{"id":44698,"date":"2022-12-19T16:03:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T15:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=710270"},"modified":"2022-12-19T16:41:46","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T15:41:46","slug":"new-specialized-aero-handlebar-spotted-could-a-tarmac-sl8-be-coming-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/new-specialized-aero-handlebar-spotted-could-a-tarmac-sl8-be-coming-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"New Specialized aero handlebar spotted | Could a Tarmac SL8 be coming in 2023?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Liam Cahill\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 19 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

A fully integrated aero handlebar has been spotted on Lorena Wiebes\u2019 new team bike, raising suspicion that a Tarmac SL8 could arrive in 2023.<\/p>\n

When pro teams get together for pre-Christmas training camps, it gives new riders the chance to get fitted for a plethora of new bikes and clothing, meet future team-mates and rack up some base training<\/a> miles in the southern Spanish sun.<\/p>\n

With Lorena Wiebes joining Team SD Worx for 2023, bike sponsor Specialized and the team mechanics have been busy getting the two-time Tour de France Femmes stage winner\u2019s setup dialled ahead of her first races.<\/p>\n

Spotted in an Instagram post on the Dutch sprinter\u2019s account<\/a>, equipment testing at the team\u2019s December camp saw Wiebes using a bar with a far deeper cross-section on the tops than anything available in the Roval (a Specialized subsidiary) or Zipp ranges.<\/p>\n

We believe the new bar could be from either brand, despite Zipp being the official component sponsor of SD Worx. Previously we\u2019ve seen other teams, such as Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, use Roval components on their Specialized Tarmac SL7 WorldTour bikes<\/a>, despite being sponsored by PRO.<\/p>\n

While a new handlebar is always exciting, what we\u2019re most intrigued by is what this could mean in terms of a new bike from Specialized, given the possibility that a new cockpit would accompany a new frame and what we know about Specialized\u2019s product lifecycle.<\/p>\n

Could this be the first glimpse, in part, at the Specialized Tarmac SL8?<\/p>\n

The Specialized Tarmac SL7<\/a> was first seen at a Bora-Hansgrohe training camp in October 2019. The bike was then launched in July 2020<\/a>, so with the 2023 season fast approaching, and considering Specialized\u2019s usual three-year design cycle, we\u2019re certainly hoping for a new bike next year.<\/p>\n

A new bike is most likely to be a Tarmac SL8, which given the UCI\u2019s scrapping of its own 3:1 frame design rule<\/a>, could be set to be a much more aero bike.<\/p>\n

\"""\"