Some items of note:
- Tires are Panaracer Paselas. While I love the vintage and period-correct look of the tan sidewalls, the aggressive tread design has none of the subtleness of the original Turbo LS tires.
- Pedals have been replaced with cheapo Performance CR150's that are Look-compatible. I find it's much easier to have just one pair of shoes that will work with all my bikes.
- Wheels are not original to the bike, but as close as you can get. 32-spoke Saturae HC20 rims laced to Specialized sealed bearing hubs. If you recall in a previous post, some dickhead stole my rear wheel. I've since found a correct 32-spoke wheelset that is currently on the Allez now. I still have the original front wheel, but I'm trying to find some time to correct a moderate bend in the rim before putting it back on.
- The saddle is original and badly faded. It sports a white cover, just like how I used to ride it back in the day.
- And yes, it's still sporting the SR handlebars donated from my 1985 Schwinn World Sport!
- Once again, kudos to Valued Blog Reader Greg for the catalog scan!
I love that you're restoring these great bicycles! I just had my old Allez modernized with all new components (Ultegra 6700). I still have all of the OE components including the SATURAE wheels. This had a mix of Suntour and Shimano 105 components.
ReplyDeleteI have owned the bike since 1989 (my brother bought it new but the frame was too big for him) and I stopped riding it in 1993-94 (long story).
Suffice it to say that I have always wanted to get back on the bike, but with modern components: See link to photos.
Very nice bike. I am in the process of restoring an Allez and was wondering if you can post the size of the seatpost.
ReplyDeleteShawn - nice ride with even nicer components! Good for you for keeping the original stuff around. You never know when you'll have the itch to go 'old school' again. I love the old Suntour stuff so if you're ever thinking of unloading it, well, you know where to find me. :)
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - there's a couple seatpost diameters I know of for the 80's Allez's. The earlier red Allez's that were made in Japan with the "Special Series" tubing were 28.6's and some were spec'ed with these beautiful red-painted fluted SR Laprade seatposts. By 1987 production moved to Taiwan and the seatposts became 27.0 (as well as cheaper).
If you have a 1987 model as pictured (which also came in white with pink? magenta? decals) 27.0 will do you right. Original spec was a Strong seatpost (Strong as in the brand "Strong" and not an adjective describing the post), which is kind of ironic since my original seatpost developed a lengthy crack where the clamp assembly enters the post. You can still find 'em floating around every now and again.
My Allez has a 27mm post as well.
ReplyDeleteLet me think about the the old gear. If I do want to move it, you'll be first on my list to contact.
Do you mean 26.8 instead of 28.6? I have a red Allez that I am outfitting with SRAM Rival for a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The binding posts are bent really bad so I'm trying to figure out if the previous owner over tightened the bolts or if the seat post is too small. 26.8 does seem to be the right size.
ReplyDeleteGah! Thanks for spotting that, fogtown. 26.8 is indeed the correct seatpost size.
ReplyDeleteIn appreciation for spotting the typo, you will be awarded the first ever Maui's Vintage No-Prize! (Any Marvel comics readers out ther from back in the day?)
I really hate when I get a frame and find the seatpost collar's been pinched like crazy. Someone did that with my Merckx too... grrrr..
Sounds like an awesome ride. Have great time!
I have an early 80's Allez SE with Superbe derailleurs, brakes, pedals and specialized cranks. The bike has not been ridden in years and I thought about cleaning it off and riding it again but I am more into cyclocross now so I am thinking of selling it instead of fixing it up.
ReplyDeleteWow I see this post is nearly 7 years old but I was given an 83/84 Allez SE but unfortunately it doesn't fit me, I'm just 5'8" and it's more for a 6' guy. It came with some original parts but I wanted to return it to its former glory. Previous owner had put in some cool stuff on it but also messed up a few things like short crank rod which made the chain rub on the frame. I'm in the process of restoring still because I'm just OCD with this kind of stuff and I'm having major difficulty bringing it back to an as-original-as-possible state, mainly because Specialized at that didn't have a proper system set up, they don't have much info on the bike so it makes things even harder...
ReplyDeleteI see Shawn kept his original parts and there's obviously no telling if he kept them all this time but it would be cool if anyone had some info on where I could grab some stuff, like the decals, saddle... I'm planning to repaint it in as close to the original red color. It's already been stripped and I gotta say that's some quality workmanship that was put into the build, the brazing on the tubes is just beautiful!
Cheers!