Specialized is expanding on the ingenious Smartweld technology it first introduced on its alloy Allez three years ago, now adding the novel construction technique to the bottom bracket shell for 2016. The frame weight doesn’t change much but Specialized is claiming stiffness and strength gains that now put the new Allez Sprint nearly on par with the much pricier Tarmac.
The Smartweld bottom bracket shell is a truly brilliant, 'why-didn't-I-think-of-that' piece of engineering, comprising two stamped thinwall aluminum halves and a machined central sleeve that’s all brazed together to form a hollow monocoque-like structure. The much bigger cross-sections not only yield expected stiffness increases in that immediate area; they also allow for much bigger down tubes and chainstays for greater overall frame rigidity.
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The key to the new Allez Sprint's heady performance claims is the Smartweld bottom bracket shell
Even better, Specialized says there are substantial improvements in strength and long-term durability, too. Welds typically are weak points for the frame since they’re generally more brittle than the surrounding tubes and situated at high-stress areas. Smartweld moves the weld beads away from the traditional joint locations, shifting them further down the frame tube and positioning them in between two parts that are more similar in shape and where stresses are substantially lower.
Specialized hasn’t yet revealed final claimed weights for the production bikes but the target during the later prototype stage was around 1,100g – almost exactly the same as the current Allez, which only uses Smartweld in the head tube area. That frame isn’t exactly renowned for its rigidity but the new Allez Sprint supposedly more than makes up that gap.
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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