Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8

[cyclespeed]

New Sworks day for me!

Currently it's very stock but weighs in at 7.050kg with Garmin, Cages and Pedals on!

Up for tips on what to look at to shave weight - I'm waiting on my first flats to swap the tubes over to Ridenow's which should get it under 7kg comfortably.

1/2 kilo gone by swapping just the crankset and the wheels......

[Alex222]

Swap out those Supacaz bar end plugs for some cheap standard plastic ones and you have a 20g saving straight off.

[bobones]

New Sworks day for me!

Currently it's very stock but weighs in at 7.050kg with Garmin, Cages and Pedals on!

Up for tips on what to look at to shave weight - I'm waiting on my first flats to swap the tubes over to Ridenow's which should get it under 7kg comfortably.

When you say Garmin, do you mean the mount or the computer because you don't weigh the bike with the computer attached, just as you don't count water bottles either.

Lighter expansion plug, saddle mounting kit (or seatpost), tyres (e.g. GP5k TT TR), Galfer Wave rotors, 1200g wheels, cranks and chainrings, ...

[Ol3Tarmac]

I have got now 3 SL8´s in our house and the fork of the first one had definitely a centering problem (Sworks frameset, RTP, bought in September 2023)! My dealer opened a warranty claim and I got a new fork (thanks to Specialized!!) - the same wheel with the same tire was then centered in the new fork!

My wife bought a SL8 (Pro Frameset) in Apri 2024 and there was also no issue… all wheels we have were centered in the fork!

Now in November 2024 I just received a warranty Sworks sl8 frameset (crack in the downtube of my rtp frameset) - the front wheel is also 100% centered in the new fork! I think there was an issue with some forks in the beginning of the sales start of the sl8 (my dealer had 3 complete Sworks bikes in his shop at sales start and 2 of it had the issue and one was aligned perfect).

Look at my pictures…first fork from the rtp frameset with the issue and second fork of my newest warranty frameset without the issue… I‘m not a technician but you can easily see a problem here (always the same wheel which is centered)!

Hello.
I'm just wondering. Did you have to send your fork for analysis?
Basically specialized asked my fork for analysis. The deviation I have on mine is around 2 mm which doesn't make possible to fit 32c.
If I'm advancing with this process I think I'll be without the bike for at least 3 weeks.
And I'm wondering if they have stock forks with the same color.


Would appreciate your feedback and more details about your case.

Thanks!

Im basically in the same situation. I guess we have the same frameset colour, production year and fork deviation around 2mm.

Months ago specialized rider care replied to me the following:

that maximum tolerance is about 2mm ( therefore i didnt filed a claim yet).

Provided, the claim will be accepted, the replacement fork needs to be painted in the frameset colour (the dealer will take care on everything and get reimbursed by specialized).

[bcarvalho]

I have got now 3 SL8´s in our house and the fork of the first one had definitely a centering problem (Sworks frameset, RTP, bought in September 2023)! My dealer opened a warranty claim and I got a new fork (thanks to Specialized!!) - the same wheel with the same tire was then centered in the new fork!

My wife bought a SL8 (Pro Frameset) in Apri 2024 and there was also no issue… all wheels we have were centered in the fork!

Now in November 2024 I just received a warranty Sworks sl8 frameset (crack in the downtube of my rtp frameset) - the front wheel is also 100% centered in the new fork! I think there was an issue with some forks in the beginning of the sales start of the sl8 (my dealer had 3 complete Sworks bikes in his shop at sales start and 2 of it had the issue and one was aligned perfect).

Look at my pictures…first fork from the rtp frameset with the issue and second fork of my newest warranty frameset without the issue… I‘m not a technician but you can easily see a problem here (always the same wheel which is centered)!

Hello.
I'm just wondering. Did you have to send your fork for analysis?
Basically specialized asked my fork for analysis. The deviation I have on mine is around 2 mm which doesn't make possible to fit 32c.
If I'm advancing with this process I think I'll be without the bike for at least 3 weeks.
And I'm wondering if they have stock forks with the same color.


Would appreciate your feedback and more details about your case.

Thanks!

Im basically in the same situation. I guess we have the same frameset colour, production year and fork deviation around 2mm.

Months ago specialized rider care replied to me the following:

that maximum tolerance is about 2mm ( therefore i didnt filed a claim yet).

Provided, the claim will be accepted, the replacement fork needs to be painted in the frameset colour (the dealer will take care on everything and get reimbursed by specialized).

What a joke. And where will the dealer hire the paintjob?
When someone states this 2 words in the same sentence "tolerance" and "about/around" something is not right.
Specialized should assume this mistake. In the meantime they are just playing time with customers.
Attached follows a picture from their website of the s works with the new SRAM red. Why is it centered now ? Hahahah
To be honest I dont trust the laser measurements and pictures with squares specially if you are using your tyre as a reference. In my opinion this is a dropout issue - parallel faces tolerances might not be accomplished at the first mold they were using for the fork production.

[johnsonmoog]

New Sworks day for me!

Currently it's very stock but weighs in at 7.050kg with Garmin, Cages and Pedals on!

Up for tips on what to look at to shave weight - I'm waiting on my first flats to swap the tubes over to Ridenow's which should get it under 7kg comfortably.

1/2 kilo gone by swapping just the crankset and the wheels......

Can I ask your recommendations for cranks? If I wanted to swap a Sram crank?

[Kardinal]

I have got now 3 SL8´s in our house and the fork of the first one had definitely a centering problem (Sworks frameset, RTP, bought in September 2023)! My dealer opened a warranty claim and I got a new fork (thanks to Specialized!!) - the same wheel with the same tire was then centered in the new fork!

My wife bought a SL8 (Pro Frameset) in Apri 2024 and there was also no issue… all wheels we have were centered in the fork!

Now in November 2024 I just received a warranty Sworks sl8 frameset (crack in the downtube of my rtp frameset) - the front wheel is also 100% centered in the new fork! I think there was an issue with some forks in the beginning of the sales start of the sl8 (my dealer had 3 complete Sworks bikes in his shop at sales start and 2 of it had the issue and one was aligned perfect).

Look at my pictures…first fork from the rtp frameset with the issue and second fork of my newest warranty frameset without the issue… I‘m not a technician but you can easily see a problem here (always the same wheel which is centered)!

Hello.
I'm just wondering. Did you have to send your fork for analysis?
Basically specialized asked my fork for analysis. The deviation I have on mine is around 2 mm which doesn't make possible to fit 32c.
If I'm advancing with this process I think I'll be without the bike for at least 3 weeks.
And I'm wondering if they have stock forks with the same color.


Would appreciate your feedback and more details about your case.

Thanks!

Hi!

Some more details about my case: After my dealer opened the warranty claim Specialized sent me a new fork - my dealer had to ship my old fork to Specialized for analysis! In my case a 32 mm tire (Specialized Mondo) wasn't able to fit because the tire clearance between the tire and the right fork leg was too tight (around 1 mm). My frame was a ready to paint version - so I didn't had the problem with the colour...I don't think that Specialized have replacement forks in all coulours on stock!

[Sub2]

Tyres , rotors , tubes, chain, saddle, bar end plugs, cages ..... sub 6.8k easily.

[Kardinal]

I have got now 3 SL8´s in our house and the fork of the first one had definitely a centering problem (Sworks frameset, RTP, bought in September 2023)! My dealer opened a warranty claim and I got a new fork (thanks to Specialized!!) - the same wheel with the same tire was then centered in the new fork!

My wife bought a SL8 (Pro Frameset) in Apri 2024 and there was also no issue… all wheels we have were centered in the fork!

Now in November 2024 I just received a warranty Sworks sl8 frameset (crack in the downtube of my rtp frameset) - the front wheel is also 100% centered in the new fork! I think there was an issue with some forks in the beginning of the sales start of the sl8 (my dealer had 3 complete Sworks bikes in his shop at sales start and 2 of it had the issue and one was aligned perfect).

Look at my pictures…first fork from the rtp frameset with the issue and second fork of my newest warranty frameset without the issue… I‘m not a technician but you can easily see a problem here (always the same wheel which is centered)!

Hello.
I'm just wondering. Did you have to send your fork for analysis?
Basically specialized asked my fork for analysis. The deviation I have on mine is around 2 mm which doesn't make possible to fit 32c.
If I'm advancing with this process I think I'll be without the bike for at least 3 weeks.
And I'm wondering if they have stock forks with the same color.


Would appreciate your feedback and more details about your case.

Thanks!

Im basically in the same situation. I guess we have the same frameset colour, production year and fork deviation around 2mm.

Months ago specialized rider care replied to me the following:

that maximum tolerance is about 2mm ( therefore i didnt filed a claim yet).

Provided, the claim will be accepted, the replacement fork needs to be painted in the frameset colour (the dealer will take care on everything and get reimbursed by specialized).

What a joke. And where will the dealer hire the paintjob?
When someone states this 2 words in the same sentence "tolerance" and "about/around" something is not right.
Specialized should assume this mistake. In the meantime they are just playing time with customers.
Attached follows a picture from their website of the s works with the new SRAM red. Why is it centered now ? Hahahah
To be honest I dont trust the laser measurements and pictures with squares specially if you are using your tyre as a reference. In my opinion this is a dropout issue - parallel faces tolerances might not be accomplished at the first mold they were using for the fork production.

100% your opinion!!

When I buy a framset for over 5k my tolerance for issues is 0,00% !!! In other words: either they fix the issue or I want my money back! And the issue isn't fixed for me, when the fork colour isn't the frame colour!!

[rollinslow]

Spesh will just send a painted fork via the dealer.

When bought my S Works directly from Spesh (dealers are kryptonite to me) I called Rider Care, got ok the phone with someone in 10mins, and just told them I was testing to see if this service actually works. The guy knew everything and had seen my frame in person etc. then he shipped it to me for free just for being nice.

I bet they will make this right. I think it wa mentioned somewhere but couldn't the fork offset simply be paint/clearcoat related anyway? I would have done the same and insisted on a new fork as well. At 5500k USD plus tax there is no way you can accept anything but perfect.

[bcarvalho]

I have got now 3 SL8´s in our house and the fork of the first one had definitely a centering problem (Sworks frameset, RTP, bought in September 2023)! My dealer opened a warranty claim and I got a new fork (thanks to Specialized!!) - the same wheel with the same tire was then centered in the new fork!

My wife bought a SL8 (Pro Frameset) in Apri 2024 and there was also no issue… all wheels we have were centered in the fork!

Now in November 2024 I just received a warranty Sworks sl8 frameset (crack in the downtube of my rtp frameset) - the front wheel is also 100% centered in the new fork! I think there was an issue with some forks in the beginning of the sales start of the sl8 (my dealer had 3 complete Sworks bikes in his shop at sales start and 2 of it had the issue and one was aligned perfect).

Look at my pictures…first fork from the rtp frameset with the issue and second fork of my newest warranty frameset without the issue… I‘m not a technician but you can easily see a problem here (always the same wheel which is centered)!

Hello.
I'm just wondering. Did you have to send your fork for analysis?
Basically specialized asked my fork for analysis. The deviation I have on mine is around 2 mm which doesn't make possible to fit 32c.
If I'm advancing with this process I think I'll be without the bike for at least 3 weeks.
And I'm wondering if they have stock forks with the same color.


Would appreciate your feedback and more details about your case.

Thanks!

Hi!

Some more details about my case: After my dealer opened the warranty claim Specialized sent me a new fork - my dealer had to ship my old fork to Specialized for analysis! In my case a 32 mm tire (Specialized Mondo) wasn't able to fit because the tire clearance between the tire and the right fork leg was too tight (around 1 mm). My frame was a ready to paint version - so I didn't had the problem with the colour...I don't think that Specialized have replacement forks in all coulours on stock!

Thanks a lot for the feedback.
What bothers me the most is specialized not making an official statement about this issue.
Since this seems to be an aesthetic defect, which I believe is structural; in my view the wheel is tilted left to the fork like this \ , specialized backs off and seems to only accept warranty claims from unhappy customers.

Even worst is people that find it acceptable for a 5.5k frame. And yes, I ride my bike a lot and I'm not a dentist (no offense). This was the best frame I've ever ridden. However I can only accept minir defects... Let's say a minor paint defect wouldn't bother me.

[Kardinal]

My advice: go to your dealer and he should open a warranty claim with some good pics of the problem! I think Specialized will solve your problem!!

PS: I would not even accept a minor defect like an paint issue or so! We pay a lot for the frames/bikes and so all manufacturers have to take care for best quality when they deliver their goods!!!

[bcarvalho]

Spesh will just send a painted fork via the dealer.

When bought my S Works directly from Spesh (dealers are kryptonite to me) I called Rider Care, got ok the phone with someone in 10mins, and just told them I was testing to see if this service actually works. The guy knew everything and had seen my frame in person etc. then he shipped it to me for free just for being nice.

I bet they will make this right. I think it wa mentioned somewhere but couldn't the fork offset simply be paint/clearcoat related anyway? I would have done the same and insisted on a new fork as well. At 5500k USD plus tax there is no way you can accept anything but perfect.

Thanks for the feedback.
I don't really think it could be paint related.
If this was only aesthetic why would new production forks have the offset corrected ?
If this was by design they wouldn't even be bored. For sure there is a CAD team that knows exactly how this fork interaction with wheel was designed. Or maybe not. I have the idea that bike engineers are not that good. It's no as hard as it sounds to design a bike frame in 2024. But producing it by 200 USD and selling it by 3500 USD to distributors seems the way to do it.

[olliekav]

Anyone got the SL8 decals in EPS/SVG format? Specifically after the Tarmac one but all of them would be a great help!

[Tpduke112]

Came in at 6.69 kg with pedals, cages, and front and rear mounts (varia).

56 RTP, 10/36 cassette, bbinfinite bb, Tavelo Avro bars in 40/120, full Red, Farsports S6/5 Evo wheels, 32mm GP5KSTRs, Fizik Antares R1 Adaptive saddle, Arundel Mandibles, Assioma Duos, wireless blips, galfer rotors, AB OSPW, carbon ti rings, some gold bits.