Specialized's Tarmac SL9 touts time-to-finish speed as fastest road bike
Specialized has unveiled the S-Works Tarmac SL9, calling it the fastest road bike ever thanks to a new aero package, a deeper fork, a narrower head tube, the Win Fin rear, and the S-Works Rapide seatpost, with about a 4-watt gain at 45 kph and a weight near 6.8 kg in flagship form. Its race simulations claim the SL9 finishes ahead of rivals like Colnago Y1Rs and Cervélo S5 on a representative Grand Tour 100 km course under its time-to-finish metric, though Cervélo is slightly more aero on CdA. The range runs six builds from roughly £3,999/$4,500/€4,499 to £11,999/$14,000/€13,999.
