Can a Specialized Tarmac disc take mudguards

[cmcdonnell]

Anyone know if you can for mudguards on a Specializec Tarmac disc. In the market for a new bike to use all year so would need guards for winter duties as my club has very vocal mudguard police. Fancy something different and I need race geometry as I find that comfortable and like it. Also I'm short and shaped like an ape, basically 5'6 with Cavendish proportions, so longer body and shorter legs. Life's too short to ride crap bikes so I know if I was to buy a traditional winter bike I'd end up only riding it in really bad weather. My club also seem to average 20+ mph in the winter too so I need a fast bike. Tarmac disc seems to fit the bill on geometry and the Roval wheels look good and I could then use 40mm carbons in the winter with the discs but I can't see if you could attach guards? Any ideas?

[Birdman]

SKS Raceblades
Crud Roadracer

And more... http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/product- ... uards-1681

[cmcdonnell]

Ok maybe it's a dumb question but what you attach them to? I use the SKS Raceblade longs now and the fixings go on the caliper mounts, a disc bike wouldn't have these would it?

[Nefarious86]

There are no really easy points to put most mudguards on them. Part of the reason I'm looking to sell mine and buy a Diverge for training KMs.

[Birdman]

@cmcdonnell

Humm..... Good point. Didn't think of that. Although, there IS a bridge on the Tarmac Disc, without a brake caliper hole though. There isn't much of a "bridge" on the Diverge, more of a web. Maybe something can still be rig up... Zip ties? It will look great on a Tarmac ... Sorry, no help here...

[Valbrona]

Only Numpties do winter club rides with old codgers forever doing café stops.

[nefariousintent]

Diverge has integrated mounting points (and pannier mounts) like the Roubaix that are designed to work with the Plug n Play fenders.

I gave up on trying to find a solution for my Tarmac Disc and just stuck with the Ass saver/Velotoze combo if I suspected I was getting wet.

[Mr.Gib]

If you are doing group rides in the winter (wet roads) then full fenders with extensions are the only way to go. To show up on a wet group ride without them is a no-class move. Listen to the fender police or train alone. The fact that you are worried about not having a fast enough bike makes me suspect that you haven't got the guts to ride hard and get dropped honourably. Not being fast is not an excuse to show up with a shitty fender solution, ass saver, etc. and piss everyone off. And forget the Crud Road Racer shit. That will barely protect you and will do nothing for anyone behind you. The correct fender for winter group rides is the SKS Cromoplastic Longboard (with 6 inch extension on the rear).

If you are bike shopping for a winter ride, then do the right thing and get a bike with proper fender mount eyelets on the dropout and good spots to attach at the bottom bracket and rear brake bridge area.

Specialize Roubaix Disc IIRC will work. If you don't like the geo, slam the stem. Trek Boone Disc has the best mounting solution of any potential winter trainer. It has the added bonus of being able to run huge tires and fenders at the same time. If you don't like the idea of a cross bike then the Trek Domane is perfect for attaching fenders. Probably many other options out there. Without good mount points you are looking at P clips or similar.

[Nefarious86]

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic ... -mudguards

This is basically what I am aiming for.

[mpulsiv]

Typically no team or club put up with anyone who show up without fender flaps! Fenders will keep you dry but no smart rider will draft behind you by getting splashed and swallow dirt unless it's race!
Get www.buddyflaps.com

[euan]

What bikes do the fast fender police ride? If its good enough for them its good enough for you.

Full fenders with flaps

[cmcdonnell]

Thanks for the helpful comments. To answer some questions. I do a lot of solo training too but it is nice to ride with a group sometimes and we tend to do about 80-100 miles with one stop so hardly forever and the group is a mixture of 2nd to 4th cats. Nobody has a bike with full guards (that’s our middle group which is the older/slower guys doing about 50 miles at 18 mph) but SKS Raceblade longs (with a couple of Cruds) seems to be de rigueur. They have decent bikes, Canyon ultimate, Specialized Roubaix / Diverge, Cervelo R3, Specialized Tarmac (non-disc). I’d happily have a Roubaix or Diverge but they would not fit me as I need a maximum stack of 51 cm (my current bikes have 9.5 cm head tubes with no spacers but that only gives me a saddle to bar drop of about 8 cm) and a top tube of 52.5 (min. as I run a 11.5cm stem on one bike and 12cm on the other). It’s a real pain being so small as I end up with really steep seat angles needing an even longer stem to accommodate.
I’ve had a “proper” winter bike years ago and it was fine then and I regret selling it as it was a Custom SAT 14.5 steel with full Campy Chorus but getting steel to that spec these days is very expensive and I won’t ride aluminium as it beats me up. My current winter bike is now my old Ghisallo but that’s hardly ideal. Gears are pretty tired now and it could do with a whole new groupset so it seems like a good time to change but I don’t want a traditional “winter” bike I want a bike I will ride all year and maybe race in poor conditions in summer so a Tarmac disc looked promising but if I can’t even get SKS Raceblade longs on it would be pointless.
To say I don’t have the guts to get dropped honourable takes the P***. Cycling is supposed to be fun! Sometimes I’ve been dropped, usually I’m ok (just). Have raced for nearly 25 years on an off and had a 2nd cat licence before hip surgery 5 years ago. Started riding again last year and things have been going ok but I have moved from a hilly area to a completely flat area and it’s killing me. I was probably one of the strongest 2 in my last club and I’m now just about holding my own in the fast group. I suffer on the 25 mph flat run in’s as I just don’t have the power. Ironically I probably have one of the best power to weights in my club but my absolute power is way below pretty much everyone else. I’m good for 4.5 watt/kg for an hour but struggle to hold 4.8-5 for longer than 15-20 mins and I think I need to be holding a good 5.5+ to be able to drive the run in’s. Problem is I weigh 56 kg.
So… it looks like there is not a solution on the market. The Specialized deals looked good but I’ve not bought a bike whole for over 20 years and have only ever ridden campy mechanical but it’s getting so hard to get 10S parts now I think I will probably buy a whole bike with Shimano… never thought I’d say that but with even Pinarello riding Shimano, times have changed. Even considering electronic. Discs only make sense to me if they can be used in the winter, if not I may as well just get a standard Tarmac as I have a nice summer bike. Shame as I think I’d like discs on mountain holidays as I’m not the best descender.

[mattr]

If you can get hold of kinesis bikes, their racelight training bikes have in the past used "last years top end" tubing and basic geometry, with some added tweaks (longer forks and stays for guard clearance, proper mounts) to make some very capable, and raceable, bikes.
Have seen the old t and tK frames used by elites/1st cats in early season events with no issues.

If you want discs the 4S disc would tick (most) boxes and could probably be built up to a raceable condition fairly reasonably.
I'd quite happily take my tK on a training camp, or racing, or slogging through the crappy lanes round here (might put some mudguards and bigger tyres on tho!)

Unfortunately, looking at the website has given me an itch to replace my (very) venerable Racelight tK with something new and shiny........

http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue ... ht/4S-DISC

[cmcdonnell]

Trek Domane way way too tall on HT, shame as a nice bike on paper.
Yes the GF Ti Disc does look like it ticks many boxes although I was slightly put off my having another Ti bike!! Not seen one in the flesh and was interested but Kinesis customer services have not been that helpful. Their 48 still has a 52.5 stack though. I need to get longer legs!!

[mattr]

I've always found them quite helpful, i suppose it depends on who you get hold of and what else they have on their plates at the time!

And mismatch in stack of 1.5cm when you are already running a longish stem is easy enough, just get one with a greater drop.

Not sure why a steep seat angle would generate a longer stem though, it's more likely to lead to a shorter stem........ (given the same top tube length!)