Winter bike project-Alan Supercross

chipper

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Well winter will be with us soon,and I am in need of a winter bike .Cross bikes make ideal winter bikes,plenty of gaurd clearance,slightly less jarring over the pot holes,plus the option of a bit of off road riding .For a long time I've had a hankering for a Alan cross bike,Italian and retro whats not to like? :D
Any way look what followed me home the other night....

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Proper cross racer from the 80's sans wheels and chain,it's the exact Alan frame I've been looking for- mid 80's super cross ,with the cut-out lugs,conventional cable rooting and horizontal rear drop outs.

more soon :D
 
Now stripped down to the frame and forks,with the last of the 20 year old Surrey mud removed.Went for the Guerciotti option for the decals ,a bit more exotic than Alan :D .

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Right,time to get on with the build :D
 
I have a set of period wheels that would suit that bike. Campag Tipo on Mavic Monthlery pro with 36 spokes, fitted with Wolber Cross Tubs and a 14/24 wide spaced block. Not used them for a few years but the tubs are still fine although the glue will need replacing. PM if interested.
 
Alan Cross frame

chipper":bsxv8yv7 said:
Now stripped down to the frame and forks,with the last of the 20 year old Surrey mud removed.Went for the Guerciotti option for the decals ,a bit more exotic than Alan :D .

EASTBOURNE398ABX.jpg


EASTBOURNE399.jpg


EASTBOURNE401.jpg


Right,time to get on with the build :D

dont worry if the front forks flex when you but the front brakes on, they all did that !!!!!!!
 
Well after a lengthy visit to my spare parts vault,and by vault, I don't mean a secure room full of dusty blue campag boxes,I mean cardboard boxes, mainly filled with other peoples discarded tat in my shed,I now have a pile of bits to get the build going;

The bike originally came with a rather nice campag N/R chainset and b/bkt,I removed these and added them to my 'one day I will get round to building a classic 80's racer' stash.I replaced with a chorus chainset, that needed a good whack with the hammer to run straight ,44/40 chainrings and a NOS campag mirage b/bkt scored off Ebay for a tenner.

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some campag mirage 8 speed ergo's will take care the shifting

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One of my old 'bullet proof' training wheels has been brought back into service.This has an early dura-ace 8 speed hub,the first with a 130mm axle,at the time nearly all frames were designed for 126mm width hubs ( including this Alan),so shimano fitted bevel shaped outer lock nuts to the axle which spring the fork ends open as you enter wheel into the drop outs-very clever.Also note the 8 speed cassette modified to work with campag ,by having 7 speed spacers fitted.

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Campag mirage rear mech to go with the front daytona mech,I had to fit a Shimano top jockey wheel,which has a lot more float,to stop the gears rattling.Check the Mavic SUP 36 hole rim,like I said 'bullet proof'.

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More next week when I tackle the brakes,and get the bike rolling :LOL:
 
Looking nice - always had a soft spot for Cyclo-cross bikes after going to Sutton Park to watch the races, then 'borow' the course for a few days afterward on my old road bike.

Project looks nice - certainly the right bike amd bits to do the job :)
 
Well I left the brakes till last, because I know what a PITA of job in can be.The problem is ,cantilever brakes were never designed to work with ergo/STI levers,they have different cable pulls ,just like trying to get V brakes to work with canti levers on a mountain bike,you can get them to work but they have no feel or modulation.The best solution is use the older wide style canti's (the one's that snap the brake stud off when you crash :D ) and use a long straddle wire.Luckily I had a set of Modolo rocky canti's that I liberated from a wreaked tourer I found in a skip,these were fitted with a set of Kool stops and mounted onto the brake pivots.Well they worked ok but they really needed to be toed in a bit,a bit tricky as this entailed removing the brakes jamming them in a vise and carefully bending them with some grips,anyway a lot of dicking around but now I have some decent brakes that don't screech,and I really think they go well with the rest of the bike.

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No need for a brake hanger, just drill a hole in the seat post ,and before anyone accuses me of desecrating a Campag seat post I should point out that the PO had already drilled 2 holes before me .

I shall report back, once I have had time to give the bike a good test ride and shake down.
 

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