For the people who have owned both the CAAD12 and Allez Sprint, which do you prefer and why?
Thinking of getting an aluminum frame and selling my Orca.
This thread begs the question, what qualifies as being “Aluminati”?
All of my bikes are aluminum and they all cost considerably more than entry level carbon.
- 2014 Trek Crockett 9 flat bars and cantilever brakes
- 2016 Trek Fuel Ex 8
- 2016 Trek Emonda ALR
- 2017 Trek Crockett 7 disc
- 2017 Trek Top Fuel 8
- 2018 Trek Farley 7
They’re all pretty sick bikes, but to me to be considered “Aluminati” it needs to be a somewhat ridiculous build on a cheapish frame.
Probably my most qualified would be my Emonda and my Top Fuel.
The Emonda built up to 15.4 lbs as pictured, I’m hoping to try and get it down to a nice 15 lbs at some point in the near future.
The Top Fuel ended up being 25.6 lbs as pictured, I’m honestly pretty happy with that I don’t think I’ll try to shave anymore weight.
Both bikes are running Stages power meters.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen that colorway on a CAAD10 before. Love it!
I also did an aluminum Top Fuel that sub-25lb::
I believe it’s just under $3k too with eBay deals on the crank, Bontrager carbon bars, shop-bro Kovee wheels, and XT brakes. I regret putting SRAM shifting on it. It’s been muddy here since August, ridden it once since then and I miss the thing. Such a fast MTB, rear shock damping is really impressive, love to ride that bike.
How do you find the Emonda ALR? I recently picked up a second hand entry level tiagra one for peanuts and my plan is to put 10spd ultegra, a carbon seatpost and my fulcrum R3’s which i currenlty have on my steel winter/turbo bike.
The plan is to train and race on it to save my cervelo for dry days…
Sweet!!! Glad to see I’m not the only one out there.
I thought about going SRAM shifting myself, but Shimano was more cost effective.
I love it, the frameset is stupid light for an aluminum bike. The frame definitely rides better than previous aluminum road bikes I’ve owned. It even seems to dampen out vibrations a bit better than my Crockett. It seems to me like the ALR is a bit overlooked compared to the CAAD and Allez, but I think it’s every bit as nice as those two bikes.
I got mine as a second hand frameset myself and then built it up mostly with stuff I already had. It’s still rockin the 10 speed SRAM Force group I bought way back in 2011. The only thing I really bought new for the Emonda was the wheels.
How do they compare??
I’d also suggest full hydro if you can/want to afford it. The TRPs are great when they work but a pain in the ass to bleed and adjust if you like a short lever throw. I had a bunch of issues that are now hopefully worked out but in contrast the wife has had them on her bike for 3 years with no faults to complain about. If I could go back to when I upgraded my group to ultegra 8000 and spend the extra to buy the hydro then I would have and it would have been money well spent. For now I’m keeping them because I don’t want to afford another set of brifters and calipers right now. If none of that bothers you and you get a good set of calipers right out of the box they brake well and feel good so they’re not the worst, I just don’t fully recommend them.
I had HyRds at one point as well. I loved those brakes.
The thing is though, the brake cable housing is SUPER important in getting them setup right. I had to use some ultra stiff Yokozuna cable housings to really get those brakes dialed. Once dialed though, they definitely had more power than the Force hydros I have now.
Awesome. Thanks for the info and tips. I hope to grab the 105 R7000 group with full hydro disc, once they get caught up from the factory fire issues. That is my ideal, but may be impacted by timing and availability.
This is straight up sex.
I wish Trek had an aluminum frame without a huge stack on it. About to order an Allez to build due to geometry.
I love the stack, the Allez is to low for me and looks stupid with two inches of spacers under the stem. It’s kind of cool that they’re both great frames but with geometry’s that are pretty different so the choice between the two really comes down to fit. I wanted an Allez Sprint myself, but found the ALR to be a much better fit for me.
I had no idea that the CAAD12 was so popular, here. Yet another +1:
Black Inc frane, Ultegra mechanicals, Mavic Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL tubulars, Selle Italia Superflow SLR saddle. Ridiculously lightweight for an aluminum frame – just a tiny bit over 15 lbs / 6.8 kg. Bought it as a crit bike, but started riding it as my primary when my Synapse disc developed an unrepairable bottom bracket squeak.
Looking to pick up some Cosmics or Cometes come bonus time, and give crit racing another crack, this year.
Also keen to get a comparison of the two! Also, considering something more aggressive, fast and good value for racing so it comes down to these two 
They are very, very similar in numbers (pull the gigantic hs cap off the CAAD12) and ride. I’d say the Allez is a bit stiffer vertically, but tires could change that. But the one that you think looks best:fits your budget. I’m pretty low key and found a basically unridden CAAD12 frame/fork for $400 and went with it. Couldn’t justify the extra $$$ for the Allez even though I really like the look of it. All the cool kids seem to want one and it’s keeping the prices high around NYC and in eBay land…