1989 Specialized Allez

Ask him to double check the frame siZe. Looks to be larger than a 52cm. More like a 56cm. A 52 would be considered small.

I know this bike! I used to drool over one of my club member's allez just like that back in 89,90 or 91. Looks pretty well kept from the pics in the ad. Providing it's in very good shape. Price isn't bad. I'd still try to get him down a little. Make sure there aren't any cracks on the frame tubes. I'm sure there are some reviews on the web. More info There for sure. Does look sweet.....

These were probably the first carbon bikes I saw in person. Damn....brings back some memories of those club rides.

I've read horror stories on the internet about the tubes on these things coming apart from the lugs and just falling apart. My other thought was maybe I could buy another frame, if that were to happen, and put the parts on a different frame cause I know for the most part at least, they are good parts.

Thanks for the input!

jaboder said:

I have been riding a pretty cruddy mongoose walmart special for about 6 or 7 years. It does ok, its kept up pretty well. But I want to get into road bikes. So I've been looking around for quite a while now and just the other day i saw on craigs list a 1989 Specialized Allez carbon fiber frame/alluminum forks. With shimano 600 derailleurs. here is the link Specialized Allez Carbon Fiber Road Bike (TALL PEOPLE ONLY)
He is selling it for $390. Seems like a good buy. I called and talked to him and he says its a good buy and in great condition and he is my height with same inseam so it should fit me just fine. He lives two hours away from me and I don't want to go that far if it is not worth it.
Is $390 too much for a bike that old even though it has good parts to it?

For the seller to have supposedly been a former bike shop owner doesn't speak well for him (or, his shop) based on how he measured that frame -- a 21" frame would minimally be equal to a 53cm frame ... I'll go so far as to say that the frame appears to be a 62cm frame ... so, if you aren't 6'2", or taller, then you should probably consider another bike ... certainly, bring a tape measure if-or-when you look at the bike.

Regardless, the particular bike was indeed a very good bike ... I had the opportunity to ride a mid-90s (?) version of the bike (Rolf wheels + 8-speed cassette were probably the biggest difference) but, its value to you would be if you are the fore mentioned height, or taller ...

However, I presume that if you have managed to ride a Mongoose (presumably, MTB) from WalMart for the past few years that unless you grew a lot recently that the 1989 Specialized Allez is much too large for you.

Unfortunately, the PROBLEM (which may never manifest itself) with the particular frame is that its rear triangle spacing is probably only 126mm [I am presuming it only has 7 cogs on the cassette] ... THAT MAY NEVER BE AN ISSUE FOR YOU, but if you ever want to use a different wheelset on the bike then you may be mildly annoyed when you find that most Road wheels will have a rear hub with 130mm spacing ...

Presuming that the rear wheel has a 7-speed cassette (hey, it may be a Freewheel!), its smallest cog is threaded rather than having a lock ring to keep the stack on the Freehub body ... the Freehub body can be replaced with one from a 'new' Shimano ACERA rear hub (one of the least expensive) and thereby you can use a readily-available 7-speed cassette OR an 8-speed-cassette-minus-one-cog ... think of the particular cassette-type as a being another-brick-in-the-load.
[INDENT]Not counting a new cassette, the Freehub body transplant is a $25 DIY job which a bike shop will probably charge you $70+ to do (parts & labor).
[/INDENT]Consequently, I probably wouldn't pay more than $300 for the bike as pictured even if it may be worth much more BECAUSE you will probably want a different cassette (or, to restack the current cassette with a larger cog ... that threaded last cog is a bear to remove) unless everywhere you ride is relatively flat OR you may want to fit a different crankset OR both. In otherwords, even if the frame is the right size for you and it is theoretically ready-to-ride for someone who has been riding for a while, the odds are that the gearing may be too steep for you.

BTW. You CAN mate a set of 10-speed (non-QS) Campagnolo shifters to the 7-speed Shimano drivetrain ... so, the bike can be updated without too much tribulation.

N.B. The Kinesis fork has a slightly harsher ride than either a steel fork or a Carbon Fiber fork would have.

jaboder said:

I've read horror stories on the internet about the tubes on these things coming apart from the lugs and just falling apart. My other thought was maybe I could buy another frame, if that were to happen, and put the parts on a different frame cause I know for the most part at least, they are good parts.

While the Shimano 600 parts are good & certainly worthy of seeing life on another frame, they are quite dated ...

I reckon (as stated previously) that the rear hub spacing is 126mm ... it's not a big effort to change it to a 130mm wheel, but you'll need another hub (e.g., LX) whose Freehub body you would cannibalize and whose axle you would use after shortening it by 5mm ... figure $30+ as a DIY change ... $80+ if an LBS does the work.

FYI. Most Road frames built after ~1996 have 130mm rear spacing ... so, the odds are any other frame you get will have 130mm spacing.

Thank you for the information. I just got back from a LBS and asked them about the bike as well. They said from the description that the bike isn't worth more than $200. So with the information I've read from here, and from them, I probably wont get it.

They did have a used Cannondale SR500 that is about 5 years old. They said that the guy that previously owned it, bought it, let it sit, his mom bought him a motorcycle so he let it sit more, than recently gave it to the bike shop. They fixed it up and are selling it for $400. I took it for a test ride and it fits, and rides really nice, at least that is what I thought. The store owner said its basically brand new and one of those rares finds. I don't think it has had any upgrades, so everything is probably stock.
Does that sound like its worth $400?

If the thing has 126 aluminum rear can't you just bend them out to 130mm. No big deal right? 4mm is barely a 1/8 of an inch. Cromoly is easily bent that little bit, aluminum would too. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, just ask at your local bike shop, pretty sure they'll jump right in. Not with carbon fiber, but that's not the issue.

The $400 bike sounds like a nice deal too. It's so much easier to buy something than to do something. I'll never understand why people spend big money on a bike and then not ride it. Good intentions I guess. You sound like you ride a lot anyway and that's $400 well spent.