Specialized Tarmac S-Works SL8 Red Axs bicycle - Red

Nothing is faster than the Tarmac SL8, thanks to a combination of aerodynamics, light weight, and ride quality previously thought impossible. After eight generations and more than two decades of development, it’s more than the fastest Tarmac ever: it’s the fastest race bike in the world. Your legs for it?

Aerodynamics or weight alone don't win races—speed is what matters. Delivering that speed requires crafting an uncompromising combination of aerodynamics, weight, stiffness, and compliance. Through race simulations using real-world data, our Ride Science team knows the Tarmac SL8 is the fastest race bike ever made on the courses that matter: 16.6 seconds faster over 40km, 128 seconds faster on the Milano San Remo, 20 seconds faster on the legendary Tourmalet climb.

AERO ALL OVER : We're putting aero where it matters—the leading edge—not just where it looks good. In the process, we've created our most aerodynamic road bike ever. Yes, it's more aero than the Venge. Clean air is optimized to maximum advantage with the Tarmac's new nose cone: the Speed ​​Sniffer. By moving the head tube—the tube that determines the width of the head tube—backward, the leading edge of the head tube can be much sharper, resulting in a much lower form of drag. Using new UCI rules, the Tarmac SL8 has the narrowest, most aerodynamic seatpost we've ever made, ensuring dirty, fast-moving air can flow back out of your legs more cleanly. Doesn't victory smell sweet?

MINIMUM WEIGHT, MAXIMUM AERO : The Tarmac SL8 took lessons from Aethos to easily build to the UCI minimum with a full aero setup. The team achieved a scale-tickling 685-gram frameset, 15% lighter than the Tarmac SL7 and lighter than anything on the World Tour*. With the ability to prioritize weight throughout the downtube, seattube, and tailtube of the bike, lessons from Aethos were applied. The frame shape carries load so efficiently that additional layers of carbon stiffness become redundant. *Unless you count the time Kasper Asgreen rode our 585-gram Aethos frame during a Tour stage.

GOES LIKE HELL, RIDES LIKE HEAVEN : With massive stiffness-to-weight gains—a 33% improvement over the SL7—the Tarmac SL8 takes legendary handling, aggressive responsiveness, and World Championship-proven geometry to the next level. The bike is stiffer on the pedals, more precise on the bars, and combines it with a compliant ride in the saddle that sets a new benchmark for road bike comfort. Thanks to our Rider-First Engineering, every rider, regardless of size, gets the same unparalleled ride quality and handling. In the saddle, the Tarmac SL8 offers 6% more compliance, floating over rough roads with a supple feel unlike any other in the road bike world. Proven Tarmac geometry and 32mm tire clearance are identical to the SL7, providing easy customization and the versatility to run larger-volume tires when needed.

BEYOND GENDER: There may be more difference between two male cyclists than between a male and a female. Gender alone does not provide enough data to specialize, which means that creating men’s or women’s bikes is arbitrary and obsolete. Every rider can get the next-level advantage of the Tarmac SL8. It’s time to go beyond gender.
The S-Works Tarmac SL8 features only the finest components. A full Shimano Dura-Ace 9200-series Di2 groupset with dual-sided power meters and a tubeless-ready Roval Rapide CLX II wheelset are the perfect complement to the world’s fastest frame. All S-Works Tarmac SL8 models come with a Roval Rapide cockpit for weight savings and the fastest leading edge possible.