Specialized Allez E5 Elite £999
Being a consistently best selling bike for the American giant, a lot of design hours went into the all-new 2018 Allez.
Frame
The Allez has been dramatically restyled and has a rear end mirroring that of the Venge Vias, the new Tarmac and the new Diverge: the seatstays meet the seat tube much lower down. As well as looking cool, this configuration builds in more compliance.
The bike’s geometry has also been reworked: the angles are less aggressive than before. Specialized’s ‘wide range geometry’, is designed to be more first-time-buyer friendly – allowing a broader group of riders of all shapes and sizes to find the right fit. However, slam the stem and you’ve got a Tarmac-style race bike.
The weight has also been reduced by 450g according to Specialized but perhaps the biggest upgrade is the introduction of a new, full-carbon FACT fork, which the brand says weighs 350g and mimics one that you would have found on S-works bikes not too long ago.
The 2018 models also include eyelets for mudguards and internally routed cables. With the new geometry and mudguard mounts, the Allez E5 models can make good commuters and all are priced below the cycle-to-work voucher threshold.
Specification
The Elite is the flagship Allez and comes with a Shimano 105 11-speed groupset. Specialized has replaced the 105 chainset with a Praxis Alba 2D, which is a goodquality component a fair swap.
However, as with the Boardman, economies have been made via the brakes and wheels. The Tektro Axis calipers are pretty lacklustre and the DT R460s wheels are uninspiring — begging to be swapped for something lighter to give the ride a boost, a set of Mavic Aksuims would be ideal at this price point.
The finishing kit is own-brand Specialized — stem, bar and seatpost all alloy, smart-looking and up to the job. There’s a Body Geometry Toupe saddle, which most people get on with.
Ride
Road buzz — rightly or wrongly assumed to be aluminium’s Achilles heel — is taken care of thanks to the excellent carbon FACT fork. However, the Allez frame itself proved to be capable of smoothing out rough road surfaces while keeping a good level of stiffness.
The slacker geometry slows down the Allez’s handling a little but lends it extra stability, which will appeal to its target audience. Cornering is assured and confidence inspiring.
Value
A lot of time and money has gone into redesigning the Allez frame and the result is one of the best — if not the best — £1,000 aluminium bike. As with the Boardman, a better set of wheels would really up bring the Allez to life.
Distributor www.specialized.com | Frame Specialized E5 Premium aluminium | Fork Specialized FACT full carbon | Sizes 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 61 | Size tested 52 | Weight 8.65kg | Groupset Shimano 105 | Deviations Praxis Alba 2D | Wheels DT R460 | Tyres Espoir Sport 700x25c | Brakes Tektro Axis | Gear ratios 50/34, 11-32 | Handlebar Specialized shallow drop | Stem Specialized Alloy | Seatpost Specialized Alloy | Saddle Body Geometry Toupe Sport