Loopybike quick £100 Carlton build

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loopybike

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Not sure this is the right area to post this so admins feel free to move :smile:


I had a sudden, scary thought the other week: I don't have a road bike at the moment!

With spring round the corner I thought it was time to do something about it. Fire up eBay! ........

Now I can't justify spending loads on a bike, but I want nice quality and uniqueness. ( if you have seen my previous builds you'll know I like uniqueness!) So I set myself a £100 budget. That's for the whole build mind.

£22 later I've won (??) myself a tatty carlton. There was only 1 photo of it in the advert and that was very poor so it was a gamble. Not much of a gamble I guess but still 22% of my budget. I collected it from a very "interesting" chap ( think Steptoe and son ) in the dark so I still couldn't look at what I'd got. What I did know was the it wouldn't roll when I pushed it to my car. Not a good sign. I loaded it inside my estate car and drove the 1/2 hr home enjoying the delightful smell of, well, I can't describe it really. I believe that on that cold winters night I was the only car driving with all the windows down!

So here it is safely in the workshop.

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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
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DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
Best probably in the 'Vintage and Classic Bikes' sub-section.

It looks ... erm ... neglected. Nothing a new chain and cables wouldn't sort. I'm not sure the flat bars are original though. Enjoy bringing it back to life.
 
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
Yes, neglected. That sums this bike up perfectly.
On further inspection it seems that the bike is only a little worn, in fact hardly used.
I stripped it down to the component parts and removed the old ( and get poorly done) black paint. Under the black was a pale blue but I don't think that was original either as there was over paint on the brakes!
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
Now the paintwork is on area I'm cheating on my £100 budget because I'm using some leftover paint from a previous project. It's a pearlescent black epoxy 2k paint. In the sunshine it reflects multi colours in the fleck. I'm a sucker for a black and chrome bike!
I was fighting the temperature in the workshop. 4 degrees is not good for a nice paint finish! I used a couple of heat lamps on it to help. All went well until the clear top coat. It just wasn't hardening. Either I mixed it wrong, used the wrong hardener or the hardener was off. Possibly all three! Lol
Anyway, the warmest place in the workshop is the toilet. So I placed the frame in there and left it a week. Happily this worked :smile:
Sorry to the rest of the lads here for having to share the loo with my bike!

Oh the orange in the first photo is a reflection of the heat lamp, not rust!
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Location
Brussels
You hear a lot about how Carlton did great quality chrome. Looking at the rest of the bike and then the chrome on the forks I start to understand what they mean: it's not perfect but it looks much better than it has any right to look.
 
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
To save money I'm reusing as much as I can. Most of the original chrome came up really well. The crank and arms were too rusty. Fortunately I have a cotterpin crankset in my box of tat at home :smile:

Ah, that moment when you install the bearing cups into the freshly painted frame! :smile: doesn't it look nice? Hang on, oh bugger, I've put them in the wrong way round! Pass the hammer and drift....
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
@loopybike that's looking good

should be up and running soon then
Thanks. Yes in all honesty this is a back dated thread. The bike is (almost) finished now
 
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
Nice :becool: if you painted a white panel on the seatstay it would look more 'Carlton'
True, but my vision is to make it mine, not a Carlton restoration. It's a 1974 model so not valuable even if it was perfect.
I forgot to mention that I removed the pump brackets and the little cable holder for the 10 speed option. Less is more and all that :smile:
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
True, but my vision is to make it mine, not a Carlton restoration. It's a 1974 model so not valuable even if it was perfect.
I forgot to mention that I removed the pump brackets and the little cable holder for the 10 speed option. Less is more and all that :smile:
I'm not thinking 'resto' but have you seen what 'hipster' riders will pay for a Carlton frame, especially one with no gear braze-ons and rear hanger. :eek:
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Anyway, the warmest place in the workshop is the toilet. So I placed the frame in there and left it a week. Happily this worked :smile:
Sorry to the rest of the lads here for having to share the loo with my bike!
Your bike in the toilet was taking the pee. Probably literally if your colleagues' aim isn't good. xx(
 
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loopybike

loopybike

Veteran
So we move on to the wheels. The originals were Ok, a bit rusty and warped. No damage as such just needed trueing up and polishing. However the spoke ends were quite rusty and would need replacing if I was to have any confidence in the wheels. So for now I've decided to fit more modern aluminium wheels. £55 Well spent I think. They came with the same 5 gears as the originals. £1.50 for some rim tape. The tubes and tyres are from my "stock". As was the saddle. The original saddle was one of those hard plastic jobs.

I'd ordered some new brake blocks online. However when they arrived it was clear they were rubbish. One fell apart in my hands! The block was shorter and so was the thread. This ment I couldn't get the nut on once it was in the calliper.
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