BMC_Kid 

My brother, who resides in Golden, discovered the '87 David Tesch built, Brian Baylis painted, Specialized Team Allez, S/N 064 in nearly new condition with its original owner in Boulder. He facilitated our transaction, and I purchased the bike sight unseen, relying solely on his detailed account of its pristine state. Along with the bike, I acquired the original, unused black Turbo saddle and the 1987 Specialized catalog. At that time, I was living and working in Europe, and after my brother brought the bike to his home, he took the following photographs and forwarded them to me.

Last night I asked my brother to re-send me the photos and I thought it might be a good idea to place them in an easily accessible location for future review. I am planning to obtain higher-resolution images of the catalog to include as well.

Feel encouraged to share photos of your Tesch Team Allez here. Let’s keep our focus on the Tesch-built Allez in this thread, please.

The initial photograph showcases the catalog page for the Team Allez. Notably, as previously mentioned in posting #53 by BF member 900ss of his Team Allez S/N 001 - thread post located here, the bike in this image features a distinct color sequence on the top tube decal that differs from that on the later production models. One could speculate that this might be the prototype for the Tesch-built frames. The catalog photo depicts the decal colors in the order of red/pink, orange, and bright yellow from front to back, whereas the production bikes display a gradient from dark yellow to orange, culminating in red/pink. The downtube decal is also different, lacking the red pinstriping present on subsequent models. Additionally, the seatstay ‘S’ remains unpainted, in contrast to the red painted ‘S’ found on later versions.



Here is how the bike looked as found


Here’s the bike’s current appearance: I’ve restored a period-appropriate Turbo saddle, opting for white this time. The black anodized Specialized-branded Nitto stem has been exchanged for a Dura-Ace aero stem of identical length that’s true to the era. While I’ve fitted more recent tires for regular use, I’ve preserved the original, barely worn tires for any future owner who might want them.




Lastly, presented below are the detailed photographs captured by my brother at the time of purchase.

BMC_Kid 

Here are the rest of the photos.

BMC_Kid 

Here are the catalog photos that will be replaced.

900ss

Oh man, that is a thing of beauty. I wish mine was pristine, but after 3 years of honest use by my nephew, it is not, although it is in very good condition.. Sincere thanks for including my observations on s/n 001.

takmanjapan

Very nice!

Chuckk

You know, I've read that the original contract for 100 bikes was canceled with only 63 or 64 built.
So the above bike could be the "LAST" Team Allez built.
Any new status, BMC_Kid?

BMC_Kid 

I do recall seeing somewhere that 63 or 64 units were eventually produced, maybe that was you? I’m not entirely sure if that’s accurate, but it would be fascinating if true, especially since I own #064 and a BF member 900ss has #001. Quite a coincidence! Do you have any more details or sources that might confirm this? As far as status, nothing has changed. The next time I am home, I am thinking of putting the original stem and saddle back on it so I don't misplace them.

Maxey

Drool!

georges1

superb Specialized bike

Chuckk

I did a bunch of searching when I got mine. Found a fair amount of info, but didn't archive it.
I remember it didn't seem like a good experience for either Spec. or Tesch.
I think there was also supposed to be an additional mountain bike version, but never have seen one.

I drug my frame out from under a vendor's table at Frankenbike Austin. Had a big BMX shop sticker on the head. I think I had seen the fork at Frankenbike the month before, but it was gone.
The vendor told me it was SPECIAL because it was built in Japan instead of Taiwan like the rest. I guess he never saw the Tesch decal.

Not all of them made it through cherry! A couple 600 parts supposedly came off it. (maybe in its second life)
Later, one of the other vendors saw the frame on my shoulder and had some more factoids. He said delivery had been spotty, and when they finally arrived they were a hard sale. He added that Spec. ended up distributing some to their race teams as take-home training equipment.
So here's 039 today.

BMC_Kid 

I am glad that you saw the value in #039 and rescued it to be used as it should be, rather than relegated to fixie status or worse.It’s quite possible that the vendor you bought it from was confused about who made the frame, perhaps mixing it up with the 3Rensho-made Specialized frames. It’s interesting that the other vendor had some of the backstory of these bikes. It doesn’t really surprise me, as Austin has always had a strong cycling community that migrated between Texas and Colorado, with additional cross-pollination reaching both coasts. Many people back then were deeply connected to the cycling scene and would have access to such information.

Being from San Antonio, I was on the fringe of this information, even though the shop I frequented had a good connection to Austin through Bill Lewis and all the exotic (for me at least) frames he was able to get to us. That connection eventually got me more involved there, and later in Colorado as well. Thanks for posting some photos to this thread. Seeing them and the bike out on the road (Texas Hill Country?) reminds me that I don't get mine out nearly as often as I should and that when I am home in December, I will make it a point to do so.