201x Specialized Allez Sprint DSW and Gen2

[thorerik]

May i ask what handlebar your using on the pink bike in the pictures?
Is it flared in the drops or angle of camera?

[Nefarious86]

SL70 Zipp alloy in 40cm width. No flare.

[Antoine]

Why aren't these pictures posted in the "on the road today" topic ?
Great bike fit, while the other guy seem to have too much drop.

]

[Nefarious86]

Because they were in relation to the question about Heffron Park. And Beardy does enough kms on a bike with enough results over the years that I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that his fit works for him.

[AyBee]

Is the Allez Sprint known for getting a creaky BB? Took the cranks out at the weekend and greased everything before putting it back together - still creaks though annoyingly. Will double check pedals etc before I make any changes but any recommendations for new BBs in case that doesn't work?

[IrrelevantD]

Is the Allez Sprint known for getting a creaky BB? Took the cranks out at the weekend and greased everything before putting it back together - still creaks though annoyingly. Will double check pedals etc before I make any changes but any recommendations for new BBs in case that doesn't work?

I haven’t had any BB issues, but I’m using a Wheels Mfg thread together BB. I have however had some lose headset issues resulting in a perceptible “thunk” during breaking. I have to hold the front brake and wiggle it a bit when tightening the top cap to get it good and seated, but always seems to come back after a month or two.

[ryanw]

That'll be your expander creeping up the fork steerer tube. Make sure it's tightened / expanded enough. I always do mine to around 8-10nm.

Top cap should be 2nm (hand tight) only.

[ryanw]

Arry, check your whatsapp...

[danridesbikes]

misplaced my brake nuts - what length do i need f+r?

ta

[IrrelevantD]

That'll be your expander creeping up the fork steerer tube. Make sure it's tightened / expanded enough. I always do mine to around 8-10nm.

Top cap should be 2nm (hand tight) only.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it. I did a torque wrench and tightened it to Specialized's spec when I installed it, so I didn't consider that as a possible issue. It never has looked like it's working it's way up, but I'm not going to rule it out. I will say that it always seem to get worse when the temperature drops. The only other thing I tought about that I haven't done is carbon paste on the steerer. To this point, I've never needed carbon paste anywhere, but I figure it might be worth a shot.

[Nefarious86]

[CrankAddictsRich]

Looking at the photo above, I thought to myself, "It looks like they relaxed the geometry a little bit on the disc frame... the head tube is a little taller." I was using the lines of the bricks to see it but thought maybe it was just an optical illusion, but I just checked the geometry charts and sure enough, the disc frame has a 10mm taller headtube for any given size.

[liam7020]

That road surface looks bloody awful!

Concrete slabs held together by strips on tar. You want to go to Flanders mate - that's all there is!

[Nefarious86]

10mm taller head tube but 5mm shorter fork so it's only 5mm in the stack

[Calnago]

That'll be your expander creeping up the fork steerer tube. Make sure it's tightened / expanded enough. I always do mine to around 8-10nm.

Top cap should be 2nm (hand tight) only.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it. I did a torque wrench and tightened it to Specialized's spec when I installed it, so I didn't consider that as a possible issue. It never has looked like it's working it's way up, but I'm not going to rule it out. I will say that it always seem to get worse when the temperature drops. The only other thing I tought about that I haven't done is carbon paste on the steerer. To this point, I've never needed carbon paste anywhere, but I figure it might be worth a shot.

The expander plug has to be tight enough to prevent it from pulling up inside the steertube only during the initial setup of the preload. Make sure the stem bolts clamping the steertube are loose when setting the preload otherwise you’ll just be tightening the top cap on the stem but not applying any preload to the headset. Once you’ve got the preload right align and tighten the stem. The tightened stem on the steertube is what retains the preload from then on. The expander plug is doing nothing in that regard at this point. If you develop play in your headset after that it is either because your stem is sliding up the steertube or there wasn’t enough preload in the first place. If it wasn’t for providing structural support, you could throw away the expander plug after the stem is tightened to the steertube. So, even if the expander plug had slid up after the initial install, the preload would not be affected unless the stem moved along the steertube.