Allez 16 vs 24..

fallingoff

I've decided to buy an 2010 Allez but I can't decide on the 16 or the 24 speed.
The price difference is only about £50.
This will be my first road after a few years on MTB's with a lot of road work.
Any point of view will be welcomed,thanks.

topdude

This will be my first road after a few years on MTB's with a lot of road work.

Presumably you are quite fit then so unless you have some serious hills to climb go for the double. By the way it looks like they are 18 / 27 not 16 / 24

gregg.pedder

topdude wrote:

This will be my first road after a few years on MTB's with a lot of road work.

Presumably you are quite fit then so unless you have some serious hills to climb go for the double. By the way it looks like they are 18 / 27 not 16 / 24

Nope they are DEFINITELY 16/24 as I own the Allez 16 (Double 52/39). They use the Shimano 2300 Front/Rear Mech, Chainset and STI,s all of which are 8-Speed components (hence the 16/24).

Personally I would always opt for a double, far less problems shifting at the front, and much easier to adjust.

The 2300 groupset is cheap but works absolutely fine. I do 25-30 miles a day on mine with no problems at all. the low gear 39/26 is ok for moderate climbs.

My recommendation therefore would be the double, and use SPD pedals (MTB Style), as with that bike the Road Style pedals would give you no advantage but would just make life more difficult off the bike.

Any Qs please ask.

Cheers

GP

fallingoff

It is 16/24,looks like I've located a very cheap BNIB 16 double...wooohooo,where's my bank card... :P
P.s already got my MTB spd's as well,thanks for thew advice..

gregg.pedder

Good choice. If I were you id put some new brakes on when it arrives. The "alloy dual pivot" jobbies it comes with are SH*T in every sense of the word.

I've put 105 5600 Brakes on mine front and back, and now don't need to worry about being able to stop at the bottom of a long fast descent.

GP

gregg.pedder

And one more thing, the Crud Roadracer Mk2 Mudguards fit perfectly and work a treat. 100% recommended.

GP

badly_dubbed

i have the 16 - great winter bike!!

fallingoff

gregg.pedder wrote:

And one more thing, the Crud Roadracer Mk2 Mudguards fit perfectly and work a treat. 100% recommended.

GP

Spooky....a mind reader....
Thanks all advice taken on board...

SDK2007

In this case less gears is more.
Move fast on 2010 bikes because they are getting extremely scarce.

gregg.pedder

SDK2007 wrote:

In this case less gears is more.
Move fast on 2010 bikes because they are getting extremely scarce.

I hit 50 mph the other day on mine, is that fast enough for you?

This is why I wanted good brakes, you DEFINITELY want to be able to stop at that speed.

GP