like to ride flat and fast, so you would think I would like the Venge better but this S-Works Tarmac is ridiculous. I definitely didnā€™t think I would notice the difference (Iā€™m certainly not a pro) but I did. Easily.

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@Dan_Dima-ala its all stock! Details are here if you want to look.

One thing I should have mentioned yesterday, which was one of a few things that tipped me over to buy this bike, was that everything I wanted on the bike (Di2, disc brakes, mid deep sectioned wheels, and in particular a power meter) are included in the package.

I was originally looking at the Scott Foil, but by the time I added extra deep sectioned wheels and a power meter to the basket, the price difference was small enough, for me at least, to buy the Tarmac with all of this stuff already present. I would love a Venge, but as my first proper road bike, I dont have any regrets buying the Tarmac, its an amazing bike to ride.

So I guess what Im saying is, look at the frame as one component, what are your other ā€œmust havesā€ and ā€œwould like to havesā€ on the bike, then choose the bike thatā€™s going to give you back the most bang for your buck. Im sure the pro model would be absolutely fine for 99% of folks, including me, but as I said, it wasnā€™t available at the time I bought my bike. I smile every time I get on my SWORKS :grin:

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If price tag isnā€™t a massive concern for you, build the Sworks! Otherwise, stick with Specialized, and spend the change on good components, like group set, wheels, and for sure ceramic bearings (wheel hub, BB, jockey wheels) are a worthy upgrade, if you havenā€™t looked into those already. Personally Iā€™d sway towards the Sworks, although Iā€™m a sucker for a good paint job haha :woman_shrugging:t2:

Hey another 49cm rider! Isnā€™t it terrible? Lol. My LBS has these incredible deals on Tarmacs right now but of course they never have a 49 in stock.

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It isnā€™t just weight, more expensive frames usually use a more intricate carbon layup which often leads to better ride characteristics as well. So far I have only test ridden the BMC Teammachine SLR01 and SLR02 back-to-back and the SLR01 was noticeably more comfortable and supple. Whether the difference is big enough to justify the price tag is a different question, though.

Usually it is better to invest in e. g. better wheels, though.

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Think of it this way, the way bikes are made now is the previous top of the line process will get trickled down to the lower models as they develop newer and better processes. I owned an s-works from 2011, and no doubt the current pro/expert frames of today are better than that model. Now Iā€™m not sure how much of that gets put in to the comp carbon lines but we arenā€™t talking about the full line.

So the s-works will always be their new hotness, they are still using a very high quality process for the pro/expert.

The current S-Works frame uses Specializedā€™s Fact 12r carbon lay-up, where as the Tarmac Pro and Expert use the Fact 10r lay-up that has been around for quite a long time. I suspect, your old 2011 S-Works would have had the 10r carbon. It seems to take a few years fro that to trickle down.

The Pro and Expert are undoubtly superb bikes, but there are other subtle differences in the spec. You get the CLX wheel range on the S-Works, but the CL range on the pro/expert, ceramicspeed BB on the S-works for example.

Itā€™s worth thinking about what you really want and where you are prepared to compromise. I built up an S-Works Tarmac SL6 last year, and thought really carefully about what I wanted, and where I could make sacrifices. For around the same price as the Tarmac Pro, I got an S-works frame and CLX32 wheelset with full Ultegra build.

Loving my Allez Sprint but after 12k km I am in for a new headsetā€¦turns out they are proprietary to each frame size but can only be bought as a set of 6 and it would run me 180 bucks. Ohh and they are not able to supply me one within the next 6 monthsā€¦so yeah love the bike but that is just not acceptable.
If you are fine with it 100% recommended from my side as well

Proprietary to Specialized I understand but by frame size to bootā€¦sure thatā€™s correct? If so, that engineering group needs some serious help.

Proprietary by frame size as confirmed by Specalized to me. 2 frame sizes always share the same lower headset bearing. The upper one is a standard integrated 1 1/8. I was so infuriated when I found about that

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@trswem I actually consider myself lucky to have nabbed the 49 frame, and I think it was the only one they were carrying, as after I bought it, the online shop showed zero stock!

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You have to buy 6? Is this the bike shop telling you this because they do not carry stock? If so, I would find another bike shop and/or contact Specialized directly.

As for proprietary to frame size, Iā€™ll ask my wrench about this.

Search out a bit, it appears there are Cane Creek bearings that will fit in there. Lot less than $180.

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I asked the guys at the Specialized Concept Store where I live. They do not carry stock and yes you do have to buy multiple bottom bearings.
From what I can see it is a ZS bearing with the cup having an odd measurement. The fork is 1 3/8th at the bottom , same as the tarmac. Such a thing doesnā€™t exist and I canā€™t convert the crown raise or anything because it is integrated.

I confirm Cane Creekā€™s bearing fit finder does list the Allez Sprint, it does list it by frame size (so the bearing size = f(frame size) thing seems to be correct), and they do have replacement bearings.

Cane creek will only fit the upper part. They do not have the fitting lower bearing. I tried their finderā€¦but thank you for the suggestion :slight_smile:

Another Allez sprint fan here. Havenā€™t been on my Emonda SLR since the purchase.

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Thank you for this topic.

I wanted to share what I have done over the past couple of months. I did look at the Tarmac Pro as an option as it is a very good one. The main reason I steered away from an off the shelf bike at this price point is that I would have to be swapping out quite a few parts to fit my needs and preferences and in the end spending a lot more after market.

It has been mentioned before that buying an s-works frame and choosing every part yourself can work out cheaper and it certainly has done for me. I got an amazing deal on the 2019 frame. I chose mechanical Ultegra as I am not somebody that is big on bling groupsets, costing twice the price for Di2 wasnā€™t for me. Sure Etap would be amazing but it costs the price of the frame itself. After all the customisation I will have spent the same amount without skimping.

I will be building my parts in the next couple of weeks, but I feel people who havenā€™t ridden or donā€™t own the bike will tell you s-works is just solely down to the weight and it probably doesnā€™t make any difference. s-works owners will tell you otherwise, equally Tarmac Pro owners will be happy with their bikes and feel it is sufficient. I donā€™t actually believe myself the only difference is weight. It ultimately comes down to what you are drawn to and what you can afford/compromise on.

I would like to share my first impressions once I have ridden it.

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You wonā€™t be disappointed!