I’ve been on the hunt for a vintage specialized for a while now and just came across this lovely 1991 Allez Epic.
Its a fully lugged carbon frame, and I absolutely love the exposed matrix. According to the owner its been garaged since new and has been meticulously maintained.
Honestly, this thing looks awesome, but I am a bit concerned about longevity with the carbon. I am used to steel bikes so I have never considered that something like carbon could be considerably less durable. I don’t ride a ton (maybe once a week purely for a workout), but I weigh 190 and I don’t want to worry about cracking the frame or something.
Would this be a good buy at $300?
by ckamp121
4 Comments
The chief concern would be how the adhesive used to bond the carbon tubes to the metal lugs are holding up after almost 35 years.
Cool piece of wall art.
A few nice components to swap onto a frameset that is legitimately rideable.
That is not a rideable frameset.
I have one. It’s only good for hanging on the wall. This is a good example of a carbon bike that gives carbon a bad name. It’s nothing like modern carbon. A friend of mine broke three frames back in the 90s when they were new, it’s a death trap now.
I have one and despite other comments I commute on mine (5 miles each way on very rough payment) every day of the week. Take some nuance and check it out.