Wenger Altec de Luxe frame on eBay - I have some questions
04-07-16, 08:16 PM
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Wenger Altec de Luxe frame on eBay - I have some questions
I'm curious about the frame in this eBay auction. It seems kind of spiffy to me, and I was thinking it might be an interesting frame from which to hang the Regina 1992 group I got from @Bianchigirll. Does anyone have any experience with them? Here are a few questions I have.
I assume Altec was a competitor of ALAN. In a previous iteration of the auction the seller told me that Wenger is not the same company which makes Swiss Army Knives.
- Is it a flexible flyer? While it's roughly my size, I weight about 185, so wonder if it would be too noodly.
- The method of securing the seatpost in the frame seems a bit suspect. Any thoughts on that?
- Do these early-ish bonded aluminum frames have problems with the joints coming unglued?
- Looks like an aluminum fork as well. Hmmm...
I assume Altec was a competitor of ALAN. In a previous iteration of the auction the seller told me that Wenger is not the same company which makes Swiss Army Knives.
04-07-16, 08:26 PM
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Hmmm...as soon as I saw that pic showing the two allen-key screws anchoring the seatpost, I had the same question as you. It doesn't look at all like it would hold well in practice. I once had an SR Litage, similar frame construction, 57cm which was a wet noodle. Could this perform similarly? Maybe.
I have a sneaky suspicion the early screwed-and-glued frames don't hold up to close scrutiny these days. While relatively lightweight for their time, they had bonding separation issues and suffered from cracked lugs, too. I've not seen a lot of them that have survived in as good a condition as this one, but I'd still be wary.
Seems to me you'd basically be risking nearly $300 for a test ride. If you didn't like it, you could probably use the headset, but do you have another 25.0mm seatpost-clamp bike so that you could use the post?
For me it's a risk I wouldn't be willing to take. I've never been a fan of screwed/glued after my experience. YMMV.
DD
I have a sneaky suspicion the early screwed-and-glued frames don't hold up to close scrutiny these days. While relatively lightweight for their time, they had bonding separation issues and suffered from cracked lugs, too. I've not seen a lot of them that have survived in as good a condition as this one, but I'd still be wary.
Seems to me you'd basically be risking nearly $300 for a test ride. If you didn't like it, you could probably use the headset, but do you have another 25.0mm seatpost-clamp bike so that you could use the post?
For me it's a risk I wouldn't be willing to take. I've never been a fan of screwed/glued after my experience. YMMV.
DD
