2020 Tarmac SL6 Disc Expert

So beyond the constant complements on the paint. She's a joy to ride. I received the bike a couple weeks ago and have several hundred miles on it and am impressed by the removal of the road vibration by the wheels/frame yet the power transfer is obvious. The power from the pedal to the ground is not lost in the frame. I did add tubeless tires which would be my only question to Specialized: Why the turbos and tubes? Why not sell me a pair of stems and tubeless tires with the bike?

56 year old, former road/crit racer, 5'4"" 155lbs. and the 52 cm fit me perfectly right out of the box. We ride Utah, so lots of rollers, climbing, big descents, and windy flats...the words I think of are ""smooth"" and ""powerful"". It is responsive but not punishing on rough roads...never thought I'd ride a 700x26 at 85 psi, but the stock tires are a game changer (was on Conti GP4000 700x23 before). When I step on the gas over the rollers, not a watt of wasted energy. Also can't say enough good things about Di2...my wife convinced me to go electronic and I won't go back. Finally, disc brakes coming down the big canyon descents are amazing...I can descend faster (when I'm feeling aggressive) and have confidence that I can dial it back quickly if there is, say, a herd of deer trying to cross the road 😅

I got this bike close to a month ago and probably have 500-600 miles on it so far and I love it. I just finished riding Mt. Lemmon in Tucson which to me is a good test route for a road bike: Climbing, descending, turning, flats, and a road that isn't perfect. I ride mountain and road, 5 days a week 2-4 hrs per ride. The primary reason for me getting this bike is fit. I was previously on a Giant TCR size M/L which is advertised as 570mm head tube length. I always felt overly stretched out on that bike. I tested a M TCR and it was too small. I did mess around with saddle position stem length, bar width and stack on the TCR and it never felt quite right. I was also looking to get disc brakes and electronic shifting. That being said, the TCR is an amazing bike, and you get so much for the money, so it was hard to to spend some extra bucks for the Tarmac and not get as much bling. Specifically, the new TCR comes built with Giant's own powermeter and tubeless tires as standard. The Tarmac does not come with tubeless tires, although the wheels are taped and tubeless ready. Also, the Tarmac comes standard with a 20mm offset seat post. You can buy a 0mm offset seat post for 200 bucks. Specialized should spec the bike with which one fits the rider best. In my case, the 0mm offset post would be better, but not totally necessary, so I won't be making that change at the moment, if ever. Not sure what Specialized is thinking by not just selling the bike with tubeless ready tires and option for either seat post. For these reasons, I'm giving this bike 4 stars. Ok, so I tested a 54 and 56 Tarmac Expert and the 56 felt amazing right from the get go. I'm 5'10.5"" and would fit on either size. The 56 Tarmac felt way better than the M/L TCR. It's a combination of frame and cockpit that makes this bike feel way better to me. Ride quality is phenomenal. I put S-works Turbo 28mm tubeless on which are also phenomenal. I feel the bike is an extension of me.