Specialized Allez 24 for commute

iandennis

My commute is about 11 miles and I'm fortunate that I can choose to take either an off road route or go by country lanes. Having got my mountain bikes sorted out with a really good spec then I'm happy with the off road route. However for a fast journey on road i'm thinking about buying a specialized allez 24 through the cycle to work scheme run by work. On a £559 bike I estimate the payments would only be £20. I normally cycle 2 or 3 times a week and the saving in petrol really makes it worthwhile.

Is the specialized allez a good choice ? Is there a better bike for the money ? I don't want to spend a fortune but want a decent sunny weather commuter that is fast enough for some fun and some early morning sunday rides with friends. I did look at the secteur as well as a possible option.

Monkeypump

Check which retailers you can use with your C2W vouchers.

The Boardman bikes always come highly recommended, if you are able to use Halfords.

Otherwise there are lots of options at that price. Best idea is to try a few and see what feels/fits best.

jeremyrundle

Would it not be better to find a bike that suits you and then ask the question, someone could say yes, fine and then you dont like it, who do you blame, find the bike then ask opinions.

Valy

The Allez is a prety safe bet. You may get a few 2010 bikes left if you do a bit of shopping about - Evans etc have it for about £380.

Jeremy - the guy is asking for an opinion about a bike. Generally opinions are a personal thing and do not have to be taken as facts.

iandennis

jeremyrundle wrote:

Would it not be better to find a bike that suits you and then ask the question, someone could say yes, fine and then you dont like it, who do you blame, find the bike then ask opinions.

Jeremy, I'm sorry but that's exactly what I have done, I've found a specialized allez 24, sat on it, riden it and decided that its probably a good choice. However following reading the reviews on this site and on various shop sites I thought i would ask if anybody else could recommend this bike as suitable for purpose. Personally I wouldn't blamce anybody as using the message board to make a decision without doing some research first is pretty stupid.

Thank you for your valuable input but I can make my own decisions.

Valy

OP - any particular reason for the tripple? Many hills along the way?

jeremyrundle

Ah you didn't say you had tried/ridden it.

I started a few years ago, bought a commuting type bike, in fact Dawes discovery, then tried various variations, until I bought my son a Saracen MTB, I tried one and fell in love, now commute everywhere on either my Saracens or my new built to order Highbrid, have you considered trying the same, or building (going to a proper cycle shop like Dartmoore Cycles, choosing the parts with advice and having them build it).

Then you would have a bike you designed for both road and off road.

Craggers

I've no opinion on the allez, but if I were you I'd shop around for a discounted 2010 model rather than go through the C2W scheme... you're likely to get a better deal that way as the new final value rules all but wipes out the benefit of C2W (unless of course you're doing it just to pay monthly).

nich

I like my Allez. It's quite basic, and I think it's the 2004 model - use it most days and it's a nice comfy ride, although I think the geometry has changed a fair bit (probably for the better mind).

I changed the brakes for Shimano 105's, that's all really (apart from chain/tires as they wear).

At that time the competition seemed to come from the Giant OCR range, but these days you can throw Boardmans into the mix as well (obviously there's sooo many to choose from, but you shouldn't go wrong with any of the big brands).

nich

Just to throw something else into the mix, have a look at the Spesh Tricross - put some slicks on and it's probably no diff to the Allez on road, but your'll have the option to put knobby tires on, and you can take it off-road.

iPete

If its fits you can't really go wrong with an Allez, it has a sporty geometry and isn't built for adding commuter gear, guards etc but it can be done

fastbatard

I had an Allez for commuting and loved it until I totalled it on my roof rack! The only real downside was not being able to take full proper mudguards. I experimented with crud roadracers etc but you can't beat proper mudguards for commuting. For this reason I replaced it with a Tricross when insurance paid out and fitted SKS chromoplastics.

If mudguards aren't a priority then Allez is defo a good bike, I found it very fast and comfortable.