Specialized Road Bike Guide and Sizing

"Specialized"- when you hear the word, you do feel special. From bikes to accessories to clothing, they have the mark of true craftsmanship. When we think about Specialized Road Bikes, it brings us the image of the infamous "curved" top tube. The stunning geometry is a crowd pleasure and there's nothing but admiration when I see one in front of me. But beneath all those beauty, hides a monster which is waiting to be released. Performance is always the biggest focus of Specialized as well as the aesthetic aspect. At Specialized, building bikes isn't a job but a hardcore religion. It's such attitude which established them as one of the popular bicycling brand in the world.

Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., more commonly known simply as Specialized is the United State's fourth-largest maker of high-end bicycles. The headquarter now resides in Morgan Hill, California. It was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard. It started with a budget of only $1500 as he sold his Volkswagen Bus to fund for Europe and from there his dream started.

Now coming back to the Road Bikes, Specialized has a variety of bikes placed in different groups. Each group is characterized by the frame material and frame design and those criteria are separating a group from others. Therefore depending on your budget and preferred criteria as mentioned above, you can easily pick a group and choose a model under that group which meets your requirement. A summary of the 2014 range is as follows

---Competitive Range ("Light and stiff bikes- built for all-out performance, speed, and race-day domination.")

1. Tarmac (Specialized SL4 FACT 9r/10r/11r Carbon)
2. Venge (Specialized FACT 10r/11r Carbon, Aero Shaped Tubing)
3. Allez (Specialized E5/A1 Premium Aluminum)

Pic: S-Works Venge Dura-Ace Di2 (2014)

An important thing to note that, most people are confused about the differences between the Tarmac and the Venge series. Both the series have similar price point for similar specs so it raises a question actually what's the difference and which one should i get. The main differnce is that, Venge is the Aero road series whereas Tarmac is considered the Classic road series.

Pic: S-Works Tarmac SL4 Dura-Ace Di2 (2014)


---Endurance Range ("For any terrain, there’s no such thing as a distance too far, or a road too rough.")

1. Roubaix (Specialized SL4 FACT 8r/10r/11r Carbon)
2. Secteur (Specialized E5/A1 Premium Aluminum)

Pic: S-Works Roubaix SL4 Dura-Ace Di2 (2014)


---Triathlon Series (" Course-crushing bikes, helping you transition to the run with energy left in the tank.")

1. Shiv (Specialized Shiv Pro 10r/11r Carbon)

Pic: S-Works Shiv Di2 (2014)


---Cyclocross Series ("Weapon of choice for that non-stop, lungs screaming, heart exploding, ‘goashardasyoucanfor60minutes’ cross race.")

1. Crux (Specialized FACT 10r Carbon/Specialized E5 Premium Aluminum)

Pic: S-Works Crux Red Disc (2014)


---Track Series ("The beautiful simplicity and classic lines of bikes built to ride in Track. No brakes, minimal frills, and a ride-hard-as-you-like attitude—that’s how track racers roll.")

1. Langster (Specialized A1 Premium Aluminum)

Pic: Langster Pro (2014)

In terms of frame quality, 11r represents the best Carbon frame of the bunch followed by 10r, 9r and 8r. For alloy frames, E5 is considered the lighter and better construction compared to A1.

Now, after you decided and fixed on a model, the big question arises, Frame Size. Which frame size is appropriate for you. To get you started, below is the various list of sizes for different range. Please note that the below sizing charts are good guideline to give you an idea on frame size but they are not 100% and can vary depending on other physical aspects.

Pic: Guideline to Specialized Road Bike Frame Size

So here it is, Specialized Road Bikes in a nutshell. If you're a fan of Specialized and dreaming to get one then I hope this article shall help you decide. If you aspire to sprint like Mark Cavendish on a Specialized just like him, go grab one and say it out loud, "I Am Specialized."