Specialized Tarmac Ultegra Di2

bigmitch41 · August 2016

First ride, having commuted for a couple of years on a Tri-Cross I felt it was time to take my road riding up another level. The bikes totally stock for now, but more than capable for my needs, looking forward to more tome in the saddle!

tim_wand · August 2016

Like that a lot, just looks proper! They ll be someone along in the minute to tell you to rotate your stis forward but if the position works for you , then leave it as is.

Some real good deals on the SL4 Model framesets, seriously considering picking one up whilst they ll still available.

Really like the colour way on yours, bet it looks even better in the flesh

bigmitch41 · August 2016

Cheers Tim yep I love it. Thanks for the heads up re the sti's, the pics taken from my first ride so still playing with setup, however i will rotate them and see how it feels, im a left arm amputee so I expect it will be a compromise for comfort, going to invest in a bike fit for sure though.
Specialized are running 25% off all 2016 models at the moment, plus I got a further 10% off using a voucher system through work, so it was too good a deal not to miss.
The frame/colours look way better in the flesh, the matt finish looks superb and She's currently stored in the dining room, far to good to be stuck in the garage with the Mountain bikes.

tim_wand · August 2016

Hi Big Mitch, If the set up works for you leave as is.

Don't wish to come across as ignorant, Left arm amputee? do you have a prosphetic and do you find that a Di2 groupset helps for this.

I only ask because one of school mums who has a paralysis down her right side asked me about some advice as she wanted to try cycling. I suggested that she got her front brake lever changed across to the left hand side as she has full mobility and power in that arm, never considered that Di2 could help her with shifting too.

Sorry if my questioning is insensitive. The only legitimate World Champion we have on this site,( Poker Face) is a lower limb amputee and you wouldn't want to try and hold his wheel.

Still awesome looking bike, my Current Cyclesheme Voucher is all done in September and I know a retailer who will let me put cash on top of a new one, so a SL4 Model Tarmac with discounts will very much be on the list , although there are also some Venge's knocking about at very tempting prices.

jlhopwo · August 2016

Drive-side pics pls!

bigmitch41 · August 2016

Sorry I should of taken drive-side pics, this one taken straight out of the box...

Following a motorcycle accident 15 years ago i suffered whats called a traumatic brachial plexus injury, simple terms is I pulled the nerves from the spinal cord that operate the left arm leaving the it paralyzed. I ride one handed without prosthetic, on my mountain bike I run two brake levers on the right hand side and a 1x11 setup, the dropper post is extremely helpful on the descents.
My Tri-cross has a triple ring up front but my work commute is flat enough to get by with leaving it on the big ring, when ive done any further distance riding ive had stop change up or down front ring before continuing on, not ideal and very frustrating.
And so I went for the Tarmac Di2 which i figure should be much much better suited for my needs, Ive just ordered a Shimano R600 Di2 climbing shifter, that will sit on the r/h side tops and operate the front derailleur with a click up or down with my right hand. So far so good, the Di2 was a big selling point because of my shifting issues, i cant wait to put some more miles on her now, hopefully with a working front shifter by the end of next week!

p.s. No offense taken with the questions what so ever, also loving the Venge, tough call Tarmac or Venge.....

Cheers

Mitch

tim_wand · August 2016

Thanks for being so Candid. Did wonder about satellite / sprint shifters or blip boxes on the same side as the functional limb , but she is quite happy to run single chain ring and just a front brake caliper, just needed positioning it all on the left.

Curious about your two brake lever on one side set up on MTB . For totally different reasons ( Bar clutter ) I was finding it near on in impossible to run a reverb dropper with rhs lever , with the I spec shifter and brake on my Anthem. I was continually having to take my hand off the grip and go in board to operate the dropper, not the best soloution when its getting sketchy. I now run 1X 10 and the dropper button is where the redundant front sti would have been.

You must be some rider if you can do two brake levers and a dropper on one side of the Bar.

tim_wand · September 2016

Big Mitch. Hows it going with the bike now your a few weeks in. My voucher is on its way and its a flip up between this and just the standard tarmac sport at £1100.

If I get the standard I know the up grade itch will start! Probably Ksyriums, and a better chainset to replace the IMO fugly FSA one and 105 calipers to replace the Axis, Those additions will probably take me close to another £600 so maybe just getting the same model as yours from the off would be a better idea.

How do you find the Wheelset on your Bike, Are they the Fulcrum 5s? . Think if I went the route you have would stick with those and be happy for now or maybe negotiate with the shop for some of the Fulcrums which can run two ways ( I.e Tubeless )

bigmitch41 · September 2016

Hi Tim, Im embarassed to say ive not managed to ride the Tarmac since its maiden voyage. For reasons nothing to do with the bikes credability, heres my list of excuses...
We went away for 2 weeks on holiday, I did take a bike with me but not the Tarmac. I did the Coast 2 Coast with my Brother for the first part of the holiday (3 days), and as it involved some slighly off road bits, plus i needed to attach a pannier rack I decided on taking the Tricross, its my daily commuter and already fully mudguarded up so was perfect for the job.
Also, I am training for the Isle of Man End2End mountain bike race which is on this Sunday! So I have been concentrating on putting the miles in on my mountain bike in readiness for the event, so after this weekend once ive recovered i can get back on the Tarmac.... im looking forward to that!
I have a friend who has done similar to what you suggested, bought a Tarmac slightly lower spec than my'n and has startred to upgrade it straight away. I think whatever you do you will be happy with the Tarmac whatever spec you choose.

As for the wheels, yes they are Fulcrum 5's. I havent thought of going tubeless but as I run my mountain bikes tubeless it would make sense, maybe when I change the rubber I will set up tubeless too. The bike comes standard with Specialized Turbo Pro's in a 23, I have been impressed so far but will go for a 25 or even 28 next time, just for extra comfort really, Im not in any rush to change anything just yet, until Ive put in some mileage first!

tim_wand · September 2016

Cheers Mitch. Good luck with the IOM E2E , Some some beastly climbs on that Island and that's just on road.

I m going to talk to the retailer and see what kind of deal can be done. Whether I can get the wheels swapped out on the lower spec bike at Purchase or not.

Rigga · September 2016

Nice bike mate, just out of interest have you got a longer seatpost in that?

Secteur · September 2016

Very nice! That's going on my list of bikes to consider when I next buy!

Someone somewhere else on here had a similar bike colour scheme, but accented it with bar tape that had orange "stitching" and orange skewers etc - it looked great - consider it!

bigmitch41 · September 2016

Completed the End2End in 5hrs 14mins yesterday, happy with that considering the gruelling head wind from start to finish, aching a bit today..

Seat post is standard, its on 8 out of 10 so not maxed out, ive got a 34.5 inside leg so it is on a tall setting.

I'll check out the bar tape, but really a set of deeper section carbon wheels is what i'd really like to go for!

Specialized Tarmac Ultegra Di2

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