What are your thoughts on these two bikes? Allez Evo is alum with better components listed here:
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBC ... 1551,62280
Tarmac is obviously carbon, albeit their entry level carbon frame with components that are not quite as good (but I've read that apex is not bad at all when compared to rival). Prices are about the same. Thoughts?

Tarmac for sure, you can always upgrade the components later on.

I'd say you'd have to ride them.

I'd guess that the allez comes out lighter overall. You are going to give up weight in the wheels and componenents for the tarmac.

My guess would be that the 8r tarmac isn't going to be any stiffer than the allez, but will probably be a little more comfortable with the road buzz from the rear. The carbon fork in the front is likely the same. Stock, I think the allez is likely a better overall bike. The frames are likely within 100g weight.

FWIW, My commuter is a '12 allez evo / rival with red shifters, and my nice bike is a '11 s-works tarmac sl3 with red. I definitely notice a difference between the weight and agility of the frames, but its not nearly as drastic as you might expect. I'm not sure how much of a difference in stiffness and weight the 11r vs 8r construction makes, but I'd guess the 8r frame is going to be at least ~200ish grams heavier than the 11r S-works, which would put the 8r tarmac in the range of the allez.

I guess my point is that the allez might be a better frame than the 8r tarmac, depending on what you want, so don't just write it off as a negative.