Melbourne based photographer Curt Liddell is our first new ZEN contributor, his first assignment; WTAC! Nick and I had him over at my place last night for intros. Turns out we’ve got a LOT in common (photography, cars and… guitars!). Guy is legit, good times ahead! Check out his work here: https://www.csqpic.com
Since I’m not running a front derailleur I removed the derailleur hanger and found this Specialized block-off plate to cover the 2 mount holes.
S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.
S-Works Evade 3. Aero bike calls for an aero helmet!
UPDATED SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp Size 49 in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil
GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette 10-36, SRAM RED 1 AXS crankset 165mm 50t AERO chainring.
WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, ENVE SES 27mm tyres, Shimano Ice-Tech centerlock rotors.
COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem 110mm -12 degree, Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat and stem cover kit, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars 380mm, Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Specialized S-Works Power saddle 143mm & carbon rail clamp, S-Works Tarmac FACT Carbon seatpost 20mm offset, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.
WEIGHT: 7.62kg.
Poke your tongue out.
Sam’s FACTOR.
Went for a ride today with Sam (mechanic at CCACHE). He messaged before we met up to let me know that it was super windy (he was concerned about crosswinds affecting my deep 65mm rims). By the time I read it I was already en-route. When I got to the park I literally saw a 10ft branch fall out of a tree, the wind so strong it was shaking my car. The weather forecast said 45 km/h winds, damaging winds possible. End of the day we were both there, so fuck it, lets see how we go. Turns out it was sketchy fun, and the closest I’ve felt to mountain biking in a long while!
Before.
After.
Gone are the days of old where you could just reach into your parts bin and make shit work. Everything is proprietary these days. Getting the S-WORKS Tarmac SL7 stem to fit on an Allez Sprint took a whole lot of fuckery, but we got there in the end! I needed a custom 3D printed spacer, the stem, a bat cable kit to attach the 2 brake lines to the stem, a stem cover plate kit and last of all (the bit I had forgotten and came in the mail today), a special top cap which the stem cover clips down on.
Laps at the park with Nick.
Yup… finally caved in and bought some cycling glasses. Still think they look fucking stupid, but secretly they’re actually really light and they fit well too!
I’ve only been out on a couple of rides so far but the 1kg savings is massive and the electronic shifting blows my mind.
The bike just feels SO fast.
Before the upgrades I was just doing slow laps around Centennial Park, but on the shakedown ride I quickly realised that this thing now just eggs you on to ride harder and faster. It’s a night and day difference from my Canyon Grizl. The Grizl is super playful and fun, but the Allez… it’s trying to kill me!
PS: Happy with the cockpit setup, the narrower bars and having the levers pointed inwards probably attributes to the feeling of more speed, yet it still feels good when sprinting out of the saddle on the hoods too. Still dialling in the saddle height and fore/aft position as I’m feeling pressure on my hands. The pedals have really loose float that feels super sketchy in comparison to Shimano SPD’s (which were crazy tight but the float felt really right). Just a reminder once again that weight weenie stuff usually comes at a compromise.
SPECS: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint Comp Size 49 in Tarmac Black/Brushed Foil
GROUPSET: SRAM RED AXS E1 rear derailleur, shifters and calipers, SRAM DUB BB, SRAM Red AXS E1 chain, SRAM RED AXS E1 cassette 10-36, SRAM RED 1 AXS crankset 165mm 50t AERO chainring.
WHEELS & TYRES: ENVE 65 Foundation wheelset, ENVE SES 27mm tyres, Shimano Ice-Tech centerlock rotors.
COMPONENTS: S-Works Tarmac SL7 stem 110mm -12 degree, Tarmac SL7 stem cable bat and stem cover kit, RaceWare 3D printed spacer, Specialized Roval Rapide handlebars 380mm, Burgh Lightning Bar Tape, Specialized S-Works Power saddle 143mm & carbon rail clamp, S-Works Tarmac FACT Carbon seatpost 20mm offset, Xpedo Thrust SL titanium pedals, Specialized front derailleur mount cover, S-WORKS bottle cage bolts.
WEIGHT: 7.67kg.
Heavy panting… the Sprint is done!
Eugene and I both running the bars back in 1990.
Saw these on eBay USA. Had to have them! Hopefully they make their way to a retro MTB build one day.
Me.
Nanami.
Caught up with Nanami and Atsuko and checked out an AMAZING exhibition by Hiroshi Sugimoto at the MCA. Ran into Leslie too who’s currently working at the MCA! Good times!
There’s some OG Zen merch left and Nick came over to shoot it as well as do a stock count. Next step is to start up the ZEN Online Shop, again!
