Market: Even more news for spring from Specialized. Recently we already had the extremely interesting one power saddle introduced, now follows the new Audax Road shoe and updates for the S-Works Road and the Turbo tire.
Since 2014, US cult manufacturer Specialized has been presenting new products to the public not only in late summer, but also in spring - especially in the accessories and clothing sector, as a cyclist, of course, cyclists want to be informed about new products in spring and think about a possible purchase . We present some highlights of the 2016 products that will be available in stores these days.
Shoes: New road shoe Audax and update at the S-Works Road
Brand new for the coming season is the Specialized Audax street shoe. The optically very successful model is based on the S-Works Road shoe, but is aimed at those who place a little more value on optics and comfort and can make slight compromises in performance. The Audax inherits the Boa closure and the Body Geometry sole from its "big brother". The shoe comes in a total of seven color variants and has a much more comfortable fit than the S-Works shoe, which is optimized for absolute performance. The Audax should be much more comfortable when walking in particular - so if you want to go to the ice cream parlor or a café after a training session, you should take a closer look at the Audax.
Speaking of the Boa closure: There will also be a small innovation here at Specialized: From now on, shoes with the tried-and-tested screw closure can be optically spiced up or adapted to the rest of the outfit - with Boa screw caps in a wide variety of colors. Pimp your shoe!
The S-Works model also gets a small update. On the one hand, Specialized gave their top shoe an optical slimming diet, which is obviously good for the noble shoe. The new S-Works is simpler, more straightforward and overall more chic. The colors of the new models are based on the Proteams. Another innovation is the significantly larger toe box, which was requested by many hobby and professional riders. The old shoe was kept very flat here and caused comfort problems for many riders - the new, high toe box gives the toes a little more room without the fit suffering too much. The weight remains record-breaking: 200g in size 42.
Tires: update for the turbo
The S-Works Turbo is certainly one of the fastest road tires, but it has always struggled with the same problem in the past: puncture and puncture protection were noticeably worse compared to the competition. That is now to change with the new version of the Turbo: Specialized is now using a new rubber compound made in Portugal and a new carcass: Instead of the previous 220tpi, the new Turbo gets by with 120tpi, making it stiffer and less prone to breakdowns. The new rubber compound was developed together with professionals and amateurs - it should offer a good compromise between grip, comfort and rolling resistance. The best for last: Despite the stiffer carcass, the weight remains the same and the new Turbo is even more than €39,90 cheaper than its predecessor at €10. The tire will be available from dealers from mid-March.
