Allez v Secteur

maxgerrard88

i would just like to know the differance between the secteur and the allez range. is the secteur slower??? i am looking to do some racing this year.

i have the option of an allez for £530 or a secteur sport for £500.

wot do you all think???

thanks

maxgerrard88

im sure u all know these are specialized bikes

maxgerrard88

im sure u all know these are specialized bikes

maxgerrard88

pleeeeease help me.

cw42

Got an Allez myself a few months ago, and I'm very pleased with it. Can you ride them both back to back to see which fits you better? If you're looking to do some racing then surely the allez would be the better choice?
Looks awesome in red too!

baldspot

the difference between the 2 are the angles.
The Sectuer has more relaxed angles and is Marketed as comfy mile muncher.
The Allez has steeper angles and Marketed as a racer's bike.

gkerr4

baldspot wrote:

the difference between the 2 are the angles.
The Sectuer has more relaxed angles and is Marketed as comfy mile muncher.
The Allez has steeper angles and Marketed as a racer's bike.

this is true - but in practice there isn't a 'huge' difference between them as the allez is fairly comfy for a 'race' bike too - the sectaur uses the roubaix geometry which is comfier than the allez which in turn is comfier than the tarmac (the real race bike!)

the sectaur will be slightly higher in the head-tube and slightly longer wheelbase - whether this makes it a 'slower' bike is more to do with your legs than the extra 20mm on the head-tube.

try them both - see which you like best.

clarkie28

I too am in the market for either one of these 2 nice looking bikes!! And i will go along to my LBS who luckily stocks Spesh.

Is it worth spending the extra for the upgraded model with sora parts or is the entry level in both still good?

daveclow

ive got the allez, its a triple, rock bottom of the extra's pile, but to be honest it all works very well. maybe in a few years when i upgrade for full carbon would i also upgrade all the trimmings too. but for now and someone my standard its absolutely great.

the only thing i would say is that i probably wouldn't have bothered with the triple. a double would have been fine im sure.

after 6 months i have also decided to upgrade wheels and tires. wheels are Mavic askium's (with aero looking spokes - on offer £155) and some michelin krylium tires. this is a real improvement to the basic bike. plus it really looks like a proper bit of kit now. to give you an idea - there's a descent i take on my way to work, which i used to freewheel down at 28mph. on the new set up i hit 31 no problems!!! thats money well spent!

Aspman77

Secteur Sport has slightly better bits in the gearing than the base Allez. A few Tiagra bits to go with the Sora.

I've got the Sport and for a noob it works very well. Same frame as the rest of the Secteur range so scope to upgrade. More comfortable shape and the triple suited me for starting out. It was between the same two bikes for me too.

Slimbods

daveclow wrote:

after 6 months i have also decided to upgrade wheels and tires. wheels are Mavic askium's (with aero looking spokes - on offer £155) and some michelin krylium tires. this is a real improvement to the basic bike. plus it really looks like a proper bit of kit now. to give you an idea - there's a descent i take on my way to work, which i used to freewheel down at 28mph. on the new set up i hit 31 no problems!!! thats money well spent!

I just did the same thing, and I'm not sure it was really worth the dosh. The alex front wheels on my Allez were actually lighter than the askiums. They'll do for training wheels, but I think for a proper upgrade you've got to spend a bit more. It's probably the tyres you're seeing the improvement from?

I do like the sound the bladed spokes make though!

daveclow

yeah i weighed the wheels, and the new askiums were ever so slightly lighter, but there's not alot in it is there. the spokes look the part though dont they

your right though, i think it is the tires that make the biggest difference.

maxgerrard88

got my first road bike today, the specialized allez triple 2010. was there any need to get the triple chain set??? i have rowed at the european championships before and was told i might need the triple for hill climbing/decending.

alfablue

I think there is no real harm in getting a triple on a first road bike. If you find you hardly use the smallest ring, all well and good, don't need to use it. On the other hand, if you buy a double and find you struggle too much with climbs, this could demotivate you.

When you are ready to upgrade your bike for a new one, you'll know for sure what gears you need.

daveclow

maxgerrard88 wrote:

got my first road bike today, the specialized allez triple 2010. was there any need to get the triple chain set??? i have rowed at the european championships before and was told i might need the triple for hill climbing/decending.

a fellow rower?? well im only IM3 lol so no world champs rowing....yet!

maxgerrard88

haha. im not worlds standard lol. got my new allez today and am rower no more. just went for a one hour ut2 (rowing jargon) and the bike is awesome. couldnt have asked for more for the price.

Pauky

maxgerrard88 wrote:

got my first road bike today, the specialized allez triple 2010. was there any need to get the triple chain set??? i have rowed at the european championships before and was told i might need the triple for hill climbing/decending.

I have just got my first Road BIke too The specialized allez double 2010 I have only been used to a cheap mountain bike, although I was doing journeys of about 30 miles. I have only done about 55 miles on the new baby so far and it is fantastic, but the first thing I noticed was the lack of the lower gears that I was used to having , Had the triple been in stock I might have opted for that but I was advised that to be honest unless i intended to go cycling in the Alps the triple wasn't really necessary, on saying that I must admit to struggling on inclines, I find myself in the lowest gear possible with the ol muscles burning If I had the lower gears I would use them but I don't so I manage, haven't stopped and got off yet. Maybe this is a good thing for building up my incline techniques, I am a late starter to road biking in my early 50s, I used to have a Raleigh Flyer about 20 years ago which I loved, I don't remember that having many gears either. But maybe as someone mentioned it might be shrewd to have the triple just to give you that option. Luckily Essex is fairly flat but Just a thought is it possible to add the lower gears to the double?

JohnnyAllez

Pauky, after an MTB the road gearing will take a little while to get usd to, but you`ll soon be spinning the legs and using the higher gears. I got a triple, but have converted to a compact double, granny ring on the triple was just weight to carry about, never used it.

STEFANOS4784

Pauky hard core for 1st bike in a while mate 8)
You can change cassette to offer easier gears if needed, relatively cheaply...........

Pauky

I just wish I had made my mind up earlier and was able to make the most of that great September we had :-) . Never had a proper bike before :-) I will persevere for a while, I think as you said I will soon get used to the higher gears (fingers crossed) I was out the other night battling against a strong coastal wind pushing the lower gears , and then on the way back wind behind me I was doing about 23 and realized I still had 2 gears left LOL, i have had it up to 31 down hill. Loving it. It is nice to know that if I do find the hill climbing a struggle it is fairly easy to rectify. How long should I leave it before I pop it back to shop for its free set up , I think they have sort of given it a very rough set up to see how i get on and feel, the handlebars are in a very aggressive position at the mo, I could do with bringing them back towards me a bit I haven;t quite found that in the groove position yet if you know what I mean.


(like a kid with a new bike) :roll:

Steve_b77

This was a question I was about to ask.

I've got B2W at the start of next year and want to buy a roadie as I'm going to use it for commuting and also for the London - Paris in July.

Sell my Boardman Hybrid and get the wife a MTB.

I fancy the Secteur Elite, good choice for longer rides and coming from a MTB background?

Pauky

STEFANOS4784 wrote:

Pauky hard core for 1st bike in a while mate 8)
You can change cassette to offer easier gears if needed, relatively cheaply...........

Like the bikes 8) why do you use different bikes for the seasons? I must confess I didn't like the look of the tyres that came as standard on the allez, So i have had specialized all condition puncture proofs fitted, they have a red sidewall and look really nice, :-) Is this the main difference or do you use different gearing as well?

clarkie28

Im going to get myself either an Allez or the Secteur. Being a noob, is it worth spending out the extra and getting one with the Sora bits on or do you think the entry level Shimano bits will suffice?