The Tarmac is one of the most familiar looking bikes on the road due to its visibility beneath so many professional riders, and incarnations of the model will be found on every group ride. No surprise then that one of them found its way onto the longlist for our sister magazine Cycling Plus's 2016 Bike of the Year shootout.
Our FACT 9R carbon machine shares its frameset with one higher-specced Comp sibling, and follows Specialized’s recent trend towards strong colours with bold highlights, which means, aesthetically at least, we’re off to an outstanding start.
Curiously, the company say this custom colour is designed to naturally age over time, and exposure to prolonged direct sunlight will cause it to exhibit splashes of a dark rich colour, which is a deliberate design feature.
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Race heritage
With its race-bred heritage, it’s no surprise to find a 16cm head tube on our 56cm example, making a very aggressive position easily possible. The 20mm tall conical spacer atop the head tube is initially limiting for those wanting to slam the stem, but it should be possible to replace it with a flat version.
The 16cm head tube makes a slammed position easy to achieve
Nimble performer held back slightly by wheels
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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