201x Specialized Allez Sprint DSW and Gen2

[burninglegs]

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty ... 91223.html

$21.99 + tax

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-4 ... 47572.html

$8.99 + tax

+ time

- weight

- warranty ( )

=

They would have been better off PC'ing the thing gold to get a more solid color with only a 30g penalty, eco-friendly, more durable to UV light (Ano that isn't Mil-II or Mil-III will fade), and actually a faster process per frame overall.

Are you the same guy that posted the above regarding sanding the welds to save weight (talking grams here) but then talk about powder coating the frame which would increase the weight over anodizing it?

[prendrefeu]

Yep.

The first one was written in jest - because an post before spoke of 'ugly' welds. I don't think anyone should ever grind down welds.

As for ano vs. powdercoat: PC is lighter than 'wet' paint. The only exceptions are some of the ridiculously expensive industrial/military grade paints that are used in aerospace which can be applied super thin and light. Anodizing is not environmentally friendly and, as stated, has no guarantee on how it appears on the welds.

There's an entire thread on this here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=99123

Page 2 has very useful information from, at the time, someone directly in the industry producing aluminum frames. Unfortunately Spooky bikes seems to have disappeared.

[burninglegs]

Yep.

The first one was written in jest - .

-the old Venge, oddly enough, has been showing up in the ...ummm... 'grey market' to to say. Last price I saw was 317 for a raw, around 530 (+ free shipping, USD) for that camo/neon/hip paint job rocked by a certain Slovak racer... unless you're on a Specialized sponsored team or a team with a certain frame brand you're supposed to rock, for the unattached rider this is essentially saying "here's a frame that's affordable, proven, faster than the new aluminum one and hey, f the big S while you're at it" Not condoning this per se, but I'm also not being blind to the idea that people do make these purchases and, while "ymmv" and all the clichés you can think of, many of these molds from older models will see thousands of problem free race miles. Don't kid yourself that it isn't happening. All joking aside, there's also reported in some kinda media at some point that these types of frames weren't 100% as stiff as the originals, but still stiff enough... and if the old Venge was too stiff...hey, right?

Alibaba/Aliexpress Specialized Venge "knock-off" might save someone some bucks over a used legitimate frame, but what's the point in going with a grey market frame from unknown origins? Yes it very well could be made to similar standards as the true Specialized, but what happens if it isn't?

[prendrefeu]

Very good questions, really.

Ultimately, it's up to the individual to make their own decisions and, hopefully, they make decisions based off of thorough and balanced research on the subject.

Plenty of discussions to draw your own conclusions, and there are innumerable threads on this question/subject both here on WW and elsewhere. Happy reading... But this is not the thread for that.

[tranzformer]

Tranz- scroll back and you can read why I thought its better. Not because of Skylark's spam post, but its stiffer in the BB and HT than the CAAD10. Can't comment on the new CAAD. I thought the bike handled better as well. Was more harsh, but probably from the stiffer rear end. I liked the CAAD and its pretty stiff itself, but out of the saddle the Sprint feels much more lively. For me, a 56 CAAD geo always felt like it didn't track as well out of the saddle as well.

I read your mini review and appreciate you writing that up. I'm not trying to go after you, just honestly curious and wanted to get a little more details from you.

It seems you feel the Allez Sprint predominately is stiffer in the HT and BB than the CAAD10, however you have said the Allez Sprint is definitely not a only bike type of frame.

I can understand the Allez Spring being significantly stiffer than the CAAD10 in the BB, based on the design. However, I haven't heard anyone complain of the CAAD10 being flexi in the frontend. Some complained about that with the CAAD9 when it was 1-1/8" upper and lower. But when Cannondale changed the CAAD10 to a tapered 1-1/8" to a 1-1/4" they really fixed the front end problems. But maybe I have missed everyone complaining about the front end of the newer CAADs?

Also, lots of CAAD10/12 owners seem happy with it as an all day bike and race bike. So does that mean maybe the CAAD is slightly better than the Allez Sprint since the Sprint seems very stiff and unforgiving: "Very stiff. Like, very, very, very stiff. Not plush at all. Definitely can beat you up"?


Weight: Probably similar
BB stiffness: Allez Sprint
HT stiffness: similar/slight edge to Allez Sprint?
Comfort: CAAD?
Handling: CAAD?

[KWalker]

For the only bike comment I would say if someone was not racing a lot to where it or their roads justified needing something that stiff and aggressive, then I might get something else. Having ridden a lot of Specis lately I would go for a Tarmac Expert or Pro if that were my use case. Even for racing I ended up buying an S-Works Tarmac over the Allez because I personally like just having the same bike all the time.

The CAAD10 really only flexed when wrenched and my guess is that this comes from the chainstay/BB junction area. The headtube I felt was stiffer than the Evo, maybe a tad bit of flex, but the geo of the front end in me needing a 56 for fit reasons made it feel a bit less stable. The 56 Sprint felt super stable out of the saddle AND the rear end felt identical to my Tarmac.

CAADs are great bikes. We're splitting hairs here and coming from the standpoint of being able to pick and choose from an array of bikes that are more than enough. If I didn't have to pay for anything and prioritized racing I'd choose the Sprint (for alloy). If I weren't racing as much I'd go with a CAAD disc.

The Sprint was not a nightmare in any regard. For me personally it beat me up mainly when the road surface got really bad, but I was on my standard 23mm GP4K and Roval CLX60s. Had it not been a loaner bike situation I might have put on some 25s or 26s and run lower pressure, which would have helped. As I said if I were to buy the Sprint, that is exactly what I would run on a daily basis.

[53x12]

Do we have any verified weights on this yet?

Here is the weight of the frame + fork + seat post + seat post binder + headset + headset spacers: 4 lbs 2 ounces (~1,871g).

[prendrefeu]

Thanks 53x12!

[53x12]

No worries prend. I have been waiting for someone to throw it on a scale and finally came across this one.

Going to be a little dangerous to do this, but working backwards and some basic guesstimates on weights:

Headset + headset spacer: ~75-80g
Seat post clamp: 30-35g
Seat post: ~200g (?)
Fork: ~385-390g (uncut)

Frame should be close to the claimed weight of mid-1100g range +/- based on guesstimates.

[KWalker]

Fork should be lighter if its from the Tarmac

[53x12]

Yes, the Allez Sprint comes with the S-Works FACT carbon fork. You could very well be right about it be even lighter. Did you weight your fork before your build?

[KWalker]

Nope, I can when it comes back though.

[SLCBrandon]

I messed up and didn't weigh any of mine when I built it up. Got too excited. It's posted in the DSW thread in the other forum.

Size 58, 42cm Aerofly, 120mm SW multi adjust stem (-13 now) that's not a WW piece, Tririg Omega X front/Aerolink rear brakes, Red22 shifters (left shift lever removed), Red22 RD, 130 Quarq, 54t SRAM narrow/wide ring, CLX64's, chromo SP's, single cage, head unit mount and *Pro Power saddle (*i decided to give it one more try but ordered another Tune this morning. So subtract -100g less likely when that arrives): 7.3kg.

With pedals, saddle and an 11-25 XG (DA 11-28 on there now for a mock up) cassette I think I could get it below 7kg but it's not really a concern considering what I'll use it for.

[nathanong87]

54t single ring setup haha sick

[53x12]

I messed up and didn't weigh any of mine when I built it up. Got too excited. It's posted in the DSW thread in the other forum.

Size 58, 42cm Aerofly, 120mm SW multi adjust stem (-13 now) that's not a WW piece, Tririg Omega X front/Aerolink rear brakes, Red22 shifters (left shift lever removed), Red22 RD, 130 Quarq, 54t SRAM narrow/wide ring, CLX64's, chromo SP's, single cage, head unit mount and *Pro Power saddle (*i decided to give it one more try but ordered another Tune this morning. So subtract -100g less likely when that arrives): 7.3kg.

With pedals, saddle and an 11-25 XG (DA 11-28 on there now for a mock up) cassette I think I could get it below 7kg but it's not really a concern considering what I'll use it for.

Nice build. Definitely needs to be posted in here as well.





I'm curious to hear how you like the 1x over time and the gearing you went with.