New Specialized Allez Sprint: The Aluminum Super Bike

Specialized has taken all the innovations and knowledge gained from developing the Tarmac SL7 and applied them to aluminum alloy with Smartweld technology to create the all-new Allez Sprint. Whether you’re chasing a national title or attacking your friends on a Sunday ride, you might visually mistake the Allez for a Tarmac SL7.

Source: Press Release

In 1974, Mike Sinyard sold his VW van and took a trip to Italy, returning home with high-end European components and beginning the long and glorious history of Specialized. In 1981, Specialized transitioned from simply distributing components to launching its first line of bicycles. This was the debut of the steel Allez. Alongside the Sequoia and Stumpjumper, the Allez quickly claimed its place as the premier racing bike on American soil.

The Allez adopted alloy in 1994 and continued to enjoy its rightful place in the hands of riders, whether beginners or experienced. But all good things come to an end. In the early 2000s, the wise Allez retired and the young and audacious carbon Tarmac took its place as the brand’s benchmark road bike. Through anniversaries, first purchases, and the used market, the Allez nurtured a new generation of cyclists, accompanying them in their progression thanks to its robust construction, accessibility, and incredible performance.

The Allez was pushed to the next level in 2013 with the genesis of Smartweld technology to create the S-Works Allez Limited. Shortly after, in 2015, the Allez Sprint was born. With its aerodynamic tube shapes, race geometry, and paint designs that belonged in the Museum Of Modern Art, this version exploded onto the Crit and Fixie scene. Accessible, flashy, stiff, explosive, and virtually unbreakable, the Allez Sprint proved to be the fastest on the market when Johnny Brown took a solo victory on his Allez Sprint ahead of a peloton of carbon bikes at the 2018 US Pro Road Champs.

2022: The Allez Sprint is back, better than ever

The new Allez Sprint is more aerodynamic, more efficient, more comfortable, and much faster. 41 seconds faster over 40 km than the Allez Sprint Peter Sagan raced at the Tour Down Under. 41 seconds faster than the bike Colin Strickland dominated the Red Hook on. One second for every year it has been in production. The story of the Allez is a story of innovation, always serving to educate each new generation, committed to the growth and development of cycling for over 40 years. Since its release, it has never been taken out of production. As American as apple pie and faster than any alloy bike ever designed by the Specialized teams. It’s an aluminum Super Bike, it’s the Allez Sprint.

The Allez Sprint is the fastest aluminum alloy road bike in Specialized history, thanks to all the time its brother, the Tarmac SL7, spent being abused in the Win Tunnel. The most complex alloy head tube ever made, integrated cables, and tube shapes borrowed from the Tarmac SL7 make it 41 seconds faster over 40 km than the previous Allez Sprint Disc.

The head tube is cut from a single piece of alloy, then mechanically formed to create a more aerodynamic head tube shape with consistent tube wall thickness and uniform upper and lower bearings for internal cable routing. The new head tube process allowed the weld points to be moved to bring Smartweld technology to new standards, but more on that later. Rather than comparing the new Allez Sprint to other aluminum bikes today, it should be compared to cutting-edge carbon bikes. The complexity of the process facilitated the simplicity of the design, allowing for unparalleled consistency in build quality, structural integrity, and, most importantly, speed. The Allez Sprint’s head tube highlights the pervasive attention to detail that went into creating the world’s first alloy Super Bike. Some might call it obsession, and they would be right. Perfection is in the details, but so is victory.

Designed for pure acceleration

The Allez Sprint won’t waste your energy. Optimized power transfer means your bike is in perfect harmony with your body. When you’re rubbing elbows and fighting for position at around 1000 watts, all you have to do is unplug.

The one-piece bottom bracket shell and down tube are hydroformed from a single piece of alloy on the new Allez Sprint and remove two weld points from the previous Allez. With only three welds at the bottom bracket shell (seat tube and seatstays), the Allez Sprint’s one-piece bottom bracket shell and down tube offer the ruthless efficiency of aluminum alloy with unprecedented stability, balancing power to the pedals directly from the handlebars. Like the new head tube, the one-piece bottom bracket shell and down tube have been meticulously designed to simplify the design and take alloy to the next level. Whether you’re attacking your friends or sprinting for the biggest win of your career, the Allez Sprint is in harmony with your every move.

Race-inspired handling

Being the fastest is a comforting feeling, but comfort can be a dirty word among racers. We’ve all spent too much time riding with shoes that are too small or with tires inflated to over 8 bar. But what does it feel like to line up at the start of a race knowing that your fitness is unmatched, your bike is faster than the competition, and you know every nook and cranny of the route? Comfortable also means confident. That’s what you’ll feel knowing you have an Allez Sprint between your legs.

Specialized has improved aerodynamics and power transfer without compromising vertical compliance thanks to the Tarmac SL7’s seatpost and fork, dropped seatstays, and 32 mm tire clearance. The seatpost and fork, which provide much of the Tarmac SL7’s ride quality, also fight for you on the Allez Sprint, as do the Tarmac’s world championship-proven geometry and 32 mm tire clearance. The brand has even spent countless hours developing new entry and exit angles for integrated cabling for smoother shifting and its first removable front derailleur hanger on an aluminum alloy bike for single chainring fanatics. Get your heart rate up and your legs burning, knowing your bike is working with you, not against you.

Smartweld: The future of alloy

To take alloy to the next level, Specialized couldn’t be limited by how alloy bikes are normally made. Smartweld bikes look different, so they will perform differently. The Allez Sprint is the fastest alloy bike the brand has ever designed, thanks to its revolutionary head tube and one-piece bottom bracket shell, all made possible by the D’Aluisio Smartweld process. The brand has pushed Smartweld to new heights on the Allez Sprint’s head tube by moving the welds backward, away from traditional weld points at the tube junctions.

Moving the welds allowed for the removal of superfluous material from the head tube, promoted a uniform result across all bikes built, and minimized stress on high-stress areas, ensuring every rider the same stunning ride quality. Welding is still done in a groove for a stronger, more integrated weld, simply doing it in the best possible position to create quality welds that offer the best road behavior and withstand the tests of time and the road.

The one-piece bottom bracket shell and down tube are the second pieces of the puzzle. Hydroformed from a single piece of alloy, they eliminate unnecessary welds and maximize power transfer and structural integrity.

It was time to rethink what was possible with alloy. Alloy is not carbon, but that doesn’t mean it’s simply a “budget” material. Moving the head tube welds to maximize Smartweld‘s potential is one of the innovations that make the Allez Sprint the first true alloy Super Bike.

Specialized didn’t start building the new Allez Sprint a few years ago, but 41 years ago. 41 years of blood, sweat, tears, and tarmac have contributed to making the Allez Sprint the future of alloy. The Allez has always had one boss – the rider – and it defines itself around the needs of future riders. When American cyclists needed a European-quality road machine in the early 80s, the Allez was born. When young racers were redefining what American cycling was in the 2000s, the Allez Sprint became their tool of choice. And in 2022, amidst a peloton of high-end carbon bikes, the new Allez Sprint takes on the status of the fastest alloy bike ever designed by the Specialized teams.

Models and prices

Allez Sprint LTD – Sram Force eTap AXS 1x – Roval Rapide CL wheels: €7500
Allez Sprint Comp – Shimano 105 Disc – DT Swiss RT 470 wheels: €3300
Allez Sprint Frameset: €1800

Contact: specialized.com

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