otismedina

The SLX is just heavier, right?

Brian6751

I wish I could find a chart with all the weight comparisons. I do believe the Aerotec frames have different shaped tubes with different wall thicknesses in certain places that ad stiffness as well. I'm not sure if the normal SLX frames have the teardropped downtube and top tube like the Aerotec. Maybe someone else has more info.

Billsteak

I am shopping for a new AL frame bike (not into carbon $$) and was looking at the Allez last wknd. I was really turned off by the components that are offered. The elite only comes with the compact cranks and is not really a good value. I think I'm going with the Cannondale. Weight Weenies website has a string about the weight of this frame and the frame alone is listed at ~1550g for a 54cm. A CAAD9 should be closer to 1250 for this size frame. I heard that you can buy the frameset for a good price though, so it might be a decent start for a build which would allow you to put on soem better parts...

rockabilly808

who cares, I like my allez elite and eventually i'll replace it with CF

Azndude51

lol, I couldn't agree more. I bought an Allez Elite as a beginner bike a few months ago and it serves me well. I'll probably replace it with a CF bike in a year or two.

Tequila Joe

I have a 03 Allez Pro. It handles better than any bike I've owned even my Litespeed. Its a very race able frame that won't break the bank to replace if damaged in a crash.

otismedina

Plus zebra stripes combined with the graphics on those wheels just looks plain badace. What happened the aero seatpost?

mrbubbles

Allez E5 SLX Aerotec doesn't come with aero seatpost, just the standard 27.2mm.

mustang1

I have a 2006 Allez. I just dont like the 2007 ones, and certainly not the 2008. It's like Specialized are making them less appealing for some reason. Maybe they wanna discontinue the Allez range (no I dont think so either, it's just a thought).

yogi13

I have an 06 Allez Expert with Aerotec E5 frame, and looked at a lower end allez with the SLX before I bought it. The Aerotec frame has the aero shaped seat tube and a larger diameter down tube than the SLX, which does not have an aero seat tube. There may be some other differences as well. The aerotec frame certainly looks a bit more refined, and I would guess that the tubes on the Aerotec have thinner wall thicknesses. The Aerotec frame also weighs a bit less.

Brian6751

2004 E5 frame weighs 1230 according to that same list.

otismedina

This thread makes me want an E5.

gr@sshopper

Yup

mrbubbles

The E5 frame is super cheap on ebay, check out the completed listing on E5s. Around $250-350 for a frameset, mostly sold by people who want to "upgrade" to carbon.

otismedina

All for the sake of how many grams? That I could lose in body fat? It's the bling man...

mrbubbles

While I'll admit it's mostly bling, I'm probably going to be those people sooner or later. Knowing how low E5 frames go for, I will not get rid of mine, it's just dumb to sell a perfectly function piece of equipment. Then again, people do that everyday.

green814

I stopped in at the LBS yesterday to ask a few ?'s, and noticed a '08 Rockhopper (mtb) has the M4 frame! I know that is a little older frame material, but why would they put that into the R.H. series (that NEVER had any M series frame material before, just the Stumpjumper & S-Works), but no longer make the E5 seires in the Allez?

Coming from the dirt side on a Stumpjumper M2 Comp, I can only imagine how the newer frame material is.

Chris

gr@sshopper

Wait, hold on, I'm confused - Is somebody on BF giving props to Leader??? WTF? End of the World???

Next thing you know, ABH will be posting about his new Motobecane.

tkman

Looking for road bikes and based on a short test ride the Specialized seemed to feel/fit better for me than the Cannondale Synapse (that I need to verify, because otherwise I would really rather have the Synapse). I don't need carbon and would be happy with a good Al frame with 105 components, so I was very frustrated to find out that both Cannondale and Spec stopped making Al frames with full 105 this year (and Spec discontinued the E5 Allez altogether). So now I'm thinking of buying an older bike, and am trying to educate myself about the various Allez frames (E5, Aerotec, A1).

ANYWAY, what is the advantage of the E5 Aerotec frames vs. the 'regular' E5 (NON-aerotec, which come on some of the lower-level 07 Allezs)? Also, what makes the E5 Al better than A1? Weight, anything else?

And just to make sure - can you tell whether any Allez is Aerotec by the lower cut-out in the seat tube for the rear-wheel?

Thanks for any help!

KidTruth

Specialized will always make aluminum bikes because people will always need an entry-level road bike, which is their Allez. That being said, when I was in the market for a bike this past year the Allez Elite appealed to me more than any other bike I road or looked at... partially because of the carbon, though.

So yes, the new top-of-the-line Specialized bikes will all be carbon. I applaud it and just hope the price on carbon comes down.

I got to fool around with an S-works tarmac the other day.. holy crap... what an awesome machine. So smooth.

I feel like carbon is superior to aluminum in every possible way. It's just higher-tech stuff. Stronger, lighter, more comfortable.. only problem is price and price of repairs.

KidTruth

Also.. whoever said that you can't get better than Tiagra on the Allez is only partially right.. the Allez Elite has a 105 rear derailleur.

J.W.

Interesting. Oh well, to be honest i think of my allez as just a stepping stone...something to "cut my teeth" with. As i progress as a rider (in skill and ability) i see myself going to a Tarmac, Orbea(opal) or Felt (f3-f4). With that said, i love my bike.

Lucky07

I've got an E5 SLX frame and love it. Stiff, but comfortable enough for a full day of riding. I think it's a great all around road frame unless you require a Roubaix-like plush ride.

yogi13

I've got an '06 expert with the E5 Aerotec frame. I rode both it and the columbus-tubed lower model (comp?) extensively before buying, as well as the tarmac comp, roubaix comp and expert, and a bit on a tarmac pro.

The E5 frame is definitely lighter than the other allez frames, and I think a little more responsive in handling. In fact, I think it gives you better road feel than the low end tarmac, and is on a par with the tarmac pro. The tarmac pro and certainly the roubaix deaden the road vibrations a bit more, but I'm comfortable on the allez for fairly long rides (50+ miles, which is about as long as I can go before my carpal tunnel makes me completely lose feeling in my hands). I also know of someone with the same model that uses it for centuries, some of them on fairly rough roads.

I didn't think the comp level tarmac actually helped any with road fatigue, and kind of felt like it was trying to compromise on too many things, so ended up doing nothing great, but everything competently, whereas the allez expert had a bit more snap and locked-in ride. I think the E5 also climbs a bit better than the columbus-tubed model.

The Aerotec ones do have the cutout in the seatpost, and the seatpost is also aero shaped, unlike the lower end frames. There's also a label on the seat post that says something to the effect of "Aerotec E5", while the lower end frames say something like "columbus _____".

tkman

Thanks. When you say "Columbus", do you mean non-aerotec E5, or the A1? Aerotec and non-Aerotec are both listed as "Columbus" tubing. The non-Aerotecs say "SLX".

Looked up the '06 Allez Elite and now I'm really confused. The specs say "Specialized E5, fully manipulated Columbus SLX tubing", but the picture shows the aero seat tube with the cut-out. Is the pic wrong, or do some E5 SLX (NON-Aerotec) have the aero shaped seat tube?!? I'm hoping they just have the wrong bike pictured, or else it could be really confusing trying to find out if a particular bike is Aerotec.

(The '06 Comp had an E5 Aerotec frame.)