In previous years as well as in many of the current models, the goal of research and development has simply been to make bikes both stiffer and lighter than in previous years. Yet, as bikes near the minimum possible weight while still providing the stiffness demanded by serious cyclists, Specialized is thinking outside the box which is familiar territory for them. Moreover, despite opposition, the UCI bike weight limit is still in place. Until this is lifted all together, making bikes continually lighter every year is essentially rendered moot. In previous years, frame design has typically been done at the 56cm size, and then these measurements were simply scaled to produce other frame sizes of the same model. This system, or some derivation of this system is what is typically employed by most all large scale bike manufacturers.
This system of bike engineering is not ideal however. The results of such being that bikes are stiffer in the smaller sizes and more flexy in the larger sizes. As innovative a company as Specialized is, they have rethought this process in this year’s high end Tarmacs, their quintessential road race bike. Specialized research and development set out to measure the forces that a rider exerts on different points of the bicycle depending on both their height and weight. These measurements were quantitatively measured in real time and collected via strain gauges that were attached to multiple points of the bike.
The results of these tests were surprising, and will more than likely change how companies think about bike engineering in the future. What they have found is that more so than rider weight, rider height has a massive impact on force that is exerted on the frame. Ergo, Specialized then built stiffness and compliance goals for the frames and specifically designed each of the seven sizes (49cm-64cm) to meet these benchmarks.
The result of such research and development is the Specialized Rider-First Engineered™ technology. This technology has helped improve handling, pedaling response (BB stiffness), ride compliance as well as aerodynamics. Moreover, the ride quality of smaller and larger frames is equivalent to the medium size. Ergo, smaller size frames produce a more balanced bike with improved in-corner handling while larger size frames benefit from marked improvements in steering response. This technology is employed in the high end Tarmacs this year, the S-Works, Pro, and Expert Tarmacs. Given these advances however, there is no doubt that Specialized will revamp the way all frame models are engineered in the future.
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