Tarmac vs. Venge
 

Was thinking of Tarmac but LBS is also suggesting Venge

What are differences and advantages?

I have read some stuff online but was wondering about any practical advice

Want an overall bike and not something just for flats or sprinting

Is Venge more aggressive geometry and harsher ride?

I know little about these bikes, but:

At an impromptu ride today, I was gabbing with my cohort about whether anyone was winter bike shopping. They were, and the common thread is folks between Tarmac and Venge, and LBS'es (not same LBS) pushing the Venge hard over Tarmac. No one knew why, and I haven't talked to my friend at the Specialized shop, but would wager there might be some Tarmac availability issues. Totally guessing though.

Interesting thought. That may be true. Plus had a leftover Venge frame in my size trying to get rid of if i want

no issues with tarmac supply, the venge just feels like a total rocketship. well so does the tarmac, but aero!

I tried a few bikes over the past 2 weeks and found a 2012 S-Works venge frame collecting dust in a bike shop. After test riding a hi-mod EVO and an S-Works venge at the shop, I haggled some on the price and went with the venge frame. It was so different than anything else I'd tried, and I wanted something different. It's too early to tell if it's "better", but it certainly felt the peppiest and twitchiest of the bikes I was trying. Owning an SL3 Roubaix, the Tarmac wasn't different enough for me to consider buying.

I'm digging through my garage (and ebay) to find parts to put on the frame, but I'm shooting for 15lbs even and hope this will be my go-to bike for the group rides as well as the mountains.

http://jmxdigital.com/images/newframe.jpg

Then you want a Tarmac. I battled between teh 2 myself because my previous bike was an aero frame road bike and I really wanted another one. I'm so glad I got the Tarmac. It's so light, and efficient, and stiff, and climbs, and accelerates, and handles, and is so comfy. Get a Tarmac. Once I got use to riding mine, I've never second guessed my decision once.

Another Specialized (and an S-Works at that)? I'll be interested to see what you think of the ride vs. the Roubaix.

Me too, Love my Roubaix but really would like to add an aero bike, looking at venge, felt ar or cervelo s3.

that is a pretty frame!

Is it possible to get an aero bike down to 15 pounds? with pedals and such?

Two friends bought Tarmacs. One later bought a Venge and now riders it unless weather is doubtful. The other had the left chain stay crack and replaced the frame with a S-Works Venge. Likes it much better.

I think so. It wont be as light as my roubaix, but it'll be real close to 15lbs. Its at 12.5 without the crankset, pedals, brakes, and cables. That's about 2.5lbs of stuff. Won't know until next weekend after a couple items show up from ebay.

On a related note...I went with the new Sworks aerofly handlebar which looks pretty cool. $180 (almost half price of the zipp equivalent) but weighs 265g. (not my pic). Hope they built it stiff enough for my massive cat4 sprint wattage. :p
http://www.philipmacino.com/aerofly_002.jpg


Anyway, to the OP, the Venge seemed to have a harsher ride than the Tarmac, EVO, caad10 and Sworks roubaix. The butt-o-meter said it responded quickest to power input as well as steering input. I also thought it was the best looking but of course that is subjective. If I was coming into this having 0 bikes Id get an EVO/Tarmac/Roubaix but since I already have a nice road bike I went with something more extreme. Fortunately you should be able to get extended test rides on a tarmac at the lbs for a weekend...altho nobody had a test Venge.

The new S3 is a really awesome frame.

looking at the cervelo website, it sounds like the S3 is a new frame but the other s series are unchanged?

S2 is new too, S5 didn't change much.

Having ridden both extensivly, the geo vs tarmac on the venge is identical. so the steering input/twitchyness is pretty much the same but the venge transfers alot more road to the rider so it feels quicker. But it really comes down to which one you want. I like the tarmac better on a ride quality standpoint and the venge doesnt do anything for me performance wise, not enough to care anyways, so I went with the tarmac. Until I rode the new SL4 Roubaix. My Tarmac with a bit more comfort. Yes please. did i mention im only 28 not some old dude? ya. Love them all but my roubaix keeps up with the tarmac and venge riders no issues. sweet.

Ride what YOU want. Not what the shop or this forum wants.