Other than my 979 what aluminum C&V should I look at?
 

In the '90s I tried a couple of Cannondales and a Raleigh r-500 on which I think I lost a filling trying to survive the brutal ride. In a swap a few years ago with a member I ended up with a Vitus 979 I love and it is in my daily rotation but I admit BBs have no danger of serious flexing with me. I am sure aluminum frames have greatly advanced in the last 30 years but I am interested in C&V. Other than the various Vitus frames are there other C&V aluminum frames I should keep an eye out for?

What's your budget, and your time period of interest? There are French aluminum frames (Caminade, for example) from the 1930's - 1960's that are rare, sought after and seem to be rather well made (based on accounts I've heard). Later, there are Alan's and others that also used tube and lug, or lugless tubed construction. Then there's Cannondale and Klein and a host of others.

I wouldn't mind adding this Garin to my fleet: https://vintagebicycle.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/809/

Maybe consider Mongoose? In the late 80's and early 90's they had an aluminum road frame line called Mangusta and then there's the venerable IBOC MTB line.

I am fortunate to have good roads (bike lanes or empty), minor climbing, and now in my 70s it is all about the ride (I am 180 lbs) and lighter weight C&Vs. While eye candy like very early Caminade, Leducq (Mercier), etc, are lovely I don't need any more wall hangers If someone can recommend a fine riding madel for example I might want to try a model of Alan or Guerciotti with the threaded AL tubes, I missed a '86 Klein Criterium by a half hour on Craigslist and only hope to find in my size 979 with the "Losange" aero ST. I was never too impressed with the early Cannondales that have passed through the shop (I still have a light tourer that I need to move).

With Cannondale you can see a clear evolution of both the frame and the marketing. Up until the CAAD 4, it was all about stiffness and lightness. After that they started playing with the pencil thin wavy seat stays and flattened chain stays and other things to make the ride more compliant. That’s also about the time the premium models started coming with carbon forks. The same thing happened about the same time with other brands, but Cannondale manage to hang on to competitive premium aluminum for a few years longer than most.

I know, gorgeous, saw a Barra in SF on vacation a few years ago. But I know me and it would spend life hanging up until the kids would probably have it in an estate sale.

+1 to ALAN. I've had a bonded frame come apart. I like that the ALAN frames were screwed and glued.

You can even get a new one that kinda, almost, sorta looks classic: https://alanbike.it/en/road/mito-al/

I don't know if it's good, but there is the Trek 1200.

How about a Peugeot Comete? I really wanted one when they came out in the mid 1980s, but they were way out of my price range at the time. I think there were questions raised about durability of the frames, but there are still quite a few about, and the frames were built (I think - happy to be corrected) in the same way as the Vitus 979.

Possibly not a C&V, but I've got an aluminium Peugeot Festina Team Replica from the mid 1990s - it's got the best ride quality of any aluminium bike I've ridden.

I think Klein started making aluminum frames in the 1980s. The old ones don't come up often but they are very cool C&V aluminum bikes to consider.

I always thought these were gorgeous-looking bikes: Kettler Strato

An absolutely pristine example just sold on ebay Germany for 700euro. They seem pretty rare.

https://steel-vintage.com/kettler-st...ke-1982-detail

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1805a758ca.jpg

You may not like the ride but Cannondale and Klein are the class of older aluminum. C&V aluminum, interesting niche.

The '90s Cannondale you tried may have had an aluminum fork. The '80s SR models with the lugged steel forks actually ride quite nice. That and not having the narrowest tires imaginable pumped up to 140 psi really helps.

^^^Yes. I had an early ST with steel fork. On 28s the ride was very nice, nothing "harsh" about it.

I have owned, built up and ridden a Vitus 979 and an ALAN Super. The ALAN was a superior bike, quality wise and mechanically as well, My opinion, of course...
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ccf2a7b42e.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9f842a19a9.jpg

I’ve got a 87 Trek 2000 with full Dura Ace 7400 that I love.

Have a early 90’s GT Edge aluminum. Originally built in GT’s custom shop by hand and sold as a frameset only, they were marketed as complete bikes a year later in choice of Ti, aluminum or fillet brazed steel.


The next year GT decided to get into the roadbike game and had several different models at different price points, but an Edge model would certainly qualify as a unique machine and one to keep in mind if you see one pop up.

not sure if it would ever be worth any real money, but fast and fun

There is also Raleigh Technium and Raleigh Team bicycles that have aluminum tubing. I suppose that if they've survived this long, they may have been properly bonded, but I stay away from Aluminum myself, and this might not be the right way to look at it.

Here is a BF thread that starts with a 14 bike comparison from 1986, with all the bikes being aluminum or composite.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ite-bikes.html

One of the folks I rode with in the '80's had a Klein. I was on an Alan Record at the time. The Alan had the flash and the Klein had the sleek and did feel a taste stiffer.
Neither ultimately lured me from Italian steel.

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the dural employed by Ateliers De La Rive for the fabrication of DURALINOX alloy frame tubing was supplied by the Parisian firm of Ce.Ge.Dur/CEGEDUR

this company produced many alloy fittings for both pedal cycles and for motor cycles -


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9574093669.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f0b5bb6e1f.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...333951f84d.jpg

the firm also supplied the alloy saddle frames found on Tron et Berthet I-series saddles -


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e7a5da996e.jpg



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Just be aware that the Comete and Galaxie "Pechiney" dry joint (What I understand was, a friction/wedge fit at the joint with no glue) aluminum framed bikes from Peugeot have a "tainted" history.
After supposedly failures experienced on some of the frames, Peugeot actually recalled all of them, at least in the US market and had them destroyed by the dealers. What you find out there in the US used bike market are basically "stragglers" that avoided getting liquidated by the recall.

this bike does not belong to me
cmp
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4f7a54153.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5ff9bd4840.jpg

Out in the barn is an early '80's Klein, a Vitus 979, an Alan Record, a Cannondale Black Lightning, a Schwinn 594, and an early '90s GT Force. All very different bikes and all good rides except for the GT. Too stiff and twitchy for my taste.

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