# 2018 Tarmac manual



## LehGin

Hey guys, I just got my new sl6 frame a few days ago and have been looking for a manual just to read through all the included pieces. I will be installing a mechanical groupset on it. A few people I have asked with the new frame all just told me they had their lbs assemble it so haven't had much help yet. I am pretty familiar with the basic assembly of bikes I would just like to know what and where every little bit goes. Coming from a tcr this will be my first specialized frame and I am pretty excited. I found a similar thread but on the sl5 frameset. If anyone has a pdf or a manual for this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## MMsRepBike

When you buy the frame, all the instructions come with it.

They're in the box.

When you buy a counterfeit frame, you come here to ask questions.

We don't allow you to talk about your counterfeit products here. So...


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## LehGin

Sorry to burst your bubble but my frame is not a counterfeit. Any written paper work found in the box has nothing to do with actual assembly of the frame or saying which cable liner/guide goes where. The owners manual is a manual as if i were to receive the bike as a whole. Here is an image i just took for you with the only paper work that came with the frame.








please excuse my giant stem. ill be getting something else after i get fitted.


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## Jester45

*Same issue*



LehGin said:


> Sorry to burst your bubble but my frame is not a counterfeit. Any written paper work found in the box has nothing to do with actual assembly of the frame or saying which cable liner/guide goes where. The owners manual is a manual as if i were to receive the bike as a whole. Here is an image i just took for you with the only paper work that came with the frame.
> 
> please excuse my giant stem. ill be getting something else after i get fitted.


Yes, this is exactly the situation - just picked up new frame last week and it seems that Specialized expects you to be a mind reader and work out exactly what everything is for. Lots of bits and pieces and not a single piece of (relevant) instruction(s) about the frameset and what to do with each inclusion. Pretty poor for a piece of carbon that is so expensive. You would not mind if there were online installation manuals (eg Shimano, SRAM etc) but have not been able to find anything at all. 

My LBS has been great though, so worked most of it out. However, if I had not done one before, would have been struggling to do the build. Not the way you should have to go about it though.


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## LehGin

I ended up just following a link I found in an old thread. Had I not found it I would not have known to do the California Cross.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/specialized/2016-tarmac-build-procedure-cable-routing-361771.html

Here are a few shots after it was finished. My brother got excited and took a nice picture before I could decide on a stem length and stack height. Too scared commit to cut the steerer more. Have to save more pennies for di2 next year.


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## Jester45

LehGin said:


> I ended up just following a link I found in an old thread. Had I not found it I would not have known to do the California Cross.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/specialized/2016-tarmac-build-procedure-cable-routing-361771.html
> 
> Here are a few shots after it was finished. My brother got excited and took a nice picture before I could decide on a stem length and stack height. Too scared commit to cut the steerer more. Have to save more pennies for di2 next year.
> 
> View attachment 321392
> View attachment 321393


Love the build and the colorway - looks great. Well done. No issues with leaving the steerer like that for a bit - ride it for a while and when you are totally comfortable, get out the hacksaw.


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## Devastazione

MMsRepBike said:


> When you buy the frame, all the instructions come with it.
> 
> They're in the box.
> 
> When you buy a counterfeit frame, you come here to ask questions.
> 
> We don't allow you to talk about your counterfeit products here. So...


Wow,nice attitude there.


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## Jester45

*Build complete!*



Jester45 said:


> Yes, this is exactly the situation - just picked up new frame last week and it seems that Specialized expects you to be a mind reader and work out exactly what everything is for. Lots of bits and pieces and not a single piece of (relevant) instruction(s) about the frameset and what to do with each inclusion. Pretty poor for a piece of carbon that is so expensive. You would not mind if there were online installation manuals (eg Shimano, SRAM etc) but have not been able to find anything at all.
> 
> My LBS has been great though, so worked most of it out. However, if I had not done one before, would have been struggling to do the build. Not the way you should have to go about it though.


Instructions or not , finally build done and really happy with it. Even better to ride than I had expected - really significant improvement over my SL4 Tarmac which I have been riding. Still to sort out stem height but loving it out the road. SRAM eTap very impressive. All in all, worth the wait


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## taodemon

Looks great. I was thinking of getting one but decided to wait to see what they do with the venge next year first. If what they do with the venge doesn't check the necessary boxes (the vias didn't) the SL6 will very likely be my next frame. I miss the aero of my first gen venge and like the ride of my current SL5 and the SL6 seems like the best of both worlds.


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## MMsRepBike

Devastazione said:


> Wow,nice attitude there. Prick.


The bike magically changed colors. Wow.


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## LehGin

Jester45 said:


> Instructions or not , finally build done and really happy with it. Even better to ride than I had expected - really significant improvement over my SL4 Tarmac which I have been riding. Still to sort out stem height but loving it out the road. SRAM eTap very impressive. All in all, worth the wait
> View attachment 321495
> View attachment 321496


That looks great! My team shop was pretty limited on colors/sizes available. They told me if I wanted the ultralight I would have to wait till the end of January. I actually asked for 303s like yours but they gave me an extra discount on a set of 404s that were sitting on the shelf. Kinda regretting the aerofly handlebars at the moment though. They aren't very comfortable.


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## crit_boy

Jester45 said:


> View attachment 321496


Love that color scheme - and eTap. Great looking ride. I am jealous.


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## taodemon

MMsRepBike said:


> The bike magically changed colors. Wow.


What bikes changed colors? There are two posters each with their own build, OP with his non counterfeit frame being one of them.


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## crit_boy

MMsRepBike said:


> The bike magically changed colors. Wow.


Yes, it camouflages itself when you say something dumb. That way it is not seen with you.


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## g-Bike

Anyone experiencing seat post slippage? if so please provide remedies...


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## taodemon

I would imagine same thing you use for most seat post slippage issues, apply something like?:

https://www.parktool.com/product/supergrip-carbon-and-alloy-assembly-compound-sac-2

I don't have the new tarmac but with my gen 1 venge that had this issue they used something like this I assume.


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## fangelov

*Cable guide for the BB area*

Did your bike come with a cable guide for the BB area? I cannot find such in all the bags with accessories. Could you take a picture of it please? The 2016 manual looks like a different design and the guide is built in the BB.
Thanks!



LehGin said:


> I ended up just following a link I found in an old thread. Had I not found it I would not have known to do the California Cross.
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/specialized/2016-tarmac-build-procedure-cable-routing-361771.html
> 
> Here are a few shots after it was finished. My brother got excited and took a nice picture before I could decide on a stem length and stack height. Too scared commit to cut the steerer more. Have to save more pennies for di2 next year.
> 
> View attachment 321392
> View attachment 321393


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## Jerry Zawadovski

*Croatia trip *









my mistake ... uff ... photo for pic thread


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## mlepich

g-Bike said:


> Anyone experiencing seat post slippage? if so please provide remedies...


I have the SL6 expert model black/acid mint and have been having problems with seat post slippage. I had my bike at the LBS this past thursday and the shop owner called his tech at Specialized. They told him that the seat post clamp should be torqued at 8 nm. I believe the previous standard for that bike was 6.2 nm. So he torqued mine at 8 nm after applying carbon paste to the seat post. 

I haven't had it out to ride since he torqued it as we just got 13 inches of snow 

Hope that helps.


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## sychen

Had no more slippage issues after torqued to 6.2nm with carbon paste. 

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


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## ritchief

Any chance of some pictures of your bike as I’m debating to order this frame set of wait for slightly lesser models to be released.

Thank you.




mlepich said:


> I have the SL6 expert model black/acid mint and have been having problems with seat post slippage. I had my bike at the LBS this past thursday and the shop owner called his tech at Specialized. They told him that the seat post clamp should be torqued at 8 nm. I believe the previous standard for that bike was 6.2 nm. So he torqued mine at 8 nm after applying carbon paste to the seat post.
> 
> I haven't had it out to ride since he torqued it as we just got 13 inches of snow
> 
> Hope that helps.


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## mlepich

ritchief said:


> Any chance of some pictures of your bike as I’m debating to order this frame set of wait for slightly lesser models to be released.
> 
> Thank you.


Here are a couple.


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## jago

Jester45 said:


> Instructions or not , finally build done and really happy with it. Even better to ride than I had expected - really significant improvement over my SL4 Tarmac which I have been riding. Still to sort out stem height but loving it out the road. SRAM eTap very impressive. All in all, worth the wait
> View attachment 321495
> View attachment 321496


Very nice! I'm about to order the frame, but cannot decide on the color ;-). Also, it seems I'm between sizes. Which size is that?


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## ritchief

Hi all,

I am after some advise. 

I currently ride a 2015 Giant Defy Adanvced Pro 1 but looking to upgrade it to the new Tarmac disc. I am trying to book a test ride but given that this bike has only just been released my LBS are yet to receive any demo bikes. 

Do you think there will be a considerable betterment in riding quality, more fun, possibly quicker etc that justifies this expenditure?

Thank you in advance.


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## sychen

ritchief said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I am after some advise.
> 
> I currently ride a 2015 Giant Defy Adanvced Pro 1 but looking to upgrade it to the new Tarmac disc. I am trying to book a test ride but given that this bike has only just been released my LBS are yet to receive any demo bikes.
> 
> Do you think there will be a considerable betterment in riding quality, more fun, possibly quicker etc that justifies this expenditure?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


My best mate have that same bike and I'm on the S-works tarmac sl6. Have ridden his bike a few times.. So I have some experience in both.

They are very different bikes... Tarmac is much more aggressive positioned /lighter /stiffer/faster and I wouldn't want to ride the defy for too long as for me the front end is too high though it was a very comfortable/forgiving ride. This is due to my body proportions rather than how pro I am(short legs) .

My mate couldn't ride the tarmac for extended periods either as its too low/hard for him. If he was going to get an Specialized he would go for a roubaix.

Kind of depends what you are looking for and what fits you best. For me tarmac is a no brainier if you can get one as it's just a phenomenonal bicycle in every way. 

As reference.. I'm 170cm tall with 680mm seat to bb.
Picture for reference









Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk


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## fporter

For the OP, how did the mechanical install go for you? I recently got a lightly used rim brake SL6 pro with Ultegra Di2. I have Red22 on my SL3 and am going to swap the Red over to the SL6 to save a pound or more.

Did the parts necessary for the mechanical shift conversion come with your bike?

Reading these instructions: https://media.specialized.com/support/collateral/0000040986_R1.pdf
I'm wondering about the words in the picture (below, snipped from the above linked doc) about the cable routing sheath. 

If the routing sheath is removed what does one do the next time a shift cable needs replaced? Or maybe i'm misunderstanding.


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## Jester45

fporter said:


> For the OP, how did the mechanical install go for you? I recently got a lightly used rim brake SL6 pro with Ultegra Di2. I have Red22 on my SL3 and am going to swap the Red over to the SL6 to save a pound or more.
> 
> Did the parts necessary for the mechanical shift conversion come with your bike?
> 
> Reading these instructions: https://media.specialized.com/support/collateral/0000040986_R1.pdf
> I'm wondering about the words in the picture (below, snipped from the above linked doc) about the cable routing sheath.
> 
> If the routing sheath is removed what does one do the next time a shift cable needs replaced? Or maybe i'm misunderstanding.
> 
> View attachment 323560


Hi, unfortunately cannot assist here - I bought frame new and fitted SRAM so mechanical (thankfully) did not come into it for me.


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## packetloss

Is there a cover for that oval opening under the bottom bracket?


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## Jonesic

MMsRepBike said:


> When you buy the frame, all the instructions come with it.
> 
> They're in the box.
> 
> When you buy a counterfeit frame, you come here to ask questions.
> 
> We don't allow you to talk about your counterfeit products here. So...





MMsRepBike said:


> When you buy the frame, all the instructions come with it.
> 
> They're in the box.
> 
> When you buy a counterfeit frame, you come here to ask questions.
> 
> We don't allow you to talk about your counterfeit products here. So...


I opened an account just so I could tell this guy he’s a fucking prick.


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