Dear WW's,

I'm in the middle of rebuilding a 1980 ALAN super record - the pioneering aluminium frame from the seventies and eighties. Off course full campagnolo super record bits, mavic rims, the works. The only thing that nags me is the quality of the anodized finish. Years of (ab)use have left many scratches and bald spots on the otherwise very striking blue finish. Is there any way to restore this frame to its former glory? I hope this is not the wrong board to ask this question since the project doesn't involve any carbon fiber tidbits at all and the eventual bike will be way north of the magic 6.8 kg, even though it will still be quite light for an 80's bike off course.

Thanks in advance,

UPDATE

this is the bike as it stands now.


P1070056 by ctjr, on Flickr

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Rides:
1980 ALAN super record, full campa SR, under construction

05 Principia Ellipse SX

Pics?

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Custom English Cycles CX Bike
BMC SLC01

There was quite a good thread on DIY anodizing a while ago - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=68194&hilit=coke
So, it seems there's enough expertise out there to answer your question. While I can't personally help out, I am pretty interested in finding the answer too.

Best of luck.

@js thanks!
@USofChay hm 160 kb file limit is working against me, i must upload it to flickr first

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Rides:
1980 ALAN super record, full campa SR, under construction

05 Principia Ellipse SX

Here's the pic, sorry for the mess on the BG, anyway, I wasn't really looking for a DIY solution, it would probably turn out crappy anyway and messing about with volatile toxins in my flammable, cramped and messy frat house will NEVER turn out well I suppose. The trick for the coloring of Ti bolts would be very nice to try on the bolts in the Super Record rear derailer!

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Rides:
1980 ALAN super record, full campa SR, under construction

05 Principia Ellipse SX

There are a number of good anodizers out there. Wheels Mfg. might be able to point you to a couple if you give Dan a call there. Also, Purely Custom, who do a lot of anno bolts, might be able to help as well.

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"Organization is for the simple-minded, the Genius controls the chaos." - Jens

I had an 81 Competition in blue with polished lugs, crown & tips. With Nuovo Record groupset & Gran Sport cranks it was 8kg dead. That was with Cinelli bars & stem, ISCA Tornado saddle & Mavic Monthelery Pro 36h rims!

Pics don't show though.....

Yeah, no. Been there, done that.

I have two ex-professional Alan Super Record bikes in my collection, one is a Fanini bike with what I expect is a very similar baby-blue anodised finish to your bike. I wanted to do a bit of touch-up to the bike for my wife, but unfortunately there is nothing that can be done that will look any good.

Based upon my research and consultations, I would recommend that you just do a nice, period restoration.

Drooling and pining a bit over this. I rode one of these old beauties to a National title when I was a kid and I've always been a weight weenie and had mine down to just under 15 pounds ( a silver ALAN super record sprint (oval top-tube and vertical rear drops) with full super record (circa 82 ish) and galli clips, binda straps. Arc - en - Ciel rims ( good wheels were medal d'ors) tho favoured my old GP4s most of the time. I still keep my eye out for it in my local town and hope to see it and re-purchase it back again. It was sold to pay a tax bill as a newly wed in the late 80's. Oh the pain
De-gluing + screwing them is supposedly extremely difficult so I can't think of any way to re-anodise them.
Best wishes. If you are gonna do a retro weenie bike, these or the vitus 979's would HAVE to be the go!

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Used to race....got too wrinkly and old Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!

Don't mean to go off topic (tho' I suppose 979's are retro-weenie), but I couldn't help it after theremery's reply re: his Alan and mention of 979's and the fact that the OP's Alan is blue. They take me back, too. Above pics are of a 979 I put together a few years back during a season when I was injured, couldn't race and was pulling my hair out.

NOS frameset from Nashbar (they found a few, blew 'em out for a few hundred each) and a complete 2nd generation Mavic group. Took a while to source but was fun. Some of the parts came from interesting places. The wheels belonged to Jonathon Boyer. He never rode 'em and they were still hanging, forgotten and covered with cobwebs, from the rafters in a small bike shop he once owned and is now owned by a buddy. Dusted them off and they were brand new, never ridden. The NOS decals, which are hard to find and go for stupid $$ on the 'Bay, came from a guy in Sacramento that had a drawer full and he gave me several complete sheets for a few bucks. The period-correct Avocet computer came from Avocet. They had a few still in original packaging that were supposed to go to a buyer who was going to use them for timing horse races (odd, but true) but he never bought them, and they sold one to me for the original price. Most of the group came from a single 'Bay auction that no one bid on b/c the pics were lousy and the description awful, but buried in a long run-on paragraph was a tiny mention that the stuff was like-new .

All I'm missing is a Mavic 25.0 seatpost. This is sort of the holy grail of vintage Mavic items, very rare and hard to come by in NOS condition. Until I find one, I've got a pretty period-correct C-Record post as a place-keeper.

Hope your Alan project goes well, but I agree with previous posters re: the anodizing and simply doing a period restoration. Unless you're absolutely married to the idea of refurbishing your current Alan, you might consider a 979. They go for peanuts on the 'Bay and nice ones pop up all the time. However, if you're considering riding the final product, you might want to take a pass. Despite Sean Kelly's exploits on them, they are noodles, and nowadays, those old-school glued joints are 25+ years old...

P.S Don't know why I put the Raleigh wheel covers on (they belong to another project) but it's the only pic. I've got of the full bike. Also, doesn't look like it, but that saddle is dead level.

Lovely.

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"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Josh Billings

Gorgeous!

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Used to race....got too wrinkly and old Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!

lovely classic bike

Very nice. I have a similar frame with Campy Record and Dura Ace mix from my racing days as a junior (20 yrs ago) I try and upload a few pix soon.

Hi,

my french contribution:

Bottle Cage: Zefal
Bottom Bracket: Shimano 600
Brakes: Shimano 600
Cables: Shimano Dura ace
Cassette: Shimano Dura ace 7v 14 x 21
Chain: Shimano Dura ace
Crankset: Shimano 600
*Crankarms: Shimano 600 172,5
*Chain rings: Shimano 600 42 x 50
*Chainring bolts: Shimano 600
*Crank fixing bolts: Shimano 600
Derlr (Front): Shimano Dura ace
Derlr (Rear): Shimano Dura ace 7v
Fork: Reynolds 531 soudobrasé
Frame: Reynolds 531 soudobrasé 55 1979
Handlebar: ITM
Handlebar tape: Benotto
Headset: Oprimax
Foot wedge Christophe
Foot wedge belt Binda
Pedals: Maillard 700
Quick Releases Shimano Dura ace
Seat: Concor light
Seatpost: Campagnolo 26,4 expander
Shifters: Shimano 600 on frame
Stem: 3 TTT
Tire (Front) Continental Grand Prix 3000 700 x 23c
Tire (Rear): Continental Grand Prix 3000 700 x 23c
Tubes:pair Vittoria buthyl
Wheelset: Hand made
*Hubs (f/r): Shimano Dura ace 32t
*Rims (f/r): Wolber Profil
*Spokes: DT
*Nipples: DT
Pump Zefal
Total 10000 Grams
22,05 Pounds