# HELP! Should I buy this bike?



## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Hi guys,

Brand new on here, but the roadbike bug has bitten me lately...I used to ride road when I was a teen, then switched to mountain bikes for years and years.

Aaaanyhooo....I found this ***PICS AT BOTTOM OF POST***...it's the guy's dad selling it, so he doesn't know much about it and neither do I...I'm hoping you guys can help me out on it...apparently it's been babied and stored indoors...54cm (is that big enough for me? I'm 5'9-5'10, but I do love smaller frames...my mtn bike is only a 16" frame), all he knows is that it's a Specialized Allez...no idea how old, says a couple of years.

So...can you guys help me please...how old is this bike? What kind of components are on it? I want something better than a Wal Mart bike (my last roadie was a classic Peugeot Tourmalet frame with updated Shimano 105 and Ultegra stuff), but I don't want something crazy...also...I'm missing something with the shifters...where are they? Is this the one that has the little button-style levers on top of the brakes? 

How much is this bike worth? He wants the equivalent of $400 for it (I'm currently living in South Korea), which, considering anything imported is ridiculously expensive here, doesn't seem all that bad. Also, I'm a little excited about this, because we get very few "Western" bikes here (mostly domestic Korean junk)...I've been here for 6 months with no car or bike and I'm going crazy!!!

Thanks in advance for all the help!


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Just got an email from him...says it has Sora brakes and Tiagra derailleurs...

Also...one more pic.










Please help me ASAP...if I do decide to buy this, I have to duck out of work and bus 4-5 hrs to Seoul for this thing, then 4-5 hrs back haha...


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## vontress (Jul 19, 2009)

I can't see shifters or detailers. The shifters are most likely the brake levers. You push lever over to go up and push button to release. Read us the names on rear derailer. It's what the chain runs through. On the top of the brake levers you will also see another name. Post that. My guess is it worth the money, especially where it is and that you like it. $400 is small money in the world of Specialized bikes.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

That looks like a 2002 Allez A1 24. It is a triple crank-set and 8-speed cassette. The shifters are Sora STI, so they will shift by moving the combination brake/shift levers in. The bike is likely on the small side for you, and the head tube is short. You can probably get a reasonable fit on it if you like a more aggressive setup (more saddle to bar drop). In terms of on-going maintenance the biggest hassle is the 8 speed setup - Shimano has been at 10 speed for a while, and 8 speed spares will be harder to find. It would not be cost effective to upgrade this bike, so you would be buying it for what it is rather than as a basis to build a more modern bike. Your first step would be to check its condition, adjust for size and go for a test ride. The price would be high if in the US, but as you say your home market is different.


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Yeah, he wrote me back, it's Sora brake levers (so they're STI, which is awesome, I was looking to get something with STI) and the derailleurs are Tiagra. 

I found the bike I think it is (or close to it), but I'm too new to post the link haha...


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## vontress (Jul 19, 2009)

I just saw new listing. It went up the same time as mine. It's worth the price if it fits and there is now damage. If it's the wrong size, you will be disappointed but a 54 doesn't seem unreasonable for your size. I'm 6"2 on a 57. Maybe someone your size will come along soon.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

From the Specialized (US) web-site:


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

UKbloke: thanks...yeah, I'm familiar with the STI system, just wasn't sure if this bike had it...but having him confirm that it's Sora helped...

Hmmm...I'm not looking for a really aggressive setup, I'm just being impatient, to be honest. I hear you on the maintenance, my mountain bike is the same way...it's an oldskool 24 speed setup and my rear XT shifter bit the dust a while ago and I can't seem to find a decent replacement...

Hmmm...the fact that it's an '02 kind of changes things...I definitely don't want to upgrade/build it much, I just want something to ride while I'm in Korea...going crazy just walking/busing everywhere...I offered the guy about $350, we'll see what he says to that...


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

The other issue is that it's VERY hard to find these things used here...in the past month I've seen ONE non-Korean men's non-racing roadbike for sale and it sold pretty quickly...it literally might be months before the next one comes up.


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

New development: We agreed on a price that's roughly around $360. Good? Bad?

He works nights and I work days, he said he'll hold it for me 'till the weekend, so I think I'll go up there to get it on Saturdays unless you guys want to talk me out of it


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Bump...I could still use some opinions on this...so if you have one...chime in please! Unless anyone comes up with a good reason as to why I shouldn't, I'm heading up to Seoul in 48 hrs to grab this thing!!


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## The Mountaineer (Nov 11, 2010)

At $360 I wouldn't worry. Here in Seattle, I'll often see two-three Allez appearing per day on Craigslist. This does not seem to be the case in your situation.

At a certain point it just isn't worth for him to sell it. I doubt he would even consider less than $330. Unless you want to buy a brand new bike; I would just buy this one and be riding by the weekend. BTW I believe that a 54cm is the right size. I have a hard time imagining it being too small.


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks, Mountaineer! For sure, I managed to knock 10% off his asking price, not a huge jump, but the supply-demand equation is slanted severely in his favour...It's been nearly a week since I've found that bike and still nothing decent has popped up...

I've been looking at bikes in Vancouver (close to where I'm from) and even there $360 seems like a half-decent price for a bike like this...if I end up really liking this bike I'll likely box it up and ship it home when I move  

Thanks again for all the replies, please keep them coming!!


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## The Mountaineer (Nov 11, 2010)

Just out of idle curiosity....do you have your own pair of clipless pedals and cycling shoes?


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

I do not...but I think those pedals can be ridden with normal shoes...I hope...if not, I'll either swap out the pedals for some normal ones or buy shoes...likely the first option haha


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Does anyone know how much this beast weighs? Out of curiosity...haven't been able to find that info anywhere...


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## The Mountaineer (Nov 11, 2010)

If I were you I probably wouldn't want to know the weight... 

My guesstimation would be 23lbs, maybe higher... look at the pedals


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Haha...that's not bad! I'm coming from riding a 29 lb mountain rig (Univega Alpina 507 with heavy Marzocchi Bombers, XTR/LX stuff, RaceFace cranks and handlebar, oldskool Syncros stem, etc)...anything less will be appreciated haha...definitely not planning on counting grams at this price point just curious haha


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## rraymonddd (Aug 26, 2011)

Go for it, I was riding one of my friends Allez and i loved it, so smooth!


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## mrfizzed (Aug 27, 2011)

do it up


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks guys...I BOUGHT IT!!!

Sadly, I got somewhat ripped off...but, that's the price of trying to buy a relatively rare bike around here...sigh...the guy (a Colonel in the army who bragged about making $250k a year with all his living expenses paid for...according to him another $50k) told me the bike was fully rideable and functional, just needed a minor tune-up...so I took the 4.5 hour bus ride to Seoul and found a bike with two flat tires and a completely out of whack drivetrain...I mean there was no riding that bike...sooooo I could only hold it and spin the cranks and try to see if the derailleurs, etc moved, which they did, so I bought it...got a local ship to tune it up and then found out that the shifter for the rear derailleur is completely hooped...the gears in it are worn down, so shifting from 4th gear up to 1-2-3 is sometimes impossible...sigh....he obviously knew about the faults of the bike, and why he felt the need to rip someone off on a cheapo bike when he's making a quarter of a million bucks is beyond me...but whatever...

On the bright side...it's a fast bike...I'm having a lot of fun with it. It also hasn't been ridden that much...it still has the original brake pads and tires in great shape...overall it's in very, very nice condition. Once I get a new shifter for the rear it should be one fun little machine


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Try spraying (even saturating) the internals of that rear shifter with WD40 - it might loosen up and start working again. I don't see how it could have failed with that little use. Maybe the grease inside it has seized it. Have fun riding your new bike! Flat tires are to be expected on an unused bike. Is the cassette visibly worn, or are you just basing that on bad shifting?


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Thanks, any advice on that subject would be greatly appreciated, I can't seem to be finding a replacement shifter anywhere around here!!! 

That's what I was thinking...every shifter I've had fail (RapidFires on my mountain bike) has been after a lot of use. 

Here's what it's doing: If I go to shift up...it just skips...does absolutely nothing. You know when you move the lever to the left, you should feel the resistance where it starts shifting up? There's nothing...it's like it's "freewheeling"...sometimes if I push it to the left repeatedly, it'll "catch" on the 4th or 5th try, but sometimes nothing at all...any ideas on this? I'll try the WD40 trick...which means I have to ride into town to grab a can...oh sucks!  

And yeah, the flat tires didn't bother me, except that it was a convenient way to make sure I couldn't test ride it...telling me the bike is 100% functional and rideable and showing up and finding out I couldn't even test ride it stunk to high heaven of the guy scamming me on purpose...he knew that I wasn't going to spend $70 on bus/subway tickets and a total of 10+ hours on buses and subways and go home empty handed...


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

LowriderS10 said:


> Here's what it's doing: If I go to shift up...it just skips...does absolutely nothing. You know when you move the lever to the left, you should feel the resistance where it starts shifting up? There's nothing...it's like it's "freewheeling"...sometimes if I push it to the left repeatedly, it'll "catch" on the 4th or 5th try, but sometimes nothing at all...any ideas on this? I'll try the WD40 trick...which means I have to ride into town to grab a can...oh sucks!


Yup, those symptoms match exactly. WD40 or similar should clean out the old grease and free it up. Well, you wanted an excuse to go for a ride on the new bike, didn't you!


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Awesome!!! Thank you  Do I have to take the shifter off the handlebar or just get in there as much as I can by moving the lever around? 

Hahaha...you got me, I'm loving the ride of this bike...after riding mountain bikes for 15 years, it's soooo fast hahaha


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

First, I'd leave it on the bike and spray it in whichever way you can and work the lever. It may take some time and several efforts to improve things. If that doesn't work, then you can try taking it off the bike so that you can squirt and shake. Also check the cable to see if it is in good condition, particularly the end to see if it is frayed.


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Thank you sooooo much for the help! You have no idea how much I appreciate it...to be honest, I was freaking out a little, since the bloody thing wouldn't shift, and none of the bike shops around here had the shifter, etc, etc...well, I tried your WD-40 trick and it worked like magic!!

The bike shifts smoothly and accurately every time now   It's an absolute pleasure/blast to ride now (I put another 41km on it yesterday after work haha)...I guess in a way I'm happy that the grease was all gummed up inside, it's another sign that the bike wasn't ridden very much.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

LowriderS10 said:


> Thank you sooooo much for the help! You have no idea how much I appreciate it...to be honest, I was freaking out a little, since the bloody thing wouldn't shift, and none of the bike shops around here had the shifter, etc, etc...well, I tried your WD-40 trick and it worked like magic!!


Cool, I'm glad it worked for you! I had a similar problem a few years back with some old RapidFire shifters on my mountain bike, and discovered the WD40 trick from the forum.


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## LowriderS10 (Aug 22, 2011)

Haha, that's double-excellent news, because the RapidFire shifter on my mountain bike is toast as well, doing the exact same thing...can't wait to be back in Canada and see if I can bring that one back to life as well!


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