Specialized Allez 2018
Stats
Price - £600
Frame - E5 Premium Aluminium
Cassette - Sunrace, 8-speed, 11-32t
The Allez is a great road bike for people getting into road cycling. For the price you get a great bike and with the usual Specialized quality. If you want to try road cycling before spending big money on a bike then this bike is a great buy.
The E5 premium aluminium frame is a good light frame and allows for some good speed. The tyres are 25mm which allows for good ride comfort for a road bike whilst still being thin enough to keep good pace.
The gear shifts are clean and the range of gears is good. It would be better to have a slightly higher top gear to really reach top speed when heading down steep hills. When we first got this bike we rode it hard for testing and managed to break the chainset which was a bit disappointing. The pedal thread had sheared and the pedal fell off during a ride! To Specialized credit they did replace the chainset for free under warranty and with an upgrade to the Shimano Claris R2000.
As with many road bikes the stock toe cage pedals are pretty basic, but at least you have something to ride it back from the shop with. I would recommend replacing them as soon as possible as I found it difficult to apply maximum pressure to the pedal with the size being a little small.
This is a really great bike for getting into road cycling if you are thinking of taking it up especially as the prices of higher end bikes can price people out. It is an enjoyable bike to ride and great for taking on some events too.