Carlton Bicycles (Cyclone, Cobra, Professional, etc)

the letters ti inside a circle appear on the frame along with a decal "made in the republic of ireland" no sign of any numbers stamped into it anywhere just the letter k under the bottom bracket and GB forged on the stem, still not sure about these forks but everything else is fairly good shape. the model name seems to be "criterium"

Checked the left rear drop out ?

Carlton's were either made in Woking or Nottingham, so I'd imagine the Ireland sticker is something that someone's added at a later date

oh that'ill suit me great as i live in ni- roads are shit here

I see what you mean though, from the photo the fork ends don't seem to be level with eachother. Is that what you were trying to illustrate? Might be an illusion.

Otherwise the curve is quite normal, and I think rather pretty. My 60's frame has the same.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3589676711_37eb9b0d21_b.jpg

Mine's very, very similar. Dunno what to do with it, really.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3337/3490376927_d4a1dcf5db_o.jpg

Mines currently in pieces, stripped back to the metal and ready to be painted. I'm painting it white and I've already started polishing the forks and bars :)

according to wikipedia the carlton cycle company was taken over by raleigh and raleigh did build bikes in dublin

Not Carlton's though. Made in Worksop (early models from Carlton-in-Lindrick) until 1981 when the Worksop factory closed. Raleigh carried on with the name for a year or two in Nottingham until they retired it

oh that'ill suit me great as i live in ni- roads are shit here

where abouts in n.i are u from? i ride around belfast normally and dont see to many fixed gear bikes.

ever heard of ballinamallard

ever heard of ballinamallard

is it near enniskillen? not too sure :) i'm sure it is fixed gear central tho by the sounds of things.. lol

No serial on bottom bracket probably means it was Nottingham built. Nottingham built Carltons have the serial # stamped vertically on the back of the seat tub just under the seat stays - 1st character "N" indicates Nottingham build. Not all Carltons were built @ Worksop even before closure. (GB stem normally indicates 1960s or early 1970s.)

RE the tubing - TI = Tube Investments I think its Truwel double butted frame tubes. Mine has the same logo. Its stripped down and fixed. I love it. Its reasonably light even with the clottered cranks, and feels great on the road.

As its seems to have all the parts I'd say keep it, clean it, ebay it. Or post on here.

Here's mine b4 and after (the b4 makes it look better than it was).

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No serial on bottom bracket probably means it was Nottingham built. Nottingham built Carltons have the serial # stamped vertically on the back of the seat tub just under the seat stays - 1st character "N" indicates Nottingham build. Not all Carltons were built @ Worksop even before closure. (GB stem normally indicates 1960s or early 1970s.)

Gets Anorak

See here :-

http://www.carltoncycles.me.uk/details/dating.htm

According to this they didn't use N as a leading character

One of my Carlton's was built in Nottingham in 1982, after the factory closure, and it still starts with a 'W' rather than a 'N'

Gets Anorak

See here :-

http://www.carltoncycles.me.uk/details/dating.htm

According to this they didn't use N as a leading character

One of my Carlton's was built in Nottingham in 1982, after the factory closure, and it still starts with a 'W' rather than a 'N'

Raleigh/Carlton original serial number sheet:

The prefix letter indicates build factory not brand. The exception to this is that the "W" prefix continued to be used on Nottingham built lightweights (eg 531) after Worksop closed. Carltons were also built at Nottingham ("N" prefix) before Worksop's closure, and the I have a 1980 Nottingham built Carlton Cyclone with standard TI tubing and it carries the "N" prefix on seat tube. I also have a 1987 Raleigh Road Ace (531) with a "W" prefix # on bottom bracket.

Bottom line is, if no serial on bottom bracket, check the seat tube. But don't take it back to the scrap bin - it's too good! Fix it, ride it, enjoy it. It'll outlast a modern far eastern aluminium bike any day.

is it near enniskillen? not too sure :) i'm sure it is fixed gear central tho by the sounds of things.. lol

aye bout 6 mile

found it! on the seat tube- DK809479

So there you have it! An Irish built Carlton. Built at the Irish Raleigh factory in Dublin in July 1978.

Have you decided to keep it yet?

yip but dont know exactly what i'll do with it, the purists would say keep it as original as possible but i fancy doing something a bit more radical but it's a job for the winter so i've got time to decide. looking through the bike porn thread will help me decide

Whether you keep it as was or convert it the main thing is you breath new life into it, and another old racer rolls again.

is it near enniskillen? not too sure :) i'm sure it is fixed gear central tho by the sounds of things.. lol

Not quite, but I've been riding fixies on and off here for years. I'm new here though. I set an alert for Ballinamallard in Google Reader, and never expected it to come up with a fixie forum!

Jonny, that bike looks very much like the first one I fixed back in the early '80's. It had a cottered steel crank and the tubing was nothing special, but it was fun to ride, and the hills round here soon got me fit. Whenever i had two bikes, it was the fixed I rode most. These days I've got an e-assisted Xtracycle to fetch the groceries from Enniskillen - you may have seen me around.

it's a small world! i'll watch out for you- what does an an e-assisted Xtracycle look like?

it's a small world! i'll watch out for you- what does an an e-assisted Xtracycle look like?

Its just a cheap black mountainbike with a front hub motor and a15" wheelbase extension for load carrying. No gears, so I guess its on-topic for here ;-)

When I had the fixie I ran a 20t sprocket and a 48t chain ring. That got me up all the hills round here, but I had to be careful coming down some (like Drumsonnus), because I just had the sprocket spun onto the old hub - no lockring.

If you want to get in touch, click on my username to email me.

wow thats a tight one (ulster slang meaning great or big) -lot of work to do at the old carlton before i can tackle that one! anyone know the best way remove the lamp bracket mount on the forks and will it leave a hole?

Mine's very, very similar. Dunno what to do with it, really.

Snap!

you mention that you don't know what to do with yours...? Does that mean you would be willing to sell? I'm looking to swap my large frame for a smaller one. Wanna trade?

Snap!

you mention that you don't know what to do with yours...? Does that mean you would be willing to sell? I'm looking to swap my large frame for a smaller one. Wanna trade?

Where did you get that saddle? I'm after one like that.

Its a charge spoon I think