The All-New Tarmac SL8
One Bike to
Rule Them All
The All-New Tarmac SL8
One Bike to
Rule Them All
Ride Science Proven
The World’s
Fastest Race Bike
Aerodynamics or lightweight alone don’t win races - speed is what matters. Delivering that speed requires creating an uncompromising combination of aerodynamics, lightweight, stiffness, and compliance. Through race simulations using real world data our Ride Science team knows the Tarmac SL8 is the fastest race bike ever made on the routes that matter.
Ride Science Proven
The World’s
Fastest Race Bike
Aerodynamics or lightweight alone don’t win races - speed is what matters. Delivering that speed requires creating an uncompromising combination of aerodynamics, lightweight, stiffness, and compliance. Through race simulations using real world data our Ride Science team knows the Tarmac SL8 is the fastest race bike ever made on the routes that matter.
*All times vs SL7
16.6 Seconds Faster over 40km
Aero In Everything
We’re putting aero where it matters - the leading edge - not just where it looks good. In the process we’ve created our most aerodynamic road bike ever - 16.6 seconds faster over 40km than the Tarmac SL7. Yes, it’s more aero than the Venge. With its new Speed Sniffer nose cone, you could say, it’s got a nose for victory.
16.6 Seconds Faster over 40km
Aero In Everything
We’re putting aero where it matters - the leading edge - not just where it looks good. In the process we’ve created our most aerodynamic road bike ever - 16.6 seconds faster over 40km than the Tarmac SL7. Yes, it’s more aero than the Venge. With its new Speed Sniffer nose cone, you could say, it’s got a nose for victory.
The Sweet Smell of Victory:
The Speed Sniffer Nose Cone
Clean air is optimized for maximum advantage with the Tarmac’s new nose cone - the Speed Sniffer. By moving the steer tube back - the tube that determines head tube width - the leading edge of the head tube can be much sharper, delivering a much lower drag shape.
The Sweet Smell of Victory:
The Speed Sniffer Nose Cone
Clean air is optimized for maximum advantage with the Tarmac’s new nose cone - the Speed Sniffer. By moving the steer tube back - the tube that determines head tube width - the leading edge of the head tube can be much sharper, delivering a much lower drag shape.
Roval Rapide Cockpit
Leading Edge for a Winning Edge
The Rapide Cockpit (available on S-Works models and in aftermarket) shaves four watts of drag vs the already fast two piece Tarmac stem and Rapide bar combination by removing a cluster of hardware on the leading edge.
Roval Rapide Cockpit
Leading Edge for a Winning Edge
The Rapide Cockpit (available on S-Works models and in aftermarket) shaves four watts of drag vs the already fast two piece Tarmac stem and Rapide bar combination by removing a cluster of hardware on the leading edge.
Our Narrowest Seat Post Ever
Thin to Win
Where we find meaningful aero gains beyond the leading-edge we optimize for them. Utilizing new UCI rules, the Tarmac SL8 has the narrowest, most aero seat post we’ve ever made ensuring fast moving, dirty air around the legs can flow back more cleanly.
Our Narrowest Seat Post Ever
Thin to Win
Where we find meaningful aero gains beyond the leading-edge we optimize for them. Utilizing new UCI rules, the Tarmac SL8 has the narrowest, most aero seat post we’ve ever made ensuring fast moving, dirty air around the legs can flow back more cleanly.
685 Gram Frame: Lightest on the World Tour
Maximum Speed.
Minimum Weight.
We made the lightest production road bike in the world - the Aethos - and saw how it could marry blistering response in the mountains with a supple, all-day ride. Knowing just how much faster lower weight makes a bike over today’s demanding race courses, the Tarmac SL8 took learnings from Aethos to be easily built at the UCI minimum with a full aero set up.
Tarmac SL8: At 685g, it's lighter than the water in your bottle cage.
685 Gram Frame: Lightest on the World Tour
Maximum Speed.
Minimum Weight.
We made the lightest production road bike in the world - the Aethos - and saw how it could marry blistering response in the mountains with a supple, all-day ride. Knowing just how much faster lower weight makes a bike over today’s demanding race courses, the Tarmac SL8 took learnings from Aethos to be easily built at the UCI minimum with a full aero set up.
Tarmac SL8: At 685g, it's lighter than the water in your bottle cage.
685 Gram Frame: Lightest on the World Tour
Maximum Speed.
Minimum Weight.
We made the lightest production road bike in the world - the Aethos - and saw how it could marry blistering response in the mountains with a supple, all-day ride. Knowing just how much faster lower weight makes a bike over today’s demanding race courses, the Tarmac SL8 took learnings from Aethos to be easily built at the UCI minimum with a full aero set up.
Tarmac SL8 vs. Tarmac SL7: 115g Lighter
685 Gram Frame: Lightest on the World Tour
Maximum Speed.
Minimum Weight.
We made the lightest production road bike in the world - the Aethos - and saw how it could marry blistering response in the mountains with a supple, all-day ride. Knowing just how much faster lower weight makes a bike over today’s demanding race courses, the Tarmac SL8 took learnings from Aethos to be easily built at the UCI minimum with a full aero set up.
Tarmac SL8 vs. Tarmac SL7: 115g Lighter
15% Lighter
The team delivered a mind bending, scale tickling 685 gram frame - 15% lighter than the Tarmac SL7 and lighter than anything else on the World Tour*.
*Unless of course you count the time Kasper Asgreen raced our 585 gram Aethos frame during a Tour stage.
15% Lighter
The team delivered a mind bending, scale tickling 685 gram frame - 15% lighter than the Tarmac SL7 and lighter than anything else on the World Tour*.
*Unless of course you count the time Kasper Asgreen raced our 585 gram Aethos frame during a Tour stage.
Breaking the Rules. Again.
With the ability to make lightweight a top priority in the down tube, seat tube, and rear of the bike, lessons from Aethos were applied. The frame’s shape carries load so efficiently that extra carbon stiffness layers become redundant.
Breaking the Rules. Again.
With the ability to make lightweight a top priority in the down tube, seat tube, and rear of the bike, lessons from Aethos were applied. The frame’s shape carries load so efficiently that extra carbon stiffness layers become redundant.
Aero Where it Matters
You can look aero, or you can actually be aero. We chose the latter and reduced the overall frame surface area to shed serious grams.
Aero Where it Matters
You can look aero, or you can actually be aero. We chose the latter and reduced the overall frame surface area to shed serious grams.
33% Improved Stiffness to Weight , 6% Smoother
Rides Like Heaven
With massive gains in stiffness-to-weight, the Tarmac SL8 takes legendary handling, aggressive responsiveness, and World Championship proven geometry to the next level. The bike is stiffer at the pedals, more precise at the bars, and combines it with a compliant ride in the saddle that sets a new benchmark for race bike comfort. Thanks to our Rider-First Engineering, every rider, regardless of size, gets the same unprecedented ride quality and handling.
The Next Level of a Next Level Ride
Tarmac’s next level acceleration and telepathic handling come from reaching bottom bracket, head tube, and front end stiffness targets with incredibly lightweight - a stiffness-to-weight ratio improvement of 33% over the SL7.
The Next Level of a Next Level Ride
Tarmac’s next level acceleration and telepathic handling come from reaching bottom bracket, head tube, and front end stiffness targets with incredibly lightweight - a stiffness-to-weight ratio improvement of 33% over the SL7.
Get Comfortable Going Fast
In the saddle, the Tarmac SL8 delivers 6% more compliance, floating over rough road with a supple feel unique in the high strung world of race bikes.
Get Comfortable Going Fast
In the saddle, the Tarmac SL8 delivers 6% more compliance, floating over rough road with a supple feel unique in the high strung world of race bikes.
Proven Winners
Tarmac’s World Championship proven geometry and 32mm tire clearance are identical to the SL7, ensuring easy adaptation and the versatility to run higher volume tires when needed.
Proven Winners
Tarmac’s World Championship proven geometry and 32mm tire clearance are identical to the SL7, ensuring easy adaptation and the versatility to run higher volume tires when needed.
Nothing is Lighter, Stiffer, or More Aero
No other bike has ever come close to the combination of aerodynamics, lightweight and ride quality the Tarmac SL8 delivers. In fact, the only bike close is the Tarmac SL7, the winningest bike on the World Tour over the last four years. It might be lonely off the front, but it sure feels good to be alone a top the podium.
Innovate or Die
Aren’t You Glad Some Kids Stayed in Science Club?
Creating a bike more aero, 15% lighter, with a 33% improvement in stiffness-to-weight over the 4X World Championship winning Tarmac SL7 took more than an obsessive commitment to Innovate or Die and our top spec FACT 12r carbon. Our engineering team pioneered an entirely new process to virtually design and test layup after layup, ply-by-ply, to reach our insane performance targets.
Innovate or Die
Aren’t You Glad Some Kids Stayed in Science Club?
Creating a bike more aero, 15% lighter, with a 33% improvement in stiffness-to-weight over the 4X World Championship winning Tarmac SL7 took more than an obsessive commitment to Innovate or Die and our top spec FACT 12r carbon. Our engineering team pioneered an entirely new process to virtually design and test layup after layup, ply-by-ply, to reach our insane performance targets.
ColorStory
Heightened by Adrenaline
Inspired by the emotions we feel in moments of adrenaline and heightened senses on the bike, the new Tarmac SL8’s colors and design breath energy and life into the frame’s shapes. Our team pioneered new techniques and pigments to create these effects with as little paint - or added weight - as possible.
ColorStory
Heightened by Adrenaline
Inspired by the emotions we feel in moments of adrenaline and heightened senses on the bike, the new Tarmac SL8’s colors and design breath energy and life into the frame’s shapes. Our team pioneered new techniques and pigments to create these effects with as little paint - or added weight - as possible.
Tarmac SL7
The Second Fastest
Bike in the World
Our apologies to all the other manufacturers that have been trying to reach the high bar the Tarmac SL7 set. To this day, nothing is faster, lighter, or better handling, except of course for the new Tarmac SL8. You can still get all that performance with our Tarmac SL7 Comp and Sport models.
Tarmac SL7
The Second Fastest
Bike in the World
Our apologies to all the other manufacturers that have been trying to reach the high bar the Tarmac SL7 set. To this day, nothing is faster, lighter, or better handling, except of course for the new Tarmac SL8. You can still get all that performance with our Tarmac SL7 Comp and Sport models.
Made In Racing
Since day one at Specialized, the rider has been the boss so the best all arounders in the world - Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering - the fastest sprinters in the world - Fabio Jakobsen, Tim Merlier - classics stars and climbers alike, all had a hand in developing and refining the Tarmac SL8. We co-created the fastest race bike in the world.
Made In Racing
Since day one at Specialized, the rider has been the boss so the best all arounders in the world - Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering - the fastest sprinters in the world - Fabio Jakobsen, Tim Merlier - classics stars and climbers alike, all had a hand in developing and refining the Tarmac SL8. We co-created the fastest race bike in the world.