Mudguards on Specialized Tarmac Disc

cmcdonnell

Anyone know if you can for mudguards on a Specializec Tarmac disc. In the market for a new bike to use all year so would need guards for winter duties as my club has very vocal mudguard police. Fancy something different and I need race geometry as I find that comfortable and like it. Also I'm short and shaped like an ape, basically 5'6 with Cavendish proportions, so longer body and shorter legs. Life's too short to ride crap bikes so I know if I was to buy a traditional winter bike I'd end up only riding it in really bad weather. My club also seem to average 20+ mph in the winter too so I need a fast bike. Tarmac disc seems to fit the bill on geometry and the Roval wheels look good and I could then use 40mm carbons in the winter with the discs but I can't see if you could attach guards? Any ideas?

Anonymous

Basically, no. There are some guards which may fit (Portland design works, crudguards or other clip-ons) but there are no designated mounts. Also using the above you may find you are limited to what tyres you can use,

Given the tarmac disc is a reasonable sum, why not try and find a cheapish winter bike as well. I recently saw a trek 1.1 not sell on ebay for £150. OK it was a bit scruffy but took full guards and was complete. If you have a club who are adamant about mudguards then it does make a lot more sense to have two dedicated bikes. I currently have one bike and swap guards on and off and it's become more hassle than it's worth, so am also looking at a cheap second bike for exactly the same reason as you.

964cup

Get a Domane instead. Treks have (cunning, hidden) guard mounts.

cmcdonnell

Thanks for the helpful comments. The Domane looked good but massive headtube. I’d happily have a Domane, Roubaix or Diverge but they would not fit me as I need a maximum stack of 51 cm (my current bikes have 9.5 cm head tubes with no spacers but that only gives me a saddle to bar drop of about 8 cm) and a top tube of 52.5 (min. as I run a 11.5cm stem on one bike and 12cm on the other). It’s a real pain being so small as I end up with really steep seat angles needing an even longer stem to accommodate.

So… it looks like there is not a solution on the market. The Specialized deals looked good but I’ve not bought a bike whole for over 20 years and have only ever ridden campy mechanical but it’s getting so hard to get 10S parts now I think I will probably buy a whole bike with Shimano… never thought I’d say that but with even Pinarello riding Shimano, times have changed. Even considering electronic. Discs only make sense to me if they can be used in the winter, if not I may as well just get a standard Tarmac as I have a nice summer bike. Shame as I think I’d like discs on mountain holidays as I’m not the best descender

Bobbinogs

Might be worth thinking about some temp options as the best way forward for an all year bike. I have the Spesh Allez which is similar geo to the Tarmac and find that the Raceblade Longs (mkii) work very well. However, with you going for a disc option this will be a problem as the Longs are reliant on a brake bridge bolt which you won't have. How about just the simple Raceblades, with an extra flap fitted to comply with the mudguard police? The extra flap could be some simple card/duck tape, a la bearded CTC riders, or you could go for something that looks a little better like a Topflap. No guarantee but the Raceblades seem to fit to everything (well, most bikes anyway).

Road cc have an interesting recent article that seems apposite that may give you some more food for thought.

Failing that, if you can afford it, having both a good bike and a cheaper winter bike does have merits as the winter bike can be setup with full/perm mudguards, cheap and shallow wheels (to avoid the windy days) with winter tyres (durable, grippy and a little more puncture proof). It really shouldn't slow you down too much and winter riding should be about just trying to get out when you can rather than blasting everywhere.

964cup

Raceblades are OK (they come with a flap, and you can get a longer flap). You do need to put helitape on the frame under the mounts, or they'll rub your paint to bits. They have limited coverage, even the Longs (which, as pointed out, don't work for disc bikes) - none of them protect the front mech. Most other guards for bikes without mounts depend on the brake bridge (e.g. PDW). Might it be worth calling Trek to see if they'll do a Domane disc in the Koppenberg geometry?