Would appreciate info on a purchase.....
 

I'm of limited funds,63 years old, but have found a great escape past time(when I can get some time),
riding our cities greenways. I just picked up this
60cm special Allez pro. It is steel framed , seller said was his dad's.....ride for a few hundred miles then stored in a barn for over 20 years. Seller (son)brought it out, lubed it , replaced inner tubes and tires that had dry rotted.
Any one care to guess the age ? Appreciate any help in advance of receiving 🤗
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...872130a3d4.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6da5cfedaf.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6e2bae6c32.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...27b5634069.jpg
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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3d304f152.jpg

What is the date code on the calipers? The right shifter is a late addition. I'm not familiar enough with Specialized to make even a wild guess. But the unicrown fork tells you post-1988, I'm thinking. Is the rear derailleur a Shimano Sante? That would put it post 1987.

It says 600 ?
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...73eb31fd2d.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ba02387a59.jpg

Rear derailleur was manufactured between 1988 and 1991, according to VeloBase entry on RD-6400

Considering the mismatched components, this bike could easily have been built up from a bare frame. An actual date of manufacture might not be feasible. Looking at the overall condition of the bike, it looks as if it has seen a lot more than a couple of hundred miles of use. Might well have been bought by the seller's father second hand

Thank you

Horizontal dropouts suggest mid-80s at the latest, to me. Crank is also of that era, although it's obvious not all the components on the bike are original.

The RD and FD are late 80s early 90s. Wonky half STI shifting indicates it was either partially updated to STI rear shifting or partially downgraded due to component breaking. The crankset is high quality.
Its a mish-mash of really nice drivetrain components.

And as another poster said- that thing has been ridden a lot more than a few hundred miles. It really should have a full overhaul and cleaning. It should at least have a degreasing and cleaned. That is a lot of grime from only a few hundred miles.
Unicrown fork- 86 or later?
Horizontal dropouts- 80s.

ETA- the seat cluster looks 80s as I do know an early 90s Allez used seat stay plugs for at least one year and I would assume more.

One of the simplest ways is to look at the two letter (Y/M) date code on the inside of all Shimano crank arms. It is a two letter code inside of a circle. 1988 is M and 1991 is P. Second letter is the month with January being A and December L. That should date the manufacturing within a couple of months since the crank would have been made shortly before the bike was assembled.

The DuraAce crankset is most likely an after purchase upgrade.

Doing this would make someone think that the Black Mountain MC frame I use for a commuting bike was made in 1985 because I use an old crank. In reality, the frame was made in 2015 or 2016.

I’m guessing it is a 1988. The horizontal dropouts would seem to make it earlier, but I’ve seen pics of ‘87 and ‘88 Allez with them.

Unicrown fork the same color gives it away.

John

This might help.

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2...ve/Catalogues/

I'd be a little worried about the shift cable running over the bottom bracket. Many old bikes did that and it's fine many times. However that picture is looking a little like my 1991 Paramount that I use to have that also just ran bare cables without a guide over the BB shell. The front DR cable in that picture looks to be cutting into the BB. That might start to if it's not already make the cable too hard for the shifter to pull and wear out or break the shifter mechanism in the STI.

When I found mine doing that I had a scrap piece of Delrin in the shop and the tools to fashion a cable guide that worked very well for several years. However I eventually replaced it with this which for the money makes me spending so much time to make my own sort of ridiculous.

https://www.universalcycles.com/imag...small/6695.jpg
https://www.universalcycles.com/sear...et+cable+guide

I can't really tell if that will work on yours but there are other types. You'll have to drill a hole in the BB shell to screw it on, so be careful not to push so hard on the drill that you let the drill plunge when it cuts through the shell and damage the BB or spindle inside.

Is this a picture of the OP with the bike? That top tube looks uncomfortably high, at least for the person in the photo

Thank you

I've a bike , carbon fiber but it's got cable showing like in this picture ,, so I looked harder and saw the holes for the cable to pass through looks like whoever built the bike just bypassed that step and didn't thread the cable through the holes , so there may be a hole there ....?

I highly suggest removing the bottom bracket before drilling, then clear the fragments out before reassembly.

Why? If any happened to get in they'll just sit on the bottom of the shell most of the time. The steel of the shell is also probably softer than the bearings so even if they made it through all the grease that been pushed out of the bearings and into them, they'll just be ground up and mixed in. Metal particles are actually used in greases to improve some qualities.

And if this is a cartridge BB then none of the swarf from the drilling can even get in. Though without looking at the pic again, I think that looked like cup and cone. Still wouldn't bother me though. The swarf comes up from the hole being drilled and if used with a vacuum cleaner while drilling and they don't let the drill plunge when they break through the shell, then little to no chips will get in.

This is just my suggestion. You do what you have to do.

On 2nd thought, I wouldn't add the plastic cable guide, there are already welded on ones. Just grease the area or use a cable sheath (very thin housing) to assist with the guides already there.

Keep in mind Lance Armstrong and other racers of the era did sometimes use STI on the right and downtube for the left to save weight when getting to the UCI minimum was a little harder. Unlikely that Specialized did that on a production bike but the bike could have been used in competition?

I do agree it should be overhauled the bike could use some love, it has great parts Tricolor and 7400 on a decent frame so hopefully it can be made relatively new again,

thank you for encouraging words....got one adopted daughter in first year of college, another in 10th grade, all on a technicians salary....( There is no extra money around here, lol!), I have to make the most of this bike.
I Want to be able to do a century ride/100 miles...
My heavy co-op cry 1.3 although comfortable, is a beast and I can only average 13 mph on 30 - to - 65 mile rides.
THis bike is so light and fast to me/ green newbie, I'm hoping that it has good bones to last with proper care and maintenance ! If you can't tell I'm very excited for the journey. Again thank you for words that give me hope.
Wife has said this is it for a long while....lol.

No worries you have great bones for a bike and good parts on it and heck if it were my size I might consider making an offer (luckily it is not and I don't need more vintage bikes now though I did just sell 3...so)

Take good care of that bike, clean it and regrease it and get it ready to roll. Once you get the fit dialed in you can easily ride that bike long distances and have a good time doing so.