NEW BIKES (at least one...more to come), Shimano build review.

The team and I got our new Specialized Tarmac SL2 road bikes yesterday. We had our Dura-Ace gruppos sitting around for a while waiting to be put on the new bikes but we finally got things all in one place. We should have the Transitions tomorrow.

I've been riding my cross bike for about 6 months now so it was a bit tricky getting the fit sorted on the new road bike. I think I will still need to get a 110 stem instead of the 120 I've had for the past 5 years.

I don't have any pics yet, and I have only had one ride and that was on a trainer but I will have updates asap.

I can tell you that the Tarmac is very well detailed. The frames are very well built and feather light literally (under 1kg) The fork is freakin massive. Which is good since it means it is stiff. And the tapered steer tube should be interesting. The front end and bb are huge but with uber-thin carbon. The frame just oozes stiffness and responsiveness, but I will let you know once I get the bike outside.

The New 7900 Dura-Ace group is definitely better then the 7800. It's interesting how Shimano can pull that off year after year. You think there really isn't much room for improvement, then you get the new group and it's loaded with little details. I need to get it out on the open road but I can tell you the build-up is easier. The new shift levers make it much easier to reach the cables and clamp bolt. I hated having to slide the hex wrench down the side of the old shifters and make tiny 1/4 turns till it was tight. And the new chain is awesome. I can't speak too much to the asymmetrical-ness of the chain but the new master link is very well done. I have been using SRAM gold links on my Shimano chains for the past few years.

The cranks look cool but there isn't any difference as far as build up. The brakes have a large adjustment bold that is much easier to turn then the old tapered plastic knob.

Lastly, the new hood shape on the levers is certainly different. I didn't hate the old one like a lot of people, so we will have to see how it feels on the ride. I can say the carbon levers are a step up. They look SWEEET!. And the new shape is better.

All in all I built up the bike in about an hour. Quicker and easier then ever. So far, I would very much recommend both the Specialized Tarmac SL2 and the Shimano 7900 Gruppo.

More to come on all this stuff...