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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle After |
Yesterday I started work on this 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite. This is the first Specialized bicycle I have worked on that has the metal frame lugs and the carbon fiber frame tubes. I like the looks of the lugs, they have a heavy duty look to them and the silver finish contrasts the carbon tubes very nicely.
The components are pretty nice on the Specialized Allez. Shimano 105 brake calipers, derailleurs and crank along with Shimano integrated brake and shift levers. The wheel hubs are also Shimano 105 and the rims are Wolber.
The Specialized will receive a complete restoration along with new cables, cable housings, new tires and tubes and new handlebar tape. The current saddle will stay as its pretty nice and in really good condition. I really like the fork on the Specialized, what I like about it is it has an unusual beefy look to it, its a cool affect.
I am excited to complete the Specialized Allez Epic and get a few test rides on it to compare it to the Trek Composite which has surprised me in its ride.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Handlebars |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Stem |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Brake |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Hub |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Shimano Shift/Brake Lever |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Brake/Shift Lever |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Stem |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Fork |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Down Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Seat Lug Area |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Seat Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Crank |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Derailleur |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Seat Lug |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Brake Caliper |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Wheel Hub |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Before - Wheel Rim |
I stripped the frame of its components, the frame is in descent shape and looks even better in photos mainly because of the black color of the carbon fiber and the silver lugs. When I polish everything out the frame will look even better.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before Down Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before Allez Decal |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Seat Lug |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Bottom Bracket |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Seat Lug |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Rear Brake Bridge |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Drop Outs |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Fork |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Before - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Before Fork Drop Outs |
The frame polished very nicely, the photos don't do it justice, the carbon tubes shine very nicely and the cleaned and polished lugs look great. The lugs have a clear lacquer on them so they where polished as if they where lacquer. I am happy with the frame polishing, I think the Specialized is going to be one mean looking bike.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Top Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Down Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Down Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Seat Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Seat Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Bottom Bracket |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Seat Lug |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Rear Brake Bridge - Got to remove wax from bridge hole! |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Drop Outs |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Chain Stays |
The fork also polished very nicely, the fork crown looks amazing, as I said before I really like this fork, we will see how it rides.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Fork |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Frame Polished - Fork Crown |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Frame Polished Fork Drop Outs |
The headset is mostly painted pieces. I cleaned all the pieces and bearings. With the pieces cleaned I hand polished the paint and installed the headset. The headset turned out better then I was expecting, the black paint really polished nice and the bearings really set and spin nicely. I am happy with the headset.
The bottom bracket is a modern cartridge bottom bracket, the bottom bracket still is tight and spins very well so I just cleaned what I could. The bottom bracket looks great installed and cleaned.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Headset Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Headset Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Headset Bearing Cups - Pressed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Headset Bearing Cups - Pressed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Headset Bearings Packed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Headset - Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bottom Bracket Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bottom Bracket Cleaned |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bottom Bracket Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket - Complete |
The stem and handlebars are dirty but in good shape. The stem has a lacquer finish so polishing had to be by hand. I cleaned the stem and handlebars and polished the hardware on the power polisher. The stem and handlebars came out very nice, they will look great with the new handlebar tape installed.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Handlebars Stem - Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Handlebars Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Stem & Handlebars - Isntalled |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem Handlebars - Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Complete |
The crank is a very nice Shimano 105 crank, however I am not a fan of painted crank arms, it makes it very difficult to bring the crank arms pack to new, the paint gets dirty and scraped and hand polishing just does not make them quite as nice as I like.
I cleaned all the pieces and hand polished the crank arms and chain rings. I power polished the chain ring bolt and crank bolts which really helps make a difference. After assembling the crank ti looks pretty good and looks even better installed. overall I am happy with the results of the crank even being painted.
The Rear derailleur is also a very nice Shimano 105 derailleur. I rode this derailleur for a while in the past and was happy with it. Again, I am not a big fan of painted components but the rear derailleur did clean nice and polished pretty good, I think the rear derailleur turned out pretty nice and after lubricating all the pivot points it functions fantastically.
The front derailleur is a little rough starting out. I polished all the areas I could on the power polisher and then hand polished the painted pieces, over all the derailleur came out pretty darn good and I think it looks great installed.
The integrated shift/brake levers where a nightmare. When I started out they where not shifting at all. After inspecting it looked like the entire internals where covered in some sort of grease that crystallized or turned to almost a hard amber covering everything. I flushed them many times and spent quite a bit of time removing the hard stuff with small tools. Eventually I got the shift/brake levers to work very well after lubricating. With the levers working I polished the alloy parts that I could and installed the levers, in the end they turned out very nice and look pretty good polished.
The brake calipers are nice dual pivot Shimano 105's. They are great brakes, I just wish they where not painted but they really did clean up nice and polish nice by hand. I am happy with the results and the brakes function very smoothly after flushing and lubricating the pivot points. In the photos of the calipers installed I forgot the adjustment barrel springs which I later installed.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Crank - Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Crank Exploded |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Crank Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Crank - Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Crank - Installed |
The Rear derailleur is also a very nice Shimano 105 derailleur. I rode this derailleur for a while in the past and was happy with it. Again, I am not a big fan of painted components but the rear derailleur did clean nice and polished pretty good, I think the rear derailleur turned out pretty nice and after lubricating all the pivot points it functions fantastically.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Derailleur Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Derailleur Exploded |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Derailleur Poished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Derailleur Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Rear Derailleur - Installed |
The front derailleur is a little rough starting out. I polished all the areas I could on the power polisher and then hand polished the painted pieces, over all the derailleur came out pretty darn good and I think it looks great installed.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Derailleur Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Derailleur Exploded |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Derailleur Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
The integrated shift/brake levers where a nightmare. When I started out they where not shifting at all. After inspecting it looked like the entire internals where covered in some sort of grease that crystallized or turned to almost a hard amber covering everything. I flushed them many times and spent quite a bit of time removing the hard stuff with small tools. Eventually I got the shift/brake levers to work very well after lubricating. With the levers working I polished the alloy parts that I could and installed the levers, in the end they turned out very nice and look pretty good polished.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake/Shift Levers - Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake/Shift Levers - Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake/Shift Levers - Complete |
The brake calipers are nice dual pivot Shimano 105's. They are great brakes, I just wish they where not painted but they really did clean up nice and polish nice by hand. I am happy with the results and the brakes function very smoothly after flushing and lubricating the pivot points. In the photos of the calipers installed I forgot the adjustment barrel springs which I later installed.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake Calipers Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake Calipers Exploded |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake Calipers Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Brake Calipers Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Front Brake Caliper - Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Rear Brake Caliper - Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Rear Brake Caliper - Installed |
The seat post is very light, surprisingly light. I do not know where the before photos have gone so the the two photos below are after photos. I am happy with the seat post and saddle, actually very happy.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Seat Post Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Seat Post & Saddle - Installed |
The shift cable adjuster that attach to the down tube polished very nicely and look fantastic. These adjusters however tell me that the integrated shift/brake levers are not original to the Speciallized Allez Epic. You can see in the photo of the adjuster installed that they do not fit flush to the frame because of the chrome pieces that is in the way, that chrome piece was for down tube shift levers. I tired to remove that chrome piece but it is connected to the frame. I am curious the story behind putting the integrated levers on and when it happened, they make for a really cool bike. I always like stories for the history of a bicycle.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Down Tube Adjustment Barrels - before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Down Tube Adjustment Barrels - Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Down Tube Adjustment Barrels - Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Down Tube Adjustment Barrels - Installed - This is the fit I mentioned above. |
The pedals are in good shape considering the beating pedals take. I cleaned the pedals and polished them by hand and then did a lot of touch up paint work. They turned out pretty goos and spin pretty good.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Pedals Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Pedals Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Pedals Installed |
Just a small thing but polished water bottle cage bolts make all the difference in a restoration.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Water Bottle Cage Bolts - Polished & Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Water Bottle Cage Bolts - Polished & Installed |
Ate first glance I thought the wheels where the same until I polished the rims, the front rim is actually a replacement rim or maybe the rear is, I don't know at the moment. They where such a nice match that I didn't even notice.
I cleaned the wheels and polished the wheels hubs and rims. I then packed the bearings and installed the axles. New Continental Ultra Sport tires along with new tire tubes. The wheels really turned out nice and the black wall tires really give it a mean look! I am really happy with the wheels.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Rear Wheel - Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Cleaned |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Bearings - Packed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Wheel Axle Hardware Cleaned & Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration New Continental Ultra Sport Tires |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Rear Wheel - Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Front Wheel - Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Rim Before |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Old Grease |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Rim Polished |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Front Wheel Bearings Packed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Front Wheel - Compelte |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Front Wheel Rim - Replacement Rim?? |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Wheels Complete |
Lats thing on the list for the Specialized Allez Epic is to install the cables, cable housings and handlebar tape. The black handlebar cork tap is going to complete the mean look of the Specialized and again I chose the Ice Gray cable housings that go very well with everything.
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - New Bits & Pieces |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Cables Run |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Cables Run |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Handlebar Tape Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Handlebar Tape Installed |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Handlebars |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Handlebars |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Stem |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Head Tube |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Brake |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Wheel Hub |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Wheel Rim |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Stem |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Front Half |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Saddle Area |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Drive Train |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Crank |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Derailleur |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Brake |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration Bicycle Complete - Rear Derailleur |
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| 1993 Specialized Allez Epic Composite Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Wheel |
John Z.
What a gorgeous resto! The carbon tubes against the polished lugs is stunning. I have wondered how "old" composite bears up but those 22 year old carbon tubes look good. I agree with you on painted components - what were they thinking!- but you brought them back nicely.
ReplyDeleteLooking to doing a similar restore with upgraded parts. Are the forks 1 inch diameter and how long is the steering stem? Or do you know of a site that list the specs/sizes of components compatible with that frame? Overall really sharp bike.
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ReplyDeleteI admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much. bike seats for women
ReplyDeleteI have one of these bad boys .... but with downtube shifters and in red and black; same Shimano 105 components. Have replaced the wheels and wish I could swap out the 7-speed cassette with something more accommodating to my aged legs. Agreed, the steel lugs & carbon frame look is amazing. Great in-city commuter bike!
ReplyDelete