New guy... these are my rides.

[CrankAddictsRich]

The cables are perfect... just enough to clear as bars turn side to side.

As for smiling on the start line... oh well.

[jbaillie]

Rich I was looking at your blog - I didn't see anything on the re-finishing of the Allez. Any chance you've done a write-up on that? Very curious about the process.

[CrankAddictsRich]

Rich I was looking at your blog - I didn't see anything on the re-finishing of the Allez. Any chance you've done a write-up on that? Very curious about the process.

Unfortunately, I dind't shoot the whole process... I should have, I know. Truthfully, there wasn't much to it... I used a product called aluminum aircraft stripper. You can find it at most autoparts stores. It is like a jelly that you put on the frame and it basically just eats the paint. It literally lifts the paint right off the metal frame. The main tubes came clean pretty quickly, but inside the rear triangle, dropouts, behind the seat tube etc, I had to do multiple coatings of the material. I'm guessing because of overspray from multiple coats in these areas when the bike was being painted. When it was all stripped, I took several days of working the material with some steel wool. I wanted a brushed look and not a highly polished, chrome look, so I just took my time getting the right amount of brushin on the finish. At that point, I cut the vinyl decals, appled them and then had a friend that owns a body shop, spray it with clear coat. As for the fork, I ordered an all-black, S-Works Tarmac fork from my LBS.

[jbaillie]

Extremely helpful, thanks! And when dealing with the aircraft stripper you just used regular rubber gloves? Guessing that stuff is pretty nasty on the skin.

[CrankAddictsRich]

Yes... some heavy duty rubber gloves, but I didn't touch it with my hands at all. I did get iy on my skin in a spot of two and it did sting. I washed it off immediately. More than that though, is the smell... defintiely do it outside, in a ventilated area.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I haven't updated this thead in a while, but I've been on a steady prescription of racing... TT's and dabbling in crits to finally get some upgrades.

[rollinslow]

All your bikes are great but that S-works Allez is incredible. I wish I had picked one up when I had the chance. Such a unique frame.

[CrankAddictsRich]

All your bikes are great but that S-works Allez is incredible. I wish I had picked one up when I had the chance. Such a unique frame.

To be fair... it is not a legitimate S-Works Allez as sold by Specialized. It started life as an Allez Comp DSW which has the same frame as the S-Works but came with a standard Tarmac fork as opposed to the S-Works Fork. The S-Works Allez had no paint just anodized graphics to preserve the lightest weight possible. I stripped the paint from my Allez Comp and then gave it a brushed finish and had it clear-coated. I bought an all black S-Works Tarmac fork from my LBS and between the frame and fork, dropped it roughly 200 grams. The legitimate S-Works Allez bikes are definitely pretty rare ad great bikes. I love my riding my Allez and even though it is the "lesser" of my road bikes I still ride it a lot. It is my trainer bike and also my road race/crit bike, so I don't have to worry about binning my S-Works Tarmac SL5. I usually use the Allez in winter too, although I just picked up a new project that will become the winter/gravel bike....



It is a limited edition copper E5 Aluminum Diverge

[COSTA]

very nice bits of kit in here, photos are super clear too.

[CrankAddictsRich]

very nice bits of kit in here, photos are super clear too.

Thanks.

[Bliquid]

Rich, on your 2015 Venge, what saddle height did you run? Just came across an older post of yours on sizing of the older Venge. Am about the same height as you and debating 52 vs. 54.
Thanks,
Ben

[CrankAddictsRich]

Rich, on your 2015 Venge, what saddle height did you run? Just came across an older post of yours on sizing of the older Venge. Am about the same height as you and debating 52 vs. 54.
Thanks,
Ben

I don't have the Venge anymore so I can't give you an exact measurement on that bike... but both my Tarmac and Allez are set up with the same fit and the measurment is 70cm from the center of bottom bracket to the top of the saddle, measuring straight along the seat post angle. In terms of sizing, my Tarmac now is a 52, and my Allez is a 54 like the Venge was. I've got the fits set up exactly the same between the two bikes... the only difference is that the Tarmac has 10mm of spacers under the stem, so if I want to go lower on the front of that bike I can. On the Allez, I could go lower only if I resorted to one of those really thin slam your stem bearing covers.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I finally got the Diverge E5 put together... pretty basic build. I didn't weigh it, because I'm fairly certain it isn't that light, although it does feel lighter then I expected.

2018 Specialized Diverge E5 limited edition Copper frame set.

[spdntrxi]

I like it looks like the "aero" setup.... lets see the 650b shoes.

Love the frame colorway

[CrankAddictsRich]

I like it looks like the "aero" setup.... lets see the 650b shoes.

Love the frame colorway

I should have them ready to go on this weekend.