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2019 Men's Tarmac Disc Expert

If you plan on racing a Grand Tour this summer, sure, go rock that S-Works. But if you're on the hunt for a glorious ride that can smash both a local crit and your friends on the weekends, you'll feel right at home on the Tarmac Disc Expert.

In order cut some grams from the Tarmac, but to also ensure that it's stiff and compliant in exactly the right places, we took major steps to improving our Rider-First Engineered™ technology. From different layup schedules and materials, to visibly different forks, we scrutinized every single aspect of the Tarmac to ensure you're getting the perfect ride. With this revamp, we also updated the geometry, basing it on countless Retül data points and professional rider input. This enabled us to develop a Performance Road Geometry that perfects the combination of a responsive front-end and short wheelbase, which delivers instantaneous response and optimal power transfer.

And while stiffness aids in the aforementioned, compliance must also be utilized for an optimal ride quality. That's why we designed a seatpost that builds compliance into the upper 120mm where clamping doesn't happen, dropped the seatstays, and altered the seat tube shape. We also added tire clearance up to 30mm, which translates to a 28mm Turbo Cotton on a Roval C 38 Disc wheel. This allows lower pressures for decreased rolling resistance, increased traction, and more comfort. Altogether, these additions still have the Tarmac riding like a true race-machine, but it also takes a bit of the sting out of road imperfections. You'll thank us on your next long ride.

But why disc brakes? The real question is "why not?" They offer superior braking power and modulation, work exceptionally well in wet weather, and offer a very, very minor weight addition. All this means that you have more control and can go faster with more confidence.

We also know, however, that aerodynamic improvements are the most important thing we can do to make you faster. Our Bora-Hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors Pro Tour riders, after all, are demanding aero improvements on every bike. With this, the aero goal was to discover where we could essentially "add aero for free," by not taking anything away from the hallmarks of the Tarmac design. During the six-month iterative process, three areas were discovered where we could do this—a new fork shape, dropped seatstays with aero tubes, and a D-shaped seatpost and seat tube. The result? A bike that's approximately 45 seconds faster over 40km compared to other lightweight bikes in the same category.

The build spec on this Tarmac Disc is value-packed, featuring Shimano Ultegra mechanical shifting, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, a Roval C 38 Disc carbon fiber wheelset.

Rider Reviews

  • 4.6
  • 5 Reviews

Love this bike

Ok, I have put about 120 miles on it now. First off, this is a beautiful bike. I almost immediately put the S-Works crank on it, because I just love that crankset. I was surprised just how light the Ultegra Crank was. As someone who makes a lot of watts, I can tell you that this bike is very snappy and comfortable. In comparison to my 2013 Tarmac Sport its a dream ride. It has better power transfer, and its waay more comfortable. The wheels are pretty aero. There is no noticeable twitch in crosswinds. For equal power, I get a 1.2 mph increase in speed (20mph effort). The shifting is very smooth. I am very pleased with my purchase and how comfortable this bike is makes you much less fatigued at the end of your ride (which lets me get Pr's on Strava at the end of the ride :). Overall I love this bike, my only gripe is that there is no matching grip tape. Buy this bike.


Name:
David G.

Helpful?

Awesome road bike 10/10

So this bike is just down right beautiful for starters (camo grey), the drive terrain shifts smoothly and is quick and responsive. I'm on a XC MTB team but we use road bikes for some practices, and this bike performs fantastically. My one problem with the bike was I needed to put it on a stationary trainer, and the axle the bike comes with doesn't allow for a trainer. But it was a very simple fix as you just need a converter, but other than that I love the bike and am very satisfied with my purchase.


Name:
Faster N.

Helpful?

All show and no go...

Having spent a lot of miles on other bike manufactures machines, I decided to go back to a Specialized and demo this new Tarmac, mainly due to the good reviews. Humm... well, what can I say, very mid level (which I guess it is) & dull to ride, which is a shame as on paper the bike looks to be on the money. The bike is a race bike right? not a mile muncher, so why is it so soft? I jumped back on one of my other bikes straight after and boom, 2mph average faster from a bike the had a £400 lower ticket price. I get the feeling Specialized have decided to tune feel and zing out of the lower specification bikes to improve the trade-up sale. This is not to say this isn't a lovely bike, it is, I just don't see dropping 4k on it is a good place to put your money these days, sorry Specialized...


Name:
Jrf

Helpful?

Wow...

I was a little hesitant about purchasing this bike because I didn't get to see the 2019 in person and I couldn't find many reviews online. My LBS only got 1 in stock, and it was gone very quick, so they let me try the 2018 S Works Tarmac Disc in my size to feel a similar geometry (spoiler, I couldn't afford the S-Works so I ordered the Expert Tarmac Disc). They assured me I wouldn't be disappointed with my choice. Wow, they were right. Being able to compare this bike to one twice the price, I have to tell you, it holds its own in terms of speed and comfort. This bike is lightning fast compared to anything I rode in it's price range and the 38 Roval's are incredibly well built. If you want to casually race on the weekends or grab some group rides, this thing is going to crush most of your mid-level bikes. Sure you can find some bikes with Di2 in the same price range, but you're not going to get the carbon wheels which make the ride that much better. Could I feel the difference on the S-Works? Sure, it's lighter and more stiff, but unless I am in the Peloton with Alaphilippe chasing KOM, I think the Expert Disc is a great purchase.


Name:
John

Helpful?