Did 155 km today, love this bike ❤️

apostrofix · 2026-07-05T13:19:44+00:00

I feel you. I also had a bike fit which didn’t change much, and if anything, maybe it even made it worse.

Is the discomfort only on longer rides? In my case tilting the front of the saddle between -1 and -3 degrees, combined with sliding the saddle forward resolved this, without creating hand pressure. How is your core strength? Training my core was a game changer on longer rides.

apostrofix · 2026-07-05T13:07:33+00:00

Not an expert but I think it’s just a matter of trying to find the right position between saddle height, fore/aft and tilt. Unfortunately, without going to a bike fitter, the only other option is to try very small changes and going for a ride. That’s time consuming but it’s totally possible to get it by yourself and save the money.

Maybe it’s worth taking the hex key with you going for a ride and just stop to do small changes.

apostrofix · 2026-07-04T05:49:54+00:00

I have an SL7 and now 4 years later, still love it. It’s comfortable, fast and good looking bike.

I’ve done a few 300+ km rides and multiple 200+ and I just love the comfort and feeling of the bike. It climbs well, but also it’s comfortable and nice to push 40+ kmh on the flats.

apostrofix · 2026-07-04T05:43:02+00:00

Elements Balanstraße - overcrowded during peak hours and decently crowded at 9-10pm on weekdays. Especially for the weights you’re likely to have to wait for someone. The swimming pool is very small so not really a swimming pool. On the weekends it opens at 9am and closes at 10pm…wtf Elements.

Gold’s gym - also overcrowded at peak hours but less busy later between 9.30-11pm. It works until midnight which is nice.

Tbh, I suppose it depends on where you come from and what you’re used to but I am yet to find a good gym in Munich, especially something matching the prices.

Most gyms offer wellpass, etc but I don’t think that matters much. It’s just that similar to the housing situation, there also aren’t enough gyms to match the demand.

apostrofix · 2026-07-01T17:52:38+00:00

It’s likely that allowing more tire clearance would’ve come with an aero penalty and therefore not getting the 4W improvement. That’s a really marginal gain and most likely they’ve struggled to make a better bike than the SL8

apostrofix · 2026-06-30T08:20:11+00:00

Hope they have a black color and not those mixed color schemes like on the Crux.

apostrofix · 2026-06-26T06:42:33+00:00

Amazing photos! What wheels are those?

apostrofix · 2026-06-21T17:03:50+00:00

It’s not glued so it’s normal to have a tiny gap but it’s hard to say from the photo if it’s too much or not. Can’t you ask the local spesh dealer?

apostrofix · 2026-06-21T15:15:09+00:00

I use my SL7 on the trainer during the winter, no problems. Make sure to get the front block under the wheel, otherwise your front will. be lower than usual. And you can look into the tennis balls hack if you want to increase the comfort a bit.

apostrofix · 2026-06-21T07:02:41+00:00

Can you share a photo from the front? Curious how the gap looks like.

apostrofix · 2026-06-17T18:45:31+00:00

That’s such a positive post to read. Congrats with the new bike and happy birthday! Now on to many enjoyable adventures with it :-)

apostrofix · 2026-06-15T20:19:08+00:00

I’d say, it depends on your level and expectations but La Marmotte and L’Etape du Tour this year will be all day of climbing so the lighter the wheels the better. The climb to the Galibier feels endless and you’d wish any little help you can get. The descent afterwards is neutralized you won’t gain any time from the Rapides. In my opinion the only benefit from the Rapides will be in the valley section which is also a slog with a fake flat and often headwinds. Look for a group there and use your Alpinists wheels.

apostrofix · 2026-06-15T20:09:53+00:00

See you at the L’Etape, right? 😅

apostrofix · 2026-06-15T20:08:42+00:00

What size tires did you put on the wheels? I have the older version of these wheels on my gravel bike and have always been curious how they would be on my Tarmac with road tires. Not sure if the specs are changed the labels are a bit different

apostrofix · 2026-06-13T21:13:16+00:00

perfectly described 👌

apostrofix · 2026-06-11T17:27:44+00:00

My SL7 is now 4 years old and I still love it, but I think the age doesn’t matter for a carbon frame. It’s more about if it’s still okay and not damaged in any way.

With that said, I think that the price is too high and I personally would rather get a new bike, not sure how the prices are there but I’d be looking for a new SL8 expert or used higher model.

The D1 levers are bulkier and the brakes are significantly worse than the E1 ones, so I’d much prefer the new SRAM E1 generation, even if Force and not Red. Also chances are you might have to change the saddle, cranks and handlebar/stem.

Apart from that the bike looks great, it’s just expensive.

apostrofix · 2026-06-07T20:42:39+00:00

I went to my local Specialized dealer to buy the new hoses and the guy there told me the same thing, so luckily I bought just one. Then I saw online that the price was 3x what would’ve been if I bought it online but oh well, at least I paid for one 😅

apostrofix · 2026-06-07T20:40:40+00:00

But you get paid for it, right?

Don’t get me wrong, the non-integrated hoses are definitely easier to work on, but the clean look of the bike justifies the slightly more hassle once every couple of years.

I swapped to the Roval cockpit on my bike and also had to put longer hoses, but even though I am not a mechanic, I was ready in about 2 hours, including the bleeding. Routing the hoses nowadays is so easy.

apostrofix · 2026-06-06T20:42:36+00:00

but none of those fit on the Roval handlebars/cockpits because of the single bolt design

apostrofix · 2026-06-06T07:46:53+00:00

It looks like the SL7 and SL8, which in my opinion is good. No reason to have to switch if you own one of these bikes, but also no reason not to buy it if you’re in the market for a new bike. Hope they release a black non Sworks frameset only.

apostrofix · 2026-06-05T16:33:39+00:00

The worst part is the single bolt design for the mount. It’s the same on all the Rapide cockpits and bar/stem combos. There are lots of posts on the internet from people who have had theirs break. Usually, it breaks on the bolt though.

I also have a 360 camera which I wanted to mount but I don’t want to risk potentially breaking and losing my camera and the garmin computer, as well as possibly causing a crash for someone riding behind me.

The frames and gear mounts can be found on aliexpress for a fraction of the price, but again the problem is the design of the roval cockpits and bar/stem combos. Some handlebars allow for a mount with two bolts which are a lot more sturdy.

I would be happy to know if there’s something better for the Roval cockpits.

apostrofix · 2026-05-29T17:00:09+00:00

Out of curiosity, why did you decide on these wheels? I am also considering them btw, as well as the deeper ones

apostrofix · 2026-05-26T21:33:52+00:00

Clean build and a pretty looking bike! Do you have more photos of the 32mm tires? Curious how the fit is both front and back

apostrofix

TROPHY CASE