# differences in S-works Allez and e5 Smartweld allez forks?



## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

I think it's essentially whatever the difference is between Tarmac Comp and Tarmac S-works forks, but doe anyone know the specific difference in grams and in any other way?
t's not a completely esoteric question. Have a spare S-Works fork and am considering a smartweld frame.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

thumper8888 said:


> I think it's essentially whatever the difference is between Tarmac Comp and Tarmac S-works forks, but doe anyone know the specific difference in grams and in any other way?
> t's not a completely esoteric question. Have a spare S-Works fork and am considering a smartweld frame.


I know that the SWorks Allez frame as a whole is about 150 grams lighter than a standard E5 Smart Weld Allez frame.... The fork is different, but there's a few other things, so I don't think the fork alone is worth the 150g difference. The SWorks Allez has a different seat post, headset, BB bearings... also no paint... so all of those things account for the 150 gram difference. I'd say if you had the Tarmac fork, use it, but it not be worth much in and of itself.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

TricrossRich said:


> I know that the SWorks Allez frame as a whole is about 150 grams lighter than a standard E5 Smart Weld Allez frame.... The fork is different, but there's a few other things, so I don't think the fork alone is worth the 150g difference. The SWorks Allez has a different seat post, headset, BB bearings... also no paint... so all of those things account for the 150 gram difference. I'd say if you had the Tarmac fork, use it, but it not be worth much in and of itself.



That's exactly what I'm weighing. I have an S-works SL4 fork left from a cracked frame, and am considered a Smartweld Allez frame purchase, and whether to sell off the S-Works fork on ebay and use the Allez one.
The smart thing to do is wait till the Allez is here and weigh both forks before deciding.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

I have a allez fork from a RACE version .. It is also a Tarmac SL4 fork if I understand the specs. I could weigh it and let you know the grams and how much steerer tube is left


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

Yeah, that would be awesome…. I could weigh the S-works one, and share that in return. would be interesting.
How do you like the Allez in comparison to other frames you've ridden?


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

spdntrxi said:


> I have a allez fork from a RACE version .. It is also a Tarmac SL4 fork if I understand the specs. I could weigh it and let you know the grams and how much steerer tube is left


Interesting... the Allez race and the SL4 fork should weigh the same... except for differences in paint.



thumper8888 said:


> Yeah, that would be awesome…. I could weigh the S-works one, and share that in return. would be interesting.
> How do you like the Allez in comparison to other frames you've ridden?


I'd be interested to see the results.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

unfortunately... I not going to remove the expander ..not coming out too easy and not worth the effort. Stock expander probably weighs a bit I'm sure... but it's 18.5cm of steerer tube my fork weighs in at 425g.

The allez race fork is a SL4 fork... but I don't know if S-Works SL4 makes a difference.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

I also sort of remember a SL4 fork recall... originals weighed low 300's and the new recalled forks where closer to 370-380g.. seems about right if mine now weighs 425g with expander.


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## rcb78 (Jun 15, 2008)

The Allez Race fork has not always been identical to the SL4. I had a 2013 Allez Race and the fork was 424gr. I was able to pickup an identically painted SL4 fork and it weighed 80gr less, both cut to same length w/o expander.
I recently built a 2015 Allez Race for a guy and the fork was closer in weight to my old SL4 fork, but still maybe 10-15 gr heavier, so it's changed over time.
And finally I currently have a 2015 S-Works Tarmac, it's fork weighs 4gr more than the old SL4 fork I had. The SL4 fork was post recall and 346gr w/o expander
Basically, unless you weigh them and know exactly what year they are from, it could range from the low 300gr to mid 400gr.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

so my S-Works one weighs 370 grams with the standard expander plug in place and 203mm of steerer tube. it had the recall mods.


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## spdntrxi (Jul 25, 2013)

my fork is a fatty then.. ^


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## tyrich88 (Jul 12, 2013)

The fork is not the only difference. They did some additional manipulating to the frame as well, tube walls are slightly thinner in places, giving it a slightly different ride quality (apparently). But I have the Allez e5 frameset from 14 and it's great as it is. I wouldn't think it would be worth the extra money to upgrade to sworks. 100g isn't worth $1k to me. I'd rather get better components with that money.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

spdntrxi said:


> I have a allez fork from a RACE version .. It is also a Tarmac SL4 fork if I understand the specs. I could weigh it and let you know the grams and how much steerer tube is left


UGH! all this smart weld Allez talk has me really salivating to get mine.


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## siim_s (May 11, 2008)

I've weighed five forks from Specialized road bikes. Don't know if it helps, but here's the data, all weights with expander and crown race:

Allez Expert 2015 model: 425 grams. Taken from 56cm frame.
Tarmac SL4 Sport, 2014 model: 430 grams. From 54cm frame.
Allez Expert 2014: 439 grams. From 56cm frame.
SW Venge 2015: 425 grams. From 56cm frameset.
Roubaix SL4 2014: 500 grams. 56cm frame, 27cm steerer.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

Found this thread and I've got some interesting info to add.

I'm in the process of doing my own custom Allez, basically converting it into an S-Works Allez. 











That's the bike as it stands now.. 16.7 pounds, with a mix of Ultegra/105 components. You can read the full write up here.

I'm going to be swapping the components to a complete DA9000 group with Jagwire Elite Link cables. I'm also gonna strip the frame down to bare aluminum and then give it a brushed finish. I've got vinyl cut for the "Specialized" log on the downtube and small "Allez" graphic for the seat stays, the way the 2016/2017 bikes currently look, as well as an "S" for the head tube. Once the vinyl is on, I'm gonna have the frame clear coated. I plan to weight the frame with stock paint, then stripped, then with graphics and clear. I also picked up an S-Works Tarmac SL4 fork. The fork weighs 333g with the crown race, no expander, uncut steerer. I'm anxious to see what it drops down to once I cut the steerer to match the stock fork. I'm also anxious to see what the stock fork weighs when I take the bike apart. Based on what other's are quoting in this thread, I'm guessing that I will lose at least 100g from the swap. I'm going to try and weigh as many of the parts during the rebuild process as I can.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

OK... got some numbers.

S-Works Tarmac fork, uncut was 333g. 
Once I cut it, it dropped down to 300g

The standard Tarmac, cut was 391g. They are both cut exactly the same.


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## TricrossRich (Mar 26, 2014)

tyrich88 said:


> The fork is not the only difference. They did some additional manipulating to the frame as well, tube walls are slightly thinner in places, giving it a slightly different ride quality (apparently).


I don't think this is true. I've been told by several people that work at Specialized that the tube sets from the S-Works and the standard DSW Allez were exactly the same. The S-Works bike got the S-Works Tarmac fork, worth roughly 100g and the S-Works had no paint, it was anodized, same the additional weight. Now that my frame is stripped, I'm being similar weights. I lost 74g so far, taking the paint off and still have more clean up work to go.

The S-Works frames were 100% welded by hand apparently and also have more clean up work on the welds to make them look nicer, but no differences in the actual tubes.


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## tyrich88 (Jul 12, 2013)

Nice!!! I saw the pics of the bike! It looks awesome


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