{"id":2541,"date":"2026-02-17T21:20:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/?p=2541"},"modified":"2026-02-17T21:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:20:28","slug":"specialised-s-works-tarmac-sl8-artist-series-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/specialized-s-works-tarmac-sl8-artist-series-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Specialised S-Works Tarmac SL8 Artist Series: 500 hand-painted framesets for \u20ac5,499"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Specialised<\/strong> today launches the <strong>S-Works Tarmac SL8 Artist Series<\/strong>, a limited collection of 500 hand-painted and numbered frame sets. Three artists, Pieter <strong>\u2018Parra\u2019 Janssen<\/strong>, <strong>Yoon Hyup<\/strong> and <strong>Lucas Beaufort<\/strong>, each designed their own design based on the racing frame. Price per frame set: <strong>\u20ac5.499<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the paintwork, nothing changes. The platform is the familiar <strong>FACT 12r<\/strong>-carbon with a frame weight of approximately <strong>685 grams<\/strong> (size 56), the <strong>Speed Sniffer<\/strong> nose cone and tyre clearance to <strong>32 mm<\/strong>. The same frame that WorldTour teams race with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Three artists, three editions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The distribution among the three drafts is uneven:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Parra<\/strong> (Amsterdam): 200 frames<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Yoon Hyup<\/strong> (New York\/Seoul): 150 frames<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lucas Beaufort<\/strong> (France): 150 frames<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All three artists are active cyclists themselves, something Specialized made a condition for the collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Parra<\/strong> took inspiration from the colourful cycling culture of the 1990s. His design includes a \u201ccolour blast\u201d effect with hidden typography and his signature hand-drawn curves. \u201cThe inspiration comes after the ride. That cycling high is everything,\u201d Parra said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2547\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_06.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Artist Parra designing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2546\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Specialised S-Works Tarmac SL8, Artist Collab, Parra\" class=\"wp-image-2546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Parra_03.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A cool design of Parra's Tarmac SL8<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yoon Hyup<\/strong> translated his experience of night city driving into a sleek design with lines and dots, inspired by streetlights that fade into light stripes at high speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2542\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized, S-Works, Tarmac SL8, Yoon Hyup\" class=\"wp-image-2542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_01.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The design of the Tarmac SL8 by Yoon Hyup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2543\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Specialized, S-Works, Tarmac SL8, Yoon Hyup\" class=\"wp-image-2543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Yoon-Hyup_04.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The artist Yoon Hyup<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lucas Beaufort<\/strong> chose pink lines on a black base, featuring his famous character <strong>GusGus<\/strong>. His theme: connection and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2544\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_04.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lucas Beaufort at work<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2545\" src=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Specialised S-Works Tarmac SL8, Artist Collab, Lucas Beaufort\" class=\"wp-image-2545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROAD-10436-PRESS-ONE-PAGER-_-S-Works-Tarmac-SL8-Artist-Collab-LTD_Lucas-Beaufort_01.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">the design of the Tarmac SL8 by Lucas Beaufort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Technical basis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who want to check the specs, here are the core details of the SL8 platform:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Carbon: <strong>FACT 12r<\/strong> (highest quality within Specialized)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Frame weight: <strong>approx. 685 g<\/strong> (size 56)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bottom bracket: <strong>68 mm thread<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Brakes: <strong>flat-mount disc<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ashes: <strong>12\u00d7100 mm<\/strong> (before) \/ <strong>12\u00d7142 mm<\/strong> (back)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tyre clearance: <strong>up to 32 mm<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Aero: <strong>Speed Sniffer<\/strong> nose cone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The interfaces and geometry are identical to the regular S-Works Tarmac SL8. You build this frame like any other SL8 frameset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But will you actually drive this?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That is the question on <strong>\u20ac5.499<\/strong> for a frameset inevitably looms. The regular S-Works Tarmac SL8 frameset costs less. Because each frame is hand-painted, no two are identical. Each frame is hand-painted and numbered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite its exclusive nature, it remains technically a fully-fledged racing frame. Anyone who wants to can turn this into a complete race-worthy build project. The practical implications of hand-painted carbon (think transport protection, paint protection film, insurance) are something to sort out beforehand, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Availability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Specialized operates a \u201conce they're gone, they're gone\u201d model. The 500 framesets are available through Specialized dealers and online. Specialized does not produce additional frames after this run of 500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More info at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.specialized.com\/us\/en\/tarmac-sl8-artist-series-ltd\">specialised.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specialized is launching a limited series of 500 numbered S-Works Tarmac SL8 framesets, hand-painted by three artists. Under the paint, it remains just another 685g FACT 12r race frame.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[227,228,164,224,226,229],"class_list":["post-2541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fietsen","tag-artist-collbas","tag-parra","tag-specialized","tag-specializeds-works-tarmacsl8_artist","tag-tarmac-sl8","tag-yoon-hyup"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2549,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2541\/revisions\/2549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cyclingreview.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}