Specialized Tarmac Expert Road Bike Reviews

Price Paid:  $1900.00 at Generation Bicycle F

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Specialized Tarmac Expert 2007

Bike Setup:
Look Carbon pedals, FSA Wing handlbar, Kysrium SL Wheelset

Summary:
Can't find a better overall bike for climbing and the flats. Precise shifting and limited flex.

Strengths:
Climbing

Weaknesses:
None

Price Paid:  $3000.00 at Bicycles West

Favorite Ride:
Livestrong Philly

Summary:
I love the bike. I was concerned about the stiff frame just leaving behind a Roubaix but I have had no problems with it yet. Its fast up hills, good over pavement and not too bad on the back. All in all it's a quiet bike that likes to go fast. The toupe seat might have to get replaced with the wheels but other than that...It's a long keeper.

Strengths:
Nice paint
Very Stiff and light
Quiet frame and the seat post helps(a bit) kill bumps.

Weaknesses:
Wheels are a bit heavy but very strong.

Similar Products Used:
Allez(2), Roubaix and Bianchi.

Price Paid:  $2300.00 at Friend

Favorite Ride:
ANywhere

Bike Setup:
Ultegra 6700, Mavic Carbones, Fizik Arione saddle

Summary:
2010 Tarmac Expert Sl. Put 150 miles on it over the weekend to much delight. It was smooth, comfortable and compliant. Power transfer is good and it goes exactly where you want it too go. Pu the hammer down and hold on.

Strengths:
Stiffness, COmfort

Weaknesses:
Wheels

Similar Products Used:
Trek 1.5, Felt B-16 Tri

Price Paid:  $2700.00 at Orange Cycle, Orland

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
60+ mile locally

Bike Setup:
I tweaked the bike to my personal preferences. Changed saddle (Selle San Marco Corsa Light), handlebars to the traditional round style (Deda Elementi Newton), and had custom wheels built (Dura Ace hubs, DT Swiss SS465 rims) by Colorado Cyclist. However, the stock bike worked fine.

Summary:
The bike is a 2008, but I think my review would apply to newer models as well. The bike is terrific. Fast, light, responsive, and comfortable on the road. The Fulcrum 5, 2:1 wheelset has been trouble free. Same with the component set. A great value for the money.

Strengths:
Well made,good components given the price point, Large dealer network for servicing.

Weaknesses:
The stock saddle was very uncomfortable.

Similar Products Used:
Prior bike was a 1985 cro-moly steel Cilo with a traditional geometry & Shimano 105 components. This bike was similar to the Dave Scott Centurion, a popular bike at the time.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Best Bike Zone Paso

Summary:
This is actually the 2010 Expert SL with 10k carbon.
I race mountain bikes but train a bit on the road so I had always ridden a Ti or steel road bike in the past as I wanted something really comfortable and wasn't so concerned with having a more race oriented bike. I moved close to some great group rides so I wanted to switch over to something more appropriate and the Tarmac fits that perfectly.

I tested the Roubix but it just didn't have the acceleration or climbing speed I was looking for. On the Tarmac, accelerations really jump and the bike instantly transfers power to speed. The Roubix and my old Ti bike were super comfortable and had more relaxed geometry, but the pure speed of the Tarmac won me over. Riding the Tarmac back to back with the Roubix really showed how well the Roubix absorbs vibration and made the Tarmac feel rough. But after several long rides on fairly rough roads I can honestly say that for such a stiff bike, the Tarmac has very good vibration dampening.

Parts are pretty good with all Ultegra but the wheels are lame (some cheap Mavic wheels that weighed almost 2k grams, as much as my all-mountain wheels!). Stock weight of a 58cm was 17.25 lbs without pedals. Switching to some ksyrium SL SSC's saved almost a pound, taking the bike to 16.42 lbs on the shop scale. I suppose a Dura Ace cassette and carbon bars could get me pretty close to the 15lb range but I'm not that concerned.

Handling is racy but confident. It's not as nerve racking as some race bikes but it certainly favors aggressive riders who pay attention to what they are doing. My first big downhill really amazed me at how much quicker I could take corners verse my old bike. I find that it handles better at it's limits than when you are just cruising. Accelerations are instant which really helps on the climbs. It's barely lighter than my old bike but climbs much better with it's short-ish stays and laterally stiff frame.
Overall, I like this bike much more than I thought I would and am very happy with the ride. I tend to keep my road bikes for several years so hopefully it will prove to be durable.

5 Stars for value: $3k really seems to be the "sweet spot" for road bikes

4 Stars overall: the wheels are no good so you are just about required to put something else on to really feel what this bike is capable of.

Strengths:
Speed, handling, Ultegra

Weaknesses:
Wheels