scrambledwonder

Hey there everybody.

Shopping for my first road bike. The LBS has an '05 Specialized Allez Sport Triple in matte black. It's got mostly Tiagra with a 105 rear derailleur, carbon forks (alloy steering tube) and a carbon post. It's pretty cheap, around $800 or maybe less if I can get a deal. I rode it and it was a friggin blast.

However, the guy at the shop says I should order an '06 Allez Elite. It's got that new fancy aero frame, full carbon forks and post with Zert inserts and 105 all around. It'll set me back about $1200.

My question is. . . as a basic rider, do I really need to spend the extra cash on the Elite? I'm very light, around 140, and I'm not hard on bikes. The bike I ride now is a '92 Bridgestone MB-4 with original wheels, hubs, BB, spokes. . . anyway, I don't thrash my stuff at all.

Just wondering.

Thanks in advance!

-Dustin

-phaedrus-

hey dustin, i think that you're where i was about 3 weeks ago. i'd pretty much ridden my old cannondale mountain bike into the ground, and was shopping around for a reasonably-priced road bike, looking to spend less than $1000. i went to my lbs and tested a few bikes, and eventually settled on an black 05 Allez sport triple--got it for $739 after a 10% discount. i love my "zoomzoom" more now than i did the first day i got it. it's a quick, but forgiving, bike, and i don't think i could have gotten a better bike for the money....plenty of gears to play with and it looks damn fast.

the only gripe (and it's a very minor one at that) is that the black shows dirt easily--but at least it gives me a valid excuse to wash it once a week! right now i'm looking into removing all the decals--they don't look bad, mind you, but i think a completely black bike would look sick.
anyway, for a "basic rider" it's a great bike, and i'm sure mine will last me a good long time. good luck and let me know what you decide!

nick

scrambledwonder

Thanks for the input Nick. I think I'll head on down to the LBS tomorrow to discuss a deal. My only gripe after the testride was the bars. . . Think I'd rather have a steeper stem and shallower ergo Bontrager bars or something. Still, no big deal to swap them out.

And yeah, it was so fun to ride. Total blast, solid and smooth over the roughest pavement I could find.

Cheers,

Dustin

thewalrus

I'm very happy with mine (see sig). I considered the Allez Sport, but decided to buy the Elite for the 105 parts and better frame. If you can afford it, there's certainly a lot worse things you could spend $1200 on...

There is one major difference between the bikes, if you're a strong rider, you might not need the triple crankset on the Sport. The elite is available with either 52/42/30 triple or a 53/39 double crankset, either bike should be the same price.

voltman

The 2006 Allez Elite is double only and has different specs than the 05.

thewalrus

this page says the 2006 elite comes in double or triple:

https://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkM...sp?sid=06Allez

the 2006 is almost identical in spec to the 2005 (same 9-speed 105 group) but with a different crank. Fork, seatpost, bars, etc seem to be the same. Same tires. New model of Alex wheelset, ALX-298 instead of 295, same number of spokes front and rear. Same saddle, the Avatar.

scrambledwonder

Yeah, I prefer a double, but I don't really mind a triple. Just wondering if the step up in parts is worth the extra cash.

-D

voltman

Wow. They added some bikes to what they had before.