Specialized Secteur or Allez advice

Mark__gti

Hey everyone,
after commuting to work this year on my mountain bike i feel its time to give a road bike a go, my commute is part lanes and part road (about 8 miles)
im looking at these two bikes
Allez
http://www.dalescycles.com/productdetai ... 4Qodymupwg
Secteur
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/speciali ... 62050.html

My question is which is the better bike? or which is the better commuter?
Thanks for any advice

clarkey cat

They are identical I believe except the Secteur has a slightly longer headtube - which means it is has a slightly more upright (and therefore comfortable) seating position. I used to have an Allez and I didnt really like it - I found it too 'racy' for my commute so perhaps the Secteur is more suited to commuting.

davenice

I've got a 2010 Secteur Elite. I got it rather than the allez because I went from an MTB/hybrid to drop bars and was a bit worried about being very stretched out. I really like it.

The bikes you linked to are very similar. The Allez is a double (so has a big and large-ish chainring - 52/39) and the Secteur is a triple (has big/large-ish/small chainrings - 52/42/30). (A 3rd option is called a compact and has big/medium chainrings - 52/34. You'd have to pay a bit more to get an Allez with a compact chainset)

My Secteur has a triple and because I'm not the world's most powerful guy, the triple is really good for making sure I can get up hills with a smile on my face and without wrecking my knees.

Worth factoring that in, I think. It's quite a significant difference. If you're used to powering along in really hard gears on your MTB then maybe you'll be OK with a double, but I suspect you might find it a bit of a struggle.

Dave

Mark__gti

thanks for the advise guys,
I'm swaying towards the secteur but there arn't any stores local to me with stock in the right size to have a test ride.
i sat on a 54cm allez and it felt a little big (frame was pretty close to my nuts when standing over the bike) and had a sit a 52cm trek which felt a better size.
I think having a tripple might help but i find i very rarely use the small chainring on my mtb

davenice

The small chainring on your MTB will probably be smaller than the Secteur.

For instance, on my Kraken MTB, the chainset is 44/32/22 (with an 11/32 cassette). My Secteur is 50/39/30 with a 12/27 cassette.

So looking at that and putting in the values here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ (need to, to compensate for the different wheel sizes), the LOWEST gear on my Secteur is about equivalent to the 3rd biggest cog on my middle ring on the MTB! Road bikes are geared much higher than MTBs, because they don't have to climb steep muddy slopes :-)

I tried a friend's Allez before buying my Secteur so was fairly certain I'd got roughly the right size. Mine's a 54cm bike and I'm 176ishcm tall. Obviously there are lots of variables with size so trying a bike out is best, but I reckon the sizing of the Allez is *similar* to the Secteur.

Dave

Sheikhus

Another thing that might be worth bearing in mind is whether you want to carry a rack. The Secteur has mounting points, but Allez don't anymore (since 2011 models). Of course you could still get a a rack that attached to the seatpost, but if you want a dedicated commuter then that might be something to consider.

Mark__gti

ahh a tripple will help then, Iv had a look at sizing guides online and they suggest a 54cm frame (im about 5ft 8 ) but the allez felt a little big,
i think ill have to find a store that has the 52 instock so i can check

mikenetic

I'm about the same size as you Mark, and made the transition onto road bikes a couple of years ago. I ride a 54cm frame.

One thing I found is that over time I got used to the more stretched position, to the extent that I fitted a slightly longer stem after about 12 months. My bike is super comfy now.

I used the sizing calculator from this website to help give me a guideline on the size of bike I needed.

In my case it gave very good results for the frame sizing, although I found I needed to play with saddle height a fair bit to get it right. Again, I think that's something you get dialled in over time as you get used the position.

mudcow007

I just bought a Sectuer Sport...waaaaay faster than my Tricross i had before it.

one thing i did notice last night about it is, the front derailier cable runs across the down tube. so after a few weeks im expecting to see it gouged into the metal :shock:

chopperHarris

Went from a MTB to my Allez a couple of years back, never really found it very comfy and I ended up with a wrecked elbow, sold the Allez 2 operations on the elbow, now back on a road bike after a couple of months on a MTB again, got a Giant defy 2 second hand for a bargain price and im finding alot more comfy that the Allez ever was.

13 miles each way for me

Mark__gti

mikenetic wrote:

I'm about the same size as you Mark, and made the transition onto road bikes a couple of years ago. I ride a 54cm frame.

One thing I found is that over time I got used to the more stretched position, to the extent that I fitted a slightly longer stem after about 12 months. My bike is super comfy now.

I used the sizing calculator from this website to help give me a guideline on the size of bike I needed.

In my case it gave very good results for the frame sizing, although I found I needed to play with saddle height a fair bit to get it right. Again, I think that's something you get dialled in over time as you get used the position.

Iv just had a look on the sizing website on there and it suggests ill need a 54cm frame,
how much clearance should i have standing over the bike?

rodgers73

I've had a Secteur Sport for a year now.

Done all sorts on it and couldn't be happier.

mikenetic

Mark__gti wrote:

Iv just had a look on the sizing website on there and it suggests ill need a 54cm frame,
how much clearance should i have standing over the bike?

Well, you don't want to be crushing the crown jewels, so to speak, but other than that it's not a primary consideration, IMO. Standing over the bike, feet flat to the ground I have a few cms clearance. Never really measured it, as it's not something that bothers me overly.

With the variety of frame geometries, especially now that so many road bikes use a sloping top tube there's no really right answer to the question.