Good to know, i have owned a SL6 rim brake, and 2019 cervelo r5 disc then jumped on the 2023 Time scylon last year, never ridden SL7 or SL8, but heard the acceleration is really fast and ride is feeling lively, hence it is drawing my attention.
Have you had the opportunity to jump back on your SL7 since?
The comfort was immediately obvious to me, even on my large tyres.
But jumping back on the SL7 after a few months on the SL8 was the starkest difference. It’s noticably firmer, especially on the rear end.
But you gained a watt on the integrated front end! #MarginalGains
I think it’s a valid thought. It’s fairly small, so I probably wouldn’t have spent my own money to upgrade but there is a tangible improvement.
Owning an sl7 - these comments dont make me want to upgrade.
Coming from an Emonda SLR and Aeroad, I’m not blown away with the SL8. I recently had the chance to take mine to the mountains and noticed the handling twitchy on the higher speed descents. I’ve also noticed much more body aches and back pain on longer rides due to the stiffness compared to the Emonda. There have been numerous times in the middle of a ride I’ve considered just swapping back to my Emonda and might end up doing it if I can’t sell my Emonda.
That twitchiness is fantastic if you like a responsive bike. The Tarmac is so good on technical descents it’s unreal.
I recently tried a V3RS and it was super stable but just dead when it came to the technical stuff.
Watched that Bike Station youtube video where they do back to back comparison of the Madone and SL8 and they were disappointed the Madone was faster everywhere as the SL8 ‘feel’ was so good and by comparison, even though it was faster the Madone felt dead, like climbing on a 2x4.
Haven’t ridden my SL8 Pro yet but I expect I would have been just as happy with the SL7 Sport with some upgrades or the Madone SL 6.
Spoken to a couple people and they also felt there are only minor differences between SL7 and SL8. Local guy picked up an SL8, upgrade from an older Canyon Aeroroad.
I’ve got an SL7 with Roval Rapide handlebars - not the new ones. About the same as the Enve Aero bars I had on another bike. Like 'em enough that they are keepers.
Just spent the 4 months of winter on a Trek Checkpoint SL6, aluminum round bars. Don’t like the stock bars, need to upgrade.
Now that it’s spring, I’m switching back and forth between the Tarmac and Checkpoint. Have some interesting observations.
The Tarmac SL7 has 32c Conti GP5000 All Season TR tubeless tires on Rapide CLX II wheels (mid aero, 51/60mm deep)
The Checkpoint has 42c S-Works Pathfinders on Terra CLX wheels (low profile, 32mm deep). Winter training was outside on same roads I always use.
Tarmac doesn’t feel twitchy, it feels responsive and like I can thread a needle. And those 32c AS TR tires roll fast and at 60psi have good amount of float over crappy roads. Can’t say the same for 26c and 28c tires, those were pretty punishing on our crappy broken tarmac and pothole infested roads.
The Checkpoint is definitely more relaxed geometry and not as precise. And only a little more comfortable with the ISO speed seat tube. However like my Domane, that ISO seat tube (and 42c Pathfinders at 50-60psi) will start bouncing if there is any sloppiness in my >100rpm pedal stroke. A couple guys started laughing on Wed night, and I cleaned up that pedal stroke to stop the bouncing.
Surprisingly I’ve been out in 30mph gusty winds in the last 2 weeks, and both bikes behave the same when getting hit with strong gusts from the side.
Just returned from a cycling trip of over 900km over around 8-9 days, the biggest being 190km and 8 hours and this bike just gets better and better.
With 25mm IW wheels, 30mm tyres measuring 32.5mm at ~60-65psi it’s just unbelievably comfortable while still being fun on the descents and 700g lighter than my previous bike!
I’m on 21mm IW wheels (Rapide CLX II), and just replaced a 32c with a 28c GP5000 All Season TR on the rear wheel. Front still has 32c.
First ride yesterday at 65psi on my Tarmac SL7. The ride was harsh on the 28c vs 32c.
Going back to 32c on the rear.
Thing with clx wheels is you don’t have the same aero penalty going wider as some narrower wheels either.
I’ve relegated mine to faster events and that’s on 28s, but I’ve got a feeling that’ll feel similar bad after spending so much time on the 353s and it won’t be long before I get 30s or even 32s on them.
32 on clx mount so nicely
Can anybody compare the SL8 S Works to the Venge? Thinking of upgrading.
From riders who have actually done it.
I currently own both. The venge is my crit bike and I ride the SL8 for everything else (road races, group rides, etc.).
I LOVE the look of the Venge, and it feels stiff/fast. In my opinion SL8 is also stiff, comfier, and faster to accelerate.
Not sure if that comparison is helpful but I love both bikes
$16,500 
Is anybody that big of a Red Bull / Bora / Hansgrohe fan that theya re gonna drop $16.5K for a team bike?
Maybe if Sagan was still riding for them you would get a fair number of fans to buy it, but I just don’t see this as a compelling product.
Does it come with internal motor? 
Includes the new, lighter, limited edition Team version of the Rapides, that’s a good chunk of the price mark up right there. Seems to include a Hammerhead head unit as well, if I’m reading the specs correctly (though that’s a bit of a weird extra to include, can’t imagine anybody shopping for this bike wouldn’t already own a head unit)
Not really my thing, but team bikes do seem to be popular with some people, I see quite a few around, and the first Red Bull branded bike has the potential to be a bit iconic.
Most of the bikes with the new Red components are coming with a free HH…and I think it also comes with a full grouppo if you buy just the components.