Upgrading a Specialized Allez

[AndrewK]

Hi
I wanted to upgrade some of the parts on my Specialized Allez bike gradually.
I currently go out at weekends with lots of Surrey hills to climb.
Don't have much mechanical knowledge but would like to try and fit new items myself.
The bike is set up with 18 gears, Sora brakes and original wheels and tyres.
Ideally i would like to fit an 22 gear 105 group set and mavic wheels and new tyres.
i was hoping the forum could help with four questions:
Can I purchase the wheels and fit my existing cassette on, then later when funds are available change to the 105 22 gear group set?
Is it worth having tubeless or tubed tyres?
Which is the best gear ratio for hill climbing?
Does anyone know of a good maintenance course that would be beneficial attending to help with fitting these items?
Really appreciate your help

 

[cyberknight]

Apart from closer gear range you will gain little apart from bling by going to 11 speed so smaller jumps in gear ratios or a wider range of gears with similar jumps, assuming your sora ( ?) works fine that is .
You can fit your cassette to 11 speed wheels with the correct spacer 1.85 mm afaik
only ever used tubes so cant comment .
Best gear for climbing ? depends on your fitness , spinner or grinder and the hills you ride so thats a hard one , i currently use an 11-28 and a compact double but everyone is different.
You tube is your friend regards fitting assuming you have the tools .

 

[Cycleops]

Hello and welcome to the forum Andrew.
Do you think it would be really worth it? 105 groupset and magic wheels are going to cost more than the original bike. Might be better to sell the bike and get a new/secondhand one with gear you want. Something to consider.
A 34 t cog on the cassette should take care of most hills. As for tubeless I wouldn’t know.

 

[Will Spin]

I doubt if you would notice much difference between sora and 105, not enough that would justify spending £340 or so. You might notice the difference with new wheels, depending which wheels you already have. As for tubeless v tubes, if you ride in all weathers on roads that give you a lot of punctures then it's definitely worth considering. On the other hand if you're not often blessed with a visit from the p fairy then it probably isn't worth it.

 

[AndrewK]

Hi
Probably getting ahead of myself a little then.
Yes I need to improve my fitness and definately more of a spinner on Box Hill but hope fitness improves that. I’m happy to carry on using the bike as it is until finances warrant purchasing a higher spec’ second hand bike. As you have pointed out the bike is an entry level cycle and would be perhaps over customised with the parts mentioned.
Maybe just change the tires and tubes for now.
Appreciate all your comments

 

[cyberknight]

I dont think we are saying dont upgrade,just dont expect a panacea for speed .

 

[Ajax Bay]

Please say what how many teeth your two chain rings have; what your cassette is (eg 12t - 25t); what tyres you have on and what brake blocks you are using.

There are threads on here where all and sundry suggest x or y tyre is the bees knees and also threads on brake blocks/pads. See if you can use the 'Search' function to find those threads. Rollingresistance.com is a site which listed many tyres and reviews them all, and offers a 'comparison' feature.

If you wish to improve the riding 'experience' on your Allez, in the Surrey Hills, I'd say 'don't upgrade' but do put good tyres on and use good brakes blocks/pads.
You can effect those changes with tyre levers and an allen key.
If you think you'd benefit from better low gears then maybe replace the cassette with one with a larger large sprocket, but bear in mind that the downside is that the 'jumps' (percentage change from one sprocket to the next) will be wider and you'll notice this more on a 9sp than an 11sp.
Changing a cassette requires a lockring tool and a chain whip. Neither are expensive and after a set of Allen keys, a screwdriver and a chain tool, are the first tools that you might buy.

 

[confusedcyclist]

Hi
Does anyone know of a good maintenance course that would be beneficial attending to help with fitting these items?

I learnt a lot on youtube, though you have to know about mechanics to determine if the author is selling 'rotten apples', therefore a safe bet is to go with something like this park tool book or this Haynes manual.