Allegro #154107
 

serial number 154152
Probably from 1956, possibly also from 1957.

Best regards from Switzerland
Michael

Nice to see this thread is still alive! Here's a short video I shot awhile back showing my Allegro (and my brother's Frejus)…

Hello Joe,
very well made film - congratulations!
Regards, Michael

Here is a photo from an Allegro and an SKS-Tebag on a 130 km trip.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f27f5f4c06.jpg
Regards from Switzerland,
Michael

Great photo, Michael! Love the jerseys! Here's a shot of me and my Allegro with my only Swiss jersey. :)
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...11994d03fe.jpg

Allegro Serial #137259
 

Hello,

Great information on this thread. I spent a lot of time on the CABE and this is my first post here. My main rider is a 1916-17 Buffalo Pierce Roadster. I've done environmental permitting and compliance work at San Francisco's solid waste transfer station for 29 years. About 10 years ago I found the Pierce and a 1958 Schwinn American that I rescued from becoming scrap metal. A year or so ago I pulled this Allegro out of the scrap pile. Unfortunately most of the components have been switched out but it still is the thing of beauty to me and I look forward to getting it back on the road. The paint and pin stripping seem original, deep gloss black with gold pins. Serial number is #137259 which seems to put it early to mid 50s? Being that it was found in San Francisco I'm wondering if it was one of the 1950s bikes imported to Southern California by Jack Kemp. I'm having trouble uploading photos. I se there is an earlier comment about needing 10 posts first. I'll try top work on that. ;)

Gary

Welcome to the group, Gary! Wow, a 1917 Buffalo Pierce Roadster from the transfer station! I shouldn't be surprised though as I knew a bunch of guys who used to pull all kinds of great things out of the old San Francisco dump that closed around fifteen or so years ago.

Hi,
A now retired coworker puled bikes for years and donated them to various nonprofits, when he retired I think he was somewhere around 3200 bikes donated.

My newest rescue is a Eisentraut Limited from 1978, seems to have all original components but the forks are bent. Hopefully not beyond repair. I've not ridden a road bike much in years and in fact have my first bike I bought with my own money in 1973, Italvega Nuevo Sport from Cupertino Bike Shop. I put a lot of miles on that bike in the 70s and 80s, over the summit to Santa Cruz, from the west side of the valley to SJSU daily for months. I feel guilty not working on it instead of the other found projects...;)

That Eisentraut sounds like it has potential. As long as the fork isn't too badly bent any competent frame builder should be able to bend it back into shape. I have Steve Rex up here in Sacramento straighten out all my "tweaked" frames and forks. Lot's of Italvega fans on this forum as well!

Here in Alameda I've got Bernie Mickelson still building frames despite partial paralysis from a stroke. I have some great photos of him straightening the forks for my Pierce, they were S shaped. Using some 2x4s, rope, a vise and steel lever he supervised myself, his wife and a guy at his shop filming a documentary about bicycle builders. We nursed it back into shape. He guided the whole thing by eye and when he said "good" he laid it in one of his fork jigs and it was a perfect fit. He was excited that it was the oldest bike he'd ever worked on and told us a story about the pry bar, it was an axle from a 20s Ford Model A. ;) It was a great experience and he didn't want to charge for it but I insisted he take enough so they could go out for a nice dinner. We've been friends since and I run into him every couple of months around town. He walks a lot in spite of the paralysis in his arm and leg, he's the tough old guy we all aspire to be if faced with health challenges like a stroke.

Great to hear Bernie is still building. I've seen a few of his bikes around and they're always beautiful. Sadly, we recently lost Rolland Della Santa so we need to preserve all the remaining local frame builders we can.

Just got this donated to the Bike Exchange . purported to be a 1974 Allegro Special. I was looking for info on it and found this thread . I am sure it is a repaint . It looks like it was none recently. The lettering doesn't look quite right on the decals. They are applied over the paint and look new. It has a serial no. plaque on the side of the seat tube 259846. It has Campi dropouts and fork ends. I don't see any chrome on either. Was told it had swiss thread on the bottom bracket cups. It does have Campi shift levers and the cable guide near the bottom bracket. Since I don't have any campi wheels or derailleurs it will probably get a mash up of parts , Super champion wheels, weinman levers and brakes, a stronglight crank and an interesting rear der that I am going to keep a secret for now . Please let me know what you think of the frame. Even if it is a bit pretentious to call it a Special It looks pretty nice.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1411b312a5.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...452824465f.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d1fd99fd1b.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...55c560755f.jpg

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Thanks for posting capnjonny :thumb:

Cannot recall seeing one previously with a lamp boss on the fork blade. Since it is on the right blade it tells us it was built to export to a nation where they drive on the left (or added there).

The bottom bracket shell may exhibit a prominent lip on the fixed side. If present, it means the shell is a Georg Fischer. Think it yet early enough to have a CH threaded shell.

Would expect brake centres with 700 wheel to be 56mm if it came with centrepull brakes and 49mm if it came with sidepulls. OEM rear spacing would have been 120mm.

Some of the braze-ons appear to be additions.

These are nicely made and riding cycles. ;)

Have good fun with the build.

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Thats a nice looking frame! Great to see someone on here from my old hometown. In the 70s and 80s my parents owned a home on Mt. Eden Road, we were just outside the back gate to Garrods Stables. I tortured my Italvega using it as a mountain bike to get down through the orchards and horse trails to highway 9, into town, up to Skyline and over to Santa Cruz. Commuted to San Jose State for months in 1979-80. Nasty traffic back then to get through Campbell, hopefully the valley has better bike lanes nowadays. ;) Eventually I'll have 10 posts and can put some photo up.

The Swiss threads, I've learned a bit about them but only enough to be afraid...:lol:

Jh
Those look like the Bocama Professionals that replaced the model 14 pattern II c.1974-75. The headset stack height of the steerer would be a useful clue as to which variant you have. The only stock braze-on fittings I see are the diver’s helmet stop on the chainstay and (presumably) the ingot with the serial number. The top tube cable guides are later additions. Check to seeif the seat tube takes a 26.6 or a 26.4 mm seat post. I suspect it will be 26.6.

I would also check the steerer with a good digital caliper. I suspect that is NOT the original fork but is instead a British replacement that also has Campagnolo tips and a Vagner PL crown. Stock would involve a Nervor metric steerer, 25.0 outer diameter with 25.0 x 1 metric/French threads vs. 25.4 with British threads. Not so long ago I sold a LeJeune with what appeared to be its stock fork, only for it to turn out to be a British threaded replacement that featured the same PL crown. It happens.

Allegro 531-tubed frames appear to have come in A, B and C parts mixes. A was full Campagnolo with a Campagnolo headset. B was Campagnolo hubs and derailleurs, Stronglight V4 headset, Weinmann centerpulls, Stronglight 118 BB and crankset. C was alluded to in catalogs but not pictured and appears to have had the steerer cut to accommodate the shorter stack height of a Stronglight P3 and was fitted out with Weinmann sidepulls and lesser parts. I have one of those that came to me with a serious mishmash of parts that I have steered closer to period, if not stock.

On the Allegro I have a Campi Professional head set and It fit perfectly. Somehow I have misplaced my calipers so I can't get any precise measurements but I did measure th rear dropouts and they are 130 mm so I am going with a 7 speed freewheel or an 8 speed cassette. I am really stumped as to why the owner would have had triple cable guides brazed to the top tube. I will have to run the rear derailleur cable down the seat stay and use a top pull front derailleur. It just doesn't make sense to me especially as there is a campi down tube shifter and down tube cable guide on the bike and there is still the cable end on the chain stay. Any thoughts as to why they did it this way? Also, what are the braze on s on the front fork and left side seat stay for. They are both threaded for something to attach to them. Are they for lights? The more I look at this frame the more confused I am getting

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the boss on the blade is for a lamp
can also be employed for a dynamo

the boss on the left seat stay may be for a lamp or it may be an attachment point for a wheel lock


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f42be6d689.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6bfa139356.jpg

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But what thread pitch is that Campagnolo headset? If it isn’t French then you have a replacement fork, which is what I strongly suspect - the right fork blade headlamp boss is a very British thing and I cannot recall ever seeing one on any fork made somewhere other than the U.K. I suppose someone could have added it later, along with what sounds like a taillight mount. It looks like this bike has had an interesting career so far.

I tried both a cap from a old Peugeot and the Campi . the Peugeot piece screwed on all the way but felt a little tight , the Campi cap screwed on easily , felt much looser. So, is it Italian threading? I still don't get why the previous owner had the cable guides brazed on the top tube . A single one maybe but why a triple? Just for fun, here is a Schwinn Stingray I just painted. I still need to attach the head badge I stole from an old clunker bike and need to figure out why the kick stand doesn't work right, but ain't it purdy

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...379a320265.jpg

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campagnolo headset locknuts are typically marked with the thread on the underside

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4492b9c555.jpg
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I was able to locate the previous owner of the Allegro and exchanged a couple e mails with him . They answered all the questions that I had about it.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____John,

I bought it new old stock maybe 15 years ago. I think it’s about a 1973. The paint was totally crazed when I bought it from being in a barn for 30 years. I had it modified with braze-ons to support a Rohloff hub - thus the strange seat stay and top tube braze-ons. You’ll notice that the seat stay braze-on was partially cut off because it was put on too high and interfered with the rear brake. When I bought it, the steerer threads (which were french) were pretty destroyed, so I had a new steerer with english threads installed. I also had it powder coated the current blue and I found some decals which were close and put those on.



I never loved the way it rode - a little slow steering for my tastes - so it was sitting in my garage for about 10 years unused. But it has great tire clearance - it can clear most 35 mm tires with long reach brakes.

____________________________________________________________________________________



Thank you so much for the e mail . I often find rather special bikes that have been donated to the Bike Exchange and do a restoration on them. Usually there is no info that goes along with the bike and it can be quite frustrating trying to find out its origin and some of it's history. There is a bike I have called the French Mystery Bike that came to me early this year that has defied all attempts to determine who made it. Experts in obscure French bikes believe it is from the 1960's and probably built by a regional specialty builder in France If I had a head badge for it it would probably up the value by a couple hundred dollars.

Your frame and fork also had me and my friends confused. Especially the braze on triple cable stops. I could think of no situation where that would be necessary, especially with the down tube mounted shift levers and cable guide. I have tried to come up with a set up that would use all three but in the end what I did was to use just one for the rear brake and use one half of the lower cable guide to run the rear derailleur cable, drilling and threading the bottom bracket shell to accomodate a plastic sable guide so I could run the front derailleur cable under it and use a set up where the wire goes directly to the derailleur. Otherwise the 700 x 28 tires rubbed on the derailleur necessitating deflating the tire in order to put it on or take it off.

I figured that the front fork was a replacement , especially with the right side braze on for a headlight. Was it purchased in England? I found that a Campi competition headset fit perfectly and it is stamped British threads.

Do you by any chance have a picture of the bike when you got it , after you had it modified and painted and ready to ride. There are quite a few Allegro fans that would be very grateful including myself.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________

John,

I’m afraid I don’t have any pictures. It was a classic solid international orange when I bought it. I remember looking at pictures of similar bikes online - that’s how I determined it was built around 1973.



The fork is Allegro. I put the generator braz-on on when I had the steerer fixed.



I think I read that someone bought about 50 of these and someone stored them all in a barn in the midwest. Maybe a child inherited the barn and found the bikes. They were all sold off -2000. That’s where this one came from.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

One more question. Is it a genuine Allegro Special or did you give it a promotion when you put the new decals on? I wouldn't want to misrepresent it to a buyer.
Thanks again,

__________________________________________________________________________________________



I’m pretty sure it’s a special. I’m absolutely sure that the tubing is 531 double butted throughout.

Well, I finally figured out what I wanted to do with the Allegro Special. I tried a Cinelli drop bar and a Modolo Anotomic and for some reason they just didn't do it for me. Most of the young Turks in Sillycone Valley , if they are riding drops, have some whiz bang carbon pile to show off with and they probably wouldn't be interested in this bike. I thought it would be more appropriate to build it as a Gentleman's Express Cruiser, with North Road bars and a much more upright stance, outfitted with a mix of top quality bits to create a fast but relaxed steed that any sophisticated gent would cherish. At 25.6 lbs. all up on a 63 cm frame it is just about perfect. The Sunrace thumbies shift the 7 speed rear mech easily and the Suntour Cyclone derailleur is one of the best. I have been riding a much heavier bike around lately and I really noticed the difference climbing. This bike takes the hills with ease . The Suntour Superbe brakes were as good as anything out there in their day and they put the bite on the Araya rims , which with their Shimano 105 hubs, want to spin forever.

So here are the pictures . I hope you all like it as much as I do. Now that I've had my fun , It will be added to our already impressive collection of viintage bikes for sale at the bike Exchange . check us out at
bikex.org P.S that is a Campi Corus headset on the bike. Don't know where I got "competition" from . I made the flashlight mount for the fork out of a packing sleeve from a 7 speed Sunrace cassette and a pipe clamp from the hardware store . The bolt is a chrome plated bottom bracket spindle bolt.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80de1b71eb.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce64f59b79.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e13aa8acb1.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb014e5910.jpg

Can't believe it' been so long since you first posted this bike. I love it! I've been working on a 51 Rudge but keep thinking about the 50s Allegro I rescued. At some point it also had some nice bars just like what you have, a nice "sit up and beg" rider.

This should be my 10th post so maybe I can post some photos now. Keep the Allegro thread going.

Some photos os the 1950s(?) Allegro I rescued from becoming scrap metal.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c328fd6e81.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...45a68d3d79.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b1d9880a9a.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...97b229ecdd.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b978bb8f7b.jpg