Aluminati / 2022 Allez Sprint Comp / 7.59kg

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SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp (size 49) in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil

GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette (10-36), SRAM RED AXS E1 crankset (160mm), SRAM X-SYNC chainring (50T).

WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, Continental AERO 111 front (29), Continental GP 5000 S TR rear (32), Galfer rotors (160mm front 140mm rear).

COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem (130mm -12 degree), Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat, stem cover kit and black Ti stem bolts, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars (380mm), Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Berk Lupina Short (132mm), Specialized carbon rail clamp, Hylix 0 offset seatpost, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-Works Carbon Rib Cage III, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts, Garmin EDGE 130 Plus, Specialized out front computer mount.

WEIGHT: 7.59kg (fully loaded with mount, cage and pedals).

Hey weenies!

Just getting back on the bike after a long hiatus, and it's not taken me long to find my way back to these forums (the weight weenie in me never dies?!). The last WW bike I built up was a 6kg Ti MTB (I'm a mountain biker at heart). It was a no-name frame from China that sadly had BB issues (had to try many BB's to finally find one that worked) and whilst I was happy with the weight it rode like absolute crap on the trails so I sold it.

There's a lesson to be learned there. Throughout the years I've put on weight weenie parts on my mountain bikes only to have them break in a crash. The trails I rode were pretty rocky and technical, even XTR chainrings and cranks didn't last long when striking large rocks so I ended up having to use XT instead.

But weight weenie-ism is a disease, right?! I'm 49 now, and really happy that I've re-ignited my passion for cycling as I was in desperate need of physical exercise. As much as I want to get out on the trails again I thought I'd look into buying my first modern road bike (this is my 80's Paino road bike). Still skeptical about carbon (as I've broken and binned carbon parts in the past) I thought I'd look for an aluminium road bike (which would also be an upgrade from my old steel road bike) so I pulled the trigger on an Allez Sprint.

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Day 1 photos.




I had these XTR pedals in the parts bin so they went straight on.


At this stage I was still super stubborn about avoiding lycra and click-clack shoes so these Adidas Velosambas were perfect to get me back on the bike.

The first few rides out were super dissapointing as the bike didn't at all live up to the hype. I just felt that it was far from fast. I figure it was a combination of the heavy 105 groupset and also the heavy and super thin wheelset so I started hunting down some wheels.

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I bought a size 49 which is one size down from the recommended size of 52 (I'm 169cm). I dropped in to my LBS to swap out the short 80mm stem for a 100m -12 degree Kalloy Uno V2 stem. I'm a retired graphic designer and live by "less is more", so I absolutely love how clean integrated cables look on modern bikes, so even though the Allez has partial cable integration, the sight of 4 cables going from the bars under the stem and into the headset really gave me the shits every time I rode the bike.


I bought a set of ENVE Foundation 65's. Not super light at 1652g, but lighter than the anemic OEM rims.


At this stage the bike weighed in at a depressing 8.65kg.

The deep wheels made the bike come alive! SO much faster, they sound amazing and they look much more aggressive too.

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I see Helvetica. I buy. Got these carbon cages from AliExpress. They look and work well, but something doesn't feel right (I hope they're not a knock-off of another brand?).


Despite being upset about the hefty weight of the bike I thought I'd better ride it as is to make sure I liked the frame before spending any more money on it, so that I did.

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New (bottom) vs old (top). Spotted this as new S-Works Power Saddle on eBay for half the price of a new one and pounced on it.




Old saddle weighed 281g.

I decided to stop stalking new Canyon Aeroad’s and S-WORKS Tarmac SL8’s and instead go all out on my Allez Sprint.

The deep dish ENVE wheels I put on the bike made the bike look, feel and sound so much faster which has confirmed for me that the frame is awesome (and worth it!). As much as I like the concept of mechanical Shimano 105 being the groupset of the people, in reality it’s heavy and despite the Allez having semi-integrated cables the sight of the 4 cables around the stem was doing my head in so I thought I’d give electronic shifting a go.

I decided to go 1x for weight savings (from removing the front derailleur and extra front chainring) and also for simplicity (less is more!) as well as attitude.

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Strip down.


Heavy panting... new upgrades!






Kinda glad Sam, the bike mechanic at my LBS CCACHE was doing all the cable integration. I've always built my own bikes, but getting Sam to build it, and getting to know the guy (he's an awesome dude) has been great fun.


Getting rid of the unsightly cables was a priority, and the Tarmac SL7 does a good job of it.




Burgh lightning bar tape (because I have matching lightning bolts tattoed on my elbows). PS: If there was an award for best dressed bike mechaic, Sam would win it!

Was awesome hanging out at my local LBS CCACHE with Sam over a few days talking shit and building the bike up. He's a rad dude who's become a friend over the past month and we've even started going for rides on his day off.

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The gap between the rear tyre and the seatpost tube KILLS ME. It's not as bad on a 52, but looks silly on a 49. A fatter rear tyre might be on the cards at some point but even then it won't look much better.


Shazam!




The chrome suits the frame really well.


Will look into black Ti stem bolts ASAP.


Weight with pedals and cages.

Electronic shifting is wild and the bike holds speed so well. Really happy with the upgrades, but still dreaming of an S-WORKS SL8 frameset to port all these parts over to...

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Before.


After.

Getting the S-WORKS Tarmac SL7 stem to fit on an Allez Sprint took a whole lot of *f##k*, but we got there in the end!

I knew I needed a custom 3D printed spacer, the stem, a bat cable kit to attach the 2 brake lines to the stem, a stem cover plate kit too, but what I didn't know was you also need a Tarmac SL7 top cap which the stem cover clips down on.

Gone are the days of old where you could just reach into your parts bin and make shit work. Everything is proprietary these days!


S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.


Since I’m not running a front derailleur I removed the derailleur hanger and found this Specialized block-off plate to cover the 2 mount holes.


S-Works Evade 3. Aero bike calls for an aero helmet!

[AFE]

Love it

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Cheers!

It's a great bike. Far from the lightest, and really not a great candidate for a Weight Weenie build, but I figure that if I ever get that S-WORKS Tarmac SL8 frameset one day all the parts can move across.

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit browsing through the CRW Works wheels thread on this forum. Super tempting to get some 5060's which would save 360g, but since the 65 ENVE's work so well as is I think it would make more logical sense for me to buy a climbing/weenie wheelset like the CRW Works CS4045 which would save me 470g.

I've got a Berk saddle on order, Hylix seatpost and some Galfer rotors too so if I was to buy the CRW Works CS4045 that would get the bike into the 6kg's and I could probably stop there.

[Vuong05]

Awesome build in black. Nice to see another 49cm Allez Sprint on WW.

[CrankAddictsRich]

Fantastic photos and great looking bike! I really enjoyed your build progression and the story as it unfolded.

I read that you're dreaming of that SL8 and the Tarmacs are indeed great bikes. I had an SL5 rim and now an SL6 Disc and will surely get an SL8 soon, but I'll never give up my Allez.... don't give up on yours when you get that SL8.

Welcome to the club.

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Cheers guys! Yeah really falling in love with the Allez the more I ride it, and out of all my bikes it's the bike that begs to be ridden the most.


Quick snap from yesterday's ride. Love not having any electrical tape to finish off the bar tape (less is more!).


Legit parked up next to the TV in the lounge room so I can admire it whilst on the couch.


My Berk Lupina Short 132mm came in the mail today. Great packaging, quality and so light in the hands.


Came in under the advertised weight of 95g.


Galfer rotors.


140mm rear (advertised weight 76g).


160mm front (advertised weight 98g).

I’ve been wanting to try out a Berk Lupina Short saddle for a while. I’m really happy with my S-WORKS Power saddle as is, but when I spotted the Berk saddle on sale at Creative Cycles Workshop in Victoria I had to pull the trigger.

Packaging was super sexy (came in a nice box and Berk pouch too), the saddle is SO light in the hands and quality is amazing. I test fitted it just to see what it would look like (still waiting for a zero offset Hylix seatpost to come in the mail from China). If I’m being honest I think the S-WORKS Power saddle (visually) suits the bike much more than the dainty looking Berk saddle. Looking forward to trying it out when my seatpost arrives in any case.

Also picked up a pair of Galfer rotors. Nothing at all wrong with the Shimano rotors I have on the bike (again I think the existing rotors look better), but these are lighter and they were on the Creative Cycles Workshop online shop so I thought I’d try them out as I’ve read many great reviews on them.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I think the Berk looks fine...

I'm anxious to hear your review of the Galfer rotors... I do a fair bit of descending on my rides... going fast and stopping short and I feel like I'd over heat those rotors, just looking at them. Maybe I'm wrong though.

I recently threw on a set 1180g wheels (45 front, 50 rear) on my Allez and that lightened it up some, but overall, I like the free speed of the aero on the deep wheels, for what I use my Allez for.

Man... that black and chrome really looks great. Simple, Neat... Timeless.

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I think the Berk looks fine...

I'm anxious to hear your review of the Galfer rotors... I do a fair bit of descending on my rides... going fast and stopping short and I feel like I'd over heat those rotors, just looking at them. Maybe I'm wrong though.

I recently threw on a set 1180g wheels (45 front, 50 rear) on my Allez and that lightened it up some, but overall, I like the free speed of the aero on the deep wheels, for what I use my Allez for.

Man... that black and chrome really looks great. Simple, Neat... Timeless.

Yeah it's a tough one. I went all out on a Ti weight weenie MTB many years ago and learnt a pretty big lesson. Yes I reached my weight goal of 6kg's but the ride quality on the trails was so compromised I ended up having to put much heavier stuff back on just to have fun riding the bike again.

Having said that I don't race the Allez nor do I ride it on the roads, it's just been the bike that's gotten me back on the bike and the more I ride it the fitter I get (a good thing as I've been sitting on the couch for years). Right now I'm just doing laps around Centennial Park (Sydney Australia) 2-3 times a week. It's a 4km mostly flat loop with 1 gradual uphill (or 2 if you take a bigger loop) and 1 longer but very gradual downhill (+1 longer and steeper downhill if you take the bigger loop).

1180g would get me into the 6kg mark! I've been looking into the Chinese Craft wheels in 45/50, but that would be again just for the sake of hitting a weight number. I'm with you; going from the thin OEM wheels to the 65's was a world of difference and I've had a chance to ride on an extremely windy day (weather bureau had a warning for "dangerous winds" and I saw a 10ft branch snap off a tree during the ride) and despite all I've read about people being concerend about cross winds on deep wheels I managed AOK (yes it was sketch AF, but holy crap it was fun!).

Regarding the black/chrome; it's not what I was looking for initially. I really wanted an art frame and would have taken a rim brake if I could find one in my size, but yup, it's quite minimalist which I like, and the SRAM Red chrome calipers really suit. I'd love a set of team edition Rovals with the chrome/silver hubs! Not a fan of the HUGE white Roval logos on the wheels, but the hubs would really set the bike off!