My Tarmac Dark

[ProTech]

Here's my new build from this spring

My goal was to build a decent WW machine with my limited mechanic 's budget.

I started with a 2005 61cm Tarmac Pro frame .

It came painted in a gorgeous red color, but as I looked closer I could see the paint was abundant to the point where it had waves in it due to too much thickness, as I expected the frame came in at a porky 1584 grams with no seat collar, including bearings.

I was convinced I could do something about it...

I took on the project for the majority of my spare time last winter.
Most of it was spent stripping and refinishing the frame, an ordeal I don't want to go through again:

The frame had many productions defects in the cosmetic weave, to top it off all the junctions of the tubes to lugs areas where filled with mastic filler * ie: Bondo * .
The paint was a complete nightmare to remove, it might have been epoxy based, I have never seen such hard paint.
Due to the paint's thickness, wet sanding was next to useless, the only thing that could be done was to use a commercial paint stripper.
I selected Star 10 Phase 1 semi-paste gel because of it's composite friendly nature, still it took over 45 minutes of " cook " time at each application and they where quite a few, then a Swix metal scraper ( made to scrape skis ) was used to remove it as soon as the paint had softened to a degree,but it was still difficult to remove even with a metal scraper .

After the paint was stripped, the mastic was then scraped off and wet sanding was used to finish the job.
All this took over two months,the frame was a complete mess due to poor finishing from factory. Many divots in the CF outer layer had to be filled once the heavy useless mastic was removed.
I chose to fill the gaps with a industrial grade of cyanoacrylate glue , similar to Krazy Glue but much stronger and durable , this took a month one small layer applied then sanding, over and over.

The frame, nude and with all the divots filled, ready to paint was 1361 grams. That's a 223 gram saving.

Because the cosmetic outer weave and may defects in it I was forced to use paint instead of just clear coating the frame.
All that you see here is done with a spray can, fade out and all .

The Specialized down tube graphic was done with a stencil I made out of a Specialized FSR series sticker set I bought on ebay.
I chose to use the same black color of the rest of the frame for the lettering.
The S logos are sticker ghost; paint over stickers and then removed to show the CF under.
The clear coat was treated to #1000 & #2000 grit wet sand paper and Meguiars Scratch X polish was used to complete the mirror finish .

Final weight of frame with no seat collar is 1384 grams complete with all alu bolts , alu down tube adjusters,headset bearings and clear polyurethane chain stay protector .
That's a ~20 gram paint finish,not bad compared to the 200gr + factory one !

The build list goes as follows:

Frame:Specialized Tarmac Pro (custom paint) 61 cm 1384 g including bearings
Fork: Specialized S-Works 1 1/8" 321 g (cut )
Headset : OEM Specialized FSA Integrated 1 1/8" 19 g
Headset Spacers : FSA Carbon 15 mm, Including Time Top cap 12gr
Stem: KCNC SC Lite 120 mm ±6° 113 g
Handlebar: Syntace Racelite Carbon 31.8 44 cm OO (L) 181 g
Bar Tape: Bontrager Race Lite & Rav-X Plugs 33 g
Seatpost: m2racer Carbon 27.2/300 mm 80 g
Saddle: Specialized Toupe 143 mm 165 g with modified tip
Seatpost Clamp : Specialized Tarmac (tuned + ti bolt) 34 g
Brakes: Zero Gravity 0G-06 Ti BBB Triple Compound Pads 182 g
Shift/Brakel Levers: Shimano Dura-Ace ST-7800(Ti bolts&nuts) 410 g
Front Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-7800-BM(Alu screws) 31.8 mm 78 g
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace RD-7800-SS (fully tuned ) 148 g
Bottom Bracket: American Classic ISIS Road 68x108 mm 141 g
Crank Set : FSA Carbon Pro Elite Compact + Bolts 175 mm 36/50 548 g
Pedals: m2racer ORB II Ti 99 g
Chain: KMC X10 SL 100 links 222 g
Cassettes:KCNC TI,SC,7075 11-23 10-speed 116 g
Skewers: m2racer Ti QR skewers 40 g
Wheels: Custom AmClassic Micro/Ultra Light, Alex R400 Rims, DT Aerolite, DT Prolock Alu nipples. 20/24 holes 1280 g
Rim: Tape Rox SuperDutE ( for two rims ) 8 g
Inner Tubes : Continental Race 28 Supersonic S36 700x18-25C (for two) 102gr
Tires: Continental Grand Prix Supersonic 20-622 ( for two) 284 g
Brake Cables : Jagwire Ripcord & IoDuPont Powercordz 65 g
Gears Jagwire Ripcord & IoDuPont Powercordz 58 g
Bottle Cage(s) RavX Beta X 16 g

Final Weight :6134 grams















The bike rides fantastic,the paint stripping did not affect the ride or stiffness of the frame at all ; it feels just like all the other Tarmacs of the same size I have ridden.
The fit is perfect and I love the Tarmac geometry, fast yet stable.

Overall I achieved my goal, the bike was built up because I got a great deal on the frame.
The wheel did not cost too much, got a deal on the hubs, the DT Aerolite spokes being the most expensive part.

Stem and cassette came from Fairwheel Bikes ,thank you Jason.
I got the gears working almost satisfactory on the KCNC cassette by taking out any slack in the cable system and shimming the Dura Ace derailleur pivots to take any play out, the upper pulley was changed to an XT and I filed the ceramic bushing to remove the float.

The Bontrager Race tape was chosen not only because of it's low weight but it's slimness ,it really makes the Syntace Racelight bar come alive ,all positions can be used with it unlike thicker tape that limited me from getting a good grab on the ergo top of the bar


After ~1400km :
The AC BB gave me some creaking at first but I then replaced the Loctite nickel anti seize I had in the cups and shims with the better quality Kleen Flo nickel paste.

The Powercordz have been flawless,the only problem occurring when the cable dried up at the BB cable guide , I then re-applied some Finish line Stanchion Lube that I used to lube the cables ,now it's running fine.

Sorry for the long post ; it was a very long project to get together,lots of small juicy details, lol

[WannaBeSTi]

Oh my Why'd you lose the zerts inserts?

[Skyleth]

The frame looks great! The ghost decals are a really nice touch.

[ALx]

I hope i'll have the chance to see that baby in action on camilien houde (houle?...) someday

[ProTech]

Oh my Why'd you lose the zerts inserts?

Hehe,good eye there WannaBeSTi, I was sure no one would spot it.

There's gone simply because it's the shape of the seat stay not the polyurethane insert that does most of the vibration damping work.
It's also 7 grams less without them !

I run 20c tires so comfort is not my priority.

I hope i'll have the chance to see that baby in action on camilien houde (houle?...) someday

Hehe, you will ALx . I dont have the legs of my cat 2 days, my knees are blown so I cant climb until I'm in good form or it's too hard on them.

I'll be riding my hill training circuit made up of the old world championship course * the one from the Eddy Mercks days* in Montreal during august for sure , the Camilien Houde Climb is in it.

[cyclenutnz]

Gaping holes in the stays are a bit hard to miss.

I don't think anyone will complain about the long post, knowing the full story enhances appreciation of the result. It's truly awesome.

[Mottsauce]

Limited budget...I'd like to see what you do with unlimited funds.

[ferrarista]

Hey nice bike. I remember you. I saw you on the F1 track once this summer. we were riding in a pack. I recall telling my friend to take a glimpse of your bike. very stealthy.

good job on the work. it must have been painful. you might remember me I was on a spez roubaix.


now it has tune quick releases, white fizik bar tape and modified bottle cages polished.

so how did you take out the zertz inserts? do you just push on them and they come out. I wanna take them out too since I don't give a damn about them.

[Skillgannon]

A few things....first off, the bike looks bloody fantastic - and taking out the inserts makes it look better in my eyes for some reason.

Bit off topic, but are those wheels American Classic 350s?

[Dalai]

A few things....first off, the bike looks bloody fantastic - and taking out the inserts makes it look better in my eyes for some reason.

Bit off topic, but are those wheels American Classic 350s?

Listed in first post.

Wheels: Custom AmClassic Micro/Ultra Light, Alex R400 Rims, DT Aerolite, DT Prolock Alu nipples. 20/24 holes 1280 g

[Grimpeur]

Great job , must be great to customize your bike like that (Taking what has come out, coz you probably didn't always found it enjoying )

Can you tell me what you've done with the Toupé seat? Did you make extra padding under the tip?

Cheers,
David

[Provence]

Good job ! Incredible the amount of work you put into this project. Looks much better without the inserts.

[ProTech]

Hey nice bike. I remember you. I saw you on the F1 track once this summer. we were riding in a pack. I recall telling my friend to take a glimpse of your bike. very stealthy.

good job on the work. it must have been painful. you might remember me I was on a spez roubaix.

so how did you take out the zertz inserts? do you just push on them and they come out. I wanna take them out too since I don't give a damn about them.

Thank you all for the compliments

ferrarista It's funny you mention the Grand Prix track,I'm sorry I did not see you but next time I'll keep an eye out for you. It's a very nice Roubaix you have I should have no trouble spoting it.

The pics where taken on the chicane at the back of the F1 circuit after Senna's curve where a few years back Olivier Panis smashed his F1 car against the same wall the bike is pictured in, he was hospitalized for 6 months here in MTL and it ruined his career.
On the second picture there is a barely visible front of a car exiting the chicane comming toward my bike, the spot where my bike is was the aproximate impact spot of the Panis's F1 car.


The Zerts inserts are bloody hard to get out by hand. If you look carefully on the inside of the seat stay there is a slit in them small enough to insert a Michelin tire lever.
They are slid into place at the factory using some sort of silicone grease, so find the spot where there is a little bit extra and insert the tire lever there, then wiggle it to make an air gap between the inset an seat stay ,keep going until the insert is not stuck too much. Only then can you try to push them out starting at the loose sport using the tire lever from the inside.
They do seem to come out a bit easier pushing out from the bottom pointy end.

[ProTech]

Great job , must be great to customize your bike like that (Taking what has come out, coz you probably didn't always found it enjoying )

Can you tell me what you've done with the Toupé seat? Did you make extra padding under the tip?

Cheers,David

The Toupe cover was left untouched even though I really wanted to strip it.
They are rare these days locally and I'm somewhat to blame because I have recommended it to many people even at the begining of last winter and then sales just snowballed from there * pardon the pun ,hehe *

I could not find a scratch and dent one to warrant a full tuning .

So the only mods done are; first drilling a section of small holes under the front of the seat to releive some pressure that was bugging me since I tend to ride the nose a lot under hard efforts.
Second mod was to take off the horrible plastic duck bill in the front, it caused me once to get a small scrape behind my leg while sitting down from a small climb, I also think it looks better without it.
The plastic piece was hard to remove on mine,a lot of glue was on it's edges and I almost tore the cover while removing it. I then sanded and custom shaped the plastic piece that was taken off and re-glued it back underneath the seat , filled the gaps with the same cyanoacrylate glue used on the frame, then custom painted the piece to match the seat.

Limited budget...I'd like to see what you do with unlimited funds.

I did get the frame a very friendly price, most of the components where ordered over the months from suppliers when they where on sale.
The rear derailleur is a salvage from a customer's crash See Here
My only luxury was the m2racer stuff.
The Syntace bar was a welcome addition, not too expensive and strong, coupled with the very light and stiff KCNC Sc Lite stem it makes a 294gram bar stem combo that has one more hand positions than a normal bar ( that outside bend section between the brake hoods and the ergo top) to releive my numb hands during the long hauls.

After nearly getting killed a couple of time with the tuned set of Cane Creek BRS 200 SL that was on the bike originally I had to replace them .

The ZeroG just showed up at the store one day out of the blue after months of delay, they where just there sitting in the display cabinet so I fugured all that money was well spend on something that improved the bike's safety.

[scico]

How did you modify the saddle tip?