Specialized Tarmac SL8 vs Canyon Ultimate | Which Is Best?

this is the specialized s Works tarmac sl8 and this is the canyon ultimate CFR both are allround race bikes equally aimed at Conquering the toughest races on the world tour as well as offering the best all round racy performance for us mere mortals but which is best or perhaps more importantly which one is best for you that's what we're here to find out before I go any further though if these kinds of videos are right up your street give that little bell icon a click so you don't miss any in the future these are so-called allround race bikes designed to excel anywhere both are underpinned by more affordable models and both have similar racy Silhouettes turn up at your local Club ride your friends are going to know that you're riding one of the most covetable bikes in the world but already it's clear that each goes about it a little differently one might be considered a true allrounder the other a little more focused the TAC sl8 is the only road race bike specialized makes tying arrow and lightweight into one package not since the venge has it had a dedicated Arrow bike the canyon ultimate on the other hand is a little more focused on the lightweight side of things given it's got mat vanderpool's favored bike the air Road kicking around as well while many people should arguably be looking towards bikes like the less aggressive Ru sl8 or endur race as the best bike for them there's no denying the enduring law of a full-blooded race bike this latest Canyon ultimate when it launched came with the claim that it achieved the perfect balance of ride quality AO performance weight and stiffness and so on essentially the German brand chose Evolution over Revolution a 5 watt Improvement at 45 km an hour was claimed thanks to an arrow overhaul plus the inclusion of the one piece Arrow cockpit the head tube was stiffened up by around 15% the distribution of carbon slightly modified to improve strength while the seat post was also changed this year specializ did something very similar it too chose Evolution and purposefully split the tarmac into two zones at the front where there's cleaner air flow it brought in a one piece carbon cockpit like Canyon kept the bladed Fork profiles and deepened the head tube with what it euphemistically calls the speed sniffer love it or hate it personally I don't really mind specialized says it let it keep the geometry exactly the same compared to the tarmac sl7 save for an extra 10 mm stack that's required to fit the new cockp in the areas where there's more turbulent air flow specialized look to the Athos lightweight bike for inspiration the tubes that sit behind the front-facing edges are rounder than they used to be on the tarmac sl7 which spee says makes them more efficient at carrying forces which in turn allowed it to cut unnecessary weight overall it says that the tarmac esate is faster than the venge which it says is the fastest road bike it had ever made before this and reckons it would save a pro Rider 2 minutes and 8 seconds at Milan sun rmo compared to riding a Tac sl7 now these claims from both brands are all well and good but it's always worth remembering that typical Riders like you and me don't tend to ride at 45 km an hour very often or do Milan and rro pro speeds so if you already own a previous generation ultimate or tarmac sl7 the differences in speed in the real world will be slight at best when it comes to frame weight an sork tarmac slate weighs a claimed 685 G in a size 56 an ultimate CFR frame by comparison is said to weigh 762 G in a size medium that might feel like comparing apples and pears but even given the ultimate sizes up a little larger than the TAC sl8 the specializ certainly looks to have the edge [Music] here as speced here both come with shimano's top level J Ras di2 r9200 group set although both can also be had with shr red EAP axis drivetrains Canyon also makes one model of the ultimate cf5 far with campag noa's lated super record Wireless group set too for these specific bikes there are two group set differences to note the tarmac has a 4iz dual-sided power meter crank set while this ultimate is normally speced with a Shimano J race power meter that said Supply being what it was when I first rode the ultimate CFR last year this particular example hasn't got it fitted aside from that Canyon doesn't have the latest cl900 rotors fitted here for similar reasons but this is a rolling change the new Aeros spec version of this bike which was announced more recently does have them on that this particular ultimate CFR has DT Swiss 1100 PRC diecut mon sharal Wheels try saying that five times fast which weigh in at 1,266 G making this a more climbing oriented specification that's not the only exotic component on the canyon the tires are very lightweight and very racy schwabie Pro one TT evos 25 mm all around it's unusual to see such tires on a stock build like this and is perhaps something I'd look to change but more on that to come and the CER Italia c-59 saddle is well just look at it there's no excess here the rest of the build comes from Canyon with an inline d-shaped carbon seat post and the width adjustable Arrow cockpit that made its debut on the air Road the tarmac on the other hand comes with parts exclusively from the specialized family those are roval raped CX2 Wheels with a wider shallower profile up front and a deeper narrower shape at the rear which is intended to achieve a blend of ride stability and arrow performance they're wrapped in 26 mm s Works turbo rapid air 2BR tubless ready tires the narrow seat post is bespoke to the tarmac while as I've said the front is fortuned with the latest roal rapid cockpit for all intents and purposes it's the same kind of build that likes a Remco Evol and Julian Al Filipe ride so I'll just wait for my Pro contract then all of this comes together to form two prices of course the specialized s Works tarmac esate costs £12,000 or $14,000 and this Canyon ultimate CFR 9,499 or 9,499 25 Grand shouldn't be sniffed at even at this rarified level so how do these two specific bikes compare on the road both bikes bring enviable handling qualities and ride confidence the specializes slightly lower slung and offers a slightly more aggressive ride position which means the ultimate could be the better bet if you find that kind of thing uncomfortable that said both deliver sharp handling without feeling nervous responses are predictable and both produce feedback that breeds that all important confidence in the overall ride both have the stiffness to lap up hard efforts and neither give the sense of wasting any effort and each gives the ability to carve a confident line on a descent frankly it comes as no surprise to me that Botha evolutions on already highly regarded bikes there are some differences though first off there's no doubt the S Works Tac sl8 feels like the faster bike of the two when the road is flat now needless to say we don't have our own wind tunnel to see what the difference is in black and white but the more pronounced aot tube Shades could be delivering some benefit to overall speed the wheels are probably having even more of an impact here though I've also ridden the ultimate CFR with comparably deep rims to the row Valves and that significantly closes the gap for sure when you climb a long shallow gradient say between 4 and 5% the TAC is still probably the faster of the two but then that pendulum swings when the gradient gets steeper and the climb longer the climbing specific wheels on this ultimate CFR really coming to their own here they whip around with ease when out of the saddle another benefit to the shallower rim is that they feel more stable if there's wind about if you're a lighter Rider who's not used to deeper eror Wheels this might be something to consider that's not to say that the TX rovar wheels are somehow overly susceptible to Crosswinds but there's always a balance to be struck between the arrow performance you get from those deep ER rims and the stability to be had from shallower ones in any case it's worth remembering that there's a more Arrow oriented build available for the ultimate CFR priced exactly the same with the S workk Tac esate aside from opting between Shimano and Shram drivetrains you'll be stuck with the rapid CX2 Wheels you can check out Simon's great video where he tested arrow and climbing wheels just follow the link above overall both bikes tackle Road Buzz well although I don't think the tire choices make the most of the bike's potential the 20 5 mm shabi pro1 TT tires on the canyon are great for a perfect day in the outs but aren't wide or sturdy enough for the kind of Road Services the vast majority of us will expose them to at least not without higher risk of punches I've been fortunate to avoid flatting on my test rides but the lack of puncture protection remains a concern to me the same story is true of the 26 mm SX tires on the specialized albeit they're a little more well-rounded in their construction to be honest though I'd look to upgrade both the 28 mm wide tires my pick would be some something like Continental gp5000 St or pelli P0 race tlrs and take the benefit of increased Tire volume over any small or rolling resistance benefit you might be getting from the narrow stock tires if you haven't seen it already I recommend you check out another great video from Simon from when we put the current latest fast Road Bike Tires to the test anyway back to these bikes which is best I'll preface this by saying that it's a bit like asking me to choose my favorite wine it all comes down to preference and how the bike matches with the riding that you like to do in these builds I think the specialized s Works Tac sl8 is certainly the more race ready and rounded of the two and probably the faster overall having said that this particular ultimate CFR can bite back withstanding climbing on steeper ascents while the slightly more accommodating ride position should be acknowledged I mean I know plenty of people who would happily choose those characteristics plus is £2,500 or $2,500 cheaper and and it's also worth bearing in mind that there's an option of an equivalent spec just with a deeper wheel set at the same price what would I buy if I had the money that price difference is hard to ignore so I'd probably spend my own money on the ultimate and add a deeper wheel set on top what do you think though would you want for the S Works Tac sl8 or the ultimate CFR let me know in the comments I'd love to know what you think and if you enjoyed this video give it a thumbs up and let us know what our next head-to-head should be see you next time now I need to decide which one I'm going to ride home

Channel: BikeRadar

Views: 25,842

Keywords: bikeradar, cycling, bikes, bike, cyclist, mtb, mountain bike, bicycle, road, tech, review, test, specialized, canyon, sl8, ultimate, race bike, head to head

Id: D1_tPOLLusw

Length: 10min 31sec (631 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 30 2023