Hello everyone, I have this old Specialized Allez that has sentimental value to me as it used to be my dad’s. I was wondering if you guys could give some tips on how to make the bike more upright for casual city riding? I bought some PB blaster to try and remove the aero bars as they are stuck on and then I was thinking of maybe replacing the stem with something shorter. I’m not interested in speed just making it more comfortable on my back and wrists. Thanks!
by gobullz
26 Comments
Positive angle stem. I would advise putting an ahead quill adapter so u have more stem options.
Convert it to flat bars? Very easy to go back again but it’ll shorten the reach and with some risers to get your hands higher. Very easy to convert it back if you keep all the parts. Lots of cool riser options will work with the quill stem you have currently.
Not up to me, but maybe don’t?
If it has sentimental value, do you really want this bike to be your daily beater? This is not a steel bike but early carbon, it is fragile. It looks like it is in good shape right now, using it a city bike will soon make it look all roughed up. Especially the finish will suffer on a carbon bike like this.
Just my 2 cents.
Not exactly what you asked for, but FYI that seat is pointing downwards, which usually translates to extra pressure on wrists and hands. You might want to set it close or totally parallel to the ground.
As suggested, you might need some stem adaptors but that’s what you need in order to make the reach shorter and set the bar a bit higher for a more relaxed body position. Older road bikes can be pretty diabolical when it comes to ergonomics.
Convert it to raised swept back bars.
I had a flat bar converted to that. Never going back.
Raise the stem to the minimum insertion point. Get calipers and measure the width of the bar at the stem clamp. Go somewhere like Bens Cycles online and buy a bar you like that is compatible. They have a huge selection.
Woah I like your bike
Buy a different bike.
Do yoga. Then try to ride
The simplest way is to simply get a Nitto Technomic stem, which are taller quill stems. They look good and would complement the bike very nicely . You can find them online easily, companies like Rivendell have popularized them and they still make them. You will need to unwrap the bars, take off the levers ( but you can leave them cabled up ), and switch out the stem. Slide the levers back on, rewrap the bars with new tape and presto !!
Btw those old epics were massively overbuilt, not fragile at all- you can hit those tubes with a mallet and they will be fine – in fact specialized used to send sections of the tubes to shops with the idea of doing just that. I’d ride it with no worries at all. They do tend to show unsightly corrosion at the lugs but it is not structural.
If it’s not comfortable, the fit issue is probably more in the saddle. But if you want to make a change, I’d say think of it as a good bike for faster upright rides, not locking up around town because those old glued carbon tubes are fragile.
I have a bike like this one set up with Nitto North Road bars, and it’s a really fun ride.
If you want to swap from drops, you can either get “moustache” bars or convert to the narrower standard for upright bars. Moustache bars use drop-bar levers, so you would just have to loosen, move, tighten, and hopefully the cable lengths work. Maybe stop here and use it a bit to see if you like it. This requires unwrapping and re-wrapping bar tape, a minor annoyance.
Or, you can go to upright bars, which IMO would look better. You need a handlebar, brake levers, new brake cables and housings, and grips. Also, you could save time by buying a new stem, too, and just take off the whole cockpit of the old bike. For tools, you’ll need metric hex wrenches and a housing cutter. Then remove the old cockpit by removing the stem and loosening the brake cables from the calipers. Install the new with the help of Park Tool YouTube videos: stem, handlebar, brake setup with cables long, go ride to check fit and adjust stem and see if you like the handlebar*, adjust brake cables, add grips.
I’m not a pro mechanic, but I think this handlebar swap is an approachable major change and good for getting into bike maintenance, if that’s your goal.
*… check if you want to convert to thumb shifters and do that if so…
This bike looks pretty upright already.
I’d honestly ride it for a month and see how you do.
You will be surprised how quickly your body will adapt.
Put the frame on the wall
180mm stem riser on Amazon, $15, just did mine, much more comfortable.
modern compact handlebars are a huge comfort upgrade for bikes like this. get some narrower ones and they will bring the brakes closer to you and it will be easier to ride in the drops. Otherwise, I wouldn’t do much else. This is an old rigid race bike, it’s meant to be this way. If you haven’t been riding a bike like this its going to feel weird and you probably don’t have the flexibility/core strength to handle it at this point. but you’ll get it quick enough if you ride it and you’re not horribly out of shape. Take it out on smooth roads and try and get used to it. Otherwise, I’d just put it up on the wall – feels wrong to me to completely change the front-end and try to turn it into something it’s not.
OP, I also ride my dad’s old bike. it’s super sentimental to me. all steel 90s raleigh mtb :). I had a wrench tell me once that the bike was too old and that i should hang it up and get a new one, but they turned out to be talking shite. i wasn’t satisfied with putting it on a wall and letting it get dusty. I want to ride my bike until it splits in two! obviously your bike is not steel so it will have a shorter lifespan in practice, so you may feel differently from me. just wanted to share my perspective as we’re both on our old men’s bikes :).
sounds like you’ll be riding it pretty casual, if you treat it right you could enjoy it for years. but if the thought of it breaking down is unbearable to you, maybe keeping it off the road is the answer. depends on your feelings !
I would add a stem adapter (from quill to steer tube style) and then clamp on a modern, inexpensive mountain bike stem and bars. You’d have to add some cheap mtn style brake levers, too. Probably replace brake cables while you’re at it. Then you’ll be upright, comfortable, fun to ride.
New, longer quill stem.
Good 90s 2000s on Facebook marketplace for a beater bike that probably fits better, likely for near the same cost as adapting this.
Flip the handlebars
Can you measure the seat post tube and the top tube and get back to us?
See r/bikefit
You can buy ultra long quill style stems. Nitto makes them. Would raise your bars several inches.
I’ve used these
No shame in getting bike to fit!!!
Universal Cycles — Kalloy Riser Quill Stem [AL-222-100 180MM, AL-222 60X180 BLK, AL-222 80X180 BLK] https://share.google/YJnxQgRiB3f9fCVZB
oh my favorite I love working on older bikes like this.
Get a set of modern comact drop bars. those brake levers will work on compact drops and that will facilitate reducing the reach and pushing you back. It looks like the seat is far forward and angled down which is a sign the bike is slightly oversized for the rider. Combo that with a slightly shorter stem and you should be a in a much more comfortable riding position. ( unless you want to raise the bars a lot, then I’d say consider a slightly up angle stem, but do the bars first )
I would combine that with a newer saddle.
Bikes are built to be ridden…this classic would be good for casual group rides and training. If you need to make your position more upright you can get a shorter stem with more rise.