Tarmac SL8 - Is It Still Worth It 1 Year Later? LOTOJA Bike Check

[@outdoorbros_]

Tips for riding 200 miles? 👇🏻

[@ozgurinsan]

pedal 😁

[@gcanzano36]

EPO seems to be pretty effective

[@jms493]

Ride your bike a lot and dial in your nutrition needs. Edit…you have done this 7 times before, you don’t need our help.

[@Gufolicious]

I have clocked 4000km on my sl8 and i would buy it again in a heartbeat.

[@saphireg8094]

I’m down to the new dogma f, sl8, and or osto vam

[@nickdalamagas3540]

Likewise. 10mths ago I went from a cervelo s5 to an s-works sl8 with no regrets .. love it. I’d also do it again in a heartbeat .. great bike 👍

[@ilgour]

30mm or 32mm tire make sense on wide modern 25mm internal rim. Comfort is king with these and performance is just not an issue.

[@ArnageLM]

Still riding my ‘21 SL6 ✌🏼

[@DavidGutierrez-p7z]

Honest that might be the best looking tarmac

[@ArnageLM]

@@DavidGutierrez-p7z I’ve got the base version in Metallic White Silver, but upgraded it. Still looks very fresh and holds it own in a fast bunch ride.

[@Matt-fb5xe]

Fantastic bike. Unfortunately mine was split in two by a car :(

[@csarcpab]

Compared to the latest offerings from other big brands it definitely is; some competition still offering 2 different frames, or heavy AF ones such as the new Trek. The SL8 is truly positioning as the real do it all road bike.

[@nicholastopley7611]

Riding my SL8 S-works back to back with my SL7 for the past 5 months, new RED vs Dura Ace, both excellent but if I had to choose I’d keep the SL8. Possibly because of the RED braking but also as it’s marginally more comfortable. Rear end can be a bit twitchy under very heavy braking though.

[@Jacob99174]

Utah to Wyoming, baby!

[@bingus9963]

oh shit it's been a year? i barely done shit

[@Jacob99174]

Time to flush

[@edwingomez4141]

sl7 is preaty but sl8 performance is a little beter

[@DDai-qd8uk]

Yeas thats' corect my freind

[@hubertgans3120]

My SL8 has about 5000 km since new this March, after having ordered a SL7 in Dec 22... I can compare it to my 2007 Canyon Ultimate, only. The SL8 is in every category better, of course. But, the powermeter on the SL8 possibly explains halve of the gain in avg speed, because I now always see on the Wahoo the true input, which seems to push me. Side effect is that I lost the altitude info, because of the power info having pushed out the information on the Wahoo display.

[@gerryl8310]

Excellent video as always. Waiting on the update video on Fray. Trying to determine if going for Tarmac 8 or Fray. Yes, two different bikes. If pertinent in next video overall differences btw the two related to comfort and getting bike up to speed. Brain tells me Fray. Heart says Tarmac.

[@kimwarner6050]

Originally I was impressed with the Sl8, but for me it wasn't holding speed well. So I bought a Pinarello F5 and rebuilt it to 6.8. But recently I decided to give it another try. I changed my handlebars to some super narrow 28 tops and 34 bottoms. Now the bike handles better and puts me in a more aero position. The SL8 does have a sort of explosiveness that I've never felt before. I'll give 2 more months before I decide if I should sell it.

[@matkrek]

@@kimwarner6050 they make bars that narrow??

[@ariffau]

Where did you get your handlebar from?

[@mohammedzakyabdulrazak2347]

Love my SL8 Got it for a year now 👍

[@pjohns8]

Ride fast, have fun and be safe at LOTOJA!

[@MarcinCebula]

The sl8 for me feels like a different bike coming from the sl7. The sl7 carves downhills and feels snappy. The sl8 feels lazy in a good way. Its still fast but it feels like a cruiser. I like having both for different style of riding. Both bikes have such different characters I have a hard time saying that one is an evolution of the other. To me these are 2 different bikes.

[@bradleyleeper9517]

I haven’t riden once in exactly one year sad😢I gotta get back on the horse!!

[@adunnthing]

I think that the SL-8 is a great bike, but there’s a whole bunch of things you need to consider. Are you after a race bike or an all-day bike and this is where things become interesting. I know people who have all our race/aero bikes and several months in, they are questioning whether it was a wise choice. I loved my SL 6 and I decided to go to an Aethos instead of a 7 or 8, and I’m glad I did. Do I notice any difference in speed, and the answer is no. I do notice a difference in climbing. Ultimately I’d say go for the bike that suits the sort of riding you do. In that essence, it sounds like you have.

[@saphireg8094]

Give us an sl8 that looks closer to the venge and I’m in

[@michaeleisl95]

I believe there’s a correlation between the distance someone rides their bike(s) in a year and the price of a new bike purchase. What do you think-is there a guideline for that? For example, I paid about €6,200 last year for a Crux road bike build and have ridden about 2,500 km in the 11 months I've owned it. I often find myself looking at high-end bikes and their prices. In your opinion, how many kilometers should I be riding annually to justify owning a €14,000 bike?

[@Mabbsg]

Do you guys think „normal” sl8 expert or pro is good too? Can you recommend other option for like 6-7k euro?

[@8rk]

I owned SL4, SL5, SL6 and SL7 before. In 2023 I went through a phase trying out everything modern under the sun. Bunch of Cervelos, Look, BMC, Cannondale etc. Lost thousands in the process which sucks but... Now back on SL8. I literally have no desire to venture to other brands anymore. Say what you want about Specialized but Tarmac is an insanely good race bike. Until SL9 comes out, I'm firmly set on my SL8 and have 0 curiosity left for other brands / models.

[@bryangoetz8655]

My 30c conti STRs were 33mm wide when set to the correct pressure. How big do the 32s? Is there enough clearance on the sl8?

[@MattWrightMTB]

Also curious how the clearance is?

[@Eirikkinserdal]

Put the new sram red levers on 😉 You already did. Just looked at the thumbnail 😂

[@jjwa5410]

Don't bother watching boys - the industry schill is just going to say how much he loves it and yes it's worth it.

[@matkrek]

Easy to like a $10000 bike

[@siddardhab]

Hahaha - bro yea things are more expensive but compare this bike to the 4k top end bikes from 2015 - and there’s a lot more of tech/componentry. The bike industry runs on small quantity of sales, compared to their costs so yea i don’t think they’re gouging! - I used to!

[@matkrek]

@@siddardhab I hope this is sarcastic…

[@ariffau]

@@siddardhabwhat are you riding?

[@runmvp]

Thank you my man for saving me 15min

[@ADKMZ1]

Nice video.. I'm just confused between Trek Madone Gen 8 and to buy. BTW You should work with specialized :)

[@kennedystuart5685]

Just curious if you have any thoughts on the new Factor Ostro VAM? Cheers from Canada and keep the videos coming.

[@saphireg8094]

Big aero test came out that Nero show went over and the vam was one of the best bikes overall with pretty much every yaw angle. The sl8 was the lightest bike.

[@joea7339]

I'm itching for a new bike, but I can't seem to get overly excited about the S-Works Tarmac SL8...and I keep trying to. I just look at it as a very "basic" super bike and can't seem to justify the $14,500 price point for the S-Works AXS version. When I say basic, I just don't see a lot of innovation like that found on the Cervelo S5 with the Y stem and bar and "no-cut" steerer tube, or the Canyon Aeroad CFR with the no-cut steerer tube and replaceable/adjustable bar drops. I'm just struggling to get excited about almost all of the Super-Bikes from the full aero to the lightweight all-rounders. I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio being hyper-critical of a bunch of 20-something SUPER MODELS.

[@PeterSdrolias]

For that much money you may wish to consider a titanium road bike, Moots, Firefly , Seven, etc. Awesome made in America works or art!

[@jaasun71]

Cervelo wins for ugliest bike for sure. Less is more with the sl8

[@7nmiller]

What headlight are you running?

[@ericwilliams4118]

3:00... Im dreaming.

[@logohigh1]

Loving the “Still worth it “ notion 😂😂😂 It was Never worth it How are people so blind

[@nigelmcclean4166]

Everyone's vids should be as concise as yours

[@gaza4543]

better be its an 8-11k bike

[@MarcinCebula]

The sl8 for me feels like a different bike coming from the sl7. The sl7 carves downhills and feels snappy. The sl8 feels lazy in a good way. Its still fast but it feels like a cruiser. I like having both for different style of riding. Both bikes have such different characters I have a hard time saying that one is an evolution of the other. To me these are 2 different bikes.