I don't really want to but I need to do a mild conversion of an old (read very old) Specialized Allez.

I rode lots many years ago and not at all today. My brother was a fanatic racer and I absconded with two of his bikes; the first a Bontrager Race that I wanted to restore and the second the Allez I mentioned.

Lots of roadblocks hit the Bontrager project. Notably, unexpected issues with the forward-facing horizontal rear drops and now the ancient and non-functional SRAM Rocket shifters. I love the Bontrager but it doesn't seem to want to become ridable, at least not in a reasonable time frame.

The Allez is a rider. My brother was last using it for a couple cyclocross events so it has appropriate tires. What I'd like to do is swap out the original Maes bars and change to something with a bit more lift and width. I'm not sure how much height I can get out of the stem. I'm Ok with leaving the old school shifters where they are but I'm not. sure if I'd have enough cable to accommodate a much wider bar. What about brake levers? I've yet to even measure the OD of the current bars.

Hmmm...

I know it's a Frankenbike project but I really want to do some riding this year to see if I still enjoy it. Didn't know where to post, so here it is. I know; the Allez is not truly a classic.

Any thoughts, advice, considerations or warnings would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

Speed