Hey,
I am thinking about getting the Specialized Steel Allez. It comes with 2300 stuff. Any thoughts? (good or bad)
Thanks for your time.
Kevin

down tube shifters, cant really screw em up. The derailleurs matter less than the shifting mechanism. I wouldnt sweat it... if you have ridden the bike and liked it, go for it!

Make sure one the better mechanics in the shop has given the wheels a good looking over. Some of the machine builds can be pretty sketchy.

I'd probably watch it close for wear and tear too. I've managed to wear out some cheaper than Sora and Alivio components (bottom brackets, a cassette, a front derailleur, ...) in a few thousand miles. I still haven't worn out any better than Tiagra and Deore components in spite of putting several thousand miles on a couple of grouppos. OTOH, maybe I'm just lucky.

Beyond that, ride it like you stole it until it needs replacing.

I recently bought a road bike with Shimano 2300 components. I've commuting almost daily on it for the last few months and haven't had any problems whatsoever.