More than a few years ago Specialized dominated the high-end aluminum road race frame market with their S-Works E5, essentially the premier option in the Allez frame concept. Light, responsive and as forgiving as any road alloy frameset could be, many elements of the design were carried over into the first Tarmac series bikes, one of which was full carbon, and one of which was a carbon/aluminum build. These bikes were game changers and raced to many victories in pro and amateur cycling. Over time, carbon fiber became the de rigueur material for road framesets and aluminum alloy models were represented in entry-level price point bikes. Specialized has reinvested in the evolution of alloy bikes over time, and the engineers have built the new Allez Sprint Disc frame directly from the design, shape, and functionality of the exceptionally advanced aero-carbon Tarmac SL7 race frameset- but in their e5 Premium alloy. The folks at Morgan Hill have deemed this Allez Sprint "the first alloy super bike". Strong words, but Specialized believes in this cost effective racing frameset concept.

It starts with the Tarmac SL7 concept- an ultra efficient race bike that handles and rides like the best competition model offered to date. Alloy bikes have traditionally had challenges with a harsh ride and susceptibility to fatigue with repeated, ultra-hard efforts, but finding the strength and ride quality was achievable. To address the ride quality issue, the engineers employed dropped seatstays, in conjunction with the Tarmac SL7’s carbon seat post and fork to make the Allez Sprint supple in the saddle and precise at the bar, while duplicating Tarmac SL7's World Championship-proven geometry for great overall race fit, handling, balance, and control.

From the strength and fatigue resistance angle, the team at Specialized tapped into their long history of working on hydroformed tubes (bottom bracket and downtube) and shapes with E5 alloy, and embracing D’Aluisio Smartweld technology. Smartweld is an engineering process that precisely matches the welded area of tube-to-tube joints, in turn allowing a better welded joint, much stronger weld areas, and ultimately a stronger, lighter frame. Yes, you can easily see the welds, but consider how the headtube, toptube and downtube are joined together. This is the highest stress area in a bicycle frame, and Smartweld is how the engineers can achieve dramatically increased frame strength at close to carbon fiber weights. They engineer the shape of the headtube to precisely match the shape of the top and down tubes where they intersect. The team also engineers the shape of the top and down tubes where they meet the head tube. These tubes are designed to intersect exactly as required without any old-fashioned mitering or fudging, and finally, material is added right at the ends of the tubes where they are welded together. The benefits of this are huge. The same concepts are seen throughout the frame, and for some traditionalists, the locations and obviousness of the welds may be a sticking point, but the welds are about strength and ensuring the stiffness and integrity of the frame maintain over thousands of the hardest sprint efforts. Feel free to dive for the winning gap, bang elbows in the final meters, and dissect the most technical descents while keeping smooth and under control at all times.

Of course all that must create speed, and in duplicating a known quantity, the Allez Sprint is the fastest alloy road bike in history, thanks to the time its sibling, the Tarmac SL7, spent in the Win Tunnel, as Specialized's. facility is known. It’s in details like the most complex alloy head tube the company has ever made and integrated cables that make it 41 seconds faster over 40km than the previous Allez Sprint. That is not a misprint. With 41 seconds gained, a competitive rider who pushes the top 10 can more easily secure a podium placement. Thanks to the use of the core race geometry of the SL7 (some minimal variations), you also get race-day handling and control to master all that speed.