[CR] Interesting email about my Allegro

I get a lot of emails regarding my bike projects, as I keep a journal on my web site at http://www.nonlintec.com/bikepages/. It generates a lot of emails. Perhaps surprisingly, the great majority concern my Allegro and Austro Daimler. Anyway, I thought some of the Allegro admirers on the list might like to see this email I received. I'm sure he's joking in the last sentence, but if not, I'm ready...

On 3/19/2010 12:02 PM, Lutz Nicolas wrote: > Hi Steve, > > Just happened to see your website http://www.nonlintec.com/allegro/ > while searching for allegro bikes. > > My grandfather Arnold Grandjean was the founder of Allegro bikes in > Merin, Neuchatel. He would have been very very VERY impressed by your > restoration work. I have to show it to my mother, last owner of the > factory before it was sold in the late 80\u2019s. > > I have a similar bike at home and will organize for you to come 6 months > and restore it\u2026\u2026! > > Congratulations again! > > Nicolas LUTZ

And my reply:

Nicolas:

Sorry to take so long to reply; life is complicated here!

How interesting to hear that you are the grandson of the founder of Allegro. I have always admired the bikes--they are much different from the usual racing bikes of the era. It's also interesting to note that I get more emails about the Allegro and the Austro Daimler on my web site than any other bikes. Most frequently, the emails are from people who have had one in their youth or have one currently, and want to know more about it. People frequently stop me when I'm riding the Allegro, and tell me about the ones they had. Once, I had an enjoyable discussion with a guy who had owned a bike shop in the 70s that sold them.

There's another interesting story about the bike. I once visited a bike shop in the Carlsbad area, Pacific Coast Cycles, and the owner told me of an Allegro that had been stolen from one of his other customers, and was recovered largely by accident when he saw it being ridden. After he described its size, color and components, it was clear that it was my bike! Indeed, I bought it from a person in a city just north of his. So, the bike has had an interesting life.

Anyway, thanks for contacting me and for the comments about the Allegro. I've had a lot of fun with it, and receiving emails about it is a large part of that enjoyment.

Regards, Steve Maas

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Steve Maas
Long Beach, California