Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews

Specialized continues to make inroads in the pro peloton with its accessory lines. Five complete ProTour teams and 27 individual riders are using its Decibel helmet, introduced two years ago, and Specialized helmets were perched atop the top three finishers in Stage 1 of this year's Tour. The company's Body Geometry shoes have had an even bigger impact on the racing landscape; roughly 100 ProTour riders use Specialized footwear, including Phonak team leader and GC hopeful Floyd Landis.
Sponsored pro riders are about evenly split between last year's BOA-equipped S-Works model and the newly redesigned Pro Road version. The Pro Road shoe also incorporates the company's trademark Body Geometry ergonomic features (varus wedge, longitudinal arch, and metatarsal button) and stiff FACT carbon sole but with a more conventional upper that uses a single ratcheting strap plus two forefoot hook-and-loop straps. The main strap receives a new 'M-Lock' buckle plus a novel 'X-Link' base which allows for both fore-aft and volume adjustments to provide a more custom fit.

Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews

Specialized continues to evolve its photochromatic Adaptalite NXT optics line. For 2007, road optics feature a wider transmission range (12-39 percent vs. 17-41 percent in '06) that also reaches further into the darker end of the spectrum for particularly bright days. The new Adaptalite lenses are also said to have a faster response time. Last year's 17g Arc model carries over (with the new lens), but new in the lineup is the Tarzo. The new optic is specifically intended for narrower faces and features a close-fitting wraparound design for good protection and vented lenses to combat fogging.

Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews

The Barmac integrated carbon handlebar and stem gets a bit lighter and stiffer for '07. The new drops are shallower and a cleaner-looking steerer clamp that utilizes an interesting wedge system also offers some sizing flexibility. A variety of wedges provide 8° of total angular adjustment, from +7° to -1°. However, there is no mechanism to compensate the tilt of the bar itself when stem adjustments; the whole thing is 'integrated', after all. Stem lengths from 90-130mm will be available.

Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews

Specialized expands the resurrected Roval wheel family to seven models for next year, two of which feature a rather unorthodox approach to aero wheels. The new carbon-rimmed Rapide Star and aluminum-rimmed Fusee Star clincher wheelsets forego deep section rims (the Rapide rim measures only 32mm tall) in favor of a wild-looking set of hubs. The thin, aerodynamic, 7000-series aluminum flanges of the aptly named Star hubs are narrowly spaced to help reduce the frontal area of the wheels. In addition, the flanges are exceptionally tall which cuts spoke length by roughly a third which serves to enhance lateral stiffness and combat windup.

Specialized claims that the new wheels are more aero than even its own legendary 3-spoke wheel that it developed in conjunction with DuPont ages ago (the wheel is still available today through Hed who licenses the design). However, the new wheel design is said to have vastly superior ride quality without the crosswind shenanigans that can plague conventionally designed aero wheels.

The new wheels certainly aren't light with the top-level Rapide Star hitting the scales at 1750g for the pair. On the road, though, they were markedly easier to keep up to speed than lighter, non-aero wheels, and the additional weight wasn't terribly noticeable. If the Star concept proves successful, it seems logical that a carbon-hub version wouldn't be far off (can you say '2008'?). The new wheels will be offered in three interchangeable freehub varieties: Shimano 8/9 speed, Shimano 10 speed, and Campagnolo 10 speed.

Photo ©: James Huang/Cyclingnews

The S-Works integrated carbon crankset will now be available in three spider options: standard 130mm, compact 110mm, and a SRM version which will be available this fall. Last year's claims of being 23 percent lighter and 17 percent stiffer than the benchmark Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 crankset are reiterated, but the S-Works crankset will, unfortunately, still only fit the oversized bottom bracket shell of the company's top-end road models.

Article and pictures from www.cyclingnews.com

Here is a very interesting file on the carbon technology that goes into all Specialized bicycles. Great reading!

http://www.specialized.com/media/pdf/SpecializedFACTVelo.pdf