Not to dredge up past discussions, many of which featured spirited debates, but most members with an engineering/metallurgy background will agree that fatigue failures in aluminum are related to the number of stress cycles a structure is subjected to, not simple age. SO... an aluminum frame that has gathered dust in a garage for 20 years since purchase will be essentially as good as new, while one that has been ridden 200 miles a week for the same twenty years will probably not have much life left. I have enough bikes that I don't ride any one all that much, plus my total miles are not as high as they should be, so my ALANs will probably outlast me. The problem is that one often doesn't know the history of a used frame or how many miles it has been ridden. I'd guess an ALAN frame would be good for several years of heavy use, say 100+ miles per week. Just guessing, probably typically 5 years or more of such use. So how do you know if a used frame has already seen that? Well, an anodized aluminum frame like ALAN would not typically be repainted, so extensive use should be evident in accumulated small surface scratches, plus wear to the anodised layer, which will be more noticeable if the frame is anodized some color other than clear/silver. Can't often see that on a eBay auction, though.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
oroboyz@aol.com wrote: We have covered this topic before but it may have been a few years ago, so I will likely repeat myself a bit here..
"In the old days" I sold quit a few of these bikes..
Most labeled as Guerciotti, but also under other brands including Alan especially as cyclocross bikes...
Anyway, if you accept the fact that aluminum, in almost any variation, when used in bike frames will have a distinctly shorter lifespan as compared to steel, these Alans, in balance, did amazingly well. Yes, after use some cracked and a few have had the bonding fail, but many are still out there and I know of no catastrophic failures.
Time has matched on and I think they are not a modern product, but just wait a few years and all these welded aluminum bikes will start cracking too. Actually, I think I am seeing evidence in the bike shop that this is already happening.
Dale Brown cycles de ORO, Inc. 1410 Mill Street Greensboro, NC 27408 USA 336-274-5959 http://www.cyclesdeoro.com http://www.classicrendezvous.com Giant, Specialized, Orbea, Bianchi, Felt, Litespeed, Landshark, Colnago, Townie and other exotica. National Bicycle Dealers Association Board member
-----Original Message----- From: Kenneth Naylor (MOLC) To: Sergio Servadio ; greenjersey@ntlworld.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:43:34 -0800 Subject: RE: [CR]Alan Frames
I never rode an Alan, but a number of people I knew raced them in the late 80's. I remember that we referred to them as "screwed-and-glued", and a number of them ended up coming apart at the lugs.
Ken S. Naylor Fargo, ND USA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Sergio Servadio Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 4:41 AM To: greenjersey@ntlworld.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Alan Frames
To give a more complete account, let me add.
I have ridden only one Alan frame, about five years ago, on a bike that I was able to borrow and which had been young Cipollini's, when riding in the Fanini team. Still holding on strong, though light and 'harsh'. Certainly, for years the Fanini teams have used Alan frames, on both road and track bikes; in fact there are still several used track framesets out there, for sale, and I have seen none of them broken.
On the other hand, to my knowledge, Ernesto da Cambiago used to have Allan compose such sets as bi-tubos, of which I have an un-glued specimen, to my great regret.
Sergio
Pisa