3 rainy days in a row. Fuck it, have to ride!
Another cold and rainy day today but been itching to ride the Allez so bad. Met up with Nick at Centennial Park this morning for a shakedown.
We did the big lap, and my legs blew out on the climb up to Paddington (still so unfit!), and got to say, whilst we descended fast I sure as hell didn’t feel confident. Brakes are awesome, but the bike is nowhere near as fun and playful as the Canyon Grizl. It actually doesn’t feel as fast either (despite every single review of the Allez Sprint suggesting it’s about as fast as it gets when you stand up and mash). The ride is also damn harsh (in comparison to the Grizl which is running tubeless on much fatter tyres) but I expected and welcome that. I’m a bit miffed to be honest as I was expecting the bike to feel really fast.
Good news is the 105 hype is real (flawless!), and most importantly the bike’s not too small for me. Specialized suggested a size up from the 49 for my height and I thought I might have to buy a longer stem or even a setback seatpost but it’s fine as is. And as much as I’d love to remove the spacers, slam the stem and cut the steerer for a more aggressive look I’m not sure it’s a smart idea as I already feel like my hands are close enough to the ground as is!
Maybe road bikes are just not my thing? Road bikes are slowly but surely becoming mountain bikes after all; wider tyres, tubeless, 650b wheels, disc brakes, compact frame geometry with sloping top tubes, threadless headsets, clutch-style rear mechs, wider axles, thru-axles, 1by drivetrains, suspension and dropper posts, all mountain bike tech which has inspired road bikes so far.
PS: If anything the Allez has highlighted just how awesome the Grizl is.