Your First True Racer What Was it and Year

[SkipdiverJohn]

The Carlton Tru - Wel frame of the 70's with Crespera lugs was the basis of many a bike. They did a great job..... light enough, good geometry, rode well and looked a million dollars when chromed and dressed up

I've got a 5 speed 23 1/2" Tru-wel sitting in my spares pile! Any idea what the geometry actually was on these? Have been toying with the idea of repainting it (no decals & looks horrible currently) and fitting it with a Sturmey AW, as I've got a pair of alloy 700c's that came from a donor hub geared CB women's town bike. The Carlton frame looks like it would take 32 or even 35 tyres at a push. Thinking I could recreate a pre-derailleur era weekend clubman's style bike around the Tru-wel frame - or should I hold out for a cheap 531 to turn up?

 

[Carlton Flier]

I've got a 5 speed 23 1/2" Tru-wel sitting in my spares pile! Any idea what the geometry actually was on these? Have been toying with the idea of repainting it (no decals & looks horrible currently) and fitting it with a Sturmey AW, as I've got a pair of alloy 700c's that came from a donor hub geared CB women's town bike. The Carlton frame looks like it would take 32 or even 35 tyres at a push. Thinking I could recreate a pre-derailleur era weekend clubman's style bike around the Tru-wel frame - or should I hold out for a cheap 531 to turn up?

They do turn up for sale eBay is full of frames some daft money others quite reasonable Most of them for sale only fit midgets though at 21 ins Nothing wrong with your frame get cracking on that one I’m after a good frame 23.5

 

[screenman]

A lugless Claud Butler when I was about 13, got it off a friend of the family, it was nicked a couple of months later. The next was a nice dark green Holdsworth when I was 14, much to big for me and I bent is doing a cross race the same year, I owned it for about another 5 years until that was nicked.

 

[Mrs M]

Halfords Cascade ladies racer.
Metallic mint green with dark green full mudguards, white bar tape an a rack (for carrying picnics).
Sister and I both got one each around 1980.
Loved that bike

 

[midlife]

I've got a 5 speed 23 1/2" Tru-wel sitting in my spares pile! Any idea what the geometry actually was on these? Have been toying with the idea of repainting it (no decals & looks horrible currently) and fitting it with a Sturmey AW, as I've got a pair of alloy 700c's that came from a donor hub geared CB women's town bike. The Carlton frame looks like it would take 32 or even 35 tyres at a push. Thinking I could recreate a pre-derailleur era weekend clubman's style bike around the Tru-wel frame - or should I hold out for a cheap 531 to turn up?

The Carlton frame will do very well for that, should be the right spacing as well. You will not notice much difference spending on a 531 with the ride. The 700c wheels might just need a longer drop brake. The Weinmann 730's on my old carlton were *just* long enough for sprints / Tubs. Any pics of your Carlton?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The Carlton frame will do very well for that, should be the right spacing as well. You will not notice much difference spending on a 531 with the ride. The 700c wheels might just need a longer drop brake. The Weinmann 730's on my old carlton were *just* long enough for sprints / Tubs. Any pics of your Carlton?

Spacing is 120mm, so looks OK give or take for a hub gear. It does feel fairly light for a plain gauge steel frame. A little heavier than my Dawes 531 frame, but not massively so. I've got Weinmann 750's and the shoes are not on their limit set for 27" rims. Looks to have enough drop for 700's. Didn't take any pics before dismantling, will have to dig the frame out. No headbadge, just the wrapover stays to give the game away. Not a pretty sight, sloppy brush paint job using household Dulux or similar. May have been done to deter thieves if used as a commuter?

 

[Smudge]

I swear most of those mass-produced Raleigh family "racers" of that era, regardless of whether it had a Raleigh, BSA, Sun etc, badge, were all built around the same basic steel frame and the main thing that varied was the paint job! Doesn't take anything away from the fact they tended to all be strong, dependable bikes. Good job they were, considering the sort of treatment dished out to them by the typical teenage boy rider.

I remember at the time, my mate had a bright yellow BSA racer. We each thought we had the better make. Neither of us being knowledgeable about both of these bikes being essentially Raleigh and made in the same factory.
In fact it was not that many years ago when i found out about this, through the power of Google.

 

[raleighnut]

I've got a 5 speed 23 1/2" Tru-wel sitting in my spares pile! Any idea what the geometry actually was on these? Have been toying with the idea of repainting it (no decals & looks horrible currently) and fitting it with a Sturmey AW, as I've got a pair of alloy 700c's that came from a donor hub geared CB women's town bike. The Carlton frame looks like it would take 32 or even 35 tyres at a push. Thinking I could recreate a pre-derailleur era weekend clubman's style bike around the Tru-wel frame - or should I hold out for a cheap 531 to turn up?

You can take 120 out to 126 spacing easily, I did in the late 80s when I changed the 'Clubman' to 12 speed,

 

[TheDoctor]

My first racer was the 10 speed Coventry Eagle I got for Christmas when I was 15 IIRC.
Looked like this :-

On Boxing Day I rode it to my grannies place in Kettering - about 50 miles away.
Sadly it's long since been melted down for better things, or other things anyway.

My next new road bike was the Raliegh Dynatech 401Ti, which I still have, but it's a SS these days.

 

[Colin_P]

That brings back some good memory's .That was my first road bike as well bought mainly with coop stamps for Xmas around 1978 . I remember it had full mud guards the reason my Dad bought it for me and not the Raleigh arena I wanted as that came with those useless 5 inch things . He was right about a dirty back when I rode in the rain

I think mine came with "shorty" mudguards but can't really remember. Towards the end, and that bike took some proper abuse, one of the cotter pins or the square on the bottom bracket wore out and the pedals / cranks were at about 140 degrees rather than 180 degrees. I still rode it but it must have looked like I was on a clown bike.

@Dayvo
@13 rider

Interestingly it seems, from reading other replies, that the trusty Olympus was on sale for a fair few years. I'm sure I got mine in 82 or 83 but you have mentioned them being available through 74 to 78 and with me in 82 or 83.

A lot of those so-called racers weren't actually that racy either. Take a look at the fairly slack geometry, long wheelbases, and a fistful of clearance between the rear tyre and the seat tube. They often looked the part with their eve-catching metallic paint, chromed bits, and token mudguards, but really they owed more to touring than racing in their design. Possibly why they tended to be very versatile multi-purpose bikes, and fondly remembered. They were still relatively lively compared to heavy old bomber type bikes, but weren't twitchy or unpredictable.

Previously I had a Grifter, the 5 speed racer was the dogs in comparison.

As for smoothness and feel I don't think you can beat an old steel framed lax geometry racer. In fact so much so, I recently sold my modern road bike and now exclusively use my 1984 Pug for road use.

 

[randynewmanscat]

First proper racer, a Freddie Grubb equipped with Suntour dérailleurs, Nervar chainset, Carrera brakes (the brakes cost me about 2 months paper round money) and a set of Ambrosio hubs/Nisi rims wheels donated by my elder brother. Tubular tyres as all narrow tyres were in 1973 and almost put me off cycling, learning to sew with a heavy needle and gut twine at age 13 was no fun.
Funded by paper rounds at the wage of £2.70/£3.20 per week each in a super affluent area where my Christmas tips beat my weekly wage by 10x, a lot of money in the early 70's. Paper rounds, you had to be over 13 years old, I lied, I was 12 when I started my first round. I retired the Grubb frame when I bought a second hand Mercian with barely any paint left on it, not what you want to hear but I turned the Grubb into a "tracker" with flat bars and 27" cheapo steel wheels fitted with knobbly tyres, fixed wheel. I got my taste for motocross on that bike and used to destroy the greens broadsiding on Hale Barns golf course with my friends.
I gave up crime shortly afterwards due to being gripped by some golfers and questioned by police after using the bunkers to practice jumps. Its hard to escape when you are on your side with a bike on top of you.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I gave up crime shortly afterwards due to being gripped by some golfers

Oh no, the boys in tartan slacks!

 

[randynewmanscat]

Oh no, the boys in tartan slacks!

Oh they were angrier than drunk wasps. They probably assumed I was the wretched vandal who had committed earlier crimes and they were correct.
My dad was not impressed when I told him that the police would call by later. They did, just to rub it in, which in hindsight worked with me but probably not for youths made of sterner stuff.
Dad was slightly more annoyed when he saw a frame that must have set me back £15 covered in mud and scratches.

 

[Salar]

My first proper racer with drop handle bars was a 5 speed Raleigh Flyer. I did thousands of miles on it.

It was a strange mix of good components and cheap ones.

I'd saved up to buy my first wife an engagement ring, but I needed transport, so the ring had to wait.

Mine was purple, sorry "Ultra Violet".

 

[wheresthetorch]

First proper racer was a Raleigh Equipe in about 1984. Now managed to get another as I missed it!