Tarmac SL7 Release date

Don’t know, I can only tell you what the S-rep told. I have not weighted it. Don’t even recall having weighted my 54cm SL6 Disc…

I still expect the Tarmac SL7 tagline to be: as light as a Tarmac, as aero as a Venge

Or something equivalent to this.

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Agree about the tagline. I don’t see them advertising it as ‘less aero than the old Venge and slightly heavier than the old Tarmac’ :wink:

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All of that reminds me when the new iPhone is going to hit the market, everyone saying stuff about it, everyone expecting it, some people happy about the new color and the specs, some other people not that happy…

It’s funny anyway but at this point I think most of us are going to be disappointed due to the delays and we might even get a different bike.

serious question - do folks here really get new bikes so often that it’s hard to wait a few months for something you really want? i assume that’s a small vocal minority on this thread, but what do i know.

i admit that i’m somewhat of an outlier though, just curious. i still have an iphone 7 and a 2009 tarmac… rim brakes and tubes :slight_smile: i am up to eTap though so not entirely in the dark ages.

personally, i’d be happy to wait for the SL7 if there’s a color i really like, or just find a good deal on the SL6.

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Ultimates are still not on stock in Europe…you allready have them in your region?

I tried to get the sl6 yesterday tbh but the 56size was sold out so I’m willing to see what happens with the new sl7.

A bike is a bike, if u have a good one no matter how old that one is, you can ride it and be happy with it.

Some people just want to show off the last model, some people like To have a new bike or some other people like me, need to change it because his current bike it’s a size bigger and cannot ride comfy even tho I have tried everything possible to make it go smoothy.

Every bike that we are talking about in this thread it’s a very good one and no matter which one you get if you do it, I’m sure you gonna be happy about it and enjoy every ride as much as you can.

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Yeah, I agree that it’s a vocal minority. If you NEED a new bike, you buy what’s available, but if you WANT a new bike, you decide to wait or not. I also don’t think this is a new phenomenon. Specialized always runs out of the new model quickly, at the least in certain sizes and colors. I have the red/white SL6. I’m not crazy about the color and I have 3 friends with the exact same frame, so I’d LIKE to change, but if the 7 only comes in red and green fade, I’ll probably just keep what I have until new colors appear… or buy an Emonda.

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I don’t upgrade very often, but when I do make the decision to upgrade I generally want to do so ASAP!

That said, I really can’t envisage a situation like one of the posters above where I would sell my nice bike in anticipation of replacing it with a new bike that hasn’t even hit the shops yet and at a time of unprecedented disruption to global supply chains. That would seem to be asking for trouble…

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I’m still struggling to see how anyone with a SL6 could consider this bike an upgrade. I’m still thinking of it as more of a facelifted SL6 to be honest :man_shrugging:

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In my case, I did the “sensible” thing of buying a cheap road bike last year as a low risk way of seeing if cycling was a hobby I stuck with. My bike is fine and I take it out for 30-50mile rides every weekend, but it runs a Claris groupset, it’s heavy, and it could be a little more comfortable.

A new bike was supposed to be my way of rewarding myself for meeting work goals over the previous year. In any normal year I’d probably have purchased the SL6 or the Roubaix back in March/April but CV-19 made it hard to test bikes and get a bike fit, and now I’m here. If it’s going to take to December to get the SL7, I’ll go with something else. The SL6 Expert is now out of stock in my size, so I’ll probably go for a Roubaix.

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I think being lighter, having completely hidden cables and being marginally more aero is enough to consider it an upgrade rather than a facelift (assuming all 3 of those things are true). And the fact that Specialized themselves now consider it aero enough to discontinue the Venge means you can legitimately say it’s Specialized’s fastest bike bar none, which you couldn’t say about the SL6.

Personally I don’t think that would be anywhere near enough to justify an upgrade if I already owned an SL6, but then as above I tend to view upgrading as a ~5 year cycle not an annual one anyway!

But playing Devil’s Advocate, how much of the changes in the front end are a tactic to get people to stick with Specialized own components? Engineer the frame so that anything else is a total pain to fit?

The SL6 was touted as being just as aero as the original Venge, which was IIRC the fastest bike out there at the time. Going from the SL5 to the SL6, the improvements in the real world were very obvious. Did they shoot themselves in the foot by making an aero GC bike as there was just not the market for the Venge outside the pro-peleton? For most of us, if we are going to invest in one high end bike to race, if there’s an aero GC bike, is that going to be the obvious choice? So if the Venge is being discontinued, is it because the Tarmac is now so good, or that there isn’t the market for it anymore? Subtly different question.

I upgraded from a SL5 to SL6 for the 2018 season, and the frame was replaced under warranty at the end of last season. I usually upgrade on a three year cycle and am due this year. However, I’ll not be swapping the SL6 for a SL7 based on what I’ve seen so far

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I seem to remember hearing the SL6 with the Aerofly bars being within 4w of the 2020 Venge. Whatever the gains the SL7 brings, they’re pretty marginal.

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Just got info from my LBS and compete bike will be available at the beginning of October.

I’m holding on to the hope that some larger retailers will have some limited supply of comp/expert/pro level models on the release date. I would imagine they can bank on selling those models and would attempt to bring some inventory in if available. That is how I saw Émonda situation play out.

A guy from USA have said his LBS will get it in some months, Germany not available, Poland not available, if even a LBS from the country of the brand will not have the bike on time, do you think some other store will have it?

I asked to different shops days ago, no one offered me to preorder the bike or even a date of availability.
Just a known lbs told me that he can preorder it for me but not giving me a date of delivery.

A US brand but not manufactured in the US for the most part. Maybe that means US customers would be given priority? I have no idea. But I wouldn’t expect a major bike manufacturer to announce a bike they couldn’t ship in any capacity on the release date. Supply constrained, sure, but if there is no supply that would severely tarnish the brand. Guess we will see

Release date 28th July at 12:00pm USA.

That’s what I know.

Do you know which US time zone?

Honest question. Four time zones in the US and curious if you knew which one it is based on.

Not sure why you took offense?

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