S-Works SL7 Tarmac

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

How do you ride that stuff? You probably have 23c tires, too!

Ha! "Back in the day" I rode 20 and 23 on my Bianchi on a daily basis. 19 for triathlons. Now my Specialized aluminum bike has 30! Seems like 25 is more or less the norm now for road.

I've crashed hard enough to break both arms and bend the frame at the dropout, but the bike didn't shatter. It was an easy repair for a local builder.

But I'm really lusting for a Cinelli Supercorsa...

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i wonder if the insurance companies will get wise to the trend of bikes costing significant amounts of money?

I'm not an insurance guy, but my guess is that most policies probably have fine print about the replacement value of bicycles....unless you have a specific policy on them, which at that price, starts to feel much more like a motorcycle/car policy.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by KJMUNC

I'm not an insurance guy, but my guess is that most policies probably have fine print about the replacement value of bicycles....unless you have a specific policy on them, which at that price, starts to feel much more like a motorcycle/car policy.

yea exactly, i was wondering if insurance companies might start to offer individual policies for bicycle coverage.

[Pegoready]

Originally Posted by 9tubes

At that price just go custom.

Yes and no.

Yes you can get a nice custom bike for ~$12k-13k from the top makers in exotic materials, and considerably less in steel. It will look and fit how you want and you will probably be able to get all the best parts, though custom bikes hit $15-17 easily when you get into paint, powermeters, carbon wheels, etc.

But that $12-13k custom isn't buying you the lightest, most aero, most integrated looking bike because little custom makers just don't have the R&D abilities to do that stuff for one-off product.

For some people dropping $12k and getting a known item that looks and performs like a McLaren, that can be rolled out of the shop that day is worth something.

I'm biased and prefer custom bikes, and I am stoked stock bikes are hitting stratospheric price points. It makes my discussions with pals a lot easier when I tell them to go custom.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

yea exactly, i was wondering if insurance companies might start to offer individual policies for bicycle coverage.

Depending the homeowner/renter policy, contents are covered for replacement value, but for expensive stuff like fancy bikes, stereo, photography, art, etc., it's a good idea to have pics or video as proof of make/model.

Then you start to get into the differences between "replacement value", "market value", etc.

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by reuben

Depending the homeowner/renter policy, contents are covered for replacement value, but for expensive stuff like fancy bikes, stereo, photography, art, etc., it's a good idea to have pics or video as proof of make/model.

Then you start to get into the differences between "replacement value", "market value", etc.

Yeah, we went through this with a burglary 5-6yrs ago. Bikes weren't affected but I asked the question and didn't like the answer that they all would've fallen under "market value" had I needed to make a claim against them. We lost a lot of stuff that had heaps of sentimental value but little/no market value whatsoever.

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by 9tubes

At that price just go custom.

Or in my case, buy a nice bike and have $10,000 left over for wine, travel, etc.

[hobbanero]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i wonder if the insurance companies will get wise to the trend of bikes costing significant amounts of money?

i mean - my BRAND NEW DUCATI cost significantly less than this bicycle and i was damn sure i wanted my insurance coverage in place before i drove it away from the dealership.

I asked a few years ago about adding a specific insurance "rider" to my homeowner's policy for my bikes at full value. The cost was very high--something like 15% of the bike value per year. Problem is that bikes get crashed and they get stolen when they are outside the house, so the loss rate is high, and therefore policy cost.

[Fixed]

My 31 year old bottecchia is faster on the road than my 6000 Dollar specialized Crux but not as stable it is an old race bike .speed is not everything on a bike for me
Cheers

[hobbanero]

$12k for a bike is a lot. But I don't buy into the "handmade custom" comparisons (I know, blasphemy in the Church of Paceline). My Tarmac SL6 outperforms my Moots RSL in every respect except perhaps resistance to impact damage. It is lighter, stiffer, more aero, more comfortable, and costs about the same. In fact, the SL6 is even handmade....just in a much larger factory than the Moots. Granted, I don't have any special fit considerations.

Don't like $12k? Get the lower modulus frameset, which is still an amazing frame, for $3k and build it up with Ultegra/Force and one of the new less expensive carbon wheelsets (eg. Zipp 303S, Enve Foundation) for a bike that is 95% of the performance at 50% of the cost.

Spesh seems to price S-Works bikes these days at basically the full retail cost of all of the components. It is a halo product at a halo price. And probably a reaction to the fact that for many years, the number of bikes sold per year has not budged, so increasing prices was the easy way to increase revenue. Covid-19 has changed that, but it remains to be seen if our bike boom is temporary or long term.

[one60]

I saw a few 2021 SL7's today at a shop. I am far from being a Specialized fan but I will say they looked great (and I don't typically like sloping top tubes). Sure there is a LOT of hype about this frame but having recently had the opportunity to ride a much hyped Bianchi Specialissima, I admit I was wondering what it might ride like.

Also, as some others have noted, there are less expensive versions than the $12K version...those Ultegra (or similar spec) models seem to be reasonably competitive with Trek and other brands.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i wonder if the insurance companies will get wise to the trend of bikes costing significant amounts of money?

i mean - my BRAND NEW DUCATI cost significantly less than this bicycle and i was damn sure i wanted my insurance coverage in place before i drove it away from the dealership.

blows my mind that you can get a freaking Ducati, now just some moto but a DUCATI for less than a bike....


as far as these selling, I am not surprised. The new cool thing on the block.... it will go like this, either someone has a ton of money and just buys one with no care in the world... or .... one of those guys that has only 1 bike and been saving to upgrade.

13k is a ton for a bike but there are people here with 10 $3000 bikes so we can do the math.


Not to mention that you don't have the get the S works with sram red axs.... however I am sure the peasant tarmac is still a heap of money

[GregL]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Not to mention that you don't have the get the S works with sram red axs.... however I am sure the peasant tarmac is still a heap of money

The MSRP for the cheapest SL7 with Ultegra (albeit di2...) is $5K. An SL6 with mechanical Ultegra is $3.5K. A closeout of the current SL6 with Ultegra Di2 is $3.8K. I'll happily stick with my CAAD10 (frame purchased through the Paceline classifieds) with DA9000 and handbuilt wheels for about $2K...

Greg

[pdmtong]

6.0 frame/fork
3.0 grouppo
2.5 wheels
0.75 post/saddle/stem/bar

so there's your 12. it's no longer shocking to me. people buying F12, C64, Responsorium, and any number of bling handmade metal are into the f/f for 6 after customization and paint.

it is more shocking to me that a top end mtb can get to $10k

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by hobbanero

I asked a few years ago about adding a specific insurance "rider" to my homeowner's policy for my bikes at full value. The cost was very high--something like 15% of the bike value per year. Problem is that bikes get crashed and they get stolen when they are outside the house, so the loss rate is high, and therefore policy cost.

Perhaps I just have good insurance; my 2 year old Wilier was stolen while on my car, during a traffic stop. Yes, I know... Regardless, homeowner policy covered full retail replacement value. Received the check in less than 3 weeks. No separate rider, etc...