A Striking Specialized SL8: Beautiful Bicycle

One of our favorite times of the year at the shop is the arrival of new colors! We've built and showcased many Specialized SL8s before, but this is our first look at the 2025 color range.  Featuring this race-ready Tarmac in Satin Liquid Silver/Gloss Team Yellow. The frame has a textured finish with subtle camouflage inspirations. This customer built their bike to be high-end and lightweight without sacrificing performance.

The base of this build is an S-Works Tarmac frame, a bike designed to balance aerodynamics and comfort. In recent years, many bikes and bike components have embraced the idea that comfort = speed, with reduced rider fatigue playing a major role in performance. Specialized leaned into this theory with their lab experiment, the Aethos.

The Aethos became a cult favorite for years, and with the release of the SL8, Specialized took what they liked from it and applied those elements to the new design. The SL8 essentially features the rear end of the Aethos, but with a stiffer bottom bracket, a larger downtube, a lower stack height, and the aero nose cone (or so-called “Speed-Sniffer”) all of which reinforce this bike’s true racing DNA.

However, this blend of comfort and speed makes the SL8 well suited for our local Utah terrain. The frame is lighter and more compliant in the rear than many aero or performance-oriented bikes, keeping it feeling spry when climbing canyons like Millcreek or Little Cottonwood Canyon. The thinner dropped seat stays help reduce vibrations, which is essential for our not-so-smooth roads. Meanwhile, the stiff bottom bracket and low front end provide stability and control on the tighter, steeper descents in our canyons.

Rolling on ENVE 4.5 SES wheels, this setup is a customer favorite. They aren’t the lightest or most aero wheels out there, but they are sturdy, feel great on the road, offer good crosswind stability, and have a wider rim for added comfort and volume. The new Pirelli Race TLR RS tires provide all the grip and speed you need.

The full build features the SRAM RED E1 drivetrain with moderate and comfortable gearing. The 48/35t chainrings and 10-36t cassette provide easy gearing for longer climbs while still offering enough top-end speed for faster, flatter terrain. Since its release, SRAM's E1 edition RED has made its way into many frame-up builds, as riders have gravitated toward the improved hood shape and braking feel.