I snagged this '89 Specialized Allez from the Bikeworks warehouse sale today. I am pretty stoked on it and am considering swapping my parts from my Specialized Sirrus over to this frame but I obly want to do that if the Allez is a better frame. I noticed that the Sirrus and Allez frame from this era were described exactly the same way in the catalogs (DB steel, cr-mo stays, unicrown fork) Anyone know for sure if they are the same?

Pic of my Sirrus. I actually like the graphics on this better and it rides really great. I did notice a couple differences between the frames. The Allez has dropout adjuster screws where the Sirrus doesn't and the Sirrus (strangely) has fender brazeons on the rear and not on the fork. The Allez has none at all. This could also be a differ nce in the years.

Bumping in case someone has some input.

Bumping more.

What year is your Sirrus? I forgot. I do think the graphics on it are quite fetching, and it is frustrating that Specialized didn't really let anyone in on just how different both bikes were apart from name and componentry.

How is the rear brake bridge clearance on the Allez? Is the chainstay any shorter? Your Sirrus looks to be later than my 1988 example in that mine would only fit 23mm tires in the rear, maximum. I say later because, as we know, Specialized moved the Sirrus to a more sport touring geometry as they got into the '90s. The clearance for meatier tires (28s?) and the rear eyelets are the first signs to me, at least. Thankfully Specialized saw spec to put sweet minimal lugs for the Sirrus in addition to the Allez. My flippin' Superbe Pro-equipped earlier Allez SE has (what I call) "T-shirt sleeve" lugs in comparison.

Aside from component spec, in the 1988 catalog, the Sirrus was a whopping 1.4 lb heavier. It is hard for me to believe that that was solely due to components--I would think that there would be some weight difference in the frames as well. At the end of the day, it's still an earlier-era Allez, and those are never disappointing frames.

Its a good thing I was out of town when the warehouse sale happened as I am thinning the herd right now but an Allez - is that a 58 cm frame or something larger?- would have tempted me; It has always seemed to me that Allez and Sirrus were pretty close if not the same but I think the Allez has a slightly racier geometry, I am sure someone here knows the details. Look forward to your rebuild OP

I actually don't know for sure, but I believe the Sirrus is an '87.

There’s only one way to know if the Allez is better: build it up and ride.

I wish i had an ‘88 Allez to compare with my Sirius.

This is what I get for coming to the asylum for advice about being crazy. This is the right answer, though. Now I am scheming about how to build them so that it will be an accurate comparison.

OTOH, you could strip them both down and compare the weights......

It was a common practice for bicycle companies to use the same frame for multiple models. So, if they are from the same year, they could be identical frames from a tubing and geometry perspective. Designers liked to tinker with geometry. so the same model from different years often had small changes in dimensions and angles, even if the tubeset was unchanged. Looking at the photos, it appears that proper fit may be a bigger concern. The Sirrus appears to be a larger frame. Based the set-up of the Sirrus, I suspect the Allez frame will be to small.

If that Allez is a 58 cm and its too small for you OP I know a guy, and he's local

yeah id be like- throw some wheels on that allez and see how she rides- other than that it seems to be all there!

^^^^ I can also confirm that I know this local guy ( [MENTION=231285]ryansu[/MENTION] ). I can vouch for him.

I think I've got three Allez and two Sirrus. I'd have to say they are identical frames for any given year, at least in the 80s for steel frames. Unicrown forks and eyelets seem to vary but the basic frame geometry and weight seems identical for the same year.

My '87 Sirrus has dropout screws and NO cheerios front or rear.

Oh... and two flat tires. This shot was "as found".

^^^^^^ You're supposed to say that the tires sunk in because the bike is so hot that it melted the pavement.....

Uh, yeah... that's it. That's the ticket. The bike is so hot that uh... it melted the concrete. Yeah...

I think my Sirrus is a '90 - purple with (formerly) red lettering, RX100, etc. No dropout screws, one set of cheerios.

Just saw this. Yup, 1990 matches my decals, lack of dropouts and the odd single set of cheerios. Thanks!

Still no determination on if the Allez and Sirrus were the same for this and/or any other year. Regardless, it's been a great bike that I've set a few PRs with on Strava.

At least in the late 80's, I'm fairly confident that the Sirrus and Allez frames were the same with the only differences between the models the level of components.

Common sense dictates that it would wind up costing Specialized more money to have a separate manufacturing line, producing another cheaper, less-desirable frame to use on the Sirrus. With the same frame used on both models, if one model sold better than the other, the frames could be painted up and sold as either an Allez or a Sirrus. I would assume the wheels, components and paint jobs would be the only difference between the two.