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Heads up about Tredz and Specialized -(Allez Elite)
I just wanted to give a heads up about the 2 companies and their shocking attitude.
I bought an Allez Elite last November,I did under 2,000 miles on it,the bottom bracket (a Praxis) fell apart,and the chain rings needed replaced.Tredz said sorry no warranty,(it still hasn't run out yet),as wear and tear.The big ring was hardly used as rode the bike in winter months and apart from a tail wind never used the big ring.The bike has been a pile of crap from new.They sell it as a winter bike,with mudguard eyes,the bike comes with 25mm tyres.I couldn't fit full mudguards as clearance wasn't enough.I asked them about this, and got told to buy clip on guards? Really,so why put mudguard eyes on it?.I checked the reviews on here,as I always do when wanting new gear/kit.I got the Flinger race pro clip mudguards which are great.So why class it as a winter bike.To have a bill of £190 to replace the bottom bracket and chain rings was totally unexpected.I have ridden for over 45 years and never ever had a bottom bracket fall apart or chain rings wear out in under 2,000 miles.Normally I change tyres,brake blocks,cables,and chain ,long before a bottom bracket.I always had Campagnolo groupsets and have all the tools to do my own maintenance,repairs etc.I was knocked off my bike last year before buying this bike.I suffered x2 fractures to skull,2 bleeds on the brain,among other minor injuries,the hardest injury was my bike was destroyed,hence needing one and buying this after recomendations.After my injuries I thought I would use my LBS,I didn't have the tools for Praxis or shimano stuff,being a Campagnolo man 
and it would work out cheaper in long run.(That didn't pan out )
I didn't want to go the carbon route after seeing my bike.The good thing was the price was excellent for what I wanted.It rides well and is comfortable,but surely under 2,000 miles you wouldn't expect to be replacing BB and chain rings.I checked my chain and cassette and they are still newish,the chain tool shows chain still as new.So I don't get how it happened.No help from tredz, not even a reply from specialized.I won't be using either ever again.I usually do 10k miles a year and as I say never had BB trouble before.Sorry about long post,just needed it off my chest,and hopefully helps others do their homework on any bike you buy from these people.Stay safe folks and enjoy your bike.
PS not looking for sympathy from accident,as I'm still alive and kicking ,others not been so lucky.Oh and I bought a Merckx Strasbourg 71 gravel/winter bike and it's superb.Already passed 3k miles on it and no failures
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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15 comments
Impressive wearing chainrings in 2000 mile especially praxis rings which are all cold forged rather than CNC machined this should make them last longer. Have you got pics because honestly I don't believe it.
So I'm a liar then. It cost me £189 of which £120 of that was for the chainrings.
Or maybe you think the LBS ripped me off.@Sims cycle work shop.
As for your comment you can shove it.I am not happy about it as you may tell.I have NO reason to make shit up.I can prove mileage on strava too if needed.Comments like yours help nobody.
The rings are on their way back to specialized.
Not an especially useful comment for the OP, but for balance Tredz were excellent when the paint on my Orbea started to bubble. Again, that will be Orbea accepting it as a warranty issue. Tredz sent me a box to send the whole bike back, arranged the courier, rebuilt the bits on the new frame and then sent it back to me. No fuss.
Chainrings and bb's are unfortunately consumable items so it's almost just bad luck if they need replacing after such a short time. It's hard for you to prove the low mileage too. I've had bb's fail/seize in much less than 2000 miles. Most do last longer though. I vaguely remember praxis as having a reputation for soft chainrings.
mtbtomo Glad they were decent with you,it's how you would hope a large company would deal with issues.Praxis wasn't a name I'd heard of,being a campag.man,and wish I hadn't heard of them.I'm putting bike up for sale as bought an Eddy Merckx Strasbourg 71 and so far it's been great.Appreciate your time to reply,all the best
Yeah, sorry about your experience - i would normally have hoped to post something a bit more useful. I think my experience is mostly down to Orbea, the manufacturer, accepting the issue as much as the shop.
I get the impression Specialized are such a big company and generally their products get good write ups and popularity that they unfortunately don't care for problems like yours. I'd avoid Specialized more than the shop itself.
My current main bike I've put over 3300 miles on since I've built it, 99.7% in the big ring, all weather, plenty of gravel and rain, weekly lubrication. The big ring has no noticeable wear and the chain is still at less than 0.5% wear.
External bottom brackets are consumables, but the least amount miles I've had one last is 6000 miles, nearly 10000 km. My SKF bottom bracket has a ten year warranty.
I had bad luck/ service with a really badly prepared bike. I then had the opposite experience with my Vitus Substance from Chain Reaction- admirably prepared and the best general bike I've ever had. I think positive reports by ordinary riders on a forum could help people to buy bikes.
The BB failure is really disappointing but does the chainring really need replacing? Even on 2000 wet miles I can't see how it would unless made of cheese?
Personally I've never, ever seen the allez as a winter bike. No discs which in the modern era, is the main thing but also, it's always been their standard cheap route into road cycling, as opposed to all weather winter bike / commuter. Maybe they've changed their marketing for this recently or something...I did look at this bike a couple years back but it was clearly not gonna be suitable.
Yeah, they've marketted it more as a commuter rather than winter bike per se, but obviously the ability to take mudguards, the threaded BB, the (claimed) tyre clearance, all added up to it making a great 'fast' winter road bike.
The rim brake thing is a bit short sighted in my opinion, it's a real shame manufacturers are abandoning them with such haste (makes you wonder what's in it for the bike manufacturers, better profit margins perhaps?) because a rim brake bike can be cheaper, lighter and simpler than a disc brake equivalent. I don't even believe rim brakes are that much inferior to discs but perhaps that's a setup thing, the Tektro brakes on the Allez (with good pads) have been absolutely fine for my purposes on grotty wet Scottish Central Belt farm roads. Negligible rim wear after 4000km also. My bike with disc brakes has been left in the garage ever since as I could never stop them squealing when they got cold and wet (e.g..... winter conditions!).
Hi EB thanks for the input.I only had the LBS owners word that the rings were spent.I'm not allowed to drive after brain injury,kind of daft that like. (just glad I can ride my bike) So when the BB fell to bits I got the bike picked up and took in straight away.I don't think,and hope he didn't rip me off,as he said rings especially big ring was like a fish hook ? Honestly I hardly used it as always keep a high cadence during winter,and big ring only in when a Howling wolf is on my back.They did market the Allez as a winter bike,and to be fair I thought I had got a bargain.In all my years riding a bike,and using campag.I have never ever had a BB disintegrate like this one.I changed them often but would be 15k miles on them.Less than 2k on this one.I started to use Strava,as if it's not on there you didn't do it
I could check up and do exact mileage,but it's way less than 2000 miles.I had to bite the bullet to use shimsham/praxis 
and may bite another and use Zwift this winter 
On a good note I got an Eddy Berckx ooops Merckx Strasbourg 71 which is a cracking bike for winter and a bit off road riding.Matches my good bike same stable,cheers again for reply
Glad to hear you're now on a bike you're happy with. I had a bad experience with a Trek a few years back that kept going wrong (luckily covered under warranty) but swopping it for something else was a great move in the end.
Happy riding!
Welcome to the bike industry sadly, marketing trumps accurate product descriptions and nobody will take any responsibility for products wearing out quickly. All the reviews and marketting of the Allez make it seem like the perfect winter bike but notice nowhere does it actually state 'mudguards will fit with 28mm tyres' etc. it's just implied...
I bought an Allez as well, changed the cranks to Shimano (due to wanting shorter length) so perhaps dodged a bullet if Praxis stuff wears out quickly, shame as they seemed nice cranks. The mudguard and tyre issue frustrated me also, although this isn't 100% Specialized's fault, they say clearance for 28mm tyres which is technically correct, but it seems that most 25mm tyres actually measure up closer to 28mm on modern rims! I tried some 28mm Continental tyres and they were far too tight for comfort.
Similarly the mudguard clearance was disappointing but it can be made to work, just requires lots of fiddling. I got some SKS guards to work with the stock tyres (e.g. the ones which measure up 27mm wide) by chopping the rear guard either side of the brake calliper and glueing a section of old innertube between the two halves to protect the underside of the brake. It required a PDW 'Z' bracket to hold the rear half of the guard but it works fine. I also chopped the front guard so that it stops at the back of the fork crown, no clearance issues!
Hi Ian thanks for the reply.It seems to me specialized never put too much thought into the bike.Mudguard eyes, yet the tyres supplied on the bike don't allow clearance for them.I bought these,after reading report on here.
https://road.cc/content/review/242413-flinger-race-pro-clip-mudguards
They are good,but it didn't make sense to me having to use these when mudguard eyes are on frame.Your idea seems similar to these flinger's,but a lot cheaper
and a good idea.I'm still annoyed @Tredz and more so Specialized for the unhelpful attitude and poor after sales.How can the chain rings wear out yet the chain still as new ? I put my chain guide tool on and chain is fine.The tool indicating still as new.I forgot to mention that my back wheel seized also.I clean my bike after every ride with bamboo wipes,or if really filthy the magic sponge and soap and water,never a hosepipe.I also use degreaser on the chain and cassette.I have tried the bike when I got it back just to make sure everyone is hunky dory,but It's going to be sold as don't want to have to replace those items twice a year,if that's all the mileage you get through wear and tear.It's crazy.My good bike (summer one) has done 7k miles this year and no sign of any wear and tear,apart from fitting new tyres.
I won't be using tredz or have anything by specialized again,that's for sure.
It's a shame as the bike could be good with a bit more thought into it.Oh and a campag.groupset
To be fair this probably isn't so much Tredz, but Specialized dictating what is and isn't covered by warranty. Still disappointing.
I have one of these Allez and I also find the whole mudguard eyelet provision - yet insufficent clearance for guards - thing to be hugely frustrating.
I've bought new guards for mine for this winter and have set aside an afternoon for fashioning brackets, amending designs in order to get them to fit.
Also, the stock wheels that come on the bike... they are dire. The rim surface is so soft, which makes them wear fast, however in doing so, they leave alloy shards in your blocks, which unless you check them after nearly every ride, utterly destroys your rims. Oh and the rear hub design, it developed play after about 10 hours riding which can not be removed.
I also swapped the cranks on purchase, so all fine there, however the headset lasted all of a couple of months before letting go. Looking at these bearings, there were literally no further cost savings Specilaized could have eeked out when speccing the headset...
And finally, the finish... in under two years there is corrosion bubbling under the paint around the holes where the cables enter the frame.
All in all, not fit for purpose, any real purpose.
Hi Jimmy Ray Will.You are correct about tredz after reading the original post.I should have copied and pasted their emails,and condescending manor.I was shocked to be honest.I thought my name must be Joe Soap the village idiot.They were so quick to wash their hands of it.Despite the warranty still not out yet.
The mudguards I bought for it are really good very little U2 moments (Rattle and Hum) I put a link up earlier,and didn't pay what they are now.It's great that both you and Ian can fettle things yourself,but in honesty Why should you have to.It's sold as a winter bike,so why can we not fit full guards.
Sorry to hear about the headset.I will check mine before I sell the bike.
I don't think specialized put to much thought into this model at all.I bet Peter Sgan,and Alaphillipe don't have specialized winter bikes
cheers for taking the time to reply,same to the rest of you,it's much appreciated.
We need to get this forum bouncing again with our reviews,good and bad,all the best.The pitman (I'm not flying anymore)