In which I trade a 6 pack for a Specialized Allez

I have told this story in bits and pieces in previous posts but I thought I would put it all down in one go as this kind of a deal will never happen again.  Earlier this year I sold a 93 Allez sport that was sized 56cm because it was too small.   I had commented about it on Bike Forums, where I spend way too much time, and was lamenting about oh I wish I could find a 58 Allez.   Well as it happens a local member had a 58 cm nearly complete Allez and he was kind enough to offer it to me.

There were a few conditions; 1) I would pay him what he had paid for the bike, a stupid cheap $25 and as it happens I had just sold a pile of vintage MTB wheels for that exact amount so the bike was essentially free 2) he asked that when I completed the bike he would get the chance for a test ride - done! and 3) A 6 pack of nice Pilsner.  Since I live close to an excellent source of PNW beer that was no problem.  As I recall the Pfriem Pils was about $12, its top shelf stuff.  With that deal how could I possibly say no?

no pictured seat post and saddle

As you can see from the above the only issue with the deal was that the bike had no wheelset, which I was aware of going  in.  I did alot of looking at vintage wheelsets on ebay and new wheelsets on ebay and decided to think out of the box and look for a complete bike for cheap on CL that had 700c wheels I could salvage.

Enter the this Takara that was on CL for $75.  The ad indicated the wheels had been upgraded to 700c and I could see from the photos what I took for Mavic stickers on the rim so I figured decent quality and the bike had Suntour BarCons which are a valuable part.

When I arrived to look at the bike and saw the hubs were Ultegra I immediately paid the man without a haggle.  Score!

I ran new brake and shift cables, spent $10 at bike works for a front fender, and stem shifters, used a rear fender, 27" wheelset,tires and tubes, lightly used bar tape and a pletscher rack from the parts bin and put this bike up for sale as a winter commuter.  And it sold for $50 and I got an additonal $26 from selling the barcons on ebay.  So after all was said and done I got a really nice 700c wheelset for $10.

And so I had a 700c wheelset, I ordered a 7 speed cassette and spacer and I was all set with the Allez, not bad or a Six pack and $10 for a wheel-set right? but this tale was not over just yet....

wobler rims and Sntour GPX hubs

The same BF member who sold me the Allez alerted me to a set of vintage 700c wheels for sale on the BF sales site.  Not only were they vintage they were the EXACT spec that would have come on the Allez in 89, Wobler rims  and Suntour GPX hubs, with a rear FW hub for a 7 speed FW.  Just for the heck of it I reached out to the seller for the cost, $100 shipped to Seattle.  I resisted, I had wheels, very nice wheels, I was unemployed.... that lasted for about a day.  I talked the seller down to $90 as the wheels had been listed for months and he agreed.  I figured I could sell the Ultegra wheels and recoup my costs.  Some might say I should have just kept the Ultegra's and I can't argue that but the idea of have a nearly stock Allez really got to me and I figured if I ever sold it that would be a nice thing to advertise.

mavic open pro rims with Ultegra hubs

Just this week the Ultegra wheels sold for $100 so once again the equation reads Allez = Six pack.

My 6 pack Allez is nearly stock, the stem and bars are not and the crank was spec for a different model of Allez but everything else, including the wheel-set, is stock.  I am hoping for a few more rides before the tear down comes. I think long term if I really like the bike it will get a transformation to a compact crank, bigger gears out back and that will require a new RD and shifters.  I actually have a 7 speed mega range FW and a nice Deore LX RD so I would just need a compact square taper crank and some (probably) Shimano 7 speed indexing DT shifters.  The Suntour indexed shifters don't play well with other RDs and have a reputation for being meh in friction mode.  That's all for down the road, however,  for now it will remain stock and I will test just how hard it is for me to climb with a 39/26 low gear.

Ride. Luck into great deals. Smile. Repeat.