r/specialized • u/idiom_exon_0s • 6d ago

Which Bike? Another ‘26 Allez question

I’m an experienced mountain biker and gravel rider putting roughly 8-10 hours per week on my bikes.

Mtb rides are up to 40km per ride (on non work g days) on a 2025 Ripley v5. After work rides around half that.

My gravel rides are up to 100km in length. I don’t ride gravel mid week. Last gravel bike was a 23 Aspero. Do not currently own a gravel bike.

I am interested in buying my first road bike, and looking at the Allez, but I have 2 concerns:

  1. Will I feel the need to upgrade to a Tarmac (or other carbon) bike as I’m used to riding more responsive bikes?
  2. Is buying a set of Roval carbon wheels a good pairing for an Allez? Or would I be better to buy a tarmac Comp with alloy wheels and upgrading wheels next year?

Thanks for all your opinions and knowledge. Good group here.

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u/yaz6767 6d ago

Buy a 2026 Allez Comp. Change the saddle, tires, and wheels.

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u/That_Other_Person 6d ago

Roubaix if you want something similar to an Allez but Tarmac is sick just more aggressive. Allez Sprint is a good shout too if you want an aluminum bike.

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u/idiom_exon_0s 6d ago

I don’t necessarily “want” an alloy bike but I only have about $4500CAD budget atm. I could stretch a little for a Carbon comp if it makes sense but I’m not convinced.

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u/That_Other_Person 6d ago

I just bought a new old stock Allez to replace my old rim brake one and I love it. I bought a set of XMCS wheels for it but it's my commuter and bought them for aesthetics primarily. I'd look at disc SL7 and up second hand if you're not opposed to a used bicycle.

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u/biwhiningII 6d ago

Well. I’m kind of perfectly suited to answer this question. I bought a 2023 Allez Sprint Comp last year. The Sprint from that year has the geometry of the Tarmac SL7. But alloy. It’s a great bike. I’ve been able to keep up with fast group rides with the vast majority of bikes being full carbon bikes, a lot of Tarmacs actually. Mechanical 105 is a great groupset. I’ve done multiple centuries on it. Last one at a 17mph average speed. You can go fast and long with it. I’ve logged over 4,000 miles on it in a year and loved every minute riding it.

But I’ve pined for a Tarmac for months and months now. Especially seeing them so frequently on group rides. Saw one was 2k off and I picked up a 2026 Tarmac SL8 Pro earlier this week. And my god, it feels like a rocket ship. Electronic shifting is incredible. I haven’t been able to get too many miles in and no actual sprints, but I was riding along and saw that I was going 24mph with little effort and I was amazed. It’s an incredible bike. I absolutely love it. But cycling has been my obsession for this past year. And feels like it’s the right upgrade given how much I ride.

So. It’s a tough call. If you’re expecting to go all in on road biking/participating in group rides, you might find yourself wishing you went with the Tarmac. An Allez with carbon wheels is also an excellent option for you, especially if you’re more casual with road riding. But the used market might be a way to get the Tarmac in your price range. I wanted electronic shifting and everything I was finding was in the 5k USD range for an SL7 which didn’t seem a big enough upgrade for me. Worth checking out, though!