S-works Tarmac SL6 vs. Pinarello Dogma F10 vs. Trek Madone

[TonyM]

Had a few Colnagos over the years - C40, Dream x2, Extreme C, M10 and now another C40 - and they always ride sublimely, even the aluminium ones are decent. Didn't get on with F8 at all.

My Colnago Dream (1st gen) that I ride since the 90s and that I used to race with is still very hard to ride (and therefore since last winter only on the home trainer). But that’s the aluminum frames from that time. My F10 is so smooth in comparison. All relative.

But I understand you. Everybody is different.

[Stendhal]

One personal experience. 1.5 years ago, I rode the Dogma F8 and the S-Works SL5 back-to-back on test buy rides. Later that day, I tried an Emonda; the local shop did not have a Madone on the shelf.

Going into the tests, I had always liked the Pinarello but as a weight weenie their bikes had been too heavy until the F8. I wanted to like the S-Works for several reasons, including that Specialized is nearby my home.

The two bikes were night and day; the Dogma was dynamic and exciting, while the SL-5 (despite being the same weight) felt dead as a doorknob. The Emonda was very interesting; unbelievably light yet very stiff. I thought it was aimed squarely at the Cervelo R series bikes I had ridden a few years earlier.

I bought an F-8, since replaced by warranty upgrade (there was a small crack) to an F10. It's not weight-engineered (the fork alone was 400g -- it's a brilliant fork) but it is light enough; built with pretty light wheels (Roval CLX32, highly recommended), mine is under the 6.8 kg limit including the Look pedals. The F8 \ F10, in my assessment, is an optimal combination of lightness, stiffness and aero. (One reason I may think that is that it replaced another all-around \ semi-aero bike, a Willier Cento Uno SL.) I have a bad back, but did not find either the F8 nor the F10 to be too stiff.

NB, I also tried a Cervelo S3. Just like a dealer who carries both companies in Florida wrote, the S3 was 90% of the F8 at a much lower price, but if you buy a Pinarello you have a Pinarello. (OK, I admit I'm a sucker. In my defense, I was buying a frame rather than a complete bike, and that favored the Pinarello on the finances).

I've been excited by the SL6 talk on this forum and reviews to date, and would give that strong consideration in the next bike Pillsbury bake-off. It appears to be the F8-like version of the Tarmac, in that it is a model with a major weight loss as compared to the prior version and hence at kind of a tipping point. (Based on what I've read here, the C64 embodies the same phenomenon, which would be interesting to me if I like lugged bikes.) So you probably cannot go wrong with any choice. (The best riders in my bike club swear by the Madone.)