00:00 Like any kid working in a bike shop, being surrounded by all the latest bling meant that
00:04 the desire to upgrade my own bike 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
00:18 every single day. However, that was never going to discourage me. After plenty of waiting
00:24 and hunting around for the right bike, a specialised S-Works Alley came up for sale in my size
00:30 on Facebook Marketplace. It was being sold by a local lad, a local racer actually,
00:35 and he was wanting to move it on to make space for next season's rig. To me, this was absolutely
00:41 ideal. Buying a second-hand aluminium bike did not worry me at all, and the ability to buy into
00:46 the S-Works moniker for a discount price, well, it was a done deal. After a meet-up at the local
00:53 Sunday circuit race and an envelope of 50s handed over later, my new bike was grabbed out the back
00:59 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 that this bike would go on to
01:09 join me for countless adventures and become the one bike that I have vowed to never, ever sell.
01:15 The frame set is what made me fall in love. The satin finish on the paint was the perfect
01:29 balance between gloss and matte, and the satin chrome decals set it off incredibly well. And
01:36 the virtually invisible welds tricked the eye into thinking that it could be carbon fibre.
01:41 Specialized fitted an S-Works level fork which utilised their top-level carbon at the time,
01:47 and the aluminium was hydroformed, meaning that they could replicate the shape of the tarmac again
01:54 at the time. But it also meant the weight was kept down to a minimum. The overall weight of
01:59 the frame by itself hovers around that 1000g mark, which actually is pretty good.
02:06 The bike predominantly plays host to an Ultegra 6800 groupset, as this is what the bike came with
02:12 when I bought it. However, in my eyes, the Dura-Ace 9000 groupset is probably
02:16 the prettiest groupset ever made. So I decided to take the plunge and buy the chain set and the rear
02:24 mech. Since these components are arguably the most visible parts of a groupset, I think they
02:28 do a really good job of increasing the bike's kerb appeal. And quite frankly, the chrome details on
02:33 the components paired with the frame itself, it's just a match made in heaven. When I did change the
02:40 chain set, it did also provide the opportunity to revise the gear ratios. The bike came with a 53/39,
02:46 however, I was finding that my little chicken legs were struggling, so I opted for a 52/38.
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
03:04 cassette, the ratios, for me, they just fell into place. The Roval CLX40s that the bike came with
03:11 are sadly no longer with me. After six months of use, I decided to sell them before the value
03:17 either dropped out of them because road disc brake bikes were finally coming onto the market,
03:22 but I was also wary of the fact that if I kept using them, I was going to wear through that
03:26 brake track, and again, they would end up essentially valueless. As a young lad in a bike
03:32 shop, I wasn't really in the position to lose that kind of money over an extra couple of watts, so I
03:38 hunted down on the web a set of just cheap Chinese carbon wheels for about 300 quid. And say what you
03:45 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, they've never needed
03:55 truing, and actually, when you pair them with a set of Swiss stock Black Prince carbon pads,
03:59 when you pull on the levers, you will definitely stop. I've always run the same tires on this bike,
04:05 a set of 28C S-Works Turbo tires. For me, they provide a great balance between comfort,
04:11 grip, and just downright speed. The qualities of the S-Works Turbos are also helped by the fact
04:16 that I've been running the Turbo tubes, which are a lightweight butyl inner tube, but they're also
04:22 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,
04:31 weight weenie thing, but they're also about 40 grams lighter compared to a standard butyl
04:35 inner tube. 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
04:45 I wanted to get the fit dialed in. I nabbed some 38-centimeter Pro-Vibe alloy bars, and I paired it
04:52 with a 100-millimeter S-Works stem. Now, while I was tempted by an integrated carbon setup,
04:59 my typically stingy self was never really going to stretch that far. Quite frankly,
05:03 I love how easy this bike is to recable. The seat post is actually one of the few
05:09 things that has stayed original throughout my entire tenure with the bike, but the saddle,
05:13 well, that has changed. I started off with a specialized S-Works tube saddle, which I had
05:18 for nearly a decade. After those near 10 years, well, it was looking a little worse for wear.
05:25 I have recently actually upgraded and embraced some modern technology in the shape of the Fizik
05:31 Vento Argo Double Zero saddle. Now, while this saddle is ever so slightly lighter, the real game
05:38 is the incredibly grippy surface and the increased comfort, no thanks to the super wide wings that
05:44 it's got. Sadly, the bike isn't without its faults, or should I say quirks? One thing that I wish
05:51 Specialized had done with this bike was to give it a thread in bottom bracket. Sadly, though,
05:55 this bike came out when BB30s were in their heyday. The months and years that I have spent
06:01 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
06:12 putting some Loctite on the outer race of the bearings, but you've got to do what you've got
06:17 to do. Also, some of the bottle cage bolts now spin within the frame, meaning that they can't
06:23 be undone. Now, before you all start telling me that I can't have this fixed, quite frankly,
06:27 I don't care. One bottle is fine for me and the rides that I show this bike. Really,
06:33 I don't want to risk losing the oh-so-cool S-Works bolts. Quite frankly, they're worth the pizzazz.
06:39 I do also have to be fairly careful with the red paint on this bike. It comes off incredibly
06:46 easily due to not having a protective clear coat to encapsulate it, but nearly after eight years
06:52 of ownership, I think it's held up pretty well considering. As I mentioned previously,
06:58 I'm never going to sell this bike, so what does the future hold for it? Well, being aluminium,
07:05 I have no doubt that this bike will outlast me, so long as we don't get acquainted with
07:10 the underside of a lorry. One thing I've always wanted to upgrade, though, are the brake calipers.
07:15 Switching over to some matching Dura-Ace 9000 calipers would be brilliant, and it would just
07:20 add that extra little bit of bling to the setup. Once worn down, I will then also be replacing
07:26 the tyres for the latest S-Works turbos that got released at the back end of last year.
07:31 Lastly, I'd also like to fit a new S-Works seat post. The current one has been pretty beaten up
07:38 over winter rides, and when I've been attaching a rear light to the saddle, it's been chewing up
07:42 the lacquer, so it's just looking a little bit tired. Overall, I don't really see this bike
07:48 changing too much more. To me, it's pretty close to being perfect for what I want from this bike.
07:56 That's my dream road bike and how it came to be, and also why I am never, ever going to sell it.
08:03 Let me know down in the comments, though. Tell me about the bikes that you are never going to sell,
08:08 and why. I'd be really interested to hear about them. If you enjoyed the video, then please do
08:13 drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content, and I'll see you again very soon.
08:17 [MUSIC PLAYING]
