Look 795 Blade RSvsSpecialized Tarmac
Reviewers call the Look 795 Blade RS an unadulterated racer’s race bike that begs to be ridden with anger. While the Tarmac SL8 is a pursuit of the 'one bike' holy grail, blending a supple rear end with a featherweight frame, the Look doubles down on track-bred rigidity and uncompromising precision.
Overview
The Look 795 Blade RS has abandoned the experimental aesthetics of its predecessors for a design that leans heavily on its track cycling pedigree. It is built for efficiency downhill and in the turns, often sacrificing vertical compliance for a rock-solid feel at the bottom bracket. Specialized, meanwhile, has effectively retired its dedicated aero bike to make the SL8 a hybrid of a speed weapon and a climbing specialist, focusing heavily on weight-to-stiffness ratios and vibration damping. Specialized targets the generalist who wants one machine for every elevation profile, whereas Look is aimed squarely at the rider who wants a specialized, aggressive tool for smooth tarmac. Price positioning reveals a significant gap in accessibility. Specialized offers a wide range of tiers—Comp, Expert, Pro, and S-Works—making the Tarmac platform accessible at various budgets, while the Look remains a premium, high-stakes affair. Look’s design philosophy focuses on moving tubing away from the turbulent air generated by the wheels, resulting in a frame that looks skinny from the front. Specialized uses its 'Speed Sniffer' nose cone to squeeze out aero gains at the head tube, a polarizing design that prioritized wind tunnel performance over traditional aesthetics.
Ride and handling
Handling on the Tarmac SL8 is frequently described as telepathic and flickable, inheriting a geometry that allows for mid-corner adjustments that feel almost intuitive. It stays composed on high-speed descents, feeling locked-in on rails without the flightiness often associated with such a light frame. The Look is no slouch here either, with a front end that is adequately responsive during technical downhill riding, but its character is defined more by a whip-crack sharp response when you stand up to sprint. The frameset refusal to yield side-to-side makes it feel grounded and exceptionally stiff. Where they diverge most is in how they treat the rider's body. The Look is unforgivingly rigid on broken pavement, a result of its Ultra High Modulus carbon and narrow 21mm internal rim width that limits tire volume. One reviewer noted being shaken quite violently on rougher patches, leading to increased fatigue across the shoulders. In contrast, the SL8 borrows the Aethos’s DNA for its rear triangle, providing exceptional vibration damping that allows for 100-mile rides without the typical race-bike chatter. It mutes road imperfections effectively, making it a more pleasant experience on questionable road surfaces. Power transfer on the Look is instantaneous; the bottom bracket junction is noticeably overbuilt, ensuring every watt translates into forward momentum. The Tarmac is also incredibly stiff at the pedals, but it achieves this with a minimalist appearance compared to the Look's bulky junctions. While the Look feels like a precision instrument for the velodrome brought to the road, the Tarmac feels more like a high-performance endurance machine that just happens to be one of the fastest bikes in the world. The Look is designed to excel on the smooth, well-paved roads professionals encounter, making it a demanding but rewarding machine.
Specifications
The most striking difference across the ranges is the inclusion of a power meter. Specialized includes them on nearly every SL8 build, from the 4iiii units on Shimano models to Quarq on SRAM, which is a significant value add that Look omits on its top-tier Dura-Ace offerings. For a bike costing five figures, having to spend extra for a power meter is a hard pill to swallow for the Look customer. This oversight forces potential buyers to weigh the initial cost against the necessity of immediate upgrades. Wheelsets also highlight a difference in philosophy. Look builds typically come with Corima WS EVO 47 wheels, which are stiff and feature a foam-filled rim for a unique feel, but are somewhat old-school with a 21mm internal width. Specialized uses its Roval Rapide CLX II or CL II wheels across the Pro and S-Works tiers, opting for staggered depths to balance aerodynamics and crosswind stability. The SL8 also boasts 32mm tire clearance, while the Look is tighter, struggling to match the same level of modern-day compliance. The stock 25mm tires on the Look are an outdated choice that further limits comfort. Cockpit integration is another area where Look focuses on practicality with a two-piece combo aero bar and stem that makes customization easier. Specialized uses the Roval Rapide one-piece cockpit on its S-Works and Pro models, which is lighter and more aero but frustrates riders who need specific widths or stem lengths not provided in the stock configuration. Changing this one-piece unit post-purchase is an expensive upgrade, whereas the Look combo allows for tiered heights and easier angle adjustments.
| RS | Tarmac | |
|---|---|---|
| FRAMESET | ||
| Frame | Tarmac SL8 FACT 10r Carbon, Rider First Engineered™, Win Tunnel Engineered, Clean Routing, Threaded BB, 12x142mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc | |
| Fork | Tarmac SL8 FACT 10r Carbon, 12x100mm thru-axle, flat-mount disc | |
| Rear shock | — | — |
| GROUPSET | ||
| Shift levers | SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 R8170 | SRAM Rival eTap AXS |
| Front derailleur | SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 R8150 | SRAM Rival eTAP AXS, braze-on |
| Rear derailleur | SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 R8150 | SRAM Rival eTap AXS, 12-speed |
| Cassette | SHIMANO Ultegra R8101 11/34T | SRAM Rival, 12-speed, 10-36t |
| Chain | SHIMANO M8100 12sp. | SRAM Rival 12-speed |
| Crankset | SHIMANO Ultegra R8100 12SP. 52/36T | SRAM Rival with Power Meter |
| Bottom bracket | PRAXIS T47 | SRAM DUB BSA 68 |
| Front brake | SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 R8170 | SRAM Rival eTap AXS, hydraulic disc |
| Rear brake | SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 R8170 | SRAM Rival eTap AXS, hydraulic disc |
| WHEELSET | ||
| Front wheel | LOOK R50D Carbon | Roval C38 (21mm internal width carbon rim) |
| Rear wheel | LOOK R50D Carbon | Roval C38 (21mm internal width carbon rim) |
| Front tire | Continental GP 5000 TLR 28 mm | S-Works Turbo, folding bead, 700x26mm |
| Rear tire | Continental GP 5000 TLR 28 mm | S-Works Turbo, folding bead, 700x26mm |
| COCKPIT | ||
| Stem | LOOK Aero Combo Stem | Tarmac integrated stem, 6-degree |
| Handlebars | LOOK Aero Combo Handlebars | Specialized Expert Shallow Drop, alloy, 125mm drop x 75mm reach |
| Saddle | LOOK Shortfit Dynamic 2,0 by SAN MARCO | Body Geometry Power Expert |
| Seatpost | LOOK Aero Post 4 Carbon | S-Works Tarmac SL8 Carbon seat post, FACT Carbon, 15mm offset |
| Grips/Tape | — | Supacaz Super Sticky Kush |
Geometry and fit comparison
Looking at the Small Look and 52 Specialized sizes, the fit is remarkably similar, though the Look is slightly more aggressive. The Look 795 has a stack of 525.2mm and a reach of 381.3mm, making it 1.8mm lower and 1.3mm longer than the Tarmac. While these deltas seem small, the Look’s 74.5-degree seat tube angle is significantly steeper than the Tarmac’s 74-degree angle. This pushes the rider further forward over the cranks, opening the hip angle for maximum power transfer during high-intensity efforts. It is a position designed for on-the-rivet riding. Handling geometry is where the bikes reveal their distinct intentions. The Look has a head tube angle of 71.8 degrees compared to the Tarmac's 72.5 degrees. This, combined with a 50mm fork offset on the Look versus 47mm on the Specialized, results in a longer trail of 59.8mm for the Look. A longer trail points toward greater stability at high speeds, while the Tarmac's 58mm trail makes it feel slightly more responsive and eager to dive into corners. The Tarmac is built to be nimble and flickable, whereas the Look prioritizes high-speed security. The front center of the Look is a full 10.6mm longer than the Tarmac, which helps prevent toe overlap on smaller sizes but also adds to that feeling of a longer and lower bike. The Specialized wheelbase is 991mm on a size 56, designed to keep the bike nimble in the tight roundabouts of a crit race. The Look’s geometry encourages an aggressive, confident descending style, especially on smooth asphalt, whereas the Tarmac feels more balanced and versatile across a wider range of body types and flexibility levels.
| FIT GEO | RS | Tarmac | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stack | 573.2 | 501 | -72.2 |
| Reach | 401.2 | 366 | -35.2 |
| Top tube | 560.1 | 496 | -64.1 |
| Headtube length | 161.8 | 99 | -62.8 |
| Standover height | 815 | 723 | -92 |
| Seat tube length | 554.8 | 433 | -121.8 |
| HANDLING | RS | Tarmac | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headtube angle | 73 | 70.5 | -2.5 |
| Seat tube angle | 74.5 | 75.5 | +1 |
| BB height | — | 266 | — |
| BB drop | 70.5 | 74 | +3.5 |
| Trail | 59.3 | 71 | +11.7 |
| Offset | 43 | 47 | +4 |
| Front center | 603.9 | 572 | -31.9 |
| Wheelbase | — | 970 | — |
| Chainstay length | 410 | 410 | 0 |
Who each one is for
Look 795 Blade RS
The Look 795 Blade RS is for the rider who prioritizes a rock-solid feel and absolute precision over all-day comfort. If you live in an area with pristine, smooth asphalt and your riding involves a lot of high-intensity standing climbs and aggressive group sprints, the Look's track-bred stiffness will feel like an advantage. It is a bike that screams for standing climbs at max heart rate and rewards the technically skilled racer who can handle its rigid character on technical descents.
Specialized Tarmac
The Tarmac SL8 is for the rider who wants a do-it-all race bike that doesn't punish them for riding on chip-seal or rough backcountry roads. It is a better fit for the high-mileage amateur who needs a bike that is light enough for the Alps but comfortable enough for a 10-hour double-century. If you want the most versatile racing platform on the market and value integrated features like power meters out of the box, the Tarmac is the smarter investment.
