New Bike Day: A Very Small Tarmac SL8

Gear

Mar 17

After five years, four warrantied forks and 25k+ miles with my trusty Canyon Ultimate, I thought it might be time for a new road bike. Unfortunately, as a short person, my options were somewhat limited. If you are very tall or very small you will probably have a tough time finding a stock bike that fits. I originally intended to get another Canyon since their sizing for Ultimates goes all the way down to 3XS, but availability in the US is pretty much nonexistent. I was nervous about swapping to a new brand with full size wheels (nearly all of my bikes have 650 wheels) but after a few rounds of bike fits and chats with James at Acme, it seemed like I could probably make the smallest size Tarmac work.

I’ve been riding the new bike for a couple months now and I love it! It feels fast and snappy on the flats while still feeling solid on descents and corners. And I have to say, it’s nice to no longer carry around a bunch of spare 650 tubes.