Specialized Allez Sprint: Is This a Good Bike for Crits?!

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I took the venerable Specialized Allez Sprint and put it through it's paces to find out the best use for it. Is it a Tarmac killer, a good weekend warrior or the ultimate Crit race bike?
#powermeter #magene #riding

00:00 Introduction

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[guidopesch]

Just returned from a two hour ride with my '13 CAAD10 an still be impressed after more than a decade how responsive and compliant is rides. You simply can not go wrong with the C'dale 10. If I see the premium Specialized is asking and usually getting; I salute their marketing department to create an image that so many are willing to pay a premium for a good bike - unbelievable😆

[PoPo]

I purchased a Allez in 2022, and upgraded to electrical 105 gear set, and a one piece arrow handlebar. I also have a 2023 Tarmac with sram gear set. My Allez may be a tad heavier but can hold and maintain top end speed better than the Tarmac. The Tarmac is great for maintaining speed over a longer duration. However, you can't go wrong with either bike. Both are fantastic.

[anonymouspubliccitizen]

I had 2022 Sprint Comp 105. Tubeless. It was comfortable and predictable. Efficient, modern, quick…..but I still had a 2013 Specialized SL4 Tarmac. I tried hard to like the Sprint ($3k !!!), but ultimately I was faster and obtained way more PRs and KOMs on the old rim brake SL4. I sold off the Sprint. I do t say this to discourage anyone, it is a fine bike, but if $$$ is a concern look for a used rim brake SL4 Tarmac, Supersix, CAAD13, etc. The motor (your fitness and technique) matter most or how you feel. I get sly grins from people on the road in my early 2000s Pinarello (it is classy and modern enough) but then I quietly drop said person on a climb or flat. It is all about riding bikes and having fun.

[Kelekona_]

Handle bar tape on this bike has maximum bling!

[kasplatspeed]

I still love my Klein from 1996 and my Caad 10.

[mvp_kryptonite]

Really enjoy these evaluations of bikes and the fairness too particularly on the turn in. Keep them up!

[simonwarmer]

Interesting! You are one of the few tubers who can describe a understandable bike feel without getting boring 🫡

[Omnis]

Didn't expect Mark's bartape getting all this heat. 😄 7:00 Bro, your differing opinions on handling are probably because of your different sizes. The bike is bigger for you than for Mark, so it makes sense that it feels sluggish to you and twitchy to him.

[bikesbeersbeats]

I use an allez sprint red hook crit edition as my brewery bike. I love it. Like jumping into a little lotus elise for a coffee run.

[FT__Cool_Stuff______-ofpi]

One thing is for sure - the Allez Sprint definitely looks cool

[titouanjn]

Awesome content as usal 😄

To add my take :
First gen Allez sprint owner here !

I found it a bit harsh at the beginning but with the experience on it, I find myself riding it more than my Pinarello F8 top spec with dura ace…

For racing/crits in France, as long as there isn’t much climbing involved, it’s my weapon of choice !
Only 7.8kg with Ultegra R8000 and very responsive with the proper wheels 👍🏼

[johnflynn]

YES - CAAD 10 all day long, excellent conclusion. Bought one after your earlier 'superbike beater' vlog, hardly ever ride anything other than it since I bought it. Best handling bike I have and even ahead of the Colnago Dream. Arguably two of the best Alu frames ever made. Not to mention the advantage of rim brakes. Those disk thingys are just noisy nonsense.

[albertoanton]

I have a Cannondale CAAD 6 with Ultegra 11s mechanical, carbon wheels with a weight of 6, 9 kg. The bike is responsive ( not like aero carbon bikes ) and climbs well too. Its built tough and makes no creaks, I enjoy it a lot. Good video as always.

[mikecorb]

I am racing with the Allez and I do feel the difference in corning. To me the bike feels stiff and the handling is perfect. But you are right, it’s like you have to push the bike when hitting the corners. I got hammered in my last crit race. It was a 4 corner crit.I have a size 54, my Tarmac is a 56. A lot of racers here in the East are crit racing with the Allez. With all the science and data on bikes, I still feel the person on the bike makes the machine perform well.Legion won races on the Allez.. Thanks for doing a review.

[jaytronzero]

CAAD10, the last al crit machine. I love mine and am happy that I rebuilt it instead of upgrading.

[fwaatl]

Great video, first off. Just subscribe to your channel since you make a lot of sense - onto the Allez; I owed the first gen. Allez Comp. Disc w/105. Bought it in 2019 for the beauty of the frame more the specs so shame on me. I'm no crit racer/rider but do own carbon bikes and since I ride more for distance and endurance I got tired of feeling every bump in the road with the Allez - full disclaimer - I own a Roubaix which you know is carbon so I struggled even wanting to ride the Allez no matter how good looking.
I got lucky and found a buyer for me 61cm Allez which made room to purchase a 2023 Tarmac SL7.
Enjoying the Tarmac and the power transfer is superb!
Again, thanks

[mr.keepitreal]

Thank you for showing the bike 👍🏾 Very good info. Nice bike! You had to go there ……. Disk vs Rim brake. I ride a 2009 Cannondale card 9-7 & recently updated to Mavic ES with 11speed SRAM Red wireless. I purchased the bike new & the upgrade was much needed. Many people have said ENTRY LEVEL BIKES are dead & a waste of money, I beg to differ.

[anthonyharris]

They had a 40th Anniversary steel Reynolds 853 Specialized Allez. I clubbed raced a Tange Prestige Specialized Allez in the 80s and wished I had kept that thing. It was a thing of beauty that rode nicely

[cosinus_square]

Since 2018, I've owned 4 Allez Sprint rim brake bikes, on which I raced crits (2018-2022, 3 of them replaced due to damage from racing or casual riding) and my missus gifted me the new disc Allez Sprint as a birthday present in 2022, which I raced for another year. In terms of the rim brake Allez Sprint was better by miles it was an actual race bike, a weapon. In my honest opinion Specialized ruined one of the very few affordable, actual race bike, available to the public, by listening to people asking for wider tyres on race bikes, which they shouldn't be riding in the first place. Cannondale did the same thing ruining the CAAD10 with the CAAD12 (rim).

By comparison, the new Allez Sprint disc is soft and mushy, not even close to the rim brake model, definitely not a race bike, it's basically a gravel bike, a comfort bike. Whoever says otherwise doesn't know what a race bike is. Just to make myself clear, I'm not hating, but a lot of 'racing' words are thrown around on youtube and a line has to be drawn somewhere, they can't be all race bikes. Group rides/fondos/weekend warrior'ing is not racing, this type of riding is fun and I enjoy it very much myself, however, it's simply not racing and there are no racing demands placed on bike or rider here. One can obviously participate in events, even races, on any bike, but not all bikes are race bikes.


As I was riding and racing the disc Allez Sprint in 2022, a mate asked me to sell him my rim brake Allez Sprint. I didn't like the Allez Sprint disc and replaced it in 2023 with a Cinelli Vigorelli rim brake. Muuuch happier with the Vigorelli.

[lexington]

Did two races today at a circuit race, this is a car race course, it's basically an over distance crit. I need two races, I got two dnfs, long story doesn't matter, but relating to this video. When I was doing the masters race, on my Tarmac sl6 of course 😎; there was another racer on a Cannondale CAAD 9 😎. So yeah like you said those Cannondales are definitely still out there, there a solid design.