Submitted by
Craig Pavia
a Road Racer
from New York, New York
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2003
Strengths: nice blend of acceleration and stiff ride. Fairly light at 17.4 LBS for a 56cm after some part tweeks. Flashy paint job. Pro pedigree thanks to the now defunct Festina team (Beloki rode the bike during the 2000 tour). Forks and saddle are great, Frame almost.
Weaknesses: A shade too stiff for non-sprinters. Lacks high level finishing components (see above)of it's chief rivals. OEM wheels need the trash bin by now, even if never ridden. Replace with a more forgiving wheelset like Shimano 7700's.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the 99 SWorks M4, not an Allez like many of the reviews that are in this search (Ultegra on an S-Works?). I have owned the bike since it hit the cover of Bicycling Mag nearly 4 years ago. The bike is probabley 1 cm to large for me at 56cm, but I've done a good job of making it fit with a new stem and bar combo from 3TTT. The M4 is stiff thanks to the oversized aluminum tubes that are manipulated with other metals, but is still aluminum at heart. It reminds me of the early Cannondales in-terms of acceleration, but also adds a nice ride which my 'Canon R600' did not have. I use the "nice" in comparison only to the 'R600' however, as many other modern machines offer a more supple ride in the same "high-end" category. I think the M4 is a good bike that missed the mark set by the 5000-Series by Trek and the CAAD Street-Rods produced by Cannondale. I never liked the Ritchey bars and low end stem...They begged to be replaced day one. I also could include the headset and seatpost, but they were not quite begging to go. The wheel set that came with the bike was terrible (Mavic CXP-33) and was trashed by even the 'softies' at Bicycling. Tires were good, but they were color coded with the black and red theme...Very cheesy in my opinion. At the time the one inch Headset/stem standard on all top end bikes hand changed to 1 1/8, except for Specialized, so if you purchase this bike used be ready to retro-fit to a one inch steerer combo. The Time forks are outstanding, light and wonderful on the road, they do a good job of masking the super-stiff rear of the bike. As a matter of fact I added the same forks to my Vitus they are so good. Oddly the folks at Specialized tried to sabotage them by using cheap headset components instead of the "carbon saving" FSA expander. I had to dig out a 'star' nut that was wedged into the carbon steerer...Very bad.
Favorite Ride: 9W to Piermont or Central Park in the rain
Purchased At: Direct
Similar Products Used: I've ridden almost every major competitor to this bike. The 5500 from Trek is a better bike, but the boyz from Wisconsin can keep the graphics. The Cannondale CAAD 5 was about the same as the S-Works
Bike Setup: S-Works M4 (Black & Red); OEM w/Ritchey bars, mutant stem, Mavic CXP-33 rims, Ahead headset, Specialized Pro saddle, the balance in Shimano's superb Dura-Ace group. OEM weight was 18LBS even.
Weaknesses: Weld at the drop outs.
I seems to have stress concentatration in the holes that secures rear derailleurs metal insert to the alluminium frame. It broke exactly in this point.
Bottom Line:
I bought my Specialized Allez Comp in 1999 and ride it only a few weekends and once a week in the morning.In April 2002 I start riding 40 miles each morning, and also loose 20 pounds in 3 months.But two weeks ago the frame snapped the drop out on the drive side.Now I´m waiting an answer form Specialized for their 5 year warranty
Similar Products Used: Trek 2300 carbon / alluminium
Bike Setup: Full Ultegra Group
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Steve G
a Road Racer
from Hackensack NJ USA
Date Reviewed: May 8, 2001
Strengths: Stiff as a rock in the drive train, yet relatively supple due to fork and stem. Record 10speed in great. Having been a long term dura-ace guy, i am not sure you can say anything negative about performance on either, but a) carbon looks is pretty neat b) performance is wonderful. it shifts almost silently c) functionaly, the ability to drop 4 or more geats with a single thumbclick is great when you couple it with ability to drop the chain from a big to small chainring. krys. wheels are great. i'm about 190 pounds and havnet had any problems and i've definately whaled into somethings at 40mph. The paint job is gorgeous, maybe too 'team' oriented for smeone clearly not making it on the team buts its very nice. As a larger rider and somoene who powers over a lot of stuff rather than the more 'smooth climbers', the aluminum makes a difference. i race expert level mtb on their team specialize off road. a great experience having ridden a breezer for about 6 years.
Weaknesses: None per se that I would consider negative to buying the bike. Luckily they didnt spec too much Specialized OEM stuffa s they did on my team mtn rig. At 4grand, toss in the pedals. If we are simply looking for negatives, i'd woudl have rather the bike cost 2grand or for that matter, send me one for free. no negatives at this time.
Bottom Line:
First, the bike is the 2001 Festina Campy Record Group w/ Krys. wheels. Secondly, I used to own Cayuga Mountain Bike Shop in upstate gorgeous Ithaca NY and somehow, in a strange haze, traded out of the bike industry and got involved in the financial industry, which, outside of the seemingly negative effects on a prior ability to hammer on the hills, has worked out pretty well.
I bot the bike from a great little shop that offered me a wonderful deal. The shop is in brooklyn a place i had never visited until i bot my bike. This shop is great, tucked away in not such a nice neightborhood but once within the doors, stocked to the gills with upperend equipment, bikes and all the knick-knacks a highend guy would ever want. The guys there are great, offering me personalized appointments when picking up the bike to finalize sizing on stems and fitting pedals, saddle position etc., served up with juice and a muffin. They offered me such a good deal, i felt guilty and bot just about every other thing i needed, probably giving back a lot of all the discount they offered me. Well worth it.
Anyway, the bike rocks and while I used to be a person that frowned on the selection of off-the-shelf production rigs for my own personal rides, now having races the specialized on the mtn side and love that bike, and now really digging this bike, i think there is a certain benefit in keeping a grand or so in your pocket and going with a production performance machine. At the end of the day, if you are bike affectionado, you might be looking at a new rig every few years (i might even say every year though I dont as much as i used to when i owed the shop) and from an efficiency perspective, maybe its reasonable to keep your cash in your pocket.
Want to meet some cool people who know a ton about biking, where a neat spaniard 16 year old that knows campy inside and out will meticulously put your rig together and cater to your wishes at a discount rate....call mr. c's . tell them steve G recommended you. btw. i have no affiliation other than i hate high end pretentious shops (you get a lot of them in north jersey), love high end shops by bikers for bikers.
Similar Products Used: Breezer Dura-Ace; excellent bike, for smaller lighter ride, not as explosive for heavier dudes or dudets; Cannondale R3000 - tested, great bike, not bought. opted to go higher end.
Bike Setup: Record 10spd; Krys wheel, zepp stem, OEM setup.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Nick Tosques
a Road Racer
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2001
Strengths: Stiffnes,lightness
Weaknesses: poor graphic/color
Bottom Line:
If you want instant response from pedal input this is what you need. Super fast at acclerating. Climbs become easy.Cornering and going downhill through turns is always a pleasure at maximum speed. The short chainstays make for great stiffness which gives you a great sprint, but there is no wheel hop to worry about.I won the nationals masters in Canada on this bike.
Strengths: Great ride, stable at speeds, stiff but suprisingly smooth
Weaknesses: The welds at the drop outs
Bottom Line:
I really dug this bike, BUT and it is a big BUT the frames don't prove to hold up. I received my S-works as a warranty replacement November 99 for the Allez comp I had purchased June of 99. I snapped the drop out on the drive side on the Allez comp after less than 6 months of riding. Specialized stepped right up with out question and upgraded me to an M4 S-works, Kudos to them for their prompt service in that regard. I received my S-works within 3 weeks, I built the bike up and fell in love with the ride, until today. Once again, the frame snapped at the drop out on the drive side. I haven't heard of any other frames breaking neither has my LBS, but now that I've broken two specialized frames in the identical spot, it seems quite more than a coincidence. I'm a farely heavy and aggressive rider, I spend most of time riding one speeds and have a tendency to really torque big gears, maybe this is the cause, so if you ride in a similiar manner you may want to think twice about purchasing this frame. It's a shame too, because I really do like the ride.
