Velo Podcast: The Tarmac SL9 “Win Fin,” a Shrinking Eurobike, and Tour de France Hype

This week is a big one for me. Logan Jones-Wilkins is out doing the Tour de France thing, and Mike Levy is nursing his wounds somewhere. That leaves just myself and Lisa Charlebois running the studio, which means after all this time, this is officially my first time hosting the podcast.

Of course we have to talk about the Tour, so that is where we start. Charlebois is the one who knows the most about the ins and outs of the riders, so I ask her to explain some of what we should be looking for. She’s all-in on the Paul Seixas hype train, wondering if the 19-year-old rookie can snag a stage win for Decathlon. Meanwhile, I ask about Tadej Pogačar and she tells me about potential inner drama over at UAE compared to the clear roles at Visma. Since the Tour is going to get plenty of coverage soon, we kept this light.

Before we get into the real meat of the episode though, I have to talk about San Francisco and traffic. Charlebois spends her time riding there and, like everyone else in San Francisco, she seems happy to deal with cars. I take a minute to say I dislike Mt. Tam and we veer into some unexpected tips for riding in traffic.

Next, we get into Eurobike. I just got back from Frankfurt, and the main takeaway is that the show is shrinking down to just a couple of halls. However, there were still talking points. Canyon showed up with a 3D-printed concept bike loaded with integrated cameras and a radar system that looks suspiciously like their next aero bike. I also break down a panel on women in cycling, discussing how the industry continues to overlook a demographic with massive spending power.

Finally, we tackle the Specialized Tarmac SL9. Logan reviewed it on the site, but Charlebois and I dig into the reality of a bike that claims to be four watts faster but weighs and looks nearly identical to the last generation. We talk about the new “win fin” and whether consumers should be hyped about incremental micro-updates or if there is simply an expectation that the new model has to exist, much like the newest iPhone.

Listen to the full episode for all the details, and let us know if you think the Specialized Tarmac SL9 is exciting?