Specialized 2010 Tarmac SL3
I sat though a few hours of classroom style presentations of Specialized’s 2010 road product followed by the remainder of the day riding the 2010 road bikes.
At the top of the line is a completely redesigned Tarmac SL3 with a frame weight of 870 grams (56cm). Specialized has gone to a one piece chainstay/bb piece with a full carbon bb with ceramic bearings. This increases stiffness while shedding a few grams. There is also a newly designed hollow box alloy dropouts that are lighter and stiffer than carbon dropouts. The seatstays have been redesigned as well to add stiffness while also giving more compliance to the rider. I did a great ride on the SL3 from Snowbird 8 miles straight down into the valley hitting speeds close to 50mph and the bike handled incredibly. Once in the valley we rode for about an hour on some rolling terrain and again the bike delivered, it rolled smooth and any time I accelerated all power generated snapped forward with no loss of power. The ride ended with an 8 mile climb back up the mountain and the SL3 was up to the task. It was a tough climb, I settled into a comfortable pace and rolled right up the mountain with all power to the pedals pushing me straight up whether I was seated and spinning or standing and powering up. Great ride, great bike.
My SL3 for the ride complete with DA tubless wheels and Di2
