[David23]

Joe, Will the Toupe Pro with Carbon rails, fit the Venge seat post with its side clamp mechanism?

 

[Specialized_Joe]

Joe, Will the Toupe Pro with Carbon rails, fit the Venge seat post with its side clamp mechanism?

Yes! As long as the post is fitted with the correct clamp. We make separate clamps for round 7x7mm rails and the carbon 7x9mm railed saddles.

If you currently have that post and a metal railed saddle then you should be able order the carbon railed clamp from any Specialized dealer. The part # is 2812-9050.

 

[Specialized_Joe]

Hi Joe,

Bit of a newbie here compared to the other guys on this thread. BTW, love reading the banter you guys have going, learned a lot. Let me 2nd the full group set idea. Bad taste from FSA cranks from my 06 Tarmac. Went through 3 BBs. DA components however solid as a rock and like new still. And seriously how much more are 105 or Ultegra brakes vs Axis or whatever they are called? And love the idea of a price with wheel set and price without wheel set on new bikes.

My question, and it is really basic, I am a big guy 6'2" x lets say 240 lbs (carbon warranty limit) at least I was at some point in jr high. I have two girls, so I have to be able to justify the spending on my bike toys. I am getting older and have a congenital narrow spinal column. As I am aging, I am having neck and shoulder pains on my Tarmac. Decided that I need to trade in for a more upright ride. And yes I have a hideously upturned stem already and run 28s. Have rode most of the plush type bikes and clearly favor the Roubaix (though I would argue that the Felt Z4 is a better bargain vs the Sport model, but not nearly as plush). I really want the Expert but my wallet says the Sport. I never change components, not a great bike mechanic. I can live with 105 vs Ultegra, I will use my custom CXP/Ult wheel set, but what is the diff in FACT 8 vs 10 that are relevant to me? The Sport weighs right at 20 lbs and the Expert a bit over 17.5 according to the scale hanging at my LBS. Stock 58s.

thanks, Jeff

Hey Jeff,

Your feedback is noted, thanks!

I think you're on the right track moving to the Roubaix both for fit and for ride quality. Is there any reason you're deliberating between only the Sport and Expert models? There are also the Elite and Comp models in between those two that might be a good option as well.

To answer your question, the 10r carbon uses higher modulus carbon fiber that allows us to use less material and achieve the same stiffness than a bike with the 8r carbon. There is a ride quality improvement between the two but whether its noticeable is dependent on the rider. Also, the 2.5 lb weight difference between those two bikes is mainly due to the components and not the frameset. Hope that helps!

 

[squareslinky]

Regarding the new Tarmac. I ride a 61cm, lots of seat post showing, but not at min insertion line. The new Tarmac eliminates some of the extra room for the minimum insertion line.
Did you guys account for this with a longer post or am I just out of luck with the new design? That would really suck since the big frames and the small ones are the ones that benefit from the new design.

 

[Soonerinfrisco]

Thanks Joe.

I personally couldn't see the value with the two models in between for me anyway. I am happy with 105. I have 105 on my steel ride and believe it is fine for me. It's not my DA but neither is the Ultegra, even with my DA being the 06 version. I will switch the wheels on any of Roubaixs. I broke a spoke on my first century on the K Elites that my Tarmac came with but have never had an issue with my CXP33/Ultegra 32/36 build. So it really ends up being Ult vs Ult mix vs 105 mix and carbon crank vs al. In DFW that translates to about $2000 vs $2400 vs $2700. Without looking, I think the bars, stem and seatpost are all the same, but maybe not.

Have rode the Expert and its amazing. Have not rode the other 3 because my LBS didn't have them. However they have a sister store a short distance away and I will go ride a 58 sport tomorrow. So I will see if there is $1600 worth difference!

It kills me to trade in my Tarmac Pro 06, the ride is so nice just can't get the strain off my neck. Not surprised that my exact model is Bicycling's top rated bike of the decade!

 

[thumper8888]

Specialized website down....

Joe,
what's up with that? I understand they need periodic updates, but to take it down for more than three days, that's a LOT of time.
What's up that takes so much work?
thanks much

 

[s4gobabygo]

another non-sequitur, probably my own special interest group, but is there any chance of specialized using one of the shoe colors OTHER than black for wide/narrow sizes? i have wide feet, and adore specialized shoes, but i'm getting sick of only seeing black shoes in my size year after year. maybe mix it up a bit every once in a while for the wide/narrow crowd?

 

[Specialized_Joe]

Regarding the new Tarmac. I ride a 61cm, lots of seat post showing, but not at min insertion line. The new Tarmac eliminates some of the extra room for the minimum insertion line.
Did you guys account for this with a longer post or am I just out of luck with the new design? That would really suck since the big frames and the small ones are the ones that benefit from the new design.

Yep, this is accounted for! The new Tarmac ships with a 50mm longer seatpost than the SL4 (400mm on larger sizes and 350mm on the smaller sizes). The seat tube on the new Tarmac is about 30mm shorter than the SL4 so it should be no problem.

 

[Specialized_Joe]

Joe,
what's up with that? I understand they need periodic updates, but to take it down for more than three days, that's a LOT of time.
What's up that takes so much work?
thanks much

Ya, it sucks. I don't understand much about IT but I guess we are doing a big server migration that is taking more time than normal maintenance ordinarily would. Sorry about the inconvenience!

 

[Specialized_Joe]

another non-sequitur, probably my own special interest group, but is there any chance of specialized using one of the shoe colors OTHER than black for wide/narrow sizes? i have wide feet, and adore specialized shoes, but i'm getting sick of only seeing black shoes in my size year after year. maybe mix it up a bit every once in a while for the wide/narrow crowd?

I understand, a little color to spice things up is always nice! I'll pass your feedback on to the shoe guys, thanks!

 

[thumper8888]

Evade helmet

This might seem a little picky, but the shape of the helmet leads me to believe that there could be huge differences in its aerodynamic properties at different angles for your head as you ride.
Seems like too much chin down could even make it less aero than a standard helmet.
Do your tech guys have any tips/thoughts on getting it right? Meaning, can they give some sense of the head position, in layman's terms, for which it was designed?
Thanks much

 

[Specialized_Joe]

This might seem a little picky, but the shape of the helmet leads me to believe that there could be huge differences in its aerodynamic properties at different angles for your head as you ride.
Seems like too much chin down could even make it less aero than a standard helmet.
Do your tech guys have any tips/thoughts on getting it right? Meaning, can they give some sense of the head position, in layman's terms, for which it was designed?
Thanks much

Great question,

We definitely studied this sort of thing while developing the helmet. It is designed for riders in a fairly "agressive" position. The photos below give an idea of the angles where the airflow wouldn't be kicked up from the tail of the helmet.

However, when a rider put his head down (i.e. Chris Froome Looking at Stems) he’s usually closing off airflow that would hit the chest. This is often (not always) more aero than a head up position as the rider has reduced his frontal area.

Hope that helps!

 

[thumper8888]

Great question,

W

However, when a rider put his head down (i.e. Chris Froome Looking at Stems) he’s usually closing off airflow that would hit the chest. This is often (not always) more aero than a head up position as the rider has reduced his frontal area.

Hope that helps!

Those shots of Froome looking at his stem are funny as crap. No doubt you guys were passing that link around the office for a hoot.
Thanks for the info on the head angle, will test it out in the AM.

 

[spokewrench]

Hi Joe,

I was curious to know if you guys were going to make any other colours available for the S-Works Tarmac frame up here in Canada? I spoke with my dealer and the only option for the frame set showing is the black on black.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dealraker]

My wife and I own 8 Specialized bikes. I have been happy, even delighted, with most all of them but for two things: My 2010 Specialized Roubaix Expert EL wheelset which basically thrown in the trash because of so many problems. And then my 2009 Specialized Epic brain repeated failure. I thought both should have been warranty covered but that wasn't the case. Specialized would have come out ahead if they would have warrantied those issues because I would have bought far more expensive bikes than the ones I have today as I have methodically upgraded. But having to shell out thousands of dollars to other vendors to solve the problem was bad for both Specialized and my wife and I.

 

[LVbob]

My wife and I own 8 Specialized bikes. I have been happy, even delighted, with most all of them but for two things: My 2010 Specialized Roubaix Expert EL wheelset which basically thrown in the trash because of so many problems. And then my 2009 Specialized Epic brain repeated failure. I thought both should have been warranty covered but that wasn't the case. Specialized would have come out ahead if they would have warrantied those issues because I would have bought far more expensive bikes than the ones I have today as I have methodically upgraded. But having to shell out thousands of dollars to other vendors to solve the problem was bad for both Specialized and my wife and I.

It seems like wheels are the bane of all bikes except for the very top-end offerings in order for the manufacturer to save money. I just recently purchased a Roubaix Expert which has the Fulcrum S4 wheels. I love the bike and the back wheel is fine but the front wheel has an annoying thud at every revolution while braking which is apparently due to a poorly finished weld on the rim. I think it's embarrassing that Specialized would use such a poor product on a $3800 bike.

 

[dealraker]

It seems like wheels are the bane of all bikes except for the very top-end offerings in order for the manufacturer to save money. I just recently purchased a Roubaix Expert which has the Fulcrum S4 wheels. I love the bike and the back wheel is fine but the front wheel has an annoying thud at every revolution while braking which is apparently due to a poorly finished weld on the rim. I think it's embarrassing that Specialized would use such a poor product on a $3800 bike.

I was riding with a friend who had bought an old stock close out - the same 2010 Roubaix I have - and I kidded him being completely silly and not serious by saying, "There's not a snowball's chance in hell you'll finish this ride on those wheels."

Even with my experience with the EL Fusee wheelset- I was shocked that his front wheel broke not one but TWO spokes on the first 55 mile ride!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zampano]

Yes, the Praxis Conversion BB fits on the Tarmac. You just need to push out the stock bearings and clips first. The Praxis BB goes in easy after that!

That said I sure would like better availability of framesets.

It would be wasteful to buy a full S-Works bike only to automatically replace the wheels, crank, and contact points.

 

[tyrich88]

Joe:
I am currently running a bb30 crank on my allez smartweld framset. But the press in adapters that come with the frame and BB, are those for shimano conversion? That would be great if they were...

 

[Dunbar]

But the press in adapters that come with the frame and BB, are those for shimano conversion? That would be great if they were...

If they look like the picture below then yes they are for Shimano cranks. I went through two sets in 5k miles due to creaking. I would recommend using something like this:

Wheels Mfg BB30 to Outboard Bottom Bracket for 24mm Cranks (Shimano)

CONV BB FOR SHIMANO - Praxis Cycles