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Late 80s Allez seat post question

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Late 80s Allez seat post question

Old 10-09-19, 05:04 PM
  #1  
ryansu
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Late 80s Allez seat post question

I have come into what I believe to be a 1989 Specialized Allez, based on UK catalogs, that came to me from BF member @tricky (Thanks !) . The bike came with a 27.0 seat post but we both believe it is a bit too big as the fit is very tight, my assumption is it probably should be a 26.8 post but I'm wondering if anyone out there has one or a US catalog from 89 that might indicate what the factory spec seat post size is. Thanks



equipped with SunTour GPX components


27.0 is very tight
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Old 10-09-19, 08:45 PM
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I have an '88 Allez bought new, and it definitely has a 27mm seat post. HFT digital calipers show the post to be a bit oversize, even. The '88 brochure doesn't seem to list the seat post diameter ("Strong, 250mm, alloy")
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Old 10-10-19, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Litespeedlouie
I have an '88 Allez bought new, and it definitely has a 27mm seat post. HFT digital calipers show the post to be a bit oversize, even. The '88 brochure doesn't seem to list the seat post diameter ("Strong, 250mm, alloy")
Thanks I might see what some brake hone work in the seat tube and a well greased seat post results in.
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Old 10-10-19, 11:57 AM
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@ryansu,

I have several 26.8 seatposts you can try. Happy to get together for coffee this weekend for the handoff. Give me a text/call.
@RiddleOfSteel also has an Allez and surely the catalogs. I’ll let him weigh in on this thread.
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Old 10-10-19, 12:28 PM
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I somehow remember my '88 Sirrus having a 27.2mm seatpost, or at least not being inconvenienced by it. I could still be remembering incorrectly. Certainly the carbon Allez had 27.2. My '85 Allez SE, as it was built (likely) by Miyata, sports a 26.8mm seatpost.

Some "xx.x mm" seatposts are larger than they say, and sometimes the frame opening is smaller than it should be, so it looks like that's the case with yours. Good luck!

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Old 10-10-19, 12:40 PM
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My 1986 Allez SE is 27.2
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Old 10-10-19, 01:51 PM
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Originally Posted by nomadmax
My 1986 Allez SE is 27.2
Both of mine too.
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Old 10-10-19, 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Dfrost
@ryansu,

I have several 26.8 seatposts you can try. Happy to get together for coffee this weekend for the handoff. Give me a text/call.
@RiddleOfSteel also has an Allez and surely the catalogs. I’ll let him weigh in on this thread.
PM on the way!
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Old 10-10-19, 02:13 PM
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...FWIW, a fit that is "very tight" is usually about what I strive to achieve. It's kind of difficult to interpret what that means to different people. But something that slides easily in the seat tube is not my preference in fitting a seat post. I want it to be solid enough against the walls of the seat tube to not require a whole lot of tension on the seatpost bolt/clamp.

And if the 27 marked post is too tight for you at the interface you now have, but still inserts into the seat tube, you're usually better off sanding it down a little than going down to 26.8, which will slide in there nicely, but often end up as too loose a fit.

Clearly, this is only how I do it. I've already been involved on one long and pointless exchange on this topic with another regular contributor. I only offer it as something derived from practical experience.
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Old 10-10-19, 02:24 PM
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Did not know about the Miyata connection @RiddleOfSteel that is good to know

@merziac and @nomadmax thanks for the info, since the 27.0 is tight I am pretty sure its not going to be 27.2 kinda odd that they may have changed sizes from one year to the next but what are you going to do?

Last edited by ryansu; 10-10-19 at 02:29 PM.
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Old 10-10-19, 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by merziac
Both of mine too.
Dang! Wish mine was, but yearly evolution and change was Specialized in the early to mid '80s. Not like I'm crying about it at present because I was able to snag a gem of a Laprade seatpost and polish it up even further. Now if I could only find a 7-speed freewheel that went to 24T or 26T instead of only 21T...
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Old 10-10-19, 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted by ryansu
Did not know about the Miyata connection @RiddleOfSteel that is good to know

@merziac and @nomadmax thanks for the info, since the 27.0 is tight I am pretty sure its not going to be 27.2 kinda odd that they may have changed sizes from one year to the next but what are you going to do?
Early Specialized history is fraught with rapidly changing builders, to say nothing of multiple model introductions and designers. The info takes some hunting as it is scattered here and there. In 1986 or 1987, due to the dollar/yen change, production moved out of Japan. Things likely stabilized from there as Specialized was more established in various ways, but who knows. They introduced the carbon Allez (an excellent frame!! I want my '92 back) in 1987, so that's another (big) part of their history.
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Old 10-11-19, 11:16 AM
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Originally Posted by 3alarmer
...FWIW, a fit that is "very tight" is usually about what I strive to achieve. It's kind of difficult to interpret what that means to different people. But something that slides easily in the seat tube is not my preference in fitting a seat post. I want it to be solid enough against the walls of the seat tube to not require a whole lot of tension on the seatpost bolt/clamp.

And if the 27 marked post is too tight for you at the interface you now have, but still inserts into the seat tube, you're usually better off sanding it down a little than going down to 26.8, which will slide in there nicely, but often end up as too loose a fit.

Clearly, this is only how I do it. I've already been involved on one long and pointless exchange on this topic with another regular contributor. I only offer it as something derived from practical experience.
Agreed, this is very good advice.

Snug without sticking is good, most of us lament the crappy Campy seapost binder bolt that breaks and while it is a crappy bolt, they will do their job if the seatube inside is round, free of burrs and snags and correctly sized.

I have had many bikes where the post was too tight and once I cleaned up the inside and got it round, the snug post slides in and out very nicely while being snug and allowing the binder to do it's job with out overtightening.
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Old 10-11-19, 11:36 AM
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As another data point, my '90-ish (?) Sirrus takes a 27.0. I have no idea who built it.
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Old 10-11-19, 05:16 PM
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My '88 post (Strong/OEM) measures about 27.05 front to back, but about 27.2 left-right! It varies at various heights. I might remove it tonight and see if it has a size stamped on it.
I removed all the original decals except the chain stay American flag with the script, "designed in the USA" but I recall it said made in Taiwan.

edit: I pulled it, and internal markings are mostly now obliterated by twist marks. I can make out part of the logo and a min. insertion mark, no diameter seen now. By measurement, I would probably call this a 27.2, although it's not very round. Similarly, the seat tube itself is not so uniform, either.

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Old 10-12-19, 04:23 AM
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I have done some clean up of the seat tube with a brake hone and the 27.0 post, while still tight, does seem to work, that said I am going to take up @Dfrost on his generous offer of a trial 26.8 post just to compare the fit. Its a bit academic as the bike is waiting on a 7 speed cassette spacer which is literally on the slow boat from china then I can mount the 7 speed cassette I just purchased to the 700c 9 spd mavic/ultegra wheels I found for this bike and give it a test run before it gets an overhaul.

Thanks everyone for the info and suggestions!


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Old 07-10-22, 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by ryansu
I have come into what I believe to be a 1989 Specialized Allez, based on UK catalogs, that came to me from BF member @tricky (Thanks !) . The bike came with a 27.0 seat post but we both believe it is a bit too big as the fit is very tight, my assumption is it probably should be a 26.8 post but I'm wondering if anyone out there has one or a US catalog from 89 that might indicate what the factory spec seat post size is. Thanks



equipped with SunTour GPX components


27.0 is very tight
I'm late to the game but 27.0 is stock for these bikes. I owned an ;'87 and no changes were made except paint/decals for '88. A lot of these older bikes had the seatposts tightened too tightly, or tightened with non-stock seatposts that were smaller, leading the problem you're having.
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Old 07-10-22, 12:54 PM
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I usually start by inspecting the clamp ears for symmetry and parallelism, followed by correcting that if needed.
I correct bent-in ears by fitting the post to 1" depth, then leaning rearward on it.

Then, if still tight, I use a half-round file to "probe" the inside of the seat tube looking for any bumps or burrs that the file may catch on. Correcting them usually requires only a few strokes of the file.
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Old 07-10-22, 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by mml373
I'm late to the game, but 27.0 is stock for these bikes.
I believe the op sold this bike a while back, but you still offer good info that will be handy for dozens of future owners, I hope ... unless we're all murdered by a random asteroid.
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Old 07-10-22, 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted by mml373
I'm late to the game but 27.0 is stock for these bikes. I owned an ;'87 and no changes were made except paint/decals for '88. A lot of these older bikes had the seatposts tightened too tightly, or tightened with non-stock seatposts that were smaller, leading the problem you're having.
Yes this bike did get sold (Sadly) due to moving but I did make the 27.0 seat post work on it eventually.
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