“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.