2013 Specialized Allez Race E5 OSBB (updated photos)

[Elrey]

I'm looking forward to trying mine, come spring!

[Anders]

I see you considered the Ciamillo brakes. You will regret it as it's a poor design needing constant adjustment. Planet X work much better but are not that nice looking. I found the best compromise to be TRP. Impressive finish.
Your bike would look great with a set of THM M3 with Praxis rings or as a much cheaper option a sanded UD version of the Specialized crankset with carbon spider.

[Elrey]

Edit

[Anders]

Edit

[mpulsiv]

Where's did you find that slim conical spacer? The one came with a frame is 20mm, however Tarmac frames come with 8mm carbon one. Specialized stated that customer must purchase the whole headset assemble to get that conical spacer. I'd like to get the one you have

Thanks.

[bananasbrah]

Where's did you find that slim conical spacer? The one came with a frame is 20mm, however Tarmac frames come with 8mm carbon one. Specialized stated that customer must purchase the whole headset assemble to get that conical spacer. I'd like to get the one you have

Thanks.

Grab whatever conical spacer you fancy off eBay (as close to the 45mm external diameter as you can find for a flush fit) and use standard 1 1/8 spacers within that to preload the upper bearing. I use an 8.5mm cone, with a 3mm spacer and two 0.4mm micro shims inside, and that does the trick.

[mpulsiv]

Ah, so the key is to find as close to 45mm as possible. I got a hold of Cane Creek 40.IS42.Short.Top Assembly but it's 42mm, no wonder it's not flushed
http://store.canecreek.com/p/40-is42-short-top-assembly

This is the closest thing but I think it will overlap hence it's 47.5mm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-10-15-20-25-m ... 0962163931

[bananasbrah]

Ah, so the key is to find as close to 45mm as possible. I got a hold of Cane Creek 40.IS42.Short.Top Assembly but it's 42mm, no wonder it's not flushed
http://store.canecreek.com/p/40-is42-short-top-assembly

This is the closest thing but I think it will overlap hence it's 47.5mm
http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-10-15-20-25-m ... 0962163931

Mine's a 2012 model and the original Tange Seiki cone was 45mm external, so I assume all models with a 1 1/8 upper head tube will be the same, including the newer tapered ones. From what I've seen Allez owners are still having this problem even with brand new frames.

I've seen many different opinions on getting lower with the Cane Creek cover, some claim it does the trick while others say it's impossible to get the desired result. Luckily my stock headset's still got a bit of life left in it but I'm getting close to having to replace it so this is what I'll be buying, as far as I can tell it's the correct replacement for our bikes http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cane-creek-40-s ... ch-headset. Whether the cover fits the frame well, I don't know.

If you're in the States you have better options than me as there are a few companies that make very low stack covers for this exact reason. Ideally I will get something lower at some point but at the minute I can't justify some of the shipping costs for a few mm more.

http://zodiaceng.bigcartel.com/product/ ... d-dust-cap
http://veloflyte.com/ultra_low_stack_he ... st_shields
http://www.cobbcycling.com/shop/accesso ... m-top-caps

Can't verify if any of them do the job, but they're the most purpose-built ones available. I completely understand your frustration, spent far too long trying to figure out the solution to these stock volcanos and it did my head in, all Specialized told me was to look in my LBS for a lower stack, they had no alternatives in stock and didn't even mention the need for internal spacers.

[merlinxlm]

Really like your bike, the stealth look is great. I was wondering what's the main difference between the race and my Allez comp 2011, E5 frame? I' m thinking of working on mine over the summer time, it's my winter bike. I'll be going down the stealth mat black look for my bike, but I'm not to sure as to powder coat the frame? And what to do with the Specialized FACT carbon forks? Has anybody on the forum carried out a full colour change on one of these frames?

[mpulsiv]

It's disturbing how Specialized doesn't offer same conical spacer included with Tarmac to Allez riders. How about 7K limited edition Allez, which comes with 20mm conical spacer http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... ez-limited. Seriously?

If I'm not mistaken, minimum of 5mm conical spacer is required for safety of the fork.
1.5mm http://zodiaceng.bigcartel.com/product/ ... d-dust-cap
0.7mm http://veloflyte.com/ultra_low_stack_he ... st_shields
5mm might be a winner but it has 4 COBB logos lhttp://www.cobbcycling.com/shop/access ... m-top-caps

I've spent hours searching online and talking to every Specialized LBS in my area. No luck finding plain black (w/o logos) conical spacer.

[HaroldC]

It looks like Specialized changed the spacer top cap on the 2014 to a conical 20mm one instead of the 10mm spacer used on my 2013 Allez.

[bananasbrah]

It's disturbing how Specialized doesn't offer same conical spacer included with Tarmac to Allez riders. How about 7K limited edition Allez, which comes with 20mm conical spacer http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... ez-limited. Seriously?

If I'm not mistaken, minimum of 5mm conical spacer is required for safety of the fork.
1.5mm http://zodiaceng.bigcartel.com/product/ ... d-dust-cap
0.7mm http://veloflyte.com/ultra_low_stack_he ... st_shields
5mm might be a winner but it has 4 COBB logos lhttp://www.cobbcycling.com/shop/access ... m-top-caps

I've spent hours searching online and talking to every Specialized LBS in my area. No luck finding plain black (w/o logos) conical spacer.

Hmm I'm not sure if that's an issue underneath the stem. I know with a full carbon fork (my Allez has an alloy steerer) you need at least a 5mm spacer above the stem to ensure it has a sufficient area to clamp on to so the force from the bolts is evenly distributed, but I don't think it matters in terms of cone spacers between headset and stem. Plenty of people run stems slammed directly onto the upper bearing but still use a 5mm spacer above the stem.

I will keep an eye out on UK eBay to see if I can pick up the same one I got for you. With the Cobb one you could use some acetone and take the decals off or just sand down the surface if need be.

I can't believe how poorly Spesh deal with this. Granted the Allez is sold mostly to newbies so it's not really an issue, but with the amount of crit racers and people like us using the frames now I can't believe how much they neglect such a tiny thing.

[mpulsiv]

Yes, I remember reading or hearing that in carbon steerer was introduced in 2014 frames.
Looks like CAAD and Allez use the same conical spacer http://www.tangeseiki.com/tangeseiki_ne ... 013293.gif except height. CAAD is 25mm and Allez is 20mm.

Looks like 10mm conical spacer will be the closest thing with Bottom OD 46mm http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-10-15-20-25-m ... 0962175559

This is the first time I headr this: "you need at least a 5mm spacer above the stem to ensure it has a sufficient area to clamp on to so the force from the bolts is evenly distributed". I talked to mechanic about this...he insisted that 1-2mm spacer is required on top of stem, that's it.

[bananasbrah]

Yes, I remember reading or hearing that in carbon steerer was introduced in 2014 frames.
Looks like CAAD and Allez use the same conical spacer http://www.tangeseiki.com/tangeseiki_ne ... 013293.gif except height. CAAD is 25mm and Allez is 20mm.

Looks like 10mm conical spacer will be the closest thing with Bottom OD 46mm http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-10-15-20-25-m ... 0962175559

This is the first time I headr this: "you need at least a 5mm spacer above the stem to ensure it has a sufficient area to clamp on to so the force from the bolts is evenly distributed". I talked to mechanic about this...he insisted that 1-2mm spacer is required on top of stem, that's it.

5mm seems to be the most commonly used by pros, and is the most readily available low-stack spacer, so tends to be the go-to size. Theoretically a 4mm spacer would be just as good, but I think you'd struggle with only 1-2mm. I believe the recommended measurement is a 3mm drop between the top cap and the top of the steerer tube, so you'd ideally need something nearing 5mm for that reason.

As I said it's only a real problem with carbon steerers; if the stem doesn't have complete surface area to clamp onto it then the pressure from the bolts can deform the steerer. If you only had a 2mm spacer above, and had the recommended 3mm steerer drop below that top spacer then you wouldn't be getting the full security of the attachment. I wouldn't feel like the stem's doing its job properly if it wasn't using all of its clamping power where it should be.
On the other end of the spectrum, the stock stem on my Allez had a 4-position adjustment shim/plug which affected the angle of the clamping area and Specialized say with these stems the top cap must go directly on top with no spacer between.

[mpulsiv]

According to instructions guide (illustration on page 2), they recommend 3mm overlap. In other word, stem should be 3mm taller than fork perhaps due to variety of top caps?
http://service.specialized.com/collateral/ownersguide/new/assets/pdf/Stem---Carbon-Road-Stem-Instruction-Guide.pdf

I like Anders CAAD10. I don't see any spacers above the stem! Beautiful!