# McLaren Tarmac - When will we see more details?



## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

I know Specialized said they would reveal at the Tour in July. Hopefully we will see something this week with more info! Will it just be a 12R Tarmac, or will there be anything else involved in this McLaren frame.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

mile2424 said:


> I know Specialized said they would reveal at the Tour in July. Hopefully we will see something this week with more info! Will it just be a 12R Tarmac, or will there be anything else involved in this McLaren frame.


My money says a better layup schedule, with better carbon and less of it, and about 100 grams lighter plus the requisite alluring paint scheme.

The most extreme possibility is an entirely different frame design, but that seems wildly unlikely.

Of course, the projected price mentioned, albeit pretty casually, by one article I saw would be pretty silly to pay for a slightly lighter frame.

They're already at the point where making stiffer torsionally doesn't make much sense, as there is such little useful gain to be made there.


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

mile2424 said:


> I know Specialized said they would reveal at the Tour in July. Hopefully we will see something this week with more info! Will it just be a 12R Tarmac, or will there be anything else involved in this McLaren frame.


A 12R frame will make a lot of 2015 Sworkers pissed off I guess but actually I won't be surprised. I'm afraid I'm losing my thing for Specialized,I'm glad I live in Europe as I may give Canyon a shot for my next bike. Sleek black frames no HM,no FACT,no BS no nothing. A sleek black frame well specc'd at an honest price.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

thumper8888 said:


> My money says a better layup schedule, with better carbon and less of it, and about 100 grams lighter plus the requisite alluring paint scheme.
> 
> The most extreme possibility is an entirely different frame design, but that seems wildly unlikely.
> 
> ...


Ya I think after the McLaren Venge, if they specify it's going to be lighter, hopefully it really will be lighter in weight, after paint, etc when it arrives into the customer hands. A chrome paint would be cool like the F1 cars, but I am sure highly unlikely. It would be nice to be more than a 12R carbon, more precise weight saving lay up, and McLaren sticker, but we shall see....


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Devastazione said:


> A 12R frame will make a lot of 2015 Sworkers pissed off I guess but actually I won't be surprised. I'm afraid I'm losing my thing for Specialized,I'm glad I live in Europe as I may give Canyon a shot for my next bike. Sleek black frames no HM,no FACT,no BS no nothing. A sleek black frame well specc'd at an honest price.


Why would a 12R frame upset Sworkers? When the rider engineered tarmac was announced they mentioned a McLaren frame was coming in July. I don't think it should come as a surprise.


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

mile2424 said:


> Why would a 12R frame upset Sworkers? When the rider engineered tarmac was announced they mentioned a McLaren frame was coming in July. I don't think it should come as a surprise.


Was the McL Venge a 12r ? Just asking,can't really remember...


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Devastazione said:


> Was the McL Venge a 12r ? Just asking,can't really remember...


Indeed it was


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

I can't imagine the new tarmac buyers will get too wound up about a 12r if they are charging three times as much for it. You have enough money, you can have anything, and if its hugely out of reach people just shrug.
You have $250k to drop on it they will probably just go ahead and do the right thing and make you one in boron fiber.
http://www.calfeedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/001_HyBorPaper.pdf


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

mile2424 said:


> Indeed it was


Ok then,that makes me wanna stick to my good enough FACT 10R carbon then. Until I'll move to another brand of course.


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## RkFast (Dec 11, 2004)

mile2424 said:


> Why would a 12R frame upset Sworkers? When the rider engineered tarmac was announced they mentioned a McLaren frame was coming in July. I don't think it should come as a surprise.


Because S-Works is supposed to be the best of the best Spesh offers.

But its not much different with cars. I doubt many who own a Corvette get all twisted over a rare "super special edition" that comes out every now and then.

I have an S-Works, but as time goes on Im more or less over the need to have the latest and greatest. Ill always go for the best bikes and parts but if they come out with something better a week later, so be it. Pricewise same thing applies. Those new Zipps seem great..but they want almost a GRAND upcharge for them? Go eff yourselves, Zipp.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Looks very disappointing from this picture....


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Looks like it will be officially unveiled tomorrow. 250 bikes, each bike is made to order after getting a body geometry fit, name badge etc. Says 9-11% savings in weight. Comes with a pair of S-works shoes and prevail helmet. No word on price. Also says you will basically have to sign up through a given website, to get your name on the list or chance of getting one.


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## Supha (Jun 5, 2014)

Yeah, my specialized dealer enquired about it for me a couple of weeks ago and found out that the frame would be priced at c.4-5x the 2015 Tarmac.

Was quickly scratched off my list at that point.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Supha said:


> Yeah, my specialized dealer enquired about it for me a couple of weeks ago and found out that the frame would be priced at c.4-5x the 2015 Tarmac.
> 
> Was quickly scratched off my list at that point.


Well price aside, what is it really giving the potential customer? Possibly a small weight savings and stiffer frame layup like the McLaren Venge, a somewhat tailored fit based on a pro fitting (although does this mean complete custom geometry or just fit to size on a standard sz. 56 for example, matching shoes, matching helmet and a name badge? That doesn't seem like attractive incentives to me. I would have rather seen numbers like the new Trek where it's a 10-11 lb bike and offering some justification or new technology for the huge price tag.


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## Devastazione (Dec 8, 2011)

I like the Camaro edition a lot more than this,at least on paper.


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## packetloss (Jun 2, 2014)

The only benefit is for people that have run out of room in their bank accounts.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

packetloss said:


> The only benefit is for people that have run out of room in their bank accounts.


This.

And I am claiming the Oracle of Delphi award for my prediction upthread, and I quote: 

"My money says a better layup schedule, with better carbon and less of it, and about 100 grams lighter plus the requisite alluring paint scheme."

That sounds really really close to spot on with the nature of the differences and the weight.
I guess I get points deducted for not predicting special shoes, helmet, slightly tweaked crank and aero-bar, but god help me NO ONE could have predicted a special wall hanger and plaque.
Let alone a special paint scheme on the brake calipers.

It is a fine, fine bike... lovely in every way, but you would have to be a real jackass to be seen on it, given the cost and the nature of what youre getting.
Chrissakes, it even starts to make a Dogma F8 look modest.

If they were selling frames for $5K and whole bikes for $12K, MAYBE. But this is for McLaren car owners who dont ride, 24-year-old internet millionaires who want to try out this bike riding thing, and the wolves of Wall Street for those occasional days when their chauffeurs run off with their wives.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

And then there is the one lingering question: why the Prevail and not the Evade?


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## Dunbar (Aug 8, 2010)

thumper8888 said:


> And then there is the one lingering question: why the Prevail and not the Evade?


You'll have to buy a $20k McLaren Venge to get one of those


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## vertr (Aug 22, 2006)

thumper8888 said:


> And then there is the one lingering question: why the Prevail and not the Evade?


Pretty obvious, the Tarmac matches to the Prevail, and the Venge matches to the Evade.


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## dealraker (Sep 1, 2010)

As to the what the bikes look like......seems the big S got the dramatic look done quite successfully---- but now there's nowhere much to go with that and the bike above appears to me to be just old and dirty. Still think the 2007-2008 period was visually the most pleasing. Who knows.....?


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

I actually like the piano blk with mclaren orange. Looks pretty cool to me. If they had a non McL Tarmac in that color scheme, I'd consider picking one up.


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## dcorn (Sep 1, 2011)

Are we really judging a bike based on a crappy cell phone shot??

I just want the orange shoes. I guess that means we'll never see that color on the normal retail market.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

dcorn said:


> Are we really judging a bike based on a crappy cell phone shot??
> 
> I just want the orange shoes. I guess that means we'll never see that color on the normal retail market.


There's plenty of other professional shots on the Specialized site, a video on another site. I like the orange and black, but still personally can't get over the small S-Works logo on the down tube that looks out of place to me.


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## Supha (Jun 5, 2014)

Agree with the logo - doesn't look right to me either.

I had already been speaking with my Specialized dealer about a custom fluro orange paint job for my 2015 Tarmac (BoB) - this just shows me what I don't want it to look like haha.

I'm so dark the shoes won't be available... easily the coolest part of the package.


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## Dunbar (Aug 8, 2010)

One of the Saxo riders appears to be on a McLaren Tarmac in the TDF.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Dunbar said:


> One of the Saxo riders appears to be on a McLaren Tarmac in the TDF.


3 riders in the tour are using them. Roche from Saxo, Kwiatkowski from Omega Pharma, and Fugelsang from Astana


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## Cni2i (Jun 28, 2010)

mile2424 said:


> 3 riders in the tour are using them. Roche from Saxo, Kwiatkowski from Omega Pharma, and Fugelsang from Astana


Yep. I saw Roche on his...and I kept pausing the dvr to see it 😄


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## dcorn (Sep 1, 2011)

mile2424 said:


> There's plenty of other professional shots on the Specialized site, a video on another site. I like the orange and black, but still personally can't get over the small S-Works logo on the down tube that looks out of place to me.


Yeah, I've seen the pro shots and they look much better. But guys were commenting that the bike looked awful based on that one washed out picture above. 

I don't like the logo either. I think a bigger S-works logo would have looked better on the top side of the downtube instead of the side.


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

Ya that was the first glimpse I saw posted the day before the official release so just wanted to share but doesn't do it much justice.

Ya I agree, on the top side like some of the crux models would have been nice!


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## goodboyr (Apr 19, 2006)

Hope its built better than contador's tarmac.................


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## mile2424 (Jul 17, 2008)

goodboyr said:


> Hope its built better than contador's tarmac.................


Of course it is, it's made with 12R carbon  All kidding aside.


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