February 1, 2015: Test riding the Specialized New Tarmac in Taichung's Xitun area

This test ride came as a surprise. I was teaching in Taichung when suddenly one of my students cancelled a class. It meant I had a three hour gap. I went to the Taichung Specialized store. The shop owner asked me if I wanted to test ride their Specialized Tarmac. That was an offer I could not decline!

This bike was size 54, perfect for me! They set it up without click pedals, so I could use my regular shoes I was wearing. Now let's take this thing outside for a spin!

From the bike shop I went to Xitun road, which is a nice climb. I noticed right that the Tarmac was made for climbing.

I took that little street to the right, it connects directly to Metropolitan Garden road. This part is nice and steep with 10%.. Here we have a nice view over the handle bar.

A view over Xitun. The feel of the bike was quite different from my Roubaix. Impossible to get used to it on such a short ride. We did it for the unique experience.

Xitun area, Western Taichung

Sometimes I ride here when I come home from work. I was a bit nervous over these 23mm tires. I seriously do not like that size.

The frame was super light and stiff. The wheels could not work for me. I had experienced a carbon failure at this very Metropolitan Garden. No way carbon wheels can ever entice me again.

Roval Rapide 40, Specialized's own brand carbon wheels. I only had a brief experience with them, but I will never ride them again. That's for sure...

The weather was perfect. This red sand which is typical for Shalu looked like a fairy tale.

Also new to me, the SRAM set up. For road bikes I have only ridden Shimano Ultegra

A close up of the New Tarmac frame

Size 54, perfect for my 178 cm.

I was taking a lot of pictures for this short ride. On top of metropolitan garden, I went into this small path. It is the one that ends close to my home. 

There will be no cars popping out here. I descended a little along that steeper section, I wanted to check if I remembered that carbon wheelset performance in the correct way. I did! Braking performance was horrible. Good thing I managed to stop. After that I started heading back.

It took me a few attempts, but I managed to get a nice picture of the bike standing.

From a different angle...

I arrived back at Xitun road. I descended back to the store. Once again I reminded of the awful braking performance of carbon wheelsets. The frame itself was nice. The New Tarmac is a serious bike, but I will stay loyal to Roubaix.