Specialized Tarmac SL6 Bike – 2022

SPECIALIZED TARMAC SL6 BIKE – 2022

Ripping corners, sticking it to friends on the road, cruising down the highway—no matter how you ride, the Tarmac Disc delivers in spades. It houses many of the features found in its S-Works siblings, so you’ll have the ride of your life.
In order cut some grams from the Tarmac, but to also ensure that it’s stiff and compliant in exactly the right places, we took major steps to improving our Rider-First Engineered™ technology. From different layup schedules and materials, to visibly different forks, we scrutinized every single aspect of the Tarmac to ensure you’re getting the perfect ride. 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, which delivers 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 dropped the seatstays, and altered the seat tube shape. We also added tire clearance up to 30mm. 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 it also takes a bit of the sting out of road imperfections. You’ll thank us on your next long ride.
But why disc brakes? The real question is “why not?” They offer superior braking power and modulation, work exceptionally well in wet weather, and offer a very, very minor weight addition. All this means that you have more control and can go faster with more confidence.
We also know, however, that aerodynamic improvements are the most important thing we can do to make you faster. 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 and dropped seatstays with aero tubes.

TECH SPECS

• Frame: Tarmac SL6, FACT 9r carbon, Rider-First Engineered ™, threaded BB, clean routing, 12x142mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc
• Fork: FACT carbon, 12x100mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc
• Handlebar: Specialized Shallow Drop, 6061, 70x125mm, 31.8mm clamp
• Stem: Specialized, 3D-forged alloy, 4-bolt, 7-degree rise
• Tape: Roubaix S-Wrap
• Saddle: Body Geometry Power Sport, steel rails
• Seatpost: Carbon, single-bolt, 30.9mm
• Collar: Collar for carbon frames
• Brakes: Shimano Tiagra Disc 4720, 10-speed
• Shifters: Shimano Tiagra Disc 4720, 10-speed
• Derailleur: Shimano Tiagra, braze-on
• Gearbox: Shimano Tiagra, 10-speed
• Cassette: Shimano Ultegra R8000, 11-speed, 11-30t
• Crankset: Shimano Tiagra 4700, 10-speed
• Movement: Shimano Threaded BSA BB
• Chain: KMC X10, 10-Speed
• Front wheel: Axis Sport Disc
• Rear wheel: Axis Sport Disc
• Pneumatiic: Turbo Pro, 60 TPI, folding bead, BlackBelt protection, 700x26mm
• Chambers: Presta, 48mm valve