Specialized has a wide range of road bikes and gravel bikes to cater for al🐽l users, as well as the Creo 2 electric road/gravel bike. With its size, it can investꦫ in designs that push the boundaries of road bike technology and it has its own wind tunnel to try and test new design concepts.
Specialized also sponsors a range of top pro teams, with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Bora-Hansgrohe, SD-Worx, 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Soudal-QuickStep and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:TotalEnergies🐟 all riding principally the Tarmac SL8. Its team sponsorships allow the brand to test out new bike designs at the top level before they are launched to the general public. It's also meant that Specialized has continued to garner numerous pro wins, including World Championships, one-day races and grand tours.
Scroll down to see Cyclingnews’ roundup of the Specialized road bike and gravel bike range. There's even a time trial and drop bar e-bike or two. We'l🐻l cover all the Specialized bike models and the spec levels available for each, but first, here's a quick explainer of the range. There's a bit more on and Specialized at the bottom of the page.
Quick guide to Specialize🔯d's road and gravel bike range
Here is a quick summ🌠ary of the Specialized road 💟and gravel bike models.
Tarmac SL8
The lightweight race platform that gains plaudits in all aspects of road 🐟cycling. Popular among all sorts of cyclists from pros to cr𒁏iterium racers to endurance riders and cafe goers alike.
Aethos
The bike that igno🍨res the data and is built simply to celebrate the joy of riding. The super low weight results in an extremely positive ride feel, and the geometry mimics that of the Tarmac to retain comfortable yet responsive handling prowess.&n෴bsp;
Roubaix SL8
The en🅺durance bike that's capable of being ridden over the rough stuff. With slightly re🎶laxed geometry compared to the others in the range, wider tyre clearance, and shock-absorbing technology.
Allez
The most budget-friendly option in the range, based around an aluminium frame. The standard Allez offers an all-around platform for all-day riding, while the Allez Sprint is more aggressive for racing and crit use🌱.
Shiv
The dedicated time trial bike in the range, is available as ღa frameset module only.
Crux
Specialized's top-end gravel bike. It's lightweight and geared to g🍸ravel racers.
Diverge
The Diverge is Specialized's mainstream gravel bike and is available in a wide range o𓄧f sp꧃ecs from alloy models through to S-Works carbon.
Diverge STR
The Diverge STR adds a ℱrear suspens✨ion system to the standard Diverge's front-end bounce, for added capability on trickier terrain.
Creo 2
The drop bar electric bike from Specialized. It's had a makeover so that it's more powerful, capable and grav🐟el-focused.
The latest generation of the Tarmac, the SL8, is claimed by Specialized to be the lightest bike in the WorldTour peloton, just ski💜mming the UCI 6.8kg weight limit once you add pedals and bottle cages. The front end is designed to be more aero than the Tarmac SL7, while the rear builds on the brand's Aethos lightweight bike, being skinnier, lighter and more comfortable than the SL7, Specialized claims. There's clearance for 32mm tyres.
We reckon that Specialized has sharpened up the already impressive handling of the SL7. The Tarmac SL8 is a bike that💜 feels stiff and fast both aerodynamically and when accelerating.
Although still expensive, the top-spec S-Works bike was actually cheaper at launch than the previous generation S-Works Tarmac🌃 SL7. There are only five specs available and the cheapest is stil𒁏l priced at over $6,000/£6,000 though.
While the Specialized Tarmac is a race-ready m𓃲achine, the Aethos looks to provide a lightweight bike with a high-quality ride that's not bounded by the constraints of top-tier racing.
The Aethos is all about the pure joy of😼 riding a bike. It takes things back to basics, with its round tubes and traditional frame shape, but integrates modern technologies to create a 6.1kg superbike that's confident, nimble and downright fun to ride.
It's available as a range-topping S-Works model layered with FACT 12r carbon, or the slightly less expensi♈ve FACT 10r la💫yup standard model.
So it's fun, fast, lightweight, nimble and painfully beautiful. The only downside to joining the Aethos gang is the entry fee, with prices st🅺arting at around $5,000 / £5,000 for a complete bike, and rising well over $10,000 / £10,000 for the S-Works Aethos, equipped with top spec SRAM or Shimano drivetrain.&n♍bsp;
There's even a limited edition Campagnolo Super Record-equipped bike that pushes the price up to yet more extravagan🔜t levels.
In the endurance road bike segment, it’s hard to beat the Roubaix's comfort and speed
Reasons to buy
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Compliance
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Aesthetics
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Stopping power
Reasons to avoid
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Quite high front end
Named after the famous cobbles of the Paris-Roubaix race, the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Specialized Roubaix SL8 has been engineered to ride faster over bumpier terrain than ever before. The latest Roubaix boats increased 40mm tyre clearance, lower weight, better aerodynamics - and mudguard mounts, which were absent from the previous model, as well as additional bag and b⛄ottle cage mounts.
There's an upgrade to the Future Shock front end, which provides 20mm of suspension which is tuneable in higher spec bikes. I🍬t's matched with a new Pavé seatpost, which is clamped lower for balanced compliance front and rear.
As with Specialized's other models, the top-end 🔯S-Works Roubaix overtops the ♉$10,000/£10,000 mark and other models are correspondingly expensive. The entry-level Tiagra-equipped bike remains surprisingly affordable though, being priced below $3,000/£3,000.
A crit-racing weapon even Peter Sagan thinks is cool
Reasons to buy
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Great handling
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Niche appeal
Reasons to avoid
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Weight
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Narrow tyres for the stiff frame
The Specialized Allez Sprint has an alloy frameset with tube profiles and geometry that are similar to the Tarmac. It may not be a top-end carbon race machine but that’s not to say it isn’t any good🍌. It's long been a favourite for crit and road racing. ꧑;
The downtube and bottom bracket are formed as one piece and the joins at the head tube 🐭are also moved further along the top tube and down tube, both of which Specialized says results in a stiffer frame.
We found that stiffness, paired with the 26mm tyres resulted in a rattly ride, but there's room to fit 32mm 🐭tyres, which would help alleviate this. Handling is great though, as befits a bike popular for crit use.
An upgrade in 2023 saw the venerable Allez abandon rim 💙brakes in favour of discs and get a clearance update to 35mm, bringing the beginner's favourite u☂p to date.
While the old Allez was reasonably priced and available in a range of specs, the update has been accompanied by a price increase, with the Allez now available only as the base model and the Allez Sport, which sports hydraulic brakes in🥂 place of cable-operated.
The handling i😼s precise, stable and confident, but we reckon a wheel upgrade is in order.
A super-fast time-trial bike built for speed and nothing else
Reasons to buy
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Speed
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Performance
Reasons to avoid
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Aesthetics
Specialized now sells the S💟hiv as a time trial-legal module only. It claims to have 𒀰reduced the weight from the previous model, to make the Shiv more competent on technical courses.
It's also adjusted the geometry and made it easier to get th✱e right fit for more riders. It says that the one-piece bar and stem are not only lighter but help balance the ride characteristics.ౠ
The Specialized Crux has morphed from an all-in cyclocross bike to a premium gravel bike with a sideline in cross. As with the Tarmac SL8, it's a bike that borrows from the engineering of the Aet🌊hos, with the result that in the S-🍎Works guide it tips the scales at just 7.25kg while offering space for 47mm tyres.
Specialized has also tweaked the geometry from the previous Crux, for better stability for long♈er off-road excursions than a one-hour cyclocross race. It's not gone down the integrated cable route though, with a two-piece bar and stem offering adjustability.
Below the ✤expensive flagship S-Works spec, Specialized offers the Crux with lower-grade carbon fibre, which brings the Crux down into more affordable territory.
Specialized's latest Diverge is the third generation and brings with it some interesting modifications to make it💟 an even more capab🔥le gravel and adventure machine.
Geometry has been tweakeജd, inspired by the Epic cross-country mountain bike. By going longer, lower and slacker, Specialized has enhanced the Diverge's composure over rough terrain. A new fork has an increased offset for steady handling at high speeds without the steering going floppy and difficult on slow, technical sections.
Like the Roubai🐼x, it features a Future Shock headset. With 20mm of progressive travel, the system uses a hydraulic dampener to absorb rough surfaces. If the gravel smooths out or there is a section of tarmac, on-the-fly adjustment lets you tune your ride from near-rigid to fully open.
The Diverge foregoes a dropped chainstay and instead uses a narrow solid beam of carbon to create tyre clearance. This makes space for ample amounts of rubber with more than enough clearance for 47mm on a 🎀700c wheel and 2.1in on a 650B.
The li🃏ne-upꦡ comprises a combination of carbon and aluminium models and there’s even a dropper post available on the range-topping S-Works model. Some mid-range bikes are available with multiple build specs, so there are a lot of options available.
The Diverge STR adds a rear Future Shock suspension system to the Diverge's front-end Future Shock, without too much additional♏ weight or complexity and without bounce when pedalling.
There's seat tube flex that provides 30mm of h🍌ydrau🥃lically damped, adjustable travel at the saddle. Specialized doesn't provide mudguard bolts though.
The rea🦹r suspension makes for a more confident ride experience with greater comfort and control. That's not🐼 at the expense of power transfer though. We rode the Expert spec but felt that it offered the performance of the standard S-Works Diverge. The rear suspension does make the Diverge STR a more expensive proposition than the standard bike though.
It's you, only faster, thanks to a 240w motor that will put your club mates in the gutter for 80 miles
Reasons to buy
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New, more powerful electric motor
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Gravel-focused geometry and spec
Reasons to avoid
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Mechanical dropper lever is awkwardly placed
The 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:second generation of the Creo el🌸ectric bike looks to focus more on gravel use than the original, relaxing the geometry, fitting burlier 47mm tyres and a dropper post and adding the Future Shock 3.0 front suspension system.
The bike also loses frame weight and gains a new SL 1.2 motor system with extra power and torque on ta🐓p, at 320 watts and 50Nm. There's a narrower Q Factor and quieter demeanour as well. US riders can power up to 28mph. There's a 320Wh internal battery, with an optional range ౠextender available for your longer rides.
Specialized claims a sub-13kg headline weight for t💝he top-spec, top-dollar S-Works Creo 2, but offers tw😼o more affordable specs as well.
Model Range
Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo 2
Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Expert
Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp
Specialized explained
Specialized road bike and gravel bike range explained
Specialized’s range of road and gravel bikes differs in geometry, material and function. As such, the model lin💙e-up covers a range of prices and caters for a diverse cycling demographic including men and women, professionals and amateurs, as well as adventure and gravel riders.
Models in💞clude geometries specific to aero, endurance, cli🃏mbing, time trial and gravel grinding.
While some brands still offer women's specific geometry, Specialized has moved away from this. Through da🃏ta from its proprietary bike fitting company Retul, Specialized discovered that there is just as much chance of a difference in leg and torso length between two men, as there is between a man and a woman.
Almost all Specialized bikes come in a range of specs, which are ranked from entry-level via one or more of Sport, Comp, Expert and Pro thro൩ugh to range-topping S-Works, in ascending level of spec quality, with thಌe higher spec bikes often using higher grade carbon fibre for their frames, which can make them lighter.
Who are Specialized?
As a brand, Specialized has become a significant force in the industry since bursting onto the scene in 1974. After initially selling imported Italian components, founder Mike Sinyard began producing Specialized’s own parts before turning its focus to bicycles in 1981 wit꧑h the Sequoia and Allez models: monikers that have become synonymous with the brand and remain in existence today.
꧂Over forty years on, the California Bay Area-based company continues to be a dominant player in th♚e highly contested retail and professional cycling spaces.
A veritable industry pioneer, Specialized also produces its own 🥂line of clothing, equipment and components including tyres, saddles, shoes and helmets, while its Roval sub-brand markets wheels, cockpit components and other parts.
Specialized has a strong retail presence, with many bike stores stocking its range. It also🥃 has its own brand Specialized Concept Stores that exclusively stock ꦓSpecialised products. It's meant that Specialized bikes have been the first 'real' bikes bought by a huge number of cyclists across all disciplines.
Paul has been on two whee༺ls since he was in his teens and he's꧃ spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages.
