IN BRIEF
Specialized is filling out its Tarmac SL9 with three cheaper tiers, two months after a launch that road.cc describes as limited to the S-Works version alone. On Specialized France’s product pages, the entry price now stands at €4,499 with the Comp, against €13,999 for the S-Works. The three new models are built around a FACT 10r carbon frame instead of the FACT 12r of the top-end bike, a frame that, according to road.cc, comes out of the same mould and that Specialized says is around 135 grams heavier. The new S-Level tier, at €10,499, replaces the former Pro level and keeps the SRAM RED AXS or Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets.
| S-Works Tarmac SL9 | 13 999,00 € |
| Tarmac SL9 S-Level | 10 499,00 € |
| Tarmac SL9 Expert | 6 999,00 € |
| Tarmac SL9 Comp | 4 499,00 € |
| Frame of the three new models | FACT 10r carbon |
| Claimed weight gap 10r / 12r | Around 135 g |
| S-Level drivetrains | SRAM RED AXS or Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 |
| Expert drivetrains | SRAM Force AXS or Shimano Ultegra Di2 |
| Comp drivetrains | SRAM Rival AXS or Shimano 105 Di2 |
Until now, the Tarmac SL9 existed only in S-Works form, at €13,999 on the Specialized France product page. Specialized has just widened the base: the Tarmac SL9, launched at the end of June in its S-Works version alone according to road.cc, has been available since 25 August in three additional tiers. According to the brand’s product pages, the entry price stands at €4,499.
The Tarmac SL9 comes down to €4,499
The French line-up now has four rungs. The S-Works Tarmac SL9 stays at the top at €13,999. Below it comes the S-Level at €10,499, then the Expert at €6,999 and finally the Comp at €4,499. All four prices appear on Specialized France’s product pages, consulted from France on 26 August.
The S-Level occupies a place of its own. It replaces the former Pro models, BikeRadar writes, in a hierarchy the brand had until now summed up as « S-Works, Pro, Expert, Comp ». It keeps the top-level groupsets, SRAM RED AXS or Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, paired with Roval Rapide CL III wheels, a Roval Rapide cockpit and a Power Pro saddle with Mirror technology. Specialized is selling it under a blunt tagline, reported by road.cc: « the second fastest bike ever built ».
A FACT 10r frame 135 grams off the FACT 12r
The savings also involve the frame. « The original S-Works bikes are built around Specialized’s top-end FACT 12r carbon frame. The new S-Level, Expert and Comp models all use a FACT 10r frame instead », road.cc notes.
The substitution matters less than it might seem. The outlet quotes Specialized: « the S-Works 12r frame is around 135 g lighter than the 10r frame ». For comparison, road.cc points out that an S-Works Tarmac SL9 frame is claimed at 687 grams. Above all, « because the FACT 10r frame comes out of the same mould as the S-Works one, all of Specialized’s aerodynamic claims still apply ».
The S-Level goes further than simply sharing a mould: according to road.cc, it takes over « the same frame shape, the same geometry and the same aerodynamic design as the S-Works Tarmac » and keeps the flagship’s FACT 12r fork. Only the frame changes.
What each rung changes
The Expert, at €6,999, drops a step on the drivetrain with a SRAM Force AXS or a Shimano Ultegra Di2, and swaps the Rapide wheels for Roval C38s. The cockpit moves to an alloy handlebar with a Rapide stem, and the saddle becomes a Power Expert. For the SRAM version, road.cc reports a weight claimed by the brand of 7.55 kg.
The Comp, which opens the range at €4,499, gets a SRAM Rival AXS or a Shimano 105 Di2 and DT R470 wheels. It shares the FACT 10r frame of the two other new models: the €6,000 gap that separates it from the S-Level therefore comes down to finishing kit and drivetrain, not to the structure of the bike.
