Specialized reinvents alloy headtube and downtube construction for the new Allez Sprint

[ad_1]

Specialized has just released the second generation of the Allez Sprint, calling it “the fastest alloy road bike in history.” It comes with some impressive claims, and since the geometry, fork, and seat post are identical to the Specialized Tarmac SL7 — they may be onto something.

The Specialized Allez has gone through many changes over the years. Most recently (as of 2015), it has been the go-to bike for niche builds, crit monsters, and everyone in-between. The bike (or should I say frame) gained popularity with its Smartweld technology, limited edition paint schemes, and affordable forward-thinking geometry.

The new Specialized Allez Sprint takes knowledge from the past and concentrates it into a very inventive and fast-looking (we haven’t ridden one yet) updated Allez model for modern racing. Frames shapes and models have changed over at Specialized from 2015, and so has the idea of what constitutes fast. We’ve seen the Venge, Venge VIAS, Tarmac SL, Aethos, while the Allez Sprint remained unchanged — until now.

Specialized Allez Sprint — What’s new?

There are a lot of changes to the Specialized Allez Sprint frame for 2022. They didn’t flip the table and start over, but there are small incremental changes that add up to significant gains. The new Specialized Allez Sprint claims to be 41 seconds faster over 40km than the previous Allez Sprint Disc.

Rethinking headtube construction

Let’s start at the head tube, one that Specialized is calling the “The most complex alloy head tube we’ve ever made.” The headtube shape is a big deal, and if you have an in-house Windtunnel like Specialized, you make sure to have the most aero shape possible. There’s more to it than “aero is everything” though… stiffness and responsiveness are a big deal when it comes to a bike’s ride.

This notion of added stiffness nudged the engineers at Specialized to update the headtube’s creation process, stamping the headtube from one piece of alloy and then welding it farther away from the headtube, giving it a better connection to the other tubes and upgrading the front end stiffness.

One-piece downtube and bottom bracket

Specialized looked to add stiffness to the new Allez, but in the right places, and one of those places is the bottom bracket. This pursuit led to another first for Specialised and the industry possibly; the one-piece downtube and bottom bracket. This new one-piece tube removes welds, inconsistencies and makes the whole junction stiffer, giving better feedback to the rider overall on real-time efforts — from the bars to the pedals.

Another reason for keeping the tubes streamlined and open is for internal cable routing with zero mess. The new Allez runs all brake cable and wires through the headset top cap and down the frame.

Looking closely at the seat tube, you’ll notice the removable front derailleur and a threaded BSA bottom bracket. All Allez Sprint models have a 68mm BSA threaded bottom bracket, 142x12mm and 100x12mm thru-axles and are compatible with 160mm or 140mm rotors.

Geometry

The geometry is the same as the Specialized Tarmac SL7, and that includes the 32mm tire clearance. The Allez Sprint receives the same fork and seat post as the Tarmac SL7. This identical geometry from carbon race to alloy is something we saw on the Specialized Epic HT and alloy Chisel mountain bike — It makes a ton of sense.

2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Models

As for builds and frames, Specialized is dosing them out in two build options and six frameset colorways. The Sprint LTD; for the maximum amount of aero gains, and the Sprint Comp is practical and race-ready.

Specialized Allez Sprint LTD

This build takes everything you ever wanted to put on an alloy bike to make it as fast as your friend’s carbon race-day build. The build includes a full SRAM Force Etap setup with Roval Rapide CL wheels and S-Works Aerofly II bars — enough to make any racer a bit jealous.

Specialized Allez Sprint

The Specialized Allez Sprint Comp build has the same frame, fork, and seat post as the LTD version. The Shimano 105 mechanical 11- speed groupset and DT Swiss R470 tubeless wheels are different. The build is solid and comes with a full Shimano 105 groupset with no substitutions except for a KMC X11 Extra lightweight chain.