jstrand0876

Got into cycling a few weeks back. Long story short a friend had an old specialized road bike laying around and gave it to me. I put some tires on it but it just felt too big so I put it aside. I was planning on just selling the parts or the bike but I was intrigued on what it actually was. Now I am thinking a restoration would be fun so I am trying to find out if this is an allez or a sirrus. There isnt a ton of information out there on these bikes so an identification would help me start the process. Thanks in advance. I cant seem to upload pictures.

bwilli88 

Bikepedia or some pictures here in this thread, but you need to have 10 posts.

Kevindale

If the bike has its original components, check on the back of the cranks and the back side of the front derailleur, and you'll see a 2-letter date code on each. The front derailleur will be stamped something like FD-1050; that's not the date code. It'll be something like 'LL' which represents 1987 and December. That's the FD stamp on the 1988 Specialized Sirrus I just picked up. There may also be a date code on the rear derailleur, but that'll be harder to find without taking it off. There are probably a few other date codes on components, but those are the easiest to find.

For some years the difference between Allez and Sirrus was paint (different colors, and better quality for Allez) and different components (Tricolor 600 for Allez and 105 for Sirrus in 1988).

Here are a lot of Specialized catalogs, though some of the scans are fairly low rez.

Some people are able to upload photos by using the 'Go Advanced' button and 'Manage Attachments' even before getting 10 posts. Or put the photos on a hosting site like Flickr and put the link here (leave off the 'http' part if you have less than 10 posts).

Finally, tell us how tall you are and your inseam measurement. Measure the frame for the seat tube size, from center of the bottom bracket to either the center of the intersection with the top tube, or to the top of that intersection. We can help advise you if the bike is close to fitting you, or way too big. And apologies if I'm assuming you know less than you do.

EDIT: You can also quickly get up to the 10 post count by peppering this thread with quick posts describing more about your bike, your riding goals, etc. For example, what kind of rims does the bike have? What color scheme? And so on.

S28546

What size is yours? I've a 1987 56cm Sirrus frame that I wish was a size (or two) bigger.

I think that 1988 was the year that Specialized changed to the unicrown fork, so that may help set a date for the frame.

T-Mar

Serial number may allow us to determine the frame manufacturer and date. That plus the component group should give us a solid start.

Kevindale

Re: serial numbers, I just picked up an '88 Sirrus. Serial number is GC864949. I believe the 'G' is for Giant (maker), and the '8' is for 1988 model year. T-Mar, do you know what the 'C' and the other numbers represent?

T-Mar

G = Giant
C = 3rd fortnight (i.e weeks 5-6)
8 = 1988
64949 = assumed to be the sequential frame number for the stated fortnight (i.e. 64,949th frame of the 3rd fortnight of 1988)

A few years ago, I posted a document containing 100+ brands that were manufactured in Japan and Taiwan, with cross-references to the known manufacturers and the codes for their serial number formats. It used to be a stickey but disappeared during the forum reorganization. Everything was explained in that post.

Kevindale

Thank you. I remember seeing that thread - it definitely deserves to be a sticky thread.

Hardrock23

You can upload pictures from your computer (maybe phone/tablet gallery), if you are under 10 posts, as attachments. Just go to "Go Advanced" under the reply box then hit the "paper clip" button up top, or go under the reply box and hit "Manage attachments". But for other ways to post pics & (complete) links you'll need 10 posts first.