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Specialized Allez Elite review

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Specialized Allez Elite

BikeRadar verdict

4 out of 5 stars

"The Allez is still one of the very best sub-£1,000 race bikes around"

9 comments
Wed 14 Dec 2011, 8:00 am GMTBy

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The Specialized Allez is the company's big sales success. Since its launch, the range has always been considered by our testers as the default benchmark of true road bikes at the £700-£1,000 mark. With its combination of light aluminium frame, competent drivetrain and a smattering of well-chosen kit from Specialized’s in-house componentry lines, the Allez has always been a winner in our eyes.

  • Highs: Proper race bike proportions and superb handling, yet Specialized have managed to dial in comfort too
  • Lows: For the money the Elite has no serious flaws
  • Buy if: You're looking for a true race bike on a budget

The £900 Allez Elite features the latest incarnation of Shimano’s Tiagra groupset. Combining a compact chainset and a very usable 11-28T cassette, this is the perfect setup for newer riders looking for a good range of lower gears for climbing. What is new for 2012 is the wheel choice: Axis 1.0s, the latest introductory model from DT Swiss. We don’t expect ultra-light at this price, and the DTs certainly aren’t, but they're well built, with good quality standard cone bearings and solid seals.

What we’ve always loved about the Allez is the geometry. Despite its modest price it’s definitely designed to race. With a sharp head angle and a straight fork it’s brimming with fast, responsive reactions to input. The wheelbase is short with tight chainstays to boot. What’s refreshing about the Elite is that although it’s very much aggressive in poise, it’s also remarkably well mannered as a day-today ride.

For an all-metal frame it has a beautifully smooth manner. Across broken surfaces and coarse roads it’s free of jolts, bangs and vibration. The frame handles a lot of the smoothness but much of the comfort is down to the excellent contact points. The Specialized Body Geometry Riva saddle has a narrow profile and a slim shape overall, but the upper is deeply padded with a large pressure-relieving channel. In fact, we had to adjust the saddle height to allow for the sag when seated.

The compact drop bar and quality tape – fitted to the bike with Specialized’s clever adjustable stem – take plenty of road buzz away, and the big volume Espoirs are among the best budget tyres we’ve seen. The highly patterned tread handles wet conditions remarkably well, while in the dry the soft gummy rubber has excellent levels of grip. Overall, it’s rare to find a bike with proper race geometry that has this much comfort. The fact that you can get all this for under a grand is remarkable.

This article was originally published in Cycling Plus magazine.

What's the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full explanation of our ratings here.

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User Reviews

There are 9 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 9 of 9 comments

  • What pisses me off is that a 3000 Euro worth of Roubaix Elite 2012 has the same lousy wheels of this Allez. I think it would be more honest for Specialized to low their prices and sell their bikes without wheels in first place.

  • Don't see how you can single out Specialized for having "crappy" wheels. The trend has been, for years, to save money on wheels. Most manufacturers are guilty of it. Just look at the Cervelo R5 with its Fulcrum 7's! Not to mention, in the States, the spec on the Roubaix Elite is for Fulcrum 6's and the Expert comes with DTSwiss 3.0's, both decent upgrades from the 1.0's on this bike.

  • It's a shame they dropped the E5 frame on the Elite for 2012.

  • But Raleigh are giving you 105 at this price point and the Airlite 400 is better looking and lighter!!!

  • @hairysemi.

    I own 2 Specialized therefore I think I know what I'm talking about. And manufacturers like Lapierre gives top notch wheels on their top notch bikes and very good wheels on mid range ones (worst you could get on a Zesty 2010 mid range were Shimano XT). Sworks Epic gets you some " barely decent" Rovals...just decent tho,for a 10K $ and plus bike ???? Crazy.

    I love my Specys and and a 3rd on is coming home,but those 3.0 wheels are going right away.

  • Devastazione is right - wheels can make or break the ride of a fabulous frame. There are other ways a manufacturer can cut costs - wheels shouldn't be among them.

  • Cannondale do it too. The Supersix 105 has gone from Mavic wheels to heavier Shimano RS10s for 2012 :-(

  • The 2011 Elite was an absolute peach of a bike with the E5 frame. The wheels wereswapped out for Mavic Kyserium Elites and ride was transformed. The stock wheels kept as winter wheels.

    The down grade in frame get you a 10 speed groupset which includes the brakes where as last year was 9 speed with Tektro 105 copies. Not a bad trade off for the same money but I much prefer the 2011 in red - classic Specialized with much better graphics.

    I reckon this is still the best sub £1K to get you racing - the frame geometry is spot on.

  • Hey Devastazione I'm not sayin you're wrong about the rest but those carbon roval rims featured on the epic s-works were the lightest in the industry when launched and are still among the lightest and stiffest nowadays, and considering their lifetime warranty I think they're WAY above "barely decent".. just saying

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Specification

Name:
Allez Elite (12)
Built by:
Specialized
Price:
n/a

Available Sizes:
49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 61 cm, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 49, 56, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 52, 54, 56, 58, 56, 58, 54, 56, 58, 54, 56, 58, 61 cm, 56, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 58, 52, 54, 56, 58, 56, 58, 56, 58, 54, 56, 58, 54, 56, 54, 56, 58, 54, 56, 56
Weight (kg):
9.3
Weight (lb):
20.5

Frame & Fork:

 
Frame Material:
TIG-welded A1 aluminium, replaceable gear hanger
Frame Weight (g):
1580 g
Fork Model:
Carbon blades, alloy 11/8in steerer, crown
Fork Offset:
4.5
Fork Weight:
585 g
Headset Type:
Integrated aheadset, 11/8in, sealed cartridge

Geometry:

 
Seat Angle:
73 Degrees
Head Angle:
73.5 Degrees
Trail:
57 cm

Brakes:

 
Brakes Model:
Shimano Tiagra dual pivot

Transmission:

 
Bottom Bracket Model:
Shimano Tiagra, external sealed cartridge
Rear Derailleur Model:
Shimano Tiagra 10-speed
Front Derailleur Model:
Shimano Tiagra 10-speed
Shifters Model:
Shimano Tiagra 10-speed
Chain Model:
Shimano Tiagra 10-speed

Wheels:

 
Front Wheel Weight:
1285 g
Rear Wheel Weight:
1900 g

Contact Points:

 
Saddle Model:
Specialized Riva, steel rails
Seatpost Model:
Specialized Sport alloy, micro-adjust clamp, 27.2x350mm
Stem Model:
Specialized forged alloy, 12cm, 11/8in x OS
Handlebar Model:
Specialized alloy anatomic, 44cm

:

 
Wheelbase (cm):
100 cm
Bottom Bracket Height (cm):
27 cm
Chainstays (cm):
41 cm
Seat Tube (cm):
51 cm
Standover Height (cm):
81 cm
Top Tube (cm):
58.2 cm
Description:
Chainset: Shimano Tiagra compact, 50/34 alloy rings, 175mm arms. Freewheel: Shimano CS 4600 10-speed, 12-28. Wheels: DT Swiss Axis 1.0 aero, alloy loose ball and cone hubs, 24 spokes, radial fr, 32 3-cross/radial rear. Tyres: Specialized Espoir Sport 700x23.

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