New Specialized road bike leaked with unique oversized head tube — is this the new Tarmac SL8 or a revamped Roubaix?

That's just spacers and a top cap sticking out of a long S-Works Tarmac stem. My Venge looked like that before the steerer was cut and the plastic hood was put over the top. You can see it better on the middle bike if you zoom in (the middle bike is also running a non integrated Rapide bar). The new all in one Rapide is in very short supply, so I suspect it's the same for the lower tear memebers of the QS team at the moment - and if they do have them they probably kept them off to avoid complete build spy shots hitting the internet. 

It's pretty much a known now that the SL8 will be 'officially' out at the end of the first week of August in time for the Worlds and the Vuelta.

*Yes I know the mens RR is on the 6/8.

Agree that those bikes not running the new all-in-one Rapide bar doesn't mean anything. As far as I can tell it really only exists in theory so far.

If those are just spacers, I find it very very odd that every bike visible has exactly the same amount above the stem. Guarantee that's a future shock. 

KDee wrote:

If those are just spacers, I find it very very odd that every bike visible has exactly the same amount above the stem. Guarantee that's a future shock. 

If that's a future shock system then where is it in the picture of the red version with the new Rapide bar/stem? It's not there is it. This is the new SL8.  

The Futureshock adjuster is simply cap which can be unscrewed and it's not as tall as the steerer tube showing in the images above.  Plus, the stack height would be much higher because there'd be a Futureshock underneath the stem? In addition, and if the image of the red "SL8" isn't fake, then where is it on that bike?

On the bright side, if I'm wrong it will make my decision not to buy the SL8 a whole lot easier.

Ooh, now that is a great question... will this be the first main stream, commercially available bike with a £20k+ price tag? If not, when will we see one and from who? 

At the moment, Trek's Madone Project One is at £15.5k. Still a way to go but is very likely within most of our lifetimes. I think it is likely to come from them or Specialized.

Shockingly, the Italian marques' flagship race models (Pinarello, Colnago, Wilier, Bianchi etc) are on average significantly cheaper (albeit still eye-wateringly sat in a 5 figure sum) between £10k and £13k (The C:68 excluded)

I can't see it coming from anywhere other than a US brand, whether in part that's down to post-Brexit US import costs, or typical American Capitalism, who knows.

Matthew Acton-Varian wrote:

I can't see it coming from anywhere other than a US brand, whether in part that's down to post-Brexit US import costs, or typical American Capitalism, who knows.

Have US import costs changed since Brexit?

That exactly I do not know, but since leaving the EU and its economic bloc we have had to negotiate our own trade deals which includes import and export tarriffs. Depending on existing relations, some deals may have allowed us to continue paying pervious rates, however others, and now including to the EU bloc have different tarriffs. 

As well as the EU, import and export costs have increased to other countries who don't see Britain as a trading priority. Whilst there are a number of contributing factors; tarriffs, taxes and charges make up  a tangeable portion of that increase.

mark1a wrote:

Matthew Acton-Varian wrote:

I can't see it coming from anywhere other than a US brand, whether in part that's down to post-Brexit US import costs, or typical American Capitalism, who knows.

Have US import costs changed since Brexit?

US Brands don't import much into the UK from the US.

The chrome paint job on the Trek is gorgeous, but that seat tube hole, it's like using the best polish in the world on a grade A turd.

The silhouette and shape of the Wilier bikes are classy, the Merida is not too harsh on the eye, the curvy frames on the Pinarellos arepretty cool, but a lot of the latest design tricks used by others are certainly nausea-inducing.