Mild conversion tips needed
 

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

If you have one near you, make friends at the bicycle co-op. They’ll help you fish through their used parts and spot what’s compatible and what’s not.
The Allez is a good starting point- many parts of that time are cross-compatible. 1” threaded headset, threaded bottom bracket, very common handlebar and stem sizes… putting different parts on it should be straightforward.

Thanks, Jeff. Great suggestion.

I'm not seeing any actual bike co-ops near me but I'll keep my eye out while I figure out first steps.

Ride On Bike Co-Op looks promising but they're all the way in DTLA so not really doable for my location.

Thanks again.

Speed

Rando bars and bar end shifters are some of the first things I consider putting on a mild conversion for a "rider".

A very old Allez is appreciated by most of us in this forum. So many choices with bars and stems. Many have even replaced drop bars with more upright style bars. Share a pic if you can- upload to your album.