Specialized launches 2022 Alize Sprint

After days of teasing on social media, Specialized has just lifted the covers for its new Allez Sprint, a bike it calls “the world’s first superbike.”

Since its original launch in 2015, the Allez Sprint has been a favorite with racers thanks to its lower carbon price point, higher levels of stiffness and aggressive engineering. Make it into our guide to The best aluminum road bikes For these very reasons, and the target audience for the new version seems to be very similar. The updated Allez Sprint layout is largely unchanged, but Specialized has made a number of modifications.

The result, according to Specialist claims, is a bike that sprints in 41 seconds over the 40 km disk Allez Sprint it replaces, while also being more suitable for regular riders.

It’s clear from Specialized’s marketing that the Allez Sprint is designed to emulate the brand’s flagship race bike, the Tarmac SL7, and the bike’s aesthetics make the same impression. It uses the same seatpost and fork as the Tarmac SL7, and perhaps most importantly, the geometry has also been changed to match its fellow stability. The previous Allez Sprint featured a geometry that was lower at the front, making it smart, agile and straightforward, but also less comfortable, so it was designed largely for short, fast rides like the standard races. So much so that Specialized called it the “ultimate critical race bike.” A relaxing step on the tried and tested geometry found on the Tarmac, Venge and Aethos will undoubtedly open up to a wider audience of riders.

Opening up the bike to a wider audience is the fact that the new Allez Sprint can accept tires up to 32mm in width. This isn’t uncommon for road bikes these days, even those focused on racing, but the ability to switch to 32mm of rubber would be a welcome addition for the new bike crowd who isn’t chasing heads and elbows.

Up front, the cockpit features integrated cables that see cables enter the frame through ports in the headphone hood. The bike is compatible with hydraulic disc brakes only, and can be used with mechanical or electronic group kits. The front derailleur hanger can be removed for those who want to run a 1x group as well.

The brand claims that for the Allez Sprint LTD 56cm – the highest factory-spec model available (albeit not in the UK) – the weight is 7.9kg.

What is D’Aluisio Smartweld?

Close-up view of the bottom bracket at the 2022 Allez Sprint Specialized Race

(Image credit: Specialist)

Manufactured with specialty proprietary E5 D’Aluisio Smartweld aluminum, the Allez Sprint uses aluminum a little differently than most. Instead of the more common practice of welding circular alloy tubes at each end, D’Aluisio Smartweld—named after its creator Chris D’Aluisio—uses hydroforming to create more complex air shapes and move the weld away from the intersections between the tubes.

According to the brand, the bike’s head tube is cut from a single piece of aluminum, before being mechanically shaped into an antenna shape with a fixed tube wall thickness. From the head of the tube itself, the couplings protrude backward and then slide over the lower tube and upper tube. The weld is then placed at the end of these junctions, away from the head tube itself, to reduce stress on the bike’s high stress area.

The bottom slide is given a similarly thoughtful approach. However, instead of welding a separate bottom bracket to the downtube like most bikes — and the previous Allez Sprint — the new model molds both pieces as a single piece of aluminum. The result, says Specialist, is an increase in energy transmission and the area’s structural integrity.