Carlton Bicycles (Cyclone, Cobra, Professional, etc)

after cleaning out the garage one day took a load of junk to the local recycling centre and spotted this old racer in the scrap metal skip so i said to the attendant-i know a better way to recycle this! he even give me a hand to pull it out. the wife thinks i've lost the plot! can anyone tell me anything about this old girl or should i "fix" it ? it's a carlton but it's raleigh bits on it

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i had one of of these when i was about 13, my dad bought it secondhand in the market in Mare st, Hackney, I remember scraping the paint off and underneath was Lovely silver undercoat, it looked the bizz, used to do my paper round on it. Then it got stolen, nothing changes!

is this thing any good or should i send it back to be melted!

i'd keep it and do it up ive just done the same with an old raleigh, got my bits off ebay cost very little 20/30 quid. They were a good bike in the day, it deserves a new life! The only thing I will say is that old steel frames rust from the inside.

Looks like the Carlton I have in the garage, except your has a Brooks saddle.

this thing needs a lot of work- paint job new wheels n stuff. i'm in the process of "fixing" my mountain bike which i use to go to work on, but this will be me bit on the side- turn it into something beautiful, anyone got some good ideas- like to ditch the brakes but they're in good nick. saddle should come up nice with a bit of shoe cream or something

Is the tubing anything special? Are the seatpin and stem siezed in? Are the forks bent back? (They look a touch steep, or is that an illusion?)

That's what I'd be considering...

i'll have to do a post-mortem examination tommorrow, how do i know if the frame is rusted from the inside? and i'll take a better picture of the forks i'm sorry but i'm a bit of a bike-tech virgin!

I have one like it. Not sure what to do with it either.

Use Proofile, they're leather treatment from Brooks themselves, it should look pretty good after a good rub.

that brooks saddle look like it's in good nick, actually nearly everything bar the frame is in pretty good nick, strip the mother's, and spend your time and energy cleaning, greasing, polishing every bits that look like it can be save, and simply replace those that can't.

strip and rebuild it fixed with fashionable parts. then sell it on ebay as a mad ratbike fixie.

What Ed said with the stripping, cleaning and re-greasing.

Frame number will either be under the bottom bracket or on the left rear drop out. See here :-

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

to try to date your frame

Personally I would hang on to it and do it up. Bikes of this age aren't going to get any cheaper with current cycling trends as they are. You have a nice little racer there. I managed to pick up up a 1971 Carlton Grand Prix a few weeks back for free from a kind soul. Gonna keep it as a period racer for longer rides.

I'd definitely keep the bike and spend some time on restoring it - it'll be worth the trouble. If you decide not to, let me know and I'll take it off your hands :)

Personally I would hang on to it and do it up. Bikes of this age aren't going to get any cheaper with current cycling trends as they are. You have a nice little racer there. I managed to pick up up a 1971 Carlton Grand Prix a few weeks back for free from a kind soul. Gonna keep it as a period racer for longer rides.

P!MP, How about some pics of your 1971 Grand Prix to whet our appetites? I used to have a balack/red one from that era until a speeding car's front bumper hit it broadside :(

There's a pic of it in the Bike Porn thread about 3 weeks ago. Was in great condition and only needed new cloth bar tape. There is a bike god and he smiled on me that day!

Page 296.

I'm currently restoring exactly the same bike, although mine was the opposite to yours. The frame seems to be in good condition and everything else was screwed :D

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

That was when I first cleaned it, I've now got it completely stripped down and I'm paint stripping it today.

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

Page 296.

http://static.londonfgss.com/attachments/10085d1242474753-carlton-1.jpg

I love seeing old bikes being given a new lease of life, that's what's cool about the fixed movement. I picked up a lovely old Bianchi 10 speed a year or 2 back and criminally cut off all the cable guides, I so regret that now. Wish I had left it original, all my conversions since could be re-converted back to racers if needs be.

[quote=DickBarton;739009]Is the tubing anything special? Are the seatpin and stem siezed in? Are the forks bent back? (They look a touch steep, or is that an illusion?)

That's what I'd be considering...[/quote

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"

are these bent

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it hard to tell from the photos to be honest, netherless old fork tend to bend quite far like that for comfort (back then when the road wasn't exactly in great condition).

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