Specialized Tarmac SL6 Expert 2019 - Road Bike

Our S-Works Tarmac might be the perfect bike for winning a Grand Tour, but chances are, you're not going to be competing in Southern France this season. But when you need a bike that's ready to annihilate the competition on your training rides and local races, the new Tarmac Expert is pretty damn hard to beat.

For the construction, we utilized advanced aerospace composite optimization software to revolutionize the construction and layup of our new FACT 10r carbon. It's the most advanced layup schedule we've ever made—the shape, schedule, and material optimization allowed us to shed nearly 200 grams. That's right, a 20% reduction in frame weight—the perfect recipe for your next PR.

We started by further improving our Rider-First Engineered™ technology to ensure that the new Tarmac is stiff and compliant in exactly the right places, all while shedding some serious weight. With this revamp, we also updated the geometry—basing it on countless Retül data points and professional rider input. This enabled us 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 we designed a seatpost that builds compliance into the upper 120mm where clamping doesn't happen, dropped the seatstays, and altered the seat tube shape. We also added tyre clearance up to 30mm, which translates to a 28mm Turbo Cotton on a Roval SLX 24 rim. 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 they just take a bit of the sting out of those road imperfections. You'll thank us on your next long ride.

And while this is all great, we know that aerodynamics are the most important thing we can do to make you faster. Both our Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors Pro Tour riders, after all, 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 we 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.

This Tarmac comes ready to race out of the box, featuring a crisp Shimano Ultegra 8000 groupset, resplendent Roval CL 50 carbon wheelset, and a sublime Toupé Expert Gel saddle.

Key Features:

• Featuring our Rider-First Engineered™ design that ensures every frame size has the same legendary climbing responsiveness and descending prowess you'd expect from a Tarmac. The FACT 10r frame is the perfect blend of value and performance.
• The 11-speed Shimano Ultegra 8000 shifting is extremely reliable, lightweight, and precise.
• The Roval CL 50 wheelset utilizes the same rim as its older sibling the CLX 50, but pairs it with traditional bearings and round spokes to keep value at an all-time high.

Occasionally, without notice, manufacturers change product design and/or specifications.