Mark Cavendish has a host of interesting pieces on the Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc that he is racing at the 2022 Giro d’Italia.
For starters, there is the single Shimano Di2 sprint shifter on the right side of his handlebar. While everyone else who uses the satellite shifters uses a pair — one to shift up and one to shift down — Cavendish only uses the one to move into a harder gear during the sprint.
Also, notably, he points his forward like a trigger, while others usually have the sprint shifters angled somewhat to the inside. I’ve noted Cavendish’s forward placement since at least 2017.
Then there are the wheels and tires. Specialized has had many of its pro riders on unlabeled tubeless tires for months now and is refusing to comment on them. The Roval Rapide CLX wheels, on the other hand, are clearly labeled as such, and the clincher version of these wheels have been available for some time.
These Rovals, however, are being used tubeless with the aforementioned tires, and Specialized does not sell Roval Rapide CLX tubeless wheels.
On the other end of the spectrum, Cavendish has a tiny Garmin Edge 130 Plus computer, the smallest and least expensive GPS computer Garmin makes.
Lastly, the Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror saddle is a stock component, but a $450 3D-printed saddle is still noteworthy, even when raced by one of the most decorated sprinters in the world.
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Mark Cavendish on Sunday won his 16th stage of the Giro d’Italia. Last year he tied Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage wins, and he is currently third all time for total grand tour stage wins behind Merckx and Mario Cipollini.
Cavendish uses a Garmin Edge 130 Plus, the Kansas company’s smallest bike GPS computer. The black and white screen offers many of Garmin’s features, including ClimbPro and smart notifications, but it does not have base maps and instead only has a line on a blank screen for navigation. In the Giro, that probably isn’t an issue for Cavendish.
The Tarmac stem has an integrated mount for Cavendish’s Garmin. Quick-Step uses a K-Edge mount with custom Wolfpack graphics. Unlike some other integrated stems, the Tarmac stem also works with other bars, as shown by his use of the Pro Vibe Aero bar.
Which one of these things does not match? Shimano continues to struggle to deliver the power-meter cranks with its 12-speed 9250 Dura-Ace groups, so the majority of WorldTour riders are using 9150 cranks with the 11-speed chainrings. Cavendish, however, has 12-speed rings on his 9150 power-meter cranks. Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl uses a direct mount attachment on the rear derailleur, and wraps the Di2 wire in electrical tape.
Specialized’s unreleased tubeless tire on its Roval wheel. While the tires aren’t clearly marked, the wheels are branded loud and proud — but Specialized does not yet sell tubeless Roval road wheels.
The Roval Rapide CLX in this tubeless version looks to be quite similar to the existing clincher model.
The Tarmac stem keeps brake routing tidy while still playing well with standard handlebars.
The Tarmac frameset comes with setback and no-setback seatposts. Cavendish is a straight-up kind of guy.
Cavendish’s signature sprint shifter.
Will Cavendish add to his Giro and grand tour stage win tally this year?
The S-Works with Mirror saddle uses 3D-printed polymers in place of foam for tuned padding.