While aerodynamics were paramount to the Tarmac’s development, and to the development of all of Specialized race bikes, weight was the co-pilot on this optimal race bike journey. Previously “aero bikes” always compromised in the weight department, the more drag you reduced, the more weight you gained. With the new Tarmac, the design philosophy was to keep it at, or below, the UCI weight limit out of the box as a complete build, with no sacrifices to aerodynamics. Tools like isotopic FEA analysis, used in conjunction with the tubes shapes and some engineering wizardry by the best engineers in the industry, enabled Specialized to deliver a frame that weighs a mere 920 grams, consistently across sizes, without giving up a gram of aero, stiffness or ride quality while allowing for 700x32 tires. The primary ingredient in all this has been their FACT 10r Carbon, which was developed in house to provide a more cost effective combination of carbon fiber properties that are the foundation of the lay-up schedule and deliver the tubeset and junctions that make the SL7 design unique.

Finishing off the Tarmac SL7 frameset, the designers drew off their experience and proven systems of the Venge to apply simple integration to create a clean, fast cockpit that’s easy to live with. They've improved the routing for any configuration, mechanical shifting, traditional stems, round bars, etc., all while keeping its aerodynamic attributes. These same traits also make the new Tarmac easy to work on and easy to travel with. A BSC threaded bottom bracket system was integrated and found to test as well or better than other systems for stiffness and power transfer. The frame features a 12/142mm rear thru-axle and flat mount disc standard, which matches the SL7 FACT Carbon Fork, albeit with a 12/100mm set-up. The lightweight and upper-section compliant 2021 S-Works FACT Carbon Tarmac Seatpost is included, as is the Tarmac integrated stem, 6-degree, with detailed spec determined by frame size.

The groupset is the aforementioned 11-speed Shimano Ultegra Di2 R8070/8050/8000 set-up. You get true road bike gearing with a 52-36 crankset and 11-30 cassette. Shimano's mineral oil based hydraulic braking is easy to service and delivers great feel and power. Specialized equipped the system with 160mm front and 140mm rear RT800 Center Lock disc rotors. These grab hold of a wheelset featuring DT Swiss 470 TLR alloy rims and Specialized disc hubs that carry Specialized's venerable S-Works Turbo clincher tires in the 700x26 size with Turbo Ultralight tubes.

For the cockpit the 2021 S-Works Tarmac Carbon Di2 Seatpost carries their Ti-rail Power Expert Saddle, while the Specialized Expert Shallow Drop alloy handlebar with it's 125mm drop / 75mm reach mounts to the integrated -6 degree Tarmac stem. Supacaz Super Sticky Kush tape finishes off the build. Bar, stem, post and crank lengths are equipped by bike size, as is saddle width (see details below).