New Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 2021 Review

The brand new, much-anticipated Specialized Tarmac SL7 is finally here. It promises a platform that’s now so fast it’s time to wave goodbye to Specialized's aerodynamic racer, the Venge.

The new Tarmac SL7 is a full 45 seconds faster than the previous Tarmac SL6 over 40km, according to Specialized's aerodynamic testing, and yet comes at a complete bike weight of 6.7kg. That's below the UCI minimum.

Cyclist Editor-at-Large and veteran bike tester Stu Bowers has had a few weeks with the bike ahead of the launch, and makes his initial judgments on the bike.

What do you think of the new Tarmac, and will you miss the Venge? Let us know in the comments 👇

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[yashahouse]

Best looking Tarmac so far, but the Venge still looks better

[jameswatson]

They are a beautiful thing.. i bought my SL6 after test riding it. I tried 10 other bikes.. the money is high.. but man do they feel it.

[lilTKOAfreaklol]

*Works great my **Latest.Bike** I have a bad knee so I still get exercise but the bike assists me. I am a big guy so I didn’t think it would go as fast but it works great.*

[Cyclistmagvideo]

And let us know what you think of the bike below 👇 😃

[jamesrobert]

This is a great review. One can only dream of a bike this good!

[SwiftySanders]

Stu I like your videos a lot. Thanks for posting them. I hope you keep them coming.

[CycoWarriorx]

Glad I stumbled on your channel... great review... subscribed!

[joshschrader]

Well done- I received my new frame yesterday - should have it ready for the road by this weekend- went with the crazy paint job ;) Thx for the review

[BMWNN]

If I had the money I would buy thiss bike totally! I'm only 21 years old so I got my whole life ahead of me and time that I could save up for thiss bike

[molfar]

looks like a specialized went all in with marketing of this bike. anyone with a handful of subscribers got one to promote it.

[golfcl]

8:27

6.7 kilos out of the box which gives you 100 grams for pedals, mounts/cages. Good luck getting "bang on" that UCI weight limit!

[RC_FITNESS_]

Not sure how Specialized will go selling these bikes in this economy? In Australia the mark up between the SL6 and SL7 is $1.5k for the frame alone. That's really asking too much. Also in the cycling tips podcast where engineers were talking about the new Tarmac, there wasn't a great deal of performance numbers to talk about. It feels like Specialized is trying to cost cut by deleting the venge and pouring all of its resources in marketing one bike to improve their bottom line.

[AllanPhillips]

Just to note that the rear wheel is 30mm wide, 5mm narrower than the front. Also the reason the wheels aren't tubeless is simply because they couldn't hit their weight target with a heavier tubeless compatible rim, so it isn't quite without compromise.

[tosheshdaulta]

I look forwards to the days when manufacturers can give us cheaper bikes because they don't have to worry about more cables in groupsets.

[pedromichael]

Hi . The wheel specs quoted in this review are in consistent with what specialized site says - for front at and back wheels. the front wheels are wider at 35 and the rear is 30.

[JohnFoxBass]

Question: I was about to buy a 2021 Emonda SLR with Dura Ace Di2, then I discovered the Tarmac SL6 and now the SL7. I am a former Olympic level racer (from the late 80's) now getting seriously back into riding, and plan to start racing again next year. I will be doing LOTS of climbing on my training rides, and also going for KOMs on Strava segments. Most of my longer rides will be in the 75km to 100km range, sometimes slightly longer, generally under 150km. I want something that is fast, comfortable, and light. Of those 3 bikes, which do you recommend and why?

[markanderson]

Hey mate great review well done, The next roubaix will be the ultimate gravel race bike as the diverge has gone more slack angles

[fiend]

Merging Peter Sagan with Julian Alaphillippe is just describing Eddy Merckx...

[yazidjaafar]

9:22 what’s wrong with the head tube surface 🤔

[DetectGames]

I can only dream of some day getting a bike like this. Too expensive, never even seen that much money.