00:00 Like any kid working in a bike shop, being surrounded by all the latest bling meant that the desire to upgrade my own bike
00:06 occupied more of my mind than arguably it should have done.
00:10 Sadly, the amount of money you can earn when you're working in a bike shop
00:13 doesn't really lend itself to being able to buy all the shiny things that surround you every single day.
00:19 However, that was never going to discourage me. After plenty of waiting and hunting around for the right bike, a
00:26 specialized S-Works Alley came up for sale in my size on Facebook Marketplace.
00:32 It was being sold by a local lad, a local racer actually, and he was wanting to move it on to make space for
00:37 next season's rig. To me, this was absolutely ideal.
00:41 Buying a secondhand aluminium bike did not worry me at all, and the ability to buy into the S-Works moniker for a discount price,
00:49 well, it was a done deal.
00:51 After a meet-up at the local Sunday circuit race and an envelope of 50s handed over later,
00:57 my new bike was grabbed out the back of their team van. Of course, the bike went straight to the shop where I was working
01:03 to allow the modifications to begin. Little did I know at the time
01:07 that this bike would go on to join me for countless adventures and become the one bike that I have vowed to never, ever sell.
01:15 [Music]
01:17 The frame set is what made me fall in love. The satin finish on the paint was the perfect balance between gloss and matte, and
01:32 the satin chrome decals set it off
01:34 incredibly well. And the virtually invisible welds tricked the eye into thinking that it could be carbon fibre.
01:42 Specialized fitted an S-Works level fork which utilized their top-level carbon at the time, and the aluminium,
01:48 well, that was hydroformed, meaning that they could replicate the shape of the tarmac again at the time.
01:55 But it also meant the weight was kept down to a minimum. The overall weight of the frame by itself
02:00 hovers around that thousand gram mark, which actually is pretty good.
02:04 The bike predominantly plays host to an Ultegra 6800 groupset, as this is what the bike came with
02:11 when I bought it. However, in my eyes, the Dura-Ace 9000 groupset is probably
02:17 the prettiest groupset ever made. So I decided to take the plunge and buy the chainset and the rear mech.
02:24 Since these components are arguably the most visible parts of a groupset,
02:28 I think they do a really good job of increasing the bike's curb appeal. And quite frankly, the chrome details on the components,
02:34 paired with the frame itself,
02:36 they just, it's just a match made in heaven.
02:39 When I did change the chainset, it did also provide the opportunity to revise the gear ratios. The bike came with a
02:45 5339. However, I was finding that my little chicken legs were struggling, so I opted for a 5238.
02:53 Now, it may not seem like a huge change, and granted, it's not. But out on the road,
02:58 I found that turning the cranks just felt so much better. And when I paired that with an 11-28 cassette,
03:04 the ratios, for me, they just fell into place.
03:08 The Roval CLX 40s that the bike came with are sadly no longer with me. After six months of use,
03:15 I decided to sell them before the value either dropped out of them because, you know, road disc brake bikes were finally coming onto the market.
03:22 But I was also wary for the fact that if I kept using them, I was going to wear through that brake track and again,
03:27 they would end up essentially
03:29 valueless. As a young lad in a bike shop,
03:32 I wasn't really in the position to lose that kind of money over an extra couple of watts.
03:38 So I hunted down on the web a set of just cheap Chinese carbon wheels for about 300 quid. And
03:44 say what you will about them, but actually these Chinese knockoffs have actually been pretty decent.
03:50 They're easy to service with their sealed cartridge bearings.
03:54 They've never needed truing. And actually, when you pair them with a set of Swiss stock Black Prince carbon pads, when you pull on the levers,
04:00 you will definitely stop. I've always run the same tires on this bike, a set of 28c S-Works Turbo tires.
04:08 For me, they provide a great balance between comfort, grip and just downright speed.
04:13 The qualities of the S-Works Turbos are also helped by the fact that I've been running the Turbo tubes, which are a lightweight
04:20 butyl inner tube, but they're also pre-tout, meaning that that helps them lower their rolling resistance ever so slightly.
04:27 The other thing that I really like about those tubes, and it is a bit of a bike nerdy weight weenie thing,
04:32 but they're also about 40 grams lighter compared to a standard butyl inner tube.
04:36 So when you do that over both wheels, you're saving nearly 80 grams, which I'll take.
04:40 The finishing kit was actually the first things that I did change on the bike, and that's because I wanted to get the fit dialed in.
04:47 I nabbed some 38cm Pro-Vibe alloy bars, and I paired it with a 100mm S-Works stem.
04:55 Now, while I was tempted by an integrated carbon setup, my typically stingy self was never really going to stretch that far.
05:03 And quite frankly, I love how easy this bike is to recable.
05:07 The seat post is actually one of the few things that has stayed original throughout my entire tenure with the bike.
05:13 But the saddle, well, that has changed. I started off with a specialized S-Works tube saddle, which I had for nearly a decade.
05:20 But after those near 10 years, well, it was looking a little worse for wear.
05:25 So I have recently actually upgraded and embraced some modern technology in the shape of the Fizik Vento Argo Double Zero saddle.
05:33 Now, while this saddle is ever so slightly lighter, the real gain is the incredibly grippy surface and the increased comfort,
05:42 no thanks to the super wide wings that it's got.
05:45 Sadly, the bike isn't without its faults, or should I say quirks?
05:50 One thing that I wish Specialized had done with this bike was to give it a thread in bottom bracket.
05:55 Sadly, though, this bike came out when BB30s were in their heyday.
05:59 The months and years that I have spent trying to make this bike be creak free, well, quite frankly, it's just not worth thinking about.
06:07 Luckily, though, I have now found a solution that does work pretty well, but it does include putting some Loctite on the outer race of the bearings.
06:15 But you've got to do what you've got to do.
06:18 Also, some of the bottle cage bolts now spin within the frame, meaning that they can't be undone.
06:24 Now, before you all start telling me that I can have this fixed, quite frankly, I don't care.
06:29 One bottle is fine for me and the rides that I show this bike.
06:33 And really, I don't want to risk losing the oh so cool S-Works bolts.
06:37 Quite frankly, they're worth the pizzazz.
06:40 I do also have to be fairly careful with the red paint on this bike.
06:45 It comes off incredibly easily due to not having a protective clear coat to encapsulate it.
06:51 But nearly after eight years of ownership, I think it's held up pretty well considering.
06:57 As I mentioned previously, I'm never going to sell this bike.
07:00 So what does the future hold for it?
07:03 Well, being aluminium, I have no doubt that this bike will outlast me so long as we don't get acquainted with the underside of a lorry.
07:12 One thing I've always wanted to upgrade, though, are the brake calipers.
07:16 Switching over to some matching Dura-Ace 9000 calipers would be brilliant, and it would just add that extra little bit of bling to the setup.
07:23 Once worn down, I will then also be replacing the tyres for the latest S-Works turbos that got released at the back end of last year.
07:32 And lastly, I'd also like to fit a new S-Works seat post.
07:35 The current one has been pretty beaten up over winter rides, and when I've been attaching a rear light to the saddle, it's been chewing up the lacquer.
07:43 So it's just looking a little bit tired.
07:46 But overall, I don't really see this bike changing too much more.
07:50 To me, it's pretty close to being perfect for what I want from this bike.
07:57 That's my dream road bike and how it came to be, and also why I am never, ever going to sell it.
08:04 Let me know down in the comments, though. Tell me about the bikes that you are never going to sell and why.
08:10 I'd be really interested to hear about them.
08:12 If you enjoyed the video, then please do drop it a like.
08:14 Subscribe to the channel for more content, and I'll see you again very soon.
08:17 (whooshing)
08:19 (whooshing)
