Our S-Works Tarmac may be the optimal 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 material and schedule we've
ever madeâthe shape, schedule, and material optimization allowed us to
shed nearly 200 grams. That's right, a 20% reduction in frame weightâthe
perfect recipe for your next hill climb PR.
We started by further improving our Rider-First Engineeredâ¢
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 geometryâbasing it on countless RetÃŒl
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 tire 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 just takes a bit of the sting out of those road
imperfections. You'll thanks 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 Team 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 thisâa 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. A speed savings that you'll feel when you're attacking
off the front of the peloton.
This new Tarmac comes ready to race out of the box, featuring a crisp
Shimano Ultegra 8000 groupset, resplendent Roval SLX 24 alloy rims
laced to DT Swiss hubs, our fastest S-Works Turbo 26mm tires, and a
sublime Toupé Expert Gel saddle.