Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Specialized Tarmac Sport review

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The heart of any bike is its frame and fork, and provided they’re sound, you’re well on the way to having a great bike. And Specialized’s Tarmac Sport chassis is very sound.

Signature Tarmac frame shapes

The frame design shares the same shapes and tube profiles as Specialized’s range-topping S-Works Tarmac, featuring its signature arched top-tube that flattens out in profile as it nears the seat-tube. The seatstays are triangular and curve in an hourglass shape.

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The Specialized’s stem is adjustable and very versatile

Granted, the FACT 9r carbon used to make the Tarmac Sport isn’t on a par with the material used for the S-Works frame in terms of weight, but the Sport frames are laid up in exactly the same moulds, so they have the same size-specific optimisation. This means that a tiny 49cm frame will ride just like the largest, 61cm frame, and feel just as rigid and comfortable despite the vastly different sizes.

On twisting, technical roads the Tarmac always feels connected, with quick yet controlled steering

In theory, then, the handling on this modestly priced (comparatively speaking) Tarmac should have a similar character to the S-Works model ridden by Alberto Contador. And in practice, it just might. This Tarmac has a truly rapid turn of speed and if you stand up on the pedals it simply wants to go.

Gripton rubber the spec highlight

You can read more at BikeRadar.com



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