Anyone have thoughts on whether we’re going to see an SL7 this spring?
I’d have thought we won’t see it this spring. If it was going to be released in spring we’d probably have seen riders in the Specialized sponsored World Tour squads on it already. I think when the SL6 came out we started seeing the World Tour riders on it in the late spring classics/Giro.
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It will probably be released in the lead up to the Tour
What are the odds of corona virus and the quarantines having an effect on release of just about every bike brand on the planet. Listened to a podcast this morning where an owner of a bike brand (Ventum) mentioned the quarantines happened during the chinese new year when everyone was away from work and there are tons of people who are not at these production facilities.
I’m really curious what the sl7 will bring to the table.
Tbh i can’t see them doing anything but adding an integrated cockpit while trying to keep the weight the same.
Going lighter will be tough to achieve when you consider full integration adds quite some weight eg. Bew supersix.
Making it noticably more aero will somewhat compromise venge sales and again make it heavier.
Really looking forward to what the specialzed engineers came up with ;p
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They’ve been having this discussion over on WeightWeenies for a while now and some people seem to believe there will only be one new bike, a merge of the Tarmac and Venge. Superlight and aero with a fully integrated cockpit. There have been some leaked photos of a prototype with an integrated cockpit floating around somewhere, but I can’t seem to find them.
Edit: Here’s the thread: New Specialized Tarmac 2020 - Page 17 - Weight Weenies
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Was going to go for a steel custom but TBH if SL6 disc frames suddenly go on sale in N. America, I’m gonna have a tough decision.
Agree w/ the above comments about the SL7. I’m not sure where they brand can go with the road line other than to fuse the venge and tarmac. Throw in more Roubaix qualities? For someone who started racing bikes in the early 90’s all I’m gonna say is we are at a ridiculously amazing stage of bike technology right now.
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I have actually been folllowing the thread for a while but i must say i strongly disagree with the idea that they would merge the Tarmac and Venge.
They’d essentially give up a huge revenue stream if you look at how many people own both a Venge and Tarmac which becomes quite obvious when you follow the Venge weightweenie thread 
Just not a sensible decision for them to make from a business point of view even tough it would make sense rationally speaking. And while we can all agree Specialized makes great bikes one can’t argue they are all about making money aswell.
That’s actually why i’m even more interested what they come up with.
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My thoughts, too. Though, even if they do continue to make 2 bikes, the convergence towards one will be there. What I do think they can do is develop 2 bikes that feel different even if they look similar. A more aero, integrated cockpit Tarmac seems like the next step in development, as well as getting a lighter Venge. Thus, the only way to distinguish the two will be geometry and feel, IMO. To be honest, as a current Tarmac owner, if they integrated the cockpit that’s my dream bike. I’ve never ridden a Venge, so can’t say that with certainty, but the exposed cables is the only drawback for my Tarmac. It’s such an amazing bike, and I wouldn’t see any need to have a Venge.
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I agree with you that a more aero Tarmac with an integrated cockpit would be the dream bike.
Currently on the opposite end owning a Venge and as a heavier rider i feel it’s the better choice for me as of now.
What i could see them doing is doing once they bring the Venge down to 6.8kg is to introduce merge it with the Tarmac and introduce and new super lightweight bike similar to the current emonda. This would generate a second income stream but might be difficult to pull off with how commited Specialized is when it comes to aero and disc brakes.
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Good points about rev streams. I keep forgetting the absolute killing the industry is making on gravel right now. It’s a marketer’s dream come true.
Anyway, the thing about integration is cool and all, i guess? But its cool. That is about all. As someone who does all their own work, the fully integrated thing is a titanic PITA when its time to change something or rehose/cable. While it depends on the system it can be a colossal headache.
I’m sure they will choose to go down the integrated route, but honestly I’m guessing that is part of the reason the tarmac is Stil not fully integrated? Just a guess.
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Couple pics from a while ago, looks to be integrated front end and a different seatpost. Probably going to be disc only.
Would also guess that this is a pre production stem, would anticipate a fully integrated front end with the cables routed through a stem similar to the Venge.
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It will be interesting to see the latest thinking from Specialized encapsulated in their new Tarmac.
Specialized have a strong brand and heritage in the Tarmac so whatever’s coming our way will be well considered and executed.
Happy days .
Looks more like a mid-cycle facelift for the SL6 rather than a whole new model.
Yep, no major changes from what we have seen so far. Not sure how much there is to change anyway, the tarmac is already very good.
Its 6.58kg w/o pedals compared to the Venge at 7.19.
As for aero apparently the Tarmac vs Venge is a <10w difference so its already impressively aero, and very light.
I am tempted to go for the sl7 as a new bike once it comes out, there are a lot of hills where I live and if the sl7 is basically a sl6 with front end integration it seems like it would be perfect for me.
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The new one will be a 6% laterally stiffer, 11% more vertically compliant and the aero improvements will save 17 seconds over a 40k TT at 45 km/h. You might as well be riding a penny farthing if you have an SL6.
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I can confirm this is correct…at least in general. Most factory workers return home for Chinese New Year (usually ~3 weeks long). The COVID19 hit just as workers were starting to head home…which was a great way to spread the virus since everyone takes mass transportation (trains, busses, etc).
After CNY, even workers who weren’t in a quarantined area could not get back to their factories ebcause they would have had to travel through a quarantined area. The Chinese gove’t extended CNY by a week and it disn’t help matters.
Our factory re-opened as scheduled on Feb 3 @ 50% workforce. We are still only at 70% workforce, nearly a month later.
The Port of LA reported over the weekend that incoming containers are down 25%…that means there will be 25% fewer products hitting the shelves in the short term. It will take awhile for supply to catch up.
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I believe the S works and mid to high end bikes are made in Taiwan, whilst the lower end bikes are sometimes made in China?
True…not sure what models are generally being produced where as many production facilities shifter when the idiotic Chinese tariffs were implemented last year. But the Tarmac is almost certainly made in Taiwan.
my comments above were re: the general status of trade, not specific to any situation. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear.
that said, they still likely rely on some raw materials from China, even if production occurs in Taiwan. So delays in production even of Taiwanese models are very possible.
Having only recently bought the s works Venge I am kind of hoping the new tarmac is next year as I will likely go back to the tarmac if so!