Why has the Allez been stripped down so bad?. No higher quality verison now

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=08Allez 2008

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=07Allez 2007

Not this 05 Allez

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v444/nismosr/IMG_7685.jpg

Probably because there's now 15 Tarmac offerings, with the lowest being an Elite. Allez low-end road; Tarmac mid/high-end road.

My LBS has made a lot of money on the Allez. Probably their most popular model and remains so. It is a good entry level bike and honestly the new set up on the Elite is nice with a 105 rear and Tiagra front, shifters and compact crank. Additionally they have a carbon fiber seatstay which is a nice trade off on the components.

I have posted about the E5 frame which apparently ended in 2006 production. I recently bought one off Ebay because I missed it so much and wanted a Winter/Weather bike with similar Geometry to my Tarmac.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a new Allez because I want better components, but to a new rider they would be a great value. Generally Shimano trickles down quality so the Tiagra/105 set up now is probably equal to 2005 full 9sp 105.

-DK

Cause there are tons of left over mid to high end Allez's in the Specialized system- way too many 2007s left-over.

If you really want a high-end Allez, your dealer can get you a really good deal on one.

But the Tarmac's much nicer.