When I replaced my 7 year old Tarmac SL5, I really wanted an SL7, but could not justify the price or the group set choices availability. I ended up going with a Canyon Aeroad CFR with Dura Ace. 1k miles later and extremely happy with it.
I had Aeroad CF SL7 last year. the bike was 3400 Euros with 105 mech, Reynolds 60mm and had 8kg weight. The ride was perfect and even more comfortable than my older endurance bike. Unfortunately the bike had problems with the Seatpost, although they added the rubber thing and the bb was undersized, this led to a crack in that area and I send the bike back. With the newer 2023 version of Aeroad, they solved the Seatpost problem. Now, if you are not affected by the poor finishing of Canyon, Aeroad is the best bike in my opinion.
@@dogukantosun5547 no issues yet. I got mine in June of 2023. No creaking seat post issues so far (fingers crossed). I do find it more comfortable than my old Tarmac SL5. Mine fully loaded with pedals, bottle cages and Wahoo mount weight right at 17lbs 7.71kg. I could probably get it lower by replacing the saddle with a lighter one, I still use my old power saddle from Specialized.
@@MrRoyGS There is a reason why they redesigned the seatpost clamp. When I serviced/regreased the seatpost, it was silent for 300km, but I had to service it more often then I lubricated my chain.
Good choice man, I dont like climbing bike or all around bike, im more to aero bike, Im using sagan venge for few years and since the venge is discontinued so I went to Canyon Aeroad CFR MVDP edition with new Dura Ace. NEVER REGRET and its proven this year seasons with MVDP winning the Milano San Remo, Paris Roubaix and World Championship. 😊
@@wesleyvandeurzen7199 Yep that's why is ridiculous when then talk about 20% gain, it's 20% of 5% so it's basically nothing even if it's they said it's true.
..Over a long enough time line, with each iteration getting faster and faster, there will inevitably come a point in time where we will be able to get back from a ride before we originally left . Cant wait !
I'm so glad you got to make the first review video out there on the SL8 ahead of time. You are definitely the main UA-camr who deserves it. Best content/creator ever.
I think why a lot of people like Specialized, including myself, is that we can walk in to about any city in the US and fit ourselves on their bikes. Specialized dealers are everywhere. That goes a long ways since they make great bikes too. The prices could be better, obviously. I just can't get myself to order an expensive bike online, without being able to sit on it first. And that's just not an option for most of the bikes
I do like they hit the UCI Limit out the gates, insignificant or not I like that's an out the box feature. I just bought an SL7 S Works and I am fomo'ing there's no two ways about it. Regardless of whether or not I'd ever feel the difference. Thanks for the usual brilliant videos Dave.
I notice they never say the venge vias, though. I do not think it would be faster than that. I remember a lot of people got annoyed when the last venge looked more like the sl6 rather than the vias which was a proper aero bike. Dave, put a call to your windtunnel friends and see if you can borrow a venge, I don't understood how you can remove material from the frame make it slimmer put a small hump on the headtube and its faster than a venge? The next sl9 will be more aerodynamic than the shiv 😂
They're lying for more sales. Not possible for exponential growth of being faster and stiff and lighter every single model yet they won't post the numbers that measure it
@czts4778 Thinner tube shapes are slower they create more of a void, and the more material to fill up the space, the faster it is. Why disk wheels are always faster than any other type of wheel. Lighter is not faster. Aero is faster. In a race in the real world, the lighter bike will help on climbs, but acceleration not as much as you think because you are never accelerating from 0 you are already carrying the speed.
Sold! My thought with the headtube design is for the internal cables to have more space to move… remember the recall they had with cables rubbing. Sure, aero too.
Yeah this bike is overpriced in my opinion there are other top end bikes for much less. It's kind of like apple it's got the logo but is a Google are samsung any worse, no but they cost less because of branding.
I love how frugal it looks and understated, but it certainly doesnt 'woo' me, but then nothing that Specialized has ever built has, well maybe my '98 Stumpie M2! 😁 Anothing cracking mini review, David! ✌️
Dave, seems like you’re getting the jump on all the new anticipated bikes, Kudos. Top end model sounds amazing. Shame they don’t use the same frame for all levels.
Great Review David. Looks like marginal gains on the new SL8. I’m happy I picked up an SL7 on sale. Maybe I should wait to pick up an SL8 on sale when the SL9 comes out 😉 Good to see the bikes comes with power meters. Big Ring Box Hill 💪🚴
Can we normalise weighing the entire frameset with paint included, instead of just the frame!? I.e., the frame + fork + seatpost. Some bikes out there use an integrated seatpost and others don’t so comparing the two makes absolutely no sense.
The Head tube seems fine. It doesn't look that bulge compared to the initial leaked photo. However, the fork looks odd to me as it seems to be facing backward 😅.
I don't know if they've ever thought of increasing the fork blades' depth to match the head tube's new depth, but I reckon this would mean wider fork blades and decreased tire clearance if the stance of the fork blades remained constant.
I hate how the fork looks its like backset. Other than that it looks pretty good and seems fast af. The cost for the top end bike in my opinion is ridiculous I feel like the bike industry is borderline robbing people right now. I wonder what there profit margin is now vs 2015?
@@davidarthur Previous 8 years, bb area was bigger and bigger and brands talking about advantages of this technology. And now we comeback to 2012-2014 framesets with same thin tubes hahah
@@DISCOhooch that's just evolution for you. Same reasons original mobile phones were bricks and are now tiny. Carbon developments have meant they can now make tubes that are smaller yet retain the stiffness of the previously bigger tubes required to get the desired stiffness.
Hold on specialized. The aero on the rear of a bike doesn't really matter because of the dirty air from our legs. So why do we have drop seat stays, deeper aero wheels, disc wheels even? I still find it hard to believe that the tarmac is more aero then the venge
It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica. It is a Team Replica.
Can’t help but think that to buy a bike, as well as it being light, fast etc, you have to LOVE it, the look of it, even when stand still. The SL8 no doubt is going to be an excellent bike, but for the heart, no, sorry. The 2020 Venge however just looks awesome, purposeful, like a seek and destroy missile. A beautiful bike.
I wonder when the limit of how light frames can realistically be reached. At some point, this has to happen and when it does I wonder if bike companies will just change the shape slightly and say it's new. Also, I wonder if the big manufacturers will slowly regress to making heavier bikes. If anyone has any thoughts I would love to know their theories on this.
@@huntos83I'm sure the UCI minimum weight limit is a factor. If you have tobsptart speccing heavier components to not creep under the minimum weight then whats the point ?
Hey David, can you show how to adjust handlebars and stem for ergonomic fitting? Couldn't find any details with the new design of the SL 8 but should be fast and easy, no? Looks great, though.
Lost me when a SL7 in a 52 has a head tube of 113mm and a SL8 in 52 is 120mm. Sure it’s a way punters won’t be snapping forks with lots of spacers but it even looks like a endurance bike with the front end
I just need the handlebars and voá-la - I can say my SL7 is the new SL8. It would be interesting to have a SL7 with the new handlebar on the wind túnel to check how much aero it would gain and compare the number with the new SL8. Something tells me there would be no much difference. Anyway, I will keep my sl7 thanks very much!
This frame looks like a pure Endurance/ Road bike. I’ve raced & ridden the CAAD series of CANNONDALE’S for 23 yrs and I’ve finally purchased my first Cannondale Endurance bike the Synapse. I love the more upright riding positions opposed to the aggressive race style of bicycles @David Author
Do bike companies ever read comments? To find out consumers are calling out on their bs marketing tactics? All the claims without any Proof and documentation.
I don’t see a link to the aero info in the description. Would love to see how they can possibly say this frame w these tube shapes is more aero than the Venge. Seems crazy given just looking at the two frames.
Yeah, I have watched more videos and they say this is faster than the Venge, not more aero. They say having aero shapes where not needed just adds weight and lessens compliance. While slightly better in the wind tunnel, the Venge is slower in the real world. I can see the case for that.
I love it. Cant wait to see the sram force/shimano ultegra version review. These top tier bikes are more expensive then motorcycles and its just too much for the average user. Love your reviews/videos, keep up the good work!
Some of the claims are patently ridiculous; 17 seconds faster over 40kms? What because the front end was slightly reshaped? Come on. Also, 5W improvement on handlebar? An aero bar over a round bar is about 4 to 6 Watts better, so how can a tweaked aero bar suddenly gain 5 watts over it's predecessor? 33% improved stiffness to weight ratio.....so vague. Where? BB? Fork? Rear end? In which plane? Vertical, sideways, torsion? 6% more comfortable - the funniest of all, this is utterly meaningless and has no unit or specificity. Also, Spesh is notorious for understating their frame weights, let's check one in reality.
Think I will wait til they figure out how to make the frame sub 448 grams before I upgrade This is almost 700 grams and just a bit more aero then the previous edition I need a guarantee of at least 80 watts saved also for it to make sence . Actually I think I will just buy a motorcycle or two for 12000$
If I bought one today, how much would it be worth in 3 years time and how would I sell it? Given the price, the bike market, new and used, needs to evolve into something very much like the car market. Finance just the depreciation on new bikes and clear value after 3 years.
No you don't need a middle man that would be the worst thing to do and inflate prices even more. Canyon does cut out the middle man. When digital finance gets more adopted the means of exchange will be peer to peer.
I have the SL7 in white and quite honestly I struggle to see the differences (other than the cockpit which I'm considering to buy). I am kinda happy with that as now I don't feel the need to upgrade to the SL8 (not that I would've if it looked different :D )
I doubt U will upgrade to SL8 later because more or less same design. Normally we will go to different path, Tadej pogacar's Colnago, Jonas Vinegard's Cervelo or Mathieu van der Poel's Canyon. Feel different bike, what make them world champ.
@@khusyairi3983 Yeah, I agree with your point. Maybe people who currently ride other brands would be looking to switch to the SL8. I love my SL7 and so far I am not planning on changing it, but if I was I'd probably look for the Canyon Aeroad. That bike is sick and also very fast. With that said, I am sure the SL8 is a great choice if it's within the budget.
Being a fairly heavy cyclist, I am concerned when I see that they keep removing the frame materials. Soon there will be no need for a frame at all to hold us, I imagine.
What does it mean by “16,6 seconds faster over 40 kph than the old SL7”? I mean, how come one moves 16,6 seconds faster if both move at the same speed at 40 kph?
The distance and time used to show these time savings is usually 40 km over an hour. This is to say that on a 40 km course, over one hour of riding, the Tarmac SL8 is 16.6 seconds faster than its predecessor.
Horrific , if it wasn’t the “UA-cam darling brand” and was say a campagnolo launch it would be getting hammered. The marketing nonsense in relation to it is even worse. Compared to the new Bianchi it looks like something from 2012….. they have fallen so far behind
If the road bikes are really good on steep climbs and on completely flat routes, you don't need as many series. Such a light, fast bike is much more suitable for high-earning hobby riders, who make up the majority of paying customers. Each series needs many expensive molds to produce it. Furthermore, you can allocate expensive engineering hours to more frames if you need fewer series.
With the new crop of lightweight bikes it’s the first time since I picked up my 2015 Aeroad that I’ve seen something that makes me feel like there’s been some advancement worth upgrading for. However, my 2015 Ultegra equipped Aeroad CFSLX came in at under £3000, now has full Dura Ace and weighs just over 7kg. So I won’t be upgrading anytime soon. 😢
Vast experience of riding bikes over 20 years. I'd love to design some sort of device that goes between the saddle and my bottom to put some numbers on seated comfort though. Any designers here?
Pricing today are just ridiculous. Prizes has gone up 500% the last 10 years. Compared to food that's gone up around 12%. Stop buying bikes at these prizes. Who want a bike with Shimano 105 at 5k? When i was younger i could buy a bike with Dura Ace for 2k. Dirty wind from the front... side wind anyone? Lol to the bike industry and those that eats all this.
Hi, thanks a lot for this review ! I am looking to purchase a new bike but I am still hesitating between Aethos and SL8. What would you recommend? I love climbing so I thought Aethos was for me, but the performances of the SL8 in climbing seems amazing as well, with the aero benefits that the Aethos does not have! What would you recommend ?
Like Trek claiming there's is 700 grams, true Trek puts there paint on the thick side which is good. Trek said that's 700 grams without paint! These companies want to charge these prices and show them on scales!!
Interesting review, David. If you could afford to do either, would you prefer to have a one-bike setup with the SL8, or a two-bike setup with a similarly high-end climbing/all-round bike (e.g. Canyon Ultimate CFR, Giant TCR Advanced SL0) and an aero bike (e.g. Canyon Aeroad CFR, Giant Propel Advanced SL)?
I think it’s absolutely stunning!! Great review David. And well done on being invited to press day. You’re really up there with the big boys now mate. 😎👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
the back is similar to the SL6, so the maximum design for better performance is the SL6 model, it's proven that it often wins stages, in my opinion the SL8 frame is a combination of the SL8 frame and the Venge headtube
When I replaced my 7 year old Tarmac SL5, I really wanted an SL7, but could not justify the price or the group set choices availability. I ended up going with a Canyon Aeroad CFR with Dura Ace. 1k miles later and extremely happy with it.
I had Aeroad CF SL7 last year. the bike was 3400 Euros with 105 mech, Reynolds 60mm and had 8kg weight. The ride was perfect and even more comfortable than my older endurance bike. Unfortunately the bike had problems with the Seatpost, although they added the rubber thing and the bb was undersized, this led to a crack in that area and I send the bike back. With the newer 2023 version of Aeroad, they solved the Seatpost problem. Now, if you are not affected by the poor finishing of Canyon, Aeroad is the best bike in my opinion.
@@dogukantosun5547 no issues yet. I got mine in June of 2023. No creaking seat post issues so far (fingers crossed). I do find it more comfortable than my old Tarmac SL5. Mine fully loaded with pedals, bottle cages and Wahoo mount weight right at 17lbs 7.71kg. I could probably get it lower by replacing the saddle with a lighter one, I still use my old power saddle from Specialized.
@@MrRoyGS There is a reason why they redesigned the seatpost clamp. When I serviced/regreased the seatpost, it was silent for 300km, but I had to service it more often then I lubricated my chain.
Good choice man, I dont like climbing bike or all around bike, im more to aero bike, Im using sagan venge for few years and since the venge is discontinued so I went to Canyon Aeroad CFR MVDP edition with new Dura Ace. NEVER REGRET and its proven this year seasons with MVDP winning the Milano San Remo, Paris Roubaix and World Championship. 😊
@@RoquetteAttaquer that is awesome! Congrats on your new Aero MVDP edition, love the blue color.
With each new bike they said it will be 10-20% faster ! In the future i think the bike will ride on itself without even pedaling.
hahah yes! so much bs with bike marketing its ridiculous that people actually fall for it
Exactly what I was thinking,love the content but will continue to ride my 11kg 1978 Carlton to it or I fail.😊
the bike has 10-20% less aero drag but in reality 95% of the aero drag comes from the person on the bike and not the bike itself.
@@wesleyvandeurzen7199 Yep that's why is ridiculous when then talk about 20% gain, it's 20% of 5% so it's basically nothing even if it's they said it's true.
They say 16 seconds at 45kmh over 40km. How is that 10-20%? Ofc all this marketing talk is just to make you feel good about dishing out the money.
..Over a long enough time line, with each iteration getting faster and faster, there will inevitably come a point in time where we will be able to get back from a ride before we originally left . Cant wait !
You don’t have to, in fact (12r) you are already back. You just don’t know it yet.
I can't believe they actually officially called it the "Speed Sniffer"
"Butt Sniffer" ™
The speed sniffer market is what they might be pricing the bike into.
I'm so glad you got to make the first review video out there on the SL8 ahead of time. You are definitely the main UA-camr who deserves it. Best content/creator ever.
I dont hate it, but the previous gen looked better
100% agree, but I'm biased - I have a sl7. Lol
I have a SL6 & still don’t see reason to upgrade.
Venge is still the best looking bike
Conpared to the Venge it's handsome
I have SL3 and don't feel I need an upgrade 😂
The marketing is strong with Specialized!
I think why a lot of people like Specialized, including myself, is that we can walk in to about any city in the US and fit ourselves on their bikes. Specialized dealers are everywhere. That goes a long ways since they make great bikes too. The prices could be better, obviously. I just can't get myself to order an expensive bike online, without being able to sit on it first. And that's just not an option for most of the bikes
Have you ridden one?
I do like they hit the UCI Limit out the gates, insignificant or not I like that's an out the box feature. I just bought an SL7 S Works and I am fomo'ing there's no two ways about it. Regardless of whether or not I'd ever feel the difference.
Thanks for the usual brilliant videos Dave.
Didn’t help Remco much today 😂 .. seriously, looks good though, very nice intro to the bike 👍 Glad they finally cracking the weight conundrum
On most price points TCR is a better package. Maybe not at flagship level only.
Weight does not matter, until specialized releases a light weight tarmac. Now all of a sudden weight matters.
It's clear weight is the only thing that matters to lots of people judging by the comments on many of my bike review videos over the last few years ;)
@@davidarthur yeah weight is the ultimate differentiator and always will be. No matter how aero is a frame.
Weight matters all of a sudden... except us non sheep have known this for 40 years...
I notice they never say the venge vias, though. I do not think it would be faster than that. I remember a lot of people got annoyed when the last venge looked more like the sl6 rather than the vias which was a proper aero bike.
Dave, put a call to your windtunnel friends and see if you can borrow a venge, I don't understood how you can remove material from the frame make it slimmer put a small hump on the headtube and its faster than a venge? The next sl9 will be more aerodynamic than the shiv 😂
They're lying for more sales. Not possible for exponential growth of being faster and stiff and lighter every single model yet they won't post the numbers that measure it
If you read the white paper, they do compare it to the Vias and the SL8 shows to be faster than the Vias in their testing.
It's faster because it's thinner frame tubes and it's lighter. If you're racing in the real world, more lightweight bikes accelerate fast.
@czts4778 Thinner tube shapes are slower they create more of a void, and the more material to fill up the space, the faster it is. Why disk wheels are always faster than any other type of wheel. Lighter is not faster. Aero is faster. In a race in the real world, the lighter bike will help on climbs, but acceleration not as much as you think because you are never accelerating from 0 you are already carrying the speed.
@@tomrachellesfirstdance7843 BuT RiM brAkEs ArE lIgHtEr AnD FaStEr!!!!!111
with such weight i doubt it will survive a crash. something we average riders cant afford.
insurance?
I'll buy one if I ever make it to a point in my life where I don't need to ask how much it costs.
Then still. 14.000 euro for a bicycle.
I'm going to hold out for the SL9 which is 12% more aero, 8.65% more complaint and 12.227890% stiffer at 40kph going through helium gas
for me the fork is the real showpiece. Wish you showed it more while you had it out. What a shape and colourway!
Sold! My thought with the headtube design is for the internal cables to have more space to move… remember the recall they had with cables rubbing. Sure, aero too.
Light weight always feels nicer even if it’s not necessarily faster
100
I 💯 agree .. love the way it looks .. well done Specialized
14,000 for a bike ? I thought 3,000 was a lot for a bike.
Yeah this bike is overpriced in my opinion there are other top end bikes for much less. It's kind of like apple it's got the logo but is a Google are samsung any worse, no but they cost less because of branding.
I hope Giant puts some extra shifts on the Propel line.
I love how frugal it looks and understated, but it certainly doesnt 'woo' me, but then nothing that Specialized has ever built has, well maybe my '98 Stumpie M2! 😁
Anothing cracking mini review, David! ✌️
Thanks David for this exclusive world premiere of a superbike. Not only a presentation but also a test drive.
Qudos, well done as always!! Cheers!
Can't wait to see a thumb squeeze test of the downtube 😂
Same durianrider needs to test this bike one of the only liget reviews
Durianrider has a lifetime ban of doing a squeeze-test of specialized bikes. However, his girlfriend can squeeze it 😅. She looks 😍 a pro.
Downtube would probably pass the test. As opposed to say…toptube…
Spot on I did this in a specialized bike shop the other day and I could flex every frame they had...
@@supocarta74 did they have sl8 ? My 2016 derosa sk pininfarina is 6.5kg no flex when you squeeze the frame.
Isit just me or does the fork design on the SL8 make it look like its installed backwards?
Dave, seems like you’re getting the jump on all the new anticipated bikes, Kudos.
Top end model sounds amazing.
Shame they don’t use the same frame for all levels.
The difference between 12r and 10f carbon is only 100 grams per frame, no biggie
Good solid review👍🏾
Thanks for watching
very thorough review both on and off the bike. great video Dave
Thanks! 👍
£12k for the latest top end bike is just crazy money
Great Review David. Looks like marginal gains on the new SL8. I’m happy I picked up an SL7 on sale. Maybe I should wait to pick up an SL8 on sale when the SL9 comes out 😉
Good to see the bikes comes with power meters. Big Ring Box Hill 💪🚴
Can we normalise weighing the entire frameset with paint included, instead of just the frame!? I.e., the frame + fork + seatpost. Some bikes out there use an integrated seatpost and others don’t so comparing the two makes absolutely no sense.
Giving the weight of a frame without paint, or fork, is like giving the weight of a "full" bike without pedals: useless and disingenuous
Saw a guy on a Venge Vias today, asked if he'd sell it ...............he said no, like it was a trick question.
Damn the venge was a good looking bicycle
Great review and that bike (in white) just went to the top of my wish list
If you get your hand on a sl8 to test, I’d love to see you het your hands on the last venge and do a back to back test.
This frame looks like someone has skipped leg day, a very skinny back end! 💪
Put the latest Roval Rapide CLXII and the new Roval integrated bar on the Venge and yet again it's faster than the one bike to rule them all.
The first version of Tarmac was such a vibe 💫
The Head tube seems fine. It doesn't look that bulge compared to the initial leaked photo.
However, the fork looks odd to me as it seems to be facing backward 😅.
I don't know if they've ever thought of increasing the fork blades' depth to match the head tube's new depth, but I reckon this would mean wider fork blades and decreased tire clearance if the stance of the fork blades remained constant.
Last 2-3 years, aero was everything, and weight was not a huge factor. Now weight matters! What a joke! 8:42
I hate how the fork looks its like backset. Other than that it looks pretty good and seems fast af. The cost for the top end bike in my opinion is ridiculous I feel like the bike industry is borderline robbing people right now. I wonder what there profit margin is now vs 2015?
I believe its somewhere around 40% profit margin and I am talking about specialized dealers
@@diwang4572 interesting wonder how much specialized the company not the dealer profits now vs years before.
Small BB area, so frameset is not stiff.
As simple as that is it?
@@davidarthur Previous 8 years, bb area was bigger and bigger and brands talking about advantages of this technology. And now we comeback to 2012-2014 framesets with same thin tubes hahah
@@DISCOhooch that's just evolution for you. Same reasons original mobile phones were bricks and are now tiny. Carbon developments have meant they can now make tubes that are smaller yet retain the stiffness of the previously bigger tubes required to get the desired stiffness.
I shd like to see this assertion stress-tested
Only place to shave weight, would lose stiffness for sure.
So they made bikes light, then aero and heavy, and now aero and light. What’s next?
Don't forget disc brakes. They will come up with something else to make the world have to buy a new bike!
Hold on specialized. The aero on the rear of a bike doesn't really matter because of the dirty air from our legs. So why do we have drop seat stays, deeper aero wheels, disc wheels even? I still find it hard to believe that the tarmac is more aero then the venge
They're not saying it doesn't matter at all, just not as much as might be expected. Things aren't always black and white and that simple
Thanks Specia!! Still riding on my SL7!!
yeah i get it - it's the perfect bike. nice advert, David!
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
It is a Team Replica.
Can’t help but think that to buy a bike, as well as it being light, fast etc, you have to LOVE it, the look of it, even when stand still. The SL8 no doubt is going to be an excellent bike, but for the heart, no, sorry. The 2020 Venge however just looks awesome, purposeful, like a seek and destroy missile. A beautiful bike.
An SL8 is nice, sure - but have you ever seen an old alloy Cannondale with cracked paintwork and a pimp set of wheels ❤️🍆❤️🍆😉
I wonder when the limit of how light frames can realistically be reached. At some point, this has to happen and when it does I wonder if bike companies will just change the shape slightly and say it's new. Also, I wonder if the big manufacturers will slowly regress to making heavier bikes. If anyone has any thoughts I would love to know their theories on this.
They can keep making the walls thinner and weaker
@@huntos83I'm sure the UCI minimum weight limit is a factor. If you have tobsptart speccing heavier components to not creep under the minimum weight then whats the point ?
@@jason200912 It's strong enough to be ridden, and bikes are not designed to be crashed.
My thoughts… 🤔… I keep my SL7 and wait for the SL9… 😂😂😂 great review (especially the Box Hill part!)
Same here. Not enough difference to change. Looks more comfortable but I can take 2 psi out of my tyres to get same result.
Hey David, can you show how to adjust handlebars and stem for ergonomic fitting? Couldn't find any details with the new design of the SL 8 but should be fast and easy, no? Looks great, though.
Still loving my SL6 😊, looks like maybe they shortened the chainstays/wheelbase by a few mm's ?
Same here 👌
I think SL6 is the peak
@@boenklon2 i also have the sL6 great bike. But can’t justify Speclized detailing my Wallet to get the SL8
Great bike!
Yep, love my SL6 rim brake, it’s under 6.4 kgs in a 58 with Red eTap and is certainly Aero enough for me
Weight only matters when the industry tells you it matters...
I think weight matters to all the people who complain on here about the weight of new bikes and discs brakes etc
Without the roval aero handlebar there is no advantage to the SL7 is what I’m learning
Lost me when a SL7 in a 52 has a head tube of 113mm and a SL8 in 52 is 120mm. Sure it’s a way punters won’t be snapping forks with lots of spacers but it even looks like a endurance bike with the front end
I just need the handlebars and voá-la - I can say my SL7 is the new SL8. It would be interesting to have a SL7 with the new handlebar on the wind túnel to check how much aero it would gain and compare the number with the new SL8. Something tells me there would be no much difference. Anyway, I will keep my sl7 thanks very much!
Same here. Saving up some lunch money for the new bars for my sl7 pro. Happy sl8 is not radically different so it doesn't make me want it
Without watching, let me guess: It's more aero, lighter and stiffer.
You'd rather it was slower, heavier and softer yes? ;)
This frame looks like a pure Endurance/ Road bike. I’ve raced & ridden the CAAD series of CANNONDALE’S for 23 yrs and I’ve finally purchased my first Cannondale Endurance bike the Synapse. I love the more upright riding positions opposed to the aggressive race style of bicycles @David Author
Do bike companies ever read comments? To find out consumers are calling out on their bs marketing tactics? All the claims without any Proof and documentation.
I don’t see a link to the aero info in the description. Would love to see how they can possibly say this frame w these tube shapes is more aero than the Venge. Seems crazy given just looking at the two frames.
Shaving your balls and legs will make more difference than tube profiles, so I wouldn't worry
It says 16s faster at 40 kph.
Over what distance ??
Yeah, I have watched more videos and they say this is faster than the Venge, not more aero. They say having aero shapes where not needed just adds weight and lessens compliance. While slightly better in the wind tunnel, the Venge is slower in the real world. I can see the case for that.
I couldn't justify buying a bike that expensive, but even if I could I'd wait a while to see if there is going to be any recall or such.
I love it. Cant wait to see the sram force/shimano ultegra version review. These top tier bikes are more expensive then motorcycles and its just too much for the average user. Love your reviews/videos, keep up the good work!
Some of the claims are patently ridiculous; 17 seconds faster over 40kms? What because the front end was slightly reshaped? Come on. Also, 5W improvement on handlebar? An aero bar over a round bar is about 4 to 6 Watts better, so how can a tweaked aero bar suddenly gain 5 watts over it's predecessor?
33% improved stiffness to weight ratio.....so vague. Where? BB? Fork? Rear end? In which plane? Vertical, sideways, torsion?
6% more comfortable - the funniest of all, this is utterly meaningless and has no unit or specificity.
Also, Spesh is notorious for understating their frame weights, let's check one in reality.
Think I will wait til they figure out how to make the frame sub 448 grams before I upgrade
This is almost 700 grams and just a bit more aero then the previous edition
I need a guarantee of at least 80 watts saved also for it to make sence . Actually I think I will just buy a motorcycle or two for 12000$
Why did you not mentioned the redesign to fix the headset/cable integration issue they had with the SL7 vs SL8?
I think I slightly prefer the new SuperSix Evo... but there isn't much between the two bikes.
If I bought one today, how much would it be worth in 3 years time and how would I sell it? Given the price, the bike market, new and used, needs to evolve into something very much like the car market. Finance just the depreciation on new bikes and clear value after 3 years.
No you don't need a middle man that would be the worst thing to do and inflate prices even more. Canyon does cut out the middle man.
When digital finance gets more adopted the means of exchange will be peer to peer.
They fixed something that wasn't broken.
Can you take it to the wind tunnel and compare against the Giant
Great review, David. Now... Specialized, pull your finger out and produce a revised Roubaix !!
Thanks for the review David! How does the sl8 compares to the supersix evo 4?
Wonder the same
I had the first Tarmac and it was a joy to ride
I have the SL7 in white and quite honestly I struggle to see the differences (other than the cockpit which I'm considering to buy). I am kinda happy with that as now I don't feel the need to upgrade to the SL8 (not that I would've if it looked different :D )
I doubt U will upgrade to SL8 later because more or less same design. Normally we will go to different path, Tadej pogacar's Colnago, Jonas Vinegard's Cervelo or Mathieu van der Poel's Canyon. Feel different bike, what make them world champ.
@@khusyairi3983 Yeah, I agree with your point. Maybe people who currently ride other brands would be looking to switch to the SL8. I love my SL7 and so far I am not planning on changing it, but if I was I'd probably look for the Canyon Aeroad. That bike is sick and also very fast. With that said, I am sure the SL8 is a great choice if it's within the budget.
Being a fairly heavy cyclist, I am concerned when I see that they keep removing the frame materials. Soon there will be no need for a frame at all to hold us, I imagine.
Looks very nice!
I must admit the headtube looks a lot better in the flesh than on some of the spy photos and images.
Top work David again! 👍
Thanks a lot!
Specialized claims. Garbage. So much faster but tell me where the SL8 finished in the recent UCI championships yesterday??? No where to be seen.
What does it mean by “16,6 seconds faster over 40 kph than the old SL7”? I mean, how come one moves 16,6 seconds faster if both move at the same speed at 40 kph?
The distance and time used to show these time savings is usually 40 km over an hour.
This is to say that on a 40 km course, over one hour of riding, the Tarmac SL8 is 16.6 seconds faster than its predecessor.
Horrific , if it wasn’t the “UA-cam darling brand” and was say a campagnolo launch it would be getting hammered. The marketing nonsense in relation to it is even worse. Compared to the new Bianchi it looks like something from 2012….. they have fallen so far behind
If the road bikes are really good on steep climbs and on completely flat routes, you don't need as many series. Such a light, fast bike is much more suitable for high-earning hobby riders, who make up the majority of paying customers. Each series needs many expensive molds to produce it. Furthermore, you can allocate expensive engineering hours to more frames if you need fewer series.
Got a twig built rear end, whats the safe maximum rider weight limit?
Good vid, you rode smooth roads, how is it in compliance? Size 32 tires? We have ruff roads so also need compliance.
Size 56-58 cm with factory paint im sure weighs like the rest of them 800-900 grams!
I'd like to see a 58cm weighed pre build
back to SL6 seat stay & new bloated head tube !!!!!
I can appreciate the light weight but there's no way this frame is more aero than the Venge...
With the new crop of lightweight bikes it’s the first time since I picked up my 2015 Aeroad that I’ve seen something that makes me feel like there’s been some advancement worth upgrading for. However, my 2015 Ultegra equipped Aeroad CFSLX came in at under £3000, now has full Dura Ace and weighs just over 7kg. So I won’t be upgrading anytime soon. 😢
Spesh probably changed OEMs and this is the best frame shape they had on offer. 😂
Truth is every sworks since 2018 SLAPS. Just get the one you can afford, you’ll love it.
Gold stars to Specialized for making it a 4iiii and not a shimano one
How exactly do you quantify comfort?
Vast experience of riding bikes over 20 years. I'd love to design some sort of device that goes between the saddle and my bottom to put some numbers on seated comfort though. Any designers here?
Pricing today are just ridiculous. Prizes has gone up 500% the last 10 years. Compared to food that's gone up around 12%. Stop buying bikes at these prizes. Who want a bike with Shimano 105 at 5k? When i was younger i could buy a bike with Dura Ace for 2k.
Dirty wind from the front... side wind anyone? Lol to the bike industry and those that eats all this.
Hi, thanks a lot for this review ! I am looking to purchase a new bike but I am still hesitating between Aethos and SL8. What would you recommend? I love climbing so I thought Aethos was for me, but the performances of the SL8 in climbing seems amazing as well, with the aero benefits that the Aethos does not have! What would you recommend ?
Like Trek claiming there's is 700 grams, true Trek puts there paint on the thick side which is good. Trek said that's 700 grams without paint! These companies want to charge these prices and show them on scales!!
Exactly
I'm sure it's a great bike, but I prefer the look of the SL6.
That's also the last Tarmac that's easy to work on.
More obviously, the last Tarmac with rim brakes.
matte white looks sweet
Love Carlton Palmer Lane. And the bike too.
Interesting review, David. If you could afford to do either, would you prefer to have a one-bike setup with the SL8, or a two-bike setup with a similarly high-end climbing/all-round bike (e.g. Canyon Ultimate CFR, Giant TCR Advanced SL0) and an aero bike (e.g. Canyon Aeroad CFR, Giant Propel Advanced SL)?
I think it’s absolutely stunning!! Great review David. And well done on being invited to press day. You’re really up there with the big boys now mate.
😎👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks Steve!
Yup, more likeable by far than the shopping channel down the road from you!
@@martinhayman532 😂
I assume he didn't get a PB on box hill!
the back is similar to the SL6, so the maximum design for better performance is the SL6 model, it's proven that it often wins stages, in my opinion the SL8 frame is a combination of the SL8 frame and the Venge headtube