Hi Doug,
Thanks for your email, these bikes seem to be quite few and far between now and I have been having trouble trying to find out much info on them, then since I sent the post to the mailing list I had quite a breakthrough ! The bike was given to my father quite a few years ago by a gentleman that he carried out building repair work for back then, I spoke to my father the other day reguarding the bike, and told him I was thinking of restoring it and he thought it may be an idea to try to contact the original owner. I have now been in contact with the man who indeed had the bike built new in 1964, quite unbelievably he still has all of the old `64 campagnolo gear that he took off when he upgraded in the mid 70`s in s bag in his garage, he is going to try and look it out for me over the weekend and is prepared to let me have it ! You are correct about the colours, you could have it painted in whatever colour you liked, and I now also know that mine was painted Mercier pink ! not sure what colour to paint it now though - I don`t think I fancy the pink too much.
Resto is now well underway, I dropped the frame in to be bead blasted today and will get it back tomorrow, so I am going to have to make up my mind pretty quick about the colour.
Here`s a picture of what it looked like after being stood in my dads shed for 15 years or so !! Thanks Robert McCracken Belfast ----- Original Message ----- From: Doug Smith To: 1@1rab.com Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 10:21 PM Subject: The Allin
Hi Robert
I have a 1975sh! Allin which belonged to a well known British time trialist in the name of Vince Callahan . I knew Stan Butler as a fellow racer and clubman and was always familier with his business of supplying frames both to order and off the peg stock. Stan did not build frames himself but was quite good at the smaller repair jobs.His knowledge of the cycle trade and being a leading competitor was second to none and all the frames supplied by him were top class. Colours were nearly always the choice of the buyer and cannot remember there being anyone favourite.
If yours is 1964 then you are correct in concluding the components are not correct for the period , but bear in mind people do upgrade thus the ones you appear to have. Again there was no fixed format on components if a buyer required Stan to build up a complete bike then the choice would again the purchaser's. Campag parts of the period would have been the favourite ,(if buyers could afford them)! , other than that various French and the dwindling British components would have been another option with Sun Tour coming into the fore in a big way. My guess is that a mixture of these was the order of the day depending on commercial availability and trying to off load older stock in a quickly changing market .
I have some copies of a Allin Cycles debate from the Veteran Cycle Club magazine including comments by Stan's son Keith which makes interesting reading if you are going be a future The Allin enthusiast.
In conclusion to say, they were one of the best with some of the London builders and you are lucky to be the owner of one.
Good luck and enjoy it
Best wishes
Doug Smith
North Dorset
UK