Specialized Venge Vs Tarmac

Thank you and will check them out.

The rear is on clearance…screaming deal.

Saw that earlier. What is the difference between the 2??

Or

Based on a post above, the $545 wheel may be 135mm rear hub, which would explain the price. That hub spec is out of date for most road disc bikes.

But I could not find the hub specs in the listing, so I don’t know for sure.

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Ahh I see. The ones not on sale have 142x12mm thru axle. The on sale ones say only SCS 12 mm thru axle whatever that means.

Edit @Power13. I think (could be wrong) they are these on Rovals website which are:
REAR HUB
Disc: Roval AFD2, Centerlock, CeramicSpeed bearings, DT Swiss 240 internals, 11-speed, 135mm Quick Release only

https://rovalcomponents.com/products/clx-64?_pos=2&_sid=8d7d7aa82&_ss=r

You’re spot on. It’s in the title. The cheap wheels are cheap because they are SCS (short chainstay system). This was a very short lived Spec only standard form 2016 if I’m not mistaken.

It’s a 135mm hub with the cassette pushed inboard to match up better with a road chain line. Some bs about Shimano not selling them parts for disc brake frames with chainstays shorter than 420mm…

They’re giving these wheels away because they’re not useful, without adapters, for anyone that doesn’t own a spec disc break road bike from this era.

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Ah, thanks for the clarification. I didn’t know SCS was their designation for a 135mm hub, They should really make that clearer…nowhere in the listing does it state 135mm specifically, so if you don’t know what SCS stood for, you’d order a wheel that you can’t use.

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Which enve set? I rented a pair of 2.2s for riding up pikes peak and I had to dam near release the brakes completely to prevent brake rub while seated at anything over 200w. Imo spokes play a big role in how a wheel feels and reacts

From my experience, majority of mass market wheels need to have spoke tension adjusted. That includes Enve, Zipp, Roval and to a certain extent Campagnolo/Fulcrum.

It was my first gen 3.4s which were rim brakes…and which I still use on my older bike without any rub. After my Roval experience I decided rim brakes were inherently prone to brake rub…so I decided to switch to disc brakes altogether. That’s opening a whole new different can of worms so we won’t go there. But then I decided to get the ENVEs 4.5 AR, yes they’re expensive, but I decided my money was better spent on wheels than groupset. Best wheels ever, exactly the opposite of the Rovals, super comfortable yet super stiff. Never had any rubbing issues…

Oh and yeah the first thing I did when I had my Roval issues was to check the spoke tensions… And yes they were good. Some wheels have the right specs yet perform horribly.

My 3.4s on the other hand had aerospokes, the bladed kind, which theoretically should be prone to more flex, again never had any issue with them.

Interesting and I have a set of mavic cosmic sls wheels that I do really like. They are the bladed type but going to sell them as my Tarmac is disc and they wont work on there unfortunately. Plus my emonda that they went on is stickly for the trainer now. Will check out the enves.

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Had to throw this up there since I finally finished the build. Too many deals on eBay at the moment :man_shrugging:… ~$4k total including PM. The Mercury/Chris King wheels have me beyond impressed. Can’t comment on the Turbo Cotton 28s yet. They’re the “Hell of the North” version with some extra meat on them but should roll a bit quicker than the Gravel Kings.

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“The compliance of the tarmac”

I had underestimated this truth. I’ve been on an SW SL6 for ~3300 miles (much of that time actually built with the same spec as you’ve listed) and recently built up an adventure setup to mix things up as I found myself exploring deeper and deeper into “not roads” on the Tarmac. With this additional bike, I figured maybe the added ‘whatever’ from the Venge would be fun to replace the Tarmac. I’m not exactly a leisurely rider and appreciate the cumulative effect of marginal gains (even if they’re just in my head). Well, from the first ride on a new SWorks Venge (with the wheels, tires, bars, saddle all borrowed from the Tarmac) I couldn’t understand why the bike was so much less comfortable and even less enjoyable compared to the Tarmac.
For sure, on very smooth to fairly smooth surfaces, the Venge feels remarkably similar to the Tarmac. Once you get on some rougher chipseal or, heaven forbid, come across cracks and holes in the asphalt - the difference in comfort becomes more significant than I’d expected. Unfortunately, I’ve just described the majority of the riding around where I live. Taking 5psi out of the tires helped a little bit - but I still can’t get past the sensation that I’m just not enjoying my time on the Venge nearly as much as I would on the Tarmac. And with that - out goes the Venge.

Thank you for this! I was about to post asking this very question. How they compare for comfort. I ride on everything from great asphalt to lousy asphalt to unpaved (sometimes in better shape than the paved roads!) and was wondering how the comfort level of the two compared across surfaces. Most of where I ride is hilly too, but not much in the way of long grids (mostly punchy steeps, and rollers), so an extra few (hundred?) grams probably wouldn’t make that much difference. Hating life at the end of a long ride would make a huge difference.

I’m sure the drivetrain stiffness of both bikes is roughly on par, but for me, the tarmac’s vertical compliance feels squishy and vague. So opted for the venge. To me sprinting/punchy efforts are what the venge excels at.

This is entirely a mental feeling tho. I come from riding aluminum bikes a ton. Again, I’m sure both bikes are fine with sprinting.

I also feel the same way, although I’ve wondered how much using larger volume tires at lower pressures contributes to this sensation??

I mean sure - tire pressure matters. But this is the main thing that the Specialized engineers mentioned - you’re not getting the same vertical compliance with an aero post/seat tube. Which I mean to take that there is a measurable difference for vertical compliance between the bikes.

As a point of reference, I’m currently on a 2010 Cannondale Synapse Carbon. Pretty plush for its day, but I imagine current gen are much better. I haven’t had the opportunity to ride anything at length yet, so just guessing at this point.

I have noticed that within 100 miles of my location, there isn’t a single Venge or Tarmac in my size, in the spec I’m looking for. COVID-19 caused supply chain issues, or just naturally high demand?

-Tim

Following this thread as I look at new bikes and learn geometry more. I was surprised that my 08 SuperSix has a more aggressive Stack:Reach ratio than most bikes today. I’ve been concerned about fit for an aero road bike, but I may not need to be. A new tarmac might feel like a lounge chair. :laughing:

A fast lounge chair from my experience at least but personally I dont think of the Tarmac as a true aero bike. Maybe you were talking about the venge. The enve 5.6 disc do help of course on my Tarmac. Hope you are well.