Specialized Tarmac SL9 Expert Bike (2027)

Specialized Tarmac SL9 Expert 2027 road bike, in Gloss Black. Manufacturer reference: 94927-3449

The Tarmac SL9 was born from the fastest road bike in history. Not just because it is the lightest. Not just because it is our most aerodynamic bike. Not because it handles better than anything else on the road. But because it delivers the lowest real-world Time To Finish of any road bike ever made. The Tarmac SL9 converts more of your effort into pure speed, validated on real race courses, over real terrain, and with real riders. When the goal is to cross the finish line first, there is no road bike that will get you there faster.

• Speed Sniffer: When we started reshaping our already legendary Speed Sniffer head tube to further reduce aerodynamic drag, we knew we had to make it narrower and use the space normally reserved for internal cables. The aerodynamic gains were too significant to sacrifice, so the team engineered a solution. The Offset Steerer head tube design (U.S. patent pending) reroutes the rear brake hose along the right side of the steerer tube, making room for the new design. The result is a Speed Sniffer that is 4 mm narrower and delivers a 10% reduction in frontal area.
• Win Fin: Real-world race data showed that riders, in most breakaways, race with just one bottle, not two. During a breakaway, team cars sit directly behind the group, allowing riders to grab fresh bottles whenever needed. Without the need for a second bottle, airflow around the seat tube and rear triangle changes dramatically compared with traditional two-bottle testing assumptions. We redesigned the entire rear of the bike around this real-world racing configuration. The result is the Win Fin, optimized for the aerodynamic reality of race-winning moves.
• Lowered Down Tube: By reducing the gap between the fork, head tube, front tire, and the leading edge of the down tube, airflow moves more naturally through this high-pressure area. Closing this gap prevents turbulent air from spilling onto the frame, reducing aerodynamic drag and improving the efficiency of the entire front-end system.
• Flow Fork: To better manage the high-energy airflow coming from the front wheel, simply making the fork legs deeper was not enough. The breakthrough came when we rotated the fork legs inward, guiding airflow more efficiently along the frame. Combined with the fork crown, which now integrates cleanly into the transition between the head tube and down tube, the Flow Fork keeps airflow attached for longer and reduces aerodynamic drag across the entire front half of the bike.

Technical Specifications

Frameset

• Frame: Tarmac SL9 FACT 10r Carbon, Rider First Engineered, Win Tunnel Engineered, Threaded BB, 12x142mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc, UDH dropout
• Fork: FACT 12r Carbon, 12x100mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc

Drivetrain

• Shift/Brake Levers: Shimano Ultegra Di2 ST-R8170, hydraulic disc
• Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 FD-R8150, braze-on
• Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra Di2 RD-R8150, 12-speed
• Crankset: Shimano Ultegra R8100, 52/36t
• Bottom Bracket: Ceramic Speed BB Alpha, BSA DUB
• Cassette: Shimano Ultegra CS-R8100, 12-speed, 11-34t
• Chain: Shimano XT CN-M8100, 12-speed

Brakes

• Front: Shimano Ultegra BR-8170, hydraulic disc
• Rear: Shimano Ultegra BR-8170, hydraulic disc

Wheels and Tires

• Wheels: Roval C38, 21mm internal width carbon rim, tubeless ready
• Front Tire: S-Works Turbo, 700x30
• Rear Tire: S-Works Turbo, 700x30
• Inner Tubes: 700x24-34, 60mm Presta valve

Cockpit

• Handlebar: Specialized Expert Shallow Drop, alloy, 125mm drop x 75mm reach
• Bar Tape: Supacaz Super Sticky Kush
• Saddle: Body Geometry Power Expert, hollow Ti rails
• Seatpost: S-Works Tarmac SL8 Carbon seat post, FACT Carbon, 15mm offset
• Seat Binder: Tarmac integrated wedge

Weight

• Size 56 cm: 7.56 kg