Introducing Tarmac SL4

June 30, 2011   Dear Dealer, As we get ready to launch our 2012 line to you—which is packed with amazing bikes and equipment—we are also super excited to give you sneak peek at a bike that will be ridden by some of the biggest names in cycling on the grandest stage. Come July 2nd, select riders from teams HTC-Highroad, Astana, and Saxo Bank-SunGard will race the Tour de France on the next generation of Tarmac: the SL4. This pure race bike is the culmination of everything we’ve learned to date about working hand-in-hand with pros: taking their insight and putting it to use designing the fastest bikes in the pro peloton, without sacrificing the ride quality we all demand.  The Tarmac SL4 is the stiffest frame and complete module in the industry (torsional), and by far the stiffest and lightest Tarmac we’ve ever made, resulting in a lightning-fast machine. But, while improving on those numbers, we’ve also managed to improve vertical compliance to maintain the legendary Tarmac ride quality. We all know it’s not just the numbers, but how balanced the ride is—that is our magic. If you ask the pro riders who have racked up thousands of miles and hundreds of wins on Tarmacs over the years, they would agree. Thanks to them we’ve proven our idea that Smoother is Faster. We’re super excited for you to experience the SL4 for yourselves—and of course to see it start winning races! We’re equally excited that riders will still be able to enjoy our race-proven SL3 frames, which won last year’s Tour. This is still the bike-of-choice for most of our riders in this year’s race, and will continue through model year 2012. In fact the SL3 could win its second Tour de France, as reigning champ Alberto Contador will ride the same SL3 he rode to victory in the this year’s Giro—he’s a superstitious rider and wouldn’t even ride a special pink SL3 frame built for him during the Giro! With the addition of the SL4, our already-unparalleled quiver of race bikes gets one stronger: It joins the SL3, Venge, Roubaix, and Shiv to make by far the most dominant and diverse collection of race bikes in the industry. I am passionate about continually investing and innovating - not only to stimulate the riders and help them ride farther faster, but to support you and give you the tools to grow your business well into the future. The awesome new SL4, which will be available starting in August, will hopefully do both. Click here for more on Tarmac SL4. As always, thank you for your continued support. Here’s hoping we win a few more stages and maybe a jersey or two at the Tour! All the best from the team at Specialized. We are here to support you to ensure our mutual success forever. Sincerely,

Mike Sinyard Founder and President Specialized Bicycle Components