Specialized McLaren Venge Road Bike Shipping – Eyes On & Weight

Those aren’t the Zipp cork pads. They are the Tangente Platinum Pro pads.

I at least have to give Specialized some credit for figuring out how to sell an already overpriced $9,200 bicycle for $18,000… and even more, they managed to do it without Bono signing it.

Hopefully the owner of this thing wears a matching jersey- better to pick the tool out of a line-up on the patio of the local Starbucks.

So how much is it worth once it leaves the store? How about a year from now? $3k?

I guess we will be seeing this in southern california, most likely Huntington Beach?

For $18K, shoot for $9K, they should have integrated to batter into the frame. I suppose if you are dropping this much on a bike, that the ~$500 for the Calfee internal battery conversion is chump change.

Can a custom bike builder make this bike though? With the same stiffness and all that jazz? There isn’t a factory in the states that could properly make this machine. It’s an out of this world bike, with a crazy price tag, that few of us will ever ride or consider purchasing… so perhaps hold the shit talking until you give it a ride? Hey, I’m sure your fancy carbon road bike ‘is just as nice for you’… Specialized charging this for this is just as crazy as a few other random road brands with bikes over 10k that still use cheap carbon and lay up design.

Dork charriot. And for such an allegedly aerodynamic bike, tell me that eeCycles front brake is slippery in the wind.

Spend $5000 on a bike and a coaching program, work hard and you’ll actually be faster. Instead of a poser.

That is at Rock N’ Road Cyclery.
Great shop with a great owner and awesome staff.

@Dale not R&R but you’re close

For $18,000 you’re getting an awesome bike but you’re also paying for marketing, hype, and that little McLaren logo. Is it $12,000 better than an awesome $6000 bike? Probably not.

I only hope this bike sees some competitive use….even if its in the 55+Masters group.

Isn’t poseur really just a person who labels people as poseurs?

Who cares what they charge for it? You don’t have to buy it; no one is forcing you. Since that is true, the only reason you can complain is because you are jealous that you can’t afford this bike… because you really DO want it. I can’t imagine having $18,000 to spend on a bike and, yes, I would love to have this one, but that doesn’t mean I have to jealously bash it to cover my unfulfilled want.

It’s an advanced and modern bike with an already impressive track record without even being publicly released. It might not be the best bike for you but that doesn’t make it a bad bike.

I think I’ll just build me up a fm098

Di2, sorry.

It’s Surf City in HB — they’ve been promoting the bike’s arrival for a while now.

http://surfcitycyclery.com/product/12specialized-s-works-mclaren-venge-130904-1.htm

Quality costs money and this bike is beautiful.

and the Cavendish is crying for losing this….

This is simply Specialized’s one-up to Cervelo’s R5ca. There is room for this in our market, it gives us industry folk a reason to work. It adds value to the industry that keeps your hobby alive and striving. I agree, $18,000 is a tad excessive. I doubt the molds/layup cost that much but you truly are paying for a name here. When you buy a Shelby Cobra it is more expensive than a Mustang off the floor, right?

I’m the largest Specialized critic. I worked there. I have ridden their product. There is no doubt that the bike will be fantastic and it isn’t for everybody. We don’t all drive a Lotus or Ferrari to work…but for the elite few that can…it doesn’t matter how big their dick is, because they can afford it. Even if it’s only used on sunday afteroons or to be leaned up against a Starbucks window. There is a market for this bike no matter how limited or douchy it is.

I can’t afford it. It is a tad over-zealous. But, I also recognize that without it our industry doesn’t progress.

Some of you have the nasty habit to compare cars with bicycles. So here’s this: Someone who spends $18.000 for a device without engine (no matter his social or economical status) is a TOOL. Period.

Those of you that have a problem with this bike clearly can’t see the forest through the trees. Have any of the other bike manufactures collaborated with a f1 race company… No. Don’t knock specialized for trying something different and trying to push the limits of carbon fiber in a way nobody else has even tried. So what if its 18k, it has extremely limited availability, and It is built with newest carbon layup process. Its not about hype, Its not about turning a profit on a mcclarren venge. Its about Innovation and pushing the limits of engineering a bicycle. 2 years from now the tarmac SL 5 will probably have the same layup process. It just takes a few years for this to trickle down, we all know this so get off your high horse and realize that this bike will lead to your next bike being better.

PS Boonen will own on this bike just like Cavs did

Everyone please stop obsessing over the price. It’s still a cool frame, either way. Don’t buy it if it’s overpriced.

What’s the mass delta relative to the S-Works frameset?

The silliest question in a free-market economy: Is this bike worth $18,000?

Since most of us are cheap-asses, we think a bike’s worth should be the sum of the wholesale price of all the parts, and not a penny more.

Specialized doesn’t need a profit margin; they should work for free for our benefit. They don’t need to recoup their marketing costs or, for that matter, any costs. Just make the bikes and sell them (at cost) for the love of the sport. Making profits off our backs is just plain mean. Let’s drink IPAs around a campfire while wearing our Headsweats, and sing Kumbaya!

I once made a bid for a software engineer friend of mine to write some code for my company. I asked him how much he charged. He blindsided me by asking “What’s the code worth to you?” (Head explodes!) Given that the deadline was in 2 hours, it was worth a billion dollars.

I can’t remember the last time the local news or any news organization for that matter reported a story about company stooges accosting innocent riders and forcing them to buy a bike that they consider too expensive.
There’s a simple rule I go by and likely others use too: if a bike or bike component is too expensive according to my own values, I don’t buy it. Are people out there scared they’re going to succumb to someone else’s price values and be duped into spending 3, 5, 10, or 15 thousand dollars more than they wanted to? If so, it’s likely time for those people to seek therapy.

Haters hate.