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Allez Upgrade/Service Advice

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  • April 5, 2017 at 9:04 pm #26982
    nevvy

    I bought a specialized allez sport as my first road bike a couple of years ago and it has served me well. It’s recently ticked past 5000 miles and apart from a wheel upgrade to fulcrum racing quattros, I’ve spent no money on the bike (i discount brake pads, tyres and tubes). I use the bike all year round and for a fair bit of commuting. It has a sora groupset.

    I keep it clean, oiled and do light maintenance myself. The bike still rides ok but note:

    • chain is pretty worn/stretched, probably should have been replaced a while ago (crucially it isn’t slipping)
    • cassette and chain rings may need replacing, they’re looking slightly worn
    • bottom bracket sounds horrid, sideways movement in cranks
    • I’d really like better brakes, they’ve never been very good

    My question is this, is it worth me upgrading my groupset (I’m aiming for 105) or should I just spend the minimum on replacing sora parts like-for-like and save up for a new bike in a few years time? Would 105 be wasted on this frame? Would i notice the difference?  I’m not competing or racing, although i do get involved in some friendly segment hunts on strava with friends. The frame and forks are in mint condition and i feel like i’d need to spend a significant amount of money on a new bike to get a better frame. Changing the whole groupset would essentially give me a new bike feel and i could be in a position to buy myself a commuter bike for next winter.

    I’m taking the bike to my local friendly bike shop for advice, but wanted to ask the internet to make sure i’m not going to get the wool pulled over my eyes.

    I’ve been lurking here for a while, so thanks in advance for the advice and for the knowledge i’ve nicked over the past couple of year!

     

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  • April 8, 2017 at 9:42 am #890739
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    ibr17xvii
    dottigirl wrote:
    But, nevvy’s still going to be spending the best part of £350 installing Tiagra. Is the bike worth it?

    Not a rhetorical question, am serious.

    e.g. https://www.rutlandcycling.com/318562/products/2016-giant-defy-1-road-bike-white.aspx

    That’s 11 speed 105 for £600 – and whole second bike.

     

    Not sure that’s a fair comparison as he’s not getting the whole 105 groupset for that.

    Each to their own, I think personally I would go down the buying the Tiagra groupset route.

    April 8, 2017 at 8:15 am #890737
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    Langsam

    Yep, good work. 

    Yep, good work. 

    You should make a few quid selling on the Sora stuff on eBay once it’s nicely cleaned up.

    I would strongly recommend getting the Man in the Shed to use upgraded cables on the install. I’ve Jagwire Road Pro on my bikes and it’s super slick.

    April 8, 2017 at 7:18 am #890735
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    nevvy

    It’s an interesting point

    It’s an interesting point dottigirl, but a moot one; £600 is 71% more than £350. Sure i’ll have two bikes but I’m spending almost double and i’ll still need to spend £50 on my old one to make it road worth. So i’ll actually spend £650 and end up with two bikes that are practically the same! I will concede that i could sell one of them making that a little more pallatable.

    Thanks for the debate, I’ve ordered a tiagra groupset.

    April 7, 2017 at 7:58 pm #890733
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    dottigirl

    But, nevvy’s still going to

    But, nevvy’s still going to be spending the best part of £350 installing Tiagra. Is the bike worth it?

    Not a rhetorical question, am serious.

    e.g. https://www.rutlandcycling.com/318562/products/2016-giant-defy-1-road-bike-white.aspx

    That’s 11 speed 105 for £600 – and whole second bike.

    April 7, 2017 at 7:28 pm #890731
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    Nat Jas Moe

    I was in this position,

    I was in this position, fancied 105 but my wheels were only 10 speed compaible. Went for Tiagra and was very happy with the resultant “new” bike. Changed its feel having moved from Claris. Then I went and got me a new bike as well with 105, and except for the extra cog the shifting is just as good, but I would say that the brakes are far better with 105. So if the wheels only take 10 speed get Tiagra as others have said above.

    April 7, 2017 at 1:29 pm #890729
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    bobbinogs

    Yepp, another vote for 4700

    Yepp, another vote for 4700 Tiagra.  It is a very good quality groupset and can be had for as little as £250.  That really is a steal.  As for the BB, if it feels/sounds rough then simply swap out with an Ultegra one (assuming you don’t get one with the groupset), very cheap and and excellent quality (but you won’t spin any quicker!).  Other that, some dcent tyres, like Schwalbe One or GPS4000IIs.

    April 7, 2017 at 11:45 am #890727
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    kil0ran

    Are your wheels 11-speed

    Are your wheels 11-speed compatible? If not, stick with Tiagra

    April 7, 2017 at 11:09 am #890725
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    Stef Marazzi
    TypeVertigo wrote:
    nevvy wrote:

    Now, compared to 105 5800, all you’re missing with Tiagra 4700 is the 11th cog and perhaps better caliper brakes. You could even spec a wider-range cassette with Tiagra 4700 – its medium-cage rear mech will support cassettes all the way up to 11-34T. If you do go the Tiagra 4700 upgrade route I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

    Totally agree with this – Tiagra 4700 “feels” as good as 105 5800, its just that 11th cog thats missing. But the benefit is you get significantly cheaper Chains and Cassettes.

    April 7, 2017 at 10:51 am #890723
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    TypeVertigo
    nevvy wrote:
    Thanks guys, some interesting thoughts. My LBS (or more accurately man in a shed) really pushed tiagra, suggesting I wouldn’t really notice the difference to 105 and that modern tiagra groupsets were really good. He’d charge ~£100 for fitting, plus parts, which isn’t too bad really.

    I’ll probably just do the work myself and take it to him if i get stuck.

    I would agree with your “man in a shed.” I have the old 105 5700 on my TCX, and got to try Tiagra 4700 on a demo Lynskey Pro Cross. Both are 10-speed, but Tiagra 4700 is much better in every way – shifts are deliciously smooth and light compared to the heavy lever effort you need on 105 5700 to get a shift to the big ring going.

    Note that both bikes had TRP Spyre disc brakes so I can’t really comment on the braking differences between groups.

    Now, compared to 105 5800, all you’re missing with Tiagra 4700 is the 11th cog and perhaps better caliper brakes. You could even spec a wider-range cassette with Tiagra 4700 – its medium-cage rear mech will support cassettes all the way up to 11-34T. If you do go the Tiagra 4700 upgrade route I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

    April 7, 2017 at 7:33 am #890721
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    Simontuck

    Constant maintenance!

    Constant maintenance!

    My 2014 Allez sport came with Claris groupset. Until last summer I used it to commute 15 miles each way year round.

    its had two new wheel sets, currently on fulcrum Quattro. I changed to Sora mechs front and rear which meant it’s still 2×8 but changes smoother. It’s also had a new BB and regular cleaning lubing of BB. A new cable set, several new sets of pads and new bar tape. New crankset was about £50 but only changed because I damaged a crank. I tended to change chain and cassette in spring so it felt good for summer. Still runs like a dream and is nearly as fun to ride as my 105 equipped TCR.

    conclusion, if you ‘want’ a better bike then buy one as you won’t be happy settling for the upgrades. You will still want a nicer bike. But the Allez CAN still stick with the fast group even without the upgrades, you just need to upgrade the rider.

     

    April 6, 2017 at 11:10 pm #890719
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    beezus fufoon
    Duncann wrote:
    gmac101 wrote:
     

    3/ Replace the brake blocks with Swiss Stop or Cool Stop blocks.

    don’t go cheap on the cable cutter

    Yep to both of those. I’m not sure I’d go to the expense of Swiss Stops next time – they are noticeably better than bog standard blocks but I might give Cool Stops a try.

    Cable cutter – it’s a long-term investment and a short-term anguish avoider. Don’t cut corners when you want to cut cables!

    I thought that swiss stops were double the price – then discovered you get 4 in a pack instead of the 2 you get with cool stops!

    April 6, 2017 at 9:22 pm #890717
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    Dnnnnnn

    gmac101 wrote:

    gmac101 wrote:
     

    3/ Replace the brake blocks with Swiss Stop or Cool Stop blocks.

    don’t go cheap on the cable cutter

    Yep to both of those. I’m not sure I’d go to the expense of Swiss Stops next time – they are noticeably better than bog standard blocks but I might give Cool Stops a try.

    Cable cutter – it’s a long-term investment and a short-term anguish avoider. Don’t cut corners when you want to cut cables!

    April 6, 2017 at 8:31 pm #890715
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    gmac101

    I had an Allez as my first

    I had an Allez as my first road bike for many years (my first was a Dawes Firefly).  Assuming you keep the bike you can go for cheap ugrade.

    1/ Replace the bottom bracket – it sounds like it needs it.

    2/ Re-cable the bike with some decent cables (I used Jagwire Racer Pro) 

    3/ Replace the brake blocks with Swiss Stop or Cool Stop blocks.

    I re-cabled and upgraded the blocks and it made a massive difference to the ultimate stopping power and the modulation. 

    Or you can replace the whole groupset. I ended  up doing this after a crash did for my right shifter. I used the new Tiagra (4700) and it was a massive improvement over the 2300 groupset I had.  You get the concealed gear shift cables and the chainset looks a lot better than the 4600 dinner plate.  The chains and cassettes are a bit cheaper than the 11 speed versions but its not a lot.

    The brake blocks on the Tiagra are OK performance wise but really bad at shedding grit and ended up turning part of one of my rims into tin foil do I replaced those

    Oh and if you do it yourself don’t go cheap on the cable cutter

     

    Gavin

    April 6, 2017 at 8:11 pm #890713
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    Rich_cb

    Personally I’d just change
    Personally I’d just change the bottom bracket, chain, cassette and possibly chainrings.

    For Sora you’re probably looking at under £50 for all of it.

    Get a basic bike toolkit for about £30 and you can do it all yourself.

    If you change all those it will feel like a brand new bike.

    I recently changed my bottom bracket and chain on my winter bike, it rides so well now and the upgrades cost me about £35.

    If you want to upgrade your brakes it may well be worth splashing on 105s or above, most reviews I’ve read say that they are noticeably better than Tiagra and below.

    April 6, 2017 at 7:36 pm #890711
    0
    nevvy

    Thanks guys, some interesting

    Thanks guys, some interesting thoughts. My LBS (or more accurately man in a shed) really pushed tiagra, suggesting I wouldn’t really notice the difference to 105 and that modern tiagra groupsets were really good. He’d charge ~£100 for fitting, plus parts, which isn’t too bad really.

    I’ll probably just do the work myself and take it to him if i get stuck.

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