Danbianchi881

I need help with the shifter boss issue. What did Alan use for the shifter boss?
thank for any help

Scooper

It would depend on the down tube O.D., but if it's 28.6 mm I'll bet the Campagnolo 1014 would work. Since the headset seems to be Campy, the 1014 may have been standard. Illustration from the 1974 Campagnolo catalog.

bwilli88 

It would be nice if you shsowed the DT shifter area along with the rest of the pics

unworthy1

I ASSUME the "shifter boss issue" is that one (or both) of the originals broke off...but that's a guess since all I can see is one side and even that pic is too small to tell if the boss is now a hole on the drive side.
I'd guess that ALAN had alloy bosses that were epoxied on, but other ALAN owners with a road frame of the same vintage as yours will know more.
In any case, if BOTH bosses are gone then the @Scooper solution makes sense: replace with a clamp-on set of the brand and size that fits the down tube and your shifter levers of choice.

oddjob2

IIRC, you mentioned in a mid-summer post about stopping the bike acquisition thing by fall. Fall happened yesterday at 10:37 am or thereabouts.

N+1 continues, enjoy!

juls

SWEET! More pics, more pics

kenhawkeye

As it happens, I am just about to put Campy shifters on exactly the bike you are asking about. The right shifter boss looks to be alloy and not steel. It might even be attached to its partner on the other side of the tube. I have had some great help from Alberto Falconi, the top man at Alan and very obliging. I am sure he would help. email. alberfal@tin.it

Chombi

As with Vitus bonded framesets, I think the shifter bosses on that Alan had a thin long screw that goes from one boss to the other through the hole on the down tube, to anchor them mechanically on to the down tube. They must also glue the boss escutcheon (round bases that is curved on the bottom to interface with the down tube) on to down tube suface too.

unworthy1

That makes sense to me^ I can check with a neighbor who has a "Super record" model ALAN frame of similar vintage and see what his shifter bosses look like. If they DO bolt thru a bole in the DT then finding such replacements may be difficult, but maybe Sr. Falconi can help with that.

CliffordK

I have a broken shifter boss on a CADEX frame that I picked up for cheap that I started researching repairs on.

There are a couple of kits that you might be interested in.
NOVA LEVER BOSS KIT FOR AL FRAME :: SMALL PARTS :: BRAZON/SMALL PARTS :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.

https://www.loosescrews.com/product/...-lever-bosses/

I can't guarantee the radius would be perfect, but I've seen a suggestion of taping a piece of sandpaper to your frame, and carefully sanding down the radius for a perfect fit.

I'm not quite sure what Nova means by "Not sold in pairs"????

Nova does recommend using epoxy while assembling.

unworthy1

Is the Nova set (noted not sold in pairs, but if this is a "set" as pictured you only need one) meant for 40mm DIAMETER as they write or 40mm CIRCUMFERENCE, which is a bizarre measurement but a common 28.6 downtube would be around 45mm C...?

CliffordK

Hmmm...

1.125" = 28.575mm
1.25" = 31.75mm

Circumference = πD = 2πR, so you're quite a bit larger than 40mm circumference.

Looking at Nova's new tube page, they're absolutely huge, so perhaps not for vintage restorations.

TUBES ALUMINUM :: Nova Cycles Supply Inc.

On my Giant CADEX, I have the two backing plates, and just need the spindles (or just one), so it may not make a difference. Any chance the OP has the original parts?

Perhaps the LooseScrews link above is better, albeit a bit more expensive (not too bad if one needs to order two from Nova).

I'll try to take my CADEX shifter bosses apart in the next couple of days, and work on a spare bits and pieces order from Nova shortly, but it may be a couple of weeks before I get them in hand.

I wonder if NOVA custom makes their parts, and would be willing to add smaller sizes?

CliffordK

Ok,

I realize the OP has an Alan frame, and mine is a Giant, but it should all be related.

The CADEX shift bosses unscrewed quite easily.

Tubes are about 1.24" in diameter.

The CADEX backing plates appear to be steel, and unnecessarily heavy. If only aluminum Nova parts would fit.

Cadex Shifter Bosses.jpg
Cadex Shifter Bosses_Apart.jpg

Yes, the grey is pretty ugly. It came that way. But, this may turn out to be a "stealth bike build".

Danbianchi881

Thank you everyone for the great help.
Slowly building up this bike now, the shifter boss is the only problem