robertkat

Wow. So they went back in time and brought back the original Allez. I wonder how the two compare.

dbh

I think this is a very smart move on Specialized's part. I think it was a mistake not to bring the MSRP down below $600. If they are really trying to tap into the first time road bike market and are competing head on with the used bike market, than I don't see why they couldn't have saved some manufacturing cost be either using the Allez aluminuium frame as mentioned above or by throwing on a quill stem (which aesthetically would have been better). Either way, I think this will be a huge hit. There's simply a huge gap in the entry level road bike market with few offerings by major brands regularly at the sub $700 price point. Many first time road bike buyers simply aren't prepared to drop upwards of $800 or $900 on a road bike. There's nothing much below that in price except for hybrids and low end mtb's. Surprised bikesdirect hasn't jumped on the affordable steel bandwagon. They've got that bizarre looking Mercier which goes for over a grand, and their entry level bikes all aluminum and are pretty much all ***.

Tortuga!

That bike just screams "American Flyers". All you need is a Kevin Costner mustache and a Russian chasing you.
Cool retro rig.

grolby

Whoah, cool. Does it have fender eyelets? If so, it goes on my "strongly consider" list for a rain bike/speedy commuter. It'll pretty much be that or a 'cross bike - I'm leaning toward the Gary Fisher Presidio, but of course that's almost $1400 more expensive! I guess it's a question of whether I decide to take up 'cross racing or not. Not that there's a law against getting both, but space is limited and I don't like the idea of having a bike around that I hardly ever ride.

Anyway, the bike looks like a really great idea, and is the kind of thing I've advocated for in the past - spec a lower-end, steel road bike with DT shifters to get it to a nice, low price point without the sacrifices required to hit a similar price point with STI shifters. Still, I would almost rather see bar-end shifters. They're that much more usable, and having to reach for the downtube shifters to shift in some parts of the country with lots of rolling terrain (like, apparently, middle Tennessee ) is a pain in the butt. I know because I've just been there for over a month!

The other thing is just speculation - I hope (and kind of expect) that it has the same geometry as Specialized's other road bikes. Being able to set up a rain bike to exactly duplicate the position on my race bike would be pretty sweet. Unfortunately, it also implies a few strategic upgrades that bring the price up above that impressive $610 price point.

Lucky07

Ha! I just saw an original on this morning's commute. Nice frame.

jdeane4

We just ordered a few for our shop. We have already had several people come in to ask about them. I think its pretty cool how diverse Specialized has got with their bike lines. The new Globe stuff is pretty cool too for the urban cyclist.

ImRael

Is that a steel fork I see?

garysol1 

yeppers......

garysol1 

FRAME Specialized Allez steel, integrated HS Tig welded
FORK Allez Steel
HEADSET Aheadset 1", cage bearings, integrated
STEM Specialized Elite-Set, 3D forged alloy, 4-position adjustable, 4-bolt 31.8mm clamp
HANDLEBARS Specialized Elite, 6061 aluminum, short drop, 31.8mm
TAPE Specialized S-Wrap, cork ribbon w/ gel
FRONT BRAKE Light dual pivot brake, Teflon pivots, forged alloy, w/ standard pads
REAR BRAKE Light dual pivot brake, Teflon pivots, forged alloy, w/ standard pads
BRAKE LEVERS Lever pull
FRONT DERAILLEUR Shimano 2300
REAR DERAILLEUR Shimano 2300
SHIFT LEVERS Shimano SLR400, down tube shifter
CASSETTE Shimano HG-50, 8-speed, 12-25t
CHAIN KMC Z-51
CRANKSET Shimano 2300
CHAINRINGS 52 x 39T
BOTTOM BRACKET Cr-Mo axle, 68mm x 113mm
PEDALS Silver cage/black body, w/ black toe clips and strap
FRONT WHEEL
REAR WHEEL
RIMS Alex S500, aluminum, sleeve joint, CNC machined sidewalls
FRONT HUB Forged aluminum, sealed, QR, 32h
REAR HUB Forged aluminum, double-sealed, cassette, QR, 32h
SPOKES Stainless 14g
FRONT TIRE Specialized Mondo Sport, 700x23c, wire bead, 60TPI, w/ Flak Jacket protection
REAR TIRE Specialized Mondo Sport, 700x23c, wire bead, 60TPI, w/ Flak Jacket protection
INNER TUBES Standard presta valve
SADDLE Body Geometry Rival road, w/ steel rails
SEATPOST Alloy, two-bolt clamp, 27.2mm
SEAT BINDER Integrated w/ frame
NOTES

ImRael

Nice!

mzeffex 

Component wise nothing special. Really cool though. I don't know, it seems more like a remake of an old toy you might find at some expensive toy store. Might be fun though.

grafik1979

Interesting

800over

If it comes in black....sign me up!

scotch

i love it.

mzeffex 

How come this bike is so cool when the same thing but with better components from back in the day is a fred bike? The cycling community makes no sense whatsoever.

Kerian

What?
The old one was cool too.

Harun

incorrect

mzeffex 

Well, from some perspectives anyway. To some any old bike, no matter the quality, is a fred bike.

(Not to me, I have an '82 Lotus which I ride often)

Harun

Those people are closet-freds. Being a Fred is an attitude ("freditude," if you will), not the bike you ride.

Harun

with that said, Specialized should consider having different ranges of the model like they do with most of their road models (allez, allez, elite, tarmac, tarmac elite, etc.). If they would say, put at least Shimano 105 on it and price it under $1000, that would be a pretty nice bike that I would consider getting if I was in the market for getting another bike.

grolby

Fender and rack eyelets. Sweet. And an actual fork crown, none of that unicrown crap. The components are nothing special, no, but neither is any of it conspicuously crap, either. However, the choice of a 1" threadless headset is a bit weird. And I hope it comes in a color that isn't red. I have too many red bikes already!

If I decide not to give cyclocross a shot next year, and I'm willing to deal with DT shifters, I might well pick one of these up. It looks solid, and it's hard to muster many objections at $610. I can think of some potential issues, but that happens with any complete bike. Definitely one to give a test ride.

grolby

You are asking for two mutually exclusive things, here.

Harun

It seems kinda absurd to price a steel bike w/ DT shifters for more than a thousand bucks. But after looking at the aluminum allez, I guess it would go along with the overpriced-ness of their stuff ($880 for a Sora equipped bike? pfffft. I got my full-105 Jamis for $900).

rydaddy

Nice bike. I predict a sellout.

liquefied

Sounds great. When you subtract brifters from the equation the low end components become a lot more usable in my experience. We'll just have to see how the 2300 stuff is.