Allezedly

I purchased an early 90s (1991? 1992? 1993? 1994?) Allez Pro with yellow lettering on “Silver” paint, advertised on OfferUp as having a 56cm frame, for $275. This model has the special “DiNucci” lugs and slightly oversized CroMo tubing.

My goal is to try to one-up the Specialized 40th Anniversary Edition aesthetically, with similar or better performance. The horizontal top tube is key to this.

The paint has been scratched/peeled off in several places, and I’ll need to address that soon to avoid rust.

Before that, I’ll take it to a frame builder to have the rear brake bridge modified so 28mm tires have enough clearance; I’m thinking to go with an inverted V brake bridge like the Specialized 40th Anniversary Edition Allez.

More critically, I’ll also ask them to straighten the rear triangle; the rear wheel is very, very slightly crooked. it still rolls great, in my uninformed judgement, but I want it to be as good as it can be.

The next step after that is paint. In anything less than bright light, the silver paint just looks dull grey with metallic flakes; IMO, it’s not great. In the sunlight, the paint actually looks awesome. I wavered a bit on whether to keep the current color, but I just hate the yellow lettering. I’m leaning toward repainting it the white-on-red color scheme that can be found on the original and many modern Allez. I’m planning on using the most modern version of the “Specialized” logo on the downtube and the 80’s white-and-silver Allez logo on the top tube. I am planning on replacing all the “Direct Drive,” “Direct Drive Aluminum,” “Designed in California,” etc. exactly as they were, but in white. I’m planning to have these all put under the clear coat. I’m planning to mask off the Cromo tubing decal and the area immediately around it, so that the original decal will remain and so people can see the original color.

For wheels, I’ve already replaced the original spec Mavic Open 4 CD as I hate the look of the partially-worn-through black brake track on the wheels. Plus they are probably the original 25+ year old wheels so they’re likely worn out. Currently I have Campagnolo Shamal Ultra C17s on it, because I like that spoke pattern and because I want wider, lighter wheels. However, I am not sure the wheels really suit the bike aesthetically; there’s too much black on the spokes, hubs, and quick releases. I’ll try to find a way to mod these parts to silver. Failing that, I’ll get some all-silver aluminum wheels that have a cool spoke pattern. If I keep the Shamals, I’ll replace the logo decals with black reflective tape.

The bike came with a 225mm tall 100mm Nitto Technomic quill stem. That’s too tall even at its shortest height. I have a normal-height 80mm Specialized quill stem that I’ll use in the interim; eventually I want to replace it with a polished silver quill stem and matching polished silver drop bars.

I have a NOS 8 speed Ultegra cassette on the new rear wheel, and a new chain. I have almost-new chainrings as well, but I’ve left them off. I am planning to switch to a compact crankset. I’m not sure how practical it would be, but I hope to polish the outer faces of the chainrings silver.

For now I’m planning to keep the existing components, which are Shimano 600 Ultegra tri-color. I hope to polish them to a silver color. A bike shop person told me that some parts of them might be magnesium and not aluminum, so that might not be practical. Maybe I’ll switch to the newest Campagnolo or Shimano silver group set instead, once used group set prices return to normal.

I will at least replace the STI shifters with something more modern, to get the modern, cleaner-looking, cable routing.

Hilariously, the front derailleur cage was broken and a metal piece was welded on to repair it. I find this quite endearing so I’ll keep it as long as I can. Front shifting works reliably, but sounds terrible because (I think) of this.

I have silver MKS Stream EZY Superior pedals on it now. If came with some cool Crank Brothers pedals. It I can adapt them to EZY Superior then I’ll try to swap them in for road rides. Otherwise I’ll try MKS’s SPD pedals.

I’m considering drilling the frame to do internal cable routing, for aesthetic and functional reasons. I will talk to the frame builder to see if the frame would need to be reinforced at the drilled holes. The functional benefit is that the cables would be protected when the bike is hauled around in my hatchback.