My ALAN Corsa Super Carbonio - how old is it?

[Wheelnut]

Here's my ALAN Corsa Super Carbonio. Hope you like it.

It was bought as a bare frame and forks a few years ago from GB Cycles in Croydon. It was brand new but had been sitting around in warehouses and stockrooms for some years. It interested me because I like 'funny' frames and this is unusual in that it was one of the very first frames to make use of carbon fibre. The carbon tubes are bonded into alloy joints or lugs similar to the famous ALAN all-aluminium frames.

I built it up with a mix of Shimano and Campag with Cinelli bars and stem, a Flite saddle and whatever I had lying around really. It hasn't been used for much more than a few days as I prefer the older stuff from the '50s. It's very light and quite comfortable but you can feel it flex on the climbs.

I would love to know how old it is. Any ALAN afficionados out there have the answer?

 

[Mr Panda]

No idea, but that looks neat. Like Italian bikes

 

[monty dog]

Alan were still making these up to a few years ago - and I believe they first came out in the late 80s - one of the first production carbon frames alongside Look, Vitus and TVT. Yours may be in the Teka colours as ridden by Malcolm Elliot? I bought one in 1995 from Dauphin Cycles when it was still run by Tony Mills and sold it about 7 years ago - I last saw it under a young rider from Hounslow CC a few years ago.

 

[Wheelnut]

Alan were still making these up to a few years ago - and I believe they first came out in the late 80s - one of the first production carbon frames alongside Look, Vitus and TVT. Yours may be in the Teka colours as ridden by Malcolm Elliot? I bought one in 1995 from Dauphin Cycles when it was still run by Tony Mills and sold it about 7 years ago - I last saw it under a young rider from Hounslow CC a few years ago.

Thanks for the information - I will investigate the Teka/Malcolm Elliott link further.
I understand that Alan was probably the very first mass producer of carbon frames and they built the first one as early as 1976. Not sure if this is when they went into production though. Even earlier, Raleigh Special Products of Worksop built a prototype carbon-tubed frame, again using ALAN aluminium lugs and aerospace carbon tubes bonded into the lugs.

 

[fingers]

Cant really help with the original question, but that is a good looking bike


(good size too, too much small stuff about...)

 

[dbmtb]

You might find a production date stamped into the seat tube/top tube lug.