Need help with ALAN restoration

<idealaw@###concentric.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

have ended up with an old ALAN frame and BB, but no fork. I am helping my son build it up into an
around town single speed, but am wondering re a fork.

Kevin at icycles has a NOS Kinesis aluminum fork at an affordable price ($19) which seems like it
might be a good match:

"Kinesis 6061 Aluminum Fork as pictured. This Fork features 6061 T-6 blades that taper down to
17mm round. These forks feature a 1" threaded CroMo steertube that is thermal bonded to a forged
alloy crown. These forks have 40mm of offset ."

If I recall, the original ALAN forks, while attractive, were criticized for being overly
flexible.

Should we hunt down an original fork, chose a modern AL fork like the Kinesis, go with a used
quality AL fork like the Sakae, or ??. We don't want to invest the money required for a
carbon fork.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Go with the cheap-o Kinesis -- "buy it now" price of $19.99 on Ebay.
cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗ 2319 -- Jay Beattie.

Quoted message said:

Go with the cheap-o Kinesis -- "buy it now" price of $19.99 on Ebay.

Has to be a very small frame though, the steerertube on that fork is only 145mm.

"Jay Beattie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<idealaw@###concentric.net> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

have ended up with an old ALAN frame and BB, but no fork. I am helping my son build it up into
an around town single speed, but am wondering re a fork.

Kevin at icycles has a NOS Kinesis aluminum fork at an affordable price ($19) which seems like
it might be a good match:

"Kinesis 6061 Aluminum Fork as pictured. This Fork features 6061 T-6 blades that taper down to
17mm round. These forks feature a 1" threaded CroMo steertube that is thermal bonded to a forged
alloy crown. These forks have 40mm of offset ."

If I recall, the original ALAN forks, while attractive, were criticized for being overly
flexible.

Should we hunt down an original fork, chose a modern AL fork like the Kinesis, go with a used
quality AL fork like the Sakae, or ??. We don't want to invest the money required for a
carbon fork.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Go with the cheap-o Kinesis -- "buy it now" price of $19.99 on Ebay.
cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗ 2319 -- Jay Beattie.

Ronald said:

Quoted message said:

Go with the cheap-o Kinesis -- "buy it now" price of $19.99 on Ebay.

Quoted message said:

Has to be a very small frame though, the steerertube on that fork is only 145mm.

(which would mean that the alan frame probably has to be a 21" or smaller frame.)

- Don

"Donald Gillies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ronald said:

Quoted message said:

Go with the cheap-o Kinesis -- "buy it now" price of $19.99 on

Ebay.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Has to be a very small frame though, the steerertube on that fork is

only 145mm.

Quoted message said:

(which would mean that the alan frame probably has to be a 21" or smaller frame.)

The OP mentioned speaking with someone at icycles, which is the party selling the forks on Ebay, so
I figured these were the ones. If not, I think the same forks new from Nashbar are somewhere around
$70 -- still not too bad. Personally, I hate Al forks because they are too limber (I had some
Kinesis on an old Cannondale 2.8), but they would be fine for a smaller rider. -- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie said:

Personally, I hate Al forks because they are too limber (I had some Kinesis on an old Cannondale
2.8), but they would be fine for a smaller rider. -- Jay Beattie.

Don't condemn all aluminum forks based upon your random sample of one. Have you ever ridden a
Vitus 992?

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay Beattie said:

Personally, I hate Al forks because they are too limber (I had some Kinesis on an old Cannondale
2.8), but they would be fine

for a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

smaller rider. -- Jay Beattie.

Don't condemn all aluminum forks based upon your random sample of one. Have you ever ridden a
Vitus 992?

I have never ridden a Vitus, except on a lark about 20+ years ago -- and that one belonged to a
friend and was old screwed-and-glued model, and it had an unbelievably limber BB, IIRC. Also, I
think the 992 comes in a large size of 60cm, which is about 3 or 4cm too short for me -- so it was
never on my shopping list.

Anyway, the one pair of Al forks I owned (made by the manufacturer in question, Kinesis) were not to
my liking. YMMV. I weigh a lot, climb out of the saddle and tend to flex forks. I do not know about
the other Al forks on the market and, in fact, have not seen any for sale locally, most stores
favoring CF and steel these days. -- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie said:

"John Everett" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jay Beattie said:

Personally, I hate Al forks because they are too limber (I had some Kinesis on an old Cannondale
2.8), but they would be fine

for a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

smaller rider. -- Jay Beattie.

Don't condemn all aluminum forks based upon your random sample of one. Have you ever ridden a
Vitus 992?

I have never ridden a Vitus, except on a lark about 20+ years ago -- and that one belonged to a
friend and was old screwed-and-glued model, and it had an unbelievably limber BB, IIRC. Also, I
think the 992 comes in a large size of 60cm, which is about 3 or 4cm too short for me -- so it was
never on my shopping list.

The Vitus you rode was probably the 979, ridden with much success by Sean Kelly in spite of its
flexiness. The 992 went to ovalized tubes which greatly increased lateral stiffness. It also came
with a redesigned fork and proprietary headset, sometimes referred to as the "lost headset" design.
I treat mine to new bearings quite regularly in hopes that it will last a nice long time. Otherwise
I'm pretty screwed.

You're correct, the 992's largest size is/was 60cm.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net home.earthlink.net~jeverett3Open ↗

I just bought the aluminum Kenisis fork from icycles.com for $19, and it looks great. Its polished aluminum with Kenisis stickers on the side that can be removed. Its also drilled for brake calipers. It has a wider fork rake, compared to my campy track fork.

What I like about the fork is that it looks great and fairly light. I'm going to switch back to my old campy track forks once I get a better handle riding with no brakes.

The PROBLEM with aluminum forks are they're not strong and is sensitive to cold temperature. Unlike Steel or Carbon, aluminum forks simply breaks under stress--unsafe. This is the reason you rarely see aluminum forks these days.
Carbon is becoming more common, although has its own issues with reliability--a ding or scratch weakens the tubing

The more practical and reliable fork out of the three is steel--cromoly. Surly makes an excellent cromoly fork for single speed bikes. there are better ones too.

If you're not a hard rider, The Kenisis might work for you.

Good Luck.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by idealaw
have ended up with an old ALAN frame and BB, but no fork. I am helping my son build it up into an
around town single speed, but am wondering re a fork.

Kevin at icycles has a NOS Kinesis aluminum fork at an affordable price ($19) which seems like it
might be a good match:

"Kinesis 6061 Aluminum Fork as pictured. This Fork features 6061 T-6 blades that taper down
to 17mm round. These forks feature a 1" threaded CroMo steertube that is thermal bonded to a
forged alloy crown. These forks have 40mm of offset ."

If I recall, the original ALAN forks, while attractive, were criticized for being overly flexible.

Should we hunt down an original fork, chose a modern AL fork like the Kinesis, go with a used
quality AL fork like the Sakae, or ??. We don't want to invest the money required for a carbon fork.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

John

Quoted message said:

The PROBLEM with aluminum forks are they're not strong and is sensitive to cold temperature.

sensitive to temperature? like air planes that fall apart when they fly high enough to freeze?
absolutely not! steel has a brittle transition temperature, aluminum does not.

and there's no reason they're not as strong as steel or any other fork. they fatigue, but that's a
different issue.

jb

I don't know a thing about airplane aluminum, but aluminum expands and contracts to temperature changes. It expands in the cold. now imagine the kenisis fork where the tubes are bonded on the crown in the winter.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Jim Beam
> The PROBLEM with aluminum forks are they're not strong and is sensitive to cold temperature.

sensitive to temperature? like air planes that fall apart when they fly high enough to freeze?
absolutely not! steel has a brittle transition temperature, aluminum does not.

and there's no reason they're not as strong as steel or any other fork. they fatigue, but that's a
different issue.

jb

bklyntrack said:

I don't know a thing about airplane aluminum, but aluminum expands and contracts to temperature
changes. It expands in the cold. now imagine the kenisis fork where the tubes are bonded on the
crown in the winter.

I think you meant to say that aluminum *contracts* as it cools, as does steel and every other
metallic alloy or element.

Kenisis may be aware of that fact, and considered it when designing the bonded joint.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR