Specialized Tarmac Expert eTap 2017

The Specialized Tarmac Expert eTap is a thoroughly rounded package, delivering great pace in all situations and an impressive level of comfort for a bike designed for racing. SRAM's Red eTap wireless derailleurs provide wonderfully crisp and intuitive shifting, but it's not the full groupset and corners have been cut on the spec list to accommodate it. Those shortcuts don't undermine the performance, though, which is just brilliant.

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Ride and handling

Let's dive straight into how the Tarmac Expert rides, as that is what's really important. It's here, or out on the road should I say, that the bike puts in a stellar performance, and any compromise in the specification fades away as the excellent handling shines through.

The Tarmac is a bike developed for racing, and the geometry leans towards the aggressive end of the scale. The 160mm head tube on the 56cm size tested provides a low front end, but Specialized recognises that many people buying this won't actually use it for racing, so there are ample steerer tube spacers for adjusting the handlebar height.

It's a rapid bike. There's little discernible lag when you stamp on the pedals – power transfer from the oversized bottom bracket and big chainstays ensures the bike shoots you down the road quickly with every push of the pedals. It's not as quick as the Venge aero road bike I tested last summer – an expected difference in performance – but it's no slouch in getting up to speed.

Power hard out of a corner and there's little discernible flex in the frameset. It feels taut, wound up and ready to propel you out of every bend. The tapered head tube and wide tapered top tube gift the Tarmac a high level of front-end torsional stiffness that manifests itself as sharp and direct steering responses.

Those attributes really help when you starting making shapes with the Tarmac. It's highly alert to your input, responsive at any sort of speed. It's lithe and precise at high speed, and through bends and corners the refined handling shines through. It's a bike you feel right at home on, with a neutrally balanced steering feel. It feels light and easy to move about, crisp and precise.

Under hard cornering the excellent Specialized tyres provide plenty of grip for confidently pushing the bike close to your limits, but the brakes – SRAM Force callipers on DT R460 rims – lacked the assurance I would expect of such a combination. A bit more bite from the brake blocks against the aluminium rims would give more confidence when making big speed adjustments.

It's possible to detect a small amount of flex from the DT wheels if you really push them, but it's within tolerable levels and certainly doesn't detract from the overall performance. If you're going to be racing then a set of stiffer aero wheels would undoubtedly unleash more of its potential. The DTs are durable, though, and a reasonable weight, and the aluminium brake track is a bonus in the rain compared with a carbon rim.

Feedback is good – you get a sense of what is going on underneath you and the road surface under the tyres, but you're isolated to a certain degree from the undesirable stuff, chatter from riding over corrugated roads for example.

Until recently comfort was low down on the list of priorities when outlining the design brief for a race bike, but the latest Tarmac feels fluid and composed over rough roads. The integrated seat clamp helps, offering increased seatpost extension, and there's a hint of saddle deflection during bigger impacts.

Build kit

This latest generation Tarmac was introduced two years ago and it's clear the frame takes up a big chunk of the funds available for specifying the components bolted to it.

While the frame has the same outline and tube dimensions as the top-end models, this Tarmac Expert uses a slightly lower grade FACT 10r carbon fibre rather than the FACT 11r carbon used higher up the range. That's going to impact on the weight a little and possibly the performance, but by such small margins that detecting a difference would be tricky.

A Tarmac with a full SRAM Red eTap groupset costs £7,800, so to get this Tarmac Expert to £5,000 Specialized has been forced to make a few concessions. It's proven a tricky task for Specialized to compete with some of the smaller direct-sales upstarts that have really shaken up the market in recent years, so it's not quite a full SRAM eTap wireless groupset, but you do get the important bits.

It has married SRAM Red eTap brake/shifter levers and front and rear derailleurs with a SRAM S952 BB30 chainset, SRAM Force brake callipers and PG-1170 cassette. Those changes give a little away on the scales but pure performance isn't that far behind the top-tier Red groupset.

SRAM Red eTap is really good, and if you want to learn more about it you can read my review here.

The DT R460 Pro wheels are nothing flash but they are well made and durable, with reliable hub internals, and provide an aluminium braking track for all-weather braking confidence. You'd certainly get a boost of performance with some posher carbon aero wheels, and it'd be a worthy update if you're an aspiring racer, but for bashing around the country lanes I found the DT wheels competent performers. That said, it's hard not to look at similarly priced rivals with better wheels and not wish Specialized had been able to fit a set more in tune with the rest of the package.

Where Specialized gains back a few points is in the quality of the finishing kit; it all provides a premium ride experience and offers an enhanced fit. The wheels are shod with excellent tyres, 24mm wide S-Works Turbo rubber with BlackBelt puncture protection. They are fast and grippy and fend off thorns and glass well.

I found the Body Geometry Toupe Gel saddle a very comfortable shape, with generous padding and a little flex in the rails to provide additional vibration absorption. It's clamped to an S-Works FACT carbon seatpost with 20mm offset.

Up front, an Expert Shallow Drop aluminium handlebar has an ergonomic 123mm drop and 73mm reach, and the Roubaix bar tape is grippy whether soaked in rain or sweat and provides a little cushioning. The aluminium stem is a simple design with a four-bolt faceplate. I found it too short and swapped it for a longer stem to suit my fit requirements.

We put the 56cm test bike on the scales and the 7.3kg (16lb) weight is good if not startling – you can certainly see the opportunity to get it below 7kg with a wheel upgrade for starters. But it feels lighter than it is, especially on the climbs where it scales climbs with authority.

Rivals

If you're in the market for a SRAM eTap-equipped bike – and we know it's a popular groupset this year, tempting even the biggest Shimano and Campagnolo fans – the Tarmac Expert is a good option. It's the cheapest way to get a Specialized Tarmac with eTap that's for sure.

But Specialized can't compete with some of the newer direct-sales brands, and if you're okay with your new bike arriving in a box and not getting the service and after sales support from a reputable bike shop, there are a few options.

> 10 SRAM Red eTap road bikes

German Rose Bikes will sell you the X-Lite Team-8810 with full SRAM eTap and Mavic wheels for £4,850, which is certainly a better specification for the money.

Canyon's Ultimate CF SLX 9.0 SL with full eTap and Mavic Ksyrium Pro Exalith SL WTS wheels is £4,499.

Another option – and one that is available in select bike shops – is the Boardman SLR Endurance, with full eTap and Zipp 202 wheels for £5,299.99.

Conclusion

You're getting a world class carbon frame with the same DNA as the bikes ridden by the likes of Peter Sagan and other top athletes, with thoroughly enjoyable handling and one of the best paint jobs we've ever seen on a road.cc test bike. Although on paper the Tarmac Expert is undermined by compromises in the spec, out on the road, where it counts, the performance really isn't: it's a thoroughly enjoyable and rapid ride.

Verdict

Commendable performance, and a great paint job, but better wheels would make it shine