From BikeRumor.com
Written by Jordan Villella
The Specialized Tarmac has been the go-to road bike for road racers for years (minus the short-lived Venge period). It absorbed the aero personality of the Venge in the SL7 iteration, and embraced the do-it-all attitude of the modern road bike in the SL8. After spending time on the Tarmac SL9, I can say without a doubt, it is the clearest vision of a performance road bike from Specialized, and thats no accident.
But how far can you push a single model before it becomes unrecognizable or alienates its core audience? Specialized has walked this line with nearly every key bike release this year, and it’s been a big year for the Big S. They’ve launched new versions of nearly every pillar bike in their catalog. Each has given the rider a clearer vision of the bike and its performance, while keeping the bike’s core identity intact.
OK – maybe the Crux 5 took a left turn into full-on aero-gravel, but you gotta go where the money is, and as much as I don’t wanna admit it, cyclocross isn’t pushing tech and purchasing like gravel is. But I digress.