Alan is an Italian company who pioneered the use of Aluminum as a frame material for bicycles back in the mid 70s. Their call to fame is the use of aluminum lugs that threaded and bonded with aluminum tubes to create a solid and lasting connection. Some of their frames were very light even by today’s standards and were commonly built up as bikes for old school “weight weenies” of the day.
The company’s pioneering spirit didn’t stop with aluminum. In the early to mid 80s they were one of the first to use carbon fiber tubes to replace the aluminum tubes on their bikes. These aluminum lugged carbon bikes made by ALAN and VItus (who also pioneered the use of aluminum similar to ALAN) gave riders a whole new class of frame material to chose from.
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| I recently came upon one of these rare carbon bikes. The ride is very subtle. I can’t feel any flexing but then again I'm quite light and easy on the pedals. I didn’t expect anyone to build a bike like this with Japanese parts but you can’t really complain with Dura Ace components. Only one complaint is that its missing its decals. The previous owner thought that the bare carbon and aluminum made the bike look at lot more purposeful, and up close, the matte finish of the resin on the carbon tubes looks rather menacing like the surface of a formula one car. I do like it, but I prefer things in its originality. Other companies followed with the same design in the late 80s and all through the 90s. Here’s one that I had in my stable. |
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