Anyone want a Carlton 10?

[Proto]

Long saga. The mate I helped with his Carlton International recently thought he'd enjoy rebuilding another one so scoured Marketplace and quickly found the one pictured below. The seller also had another bike which my mate thought would suit me, so a plan was hatched to buy them both. I spoke to the vendor and it was agreed I'd go over this morning and pick them up.

Then late yesterday my chum felt that there wasn't enough work in the Carlton to interest him (paint is pretty good, and that's the bit he likes doing), so he backed out.

So I met the vendor this morning, but he wasn't willing to sell one without the other. He had a potential buyer who wanted them both and was he'd be stuck with one. I liked the look of the 'Argos' so I ended up buying both.

Anyone want to take the Carlton off my hands? Frame looks good, Capella lugs. 531 main tubes sticker(?) Pretty well complete, needs a BB axle. Comes with both single and double gear levers but only a single Nicklin chainset (well worn). GB Coureur 66 centre pulls, Sachs-Huret rear mech. Spare alum seat post (26.4mm). Paint and decals are good, not perfect, and needs clear coating. If I was restoring I'd paint it again.

It owes me £40. Anyone interested?

 

[Proto]

Here's the 'Argos'. Anyone care to identify the builder? Interesting seat post binder arrangement. Not particularly close clearance, seems very light, 27.2mm seat post. Odd mixture of 70's and 80's components - Cinelli bars/stem, Campag 980 mechs, Simplex friction shifters, Strada chainset, Shimano headset, early 600 brake levers, Dia Compe brake callipers.

 

[biggs682]

Here's the 'Argos'. Anyone care to identify the builder? Interesting seat post binder arrangement. Not particularly close clearance, seems very light, 27.2mm seat post. Odd mixture of 70's and 80's components - Cinelli bars/stem, Campag 980 mechs, Simplex friction shifters, Strada chainset, Shimano headset, early 600 brake levers, Dia Compe brake callipers.

View attachment 740914

View attachment 740915

Raleigh competition?
Any frame number stampings?
Where is collection from asking for a friend

 

[Proto]

Just to clarify, I'm keeping the Argos.
Carlton is up for grabs. I'm near Axminster East Devon/west Dorset area, but could get it to Bristol or Exeter if not in a hurry.
Might be heading up north in September. Might.

 

[midlife]

One of the Cappella lugged 10’s. Nice .

The Argos seat stays are Italianate, usually on a better class of frame. .

 

[si_c]

What are the frame sizes? Might be interested, but look a bit small for me.

 

[Proto]

What are the frame sizes? Might be interested, but look a bit small for me.

I'll measure up in the morning.

 

[Proto]

Carlton sizes seem a little odd but may have been typical of the period:

Top tube c to c: 56.5cm
Seat tube c to c: 52.5cm
Head tube: 100mm

 

[midlife]

Carlton would be in inches .

 

[Proto]

Carlton would be in inches .

🙈

Probably a 21” frame in your obsolete units of measurement,

In a previous life I was involved with a precision machining engineering business, subcontractors. We had one customer in Birmingham who did a lot of work for Ford, Rover, Jaguar but they subcontracted some of it to us when it suited them. All the drawings were metric but the Birmingham firm redrew everything into Imperial units and sent those drawings to us. I’ve written hundreds of CNC turning programmes, all of them using metric dimensions, so we used to convert the Imperial drawings back to metric. Complete madness.

 

[midlife]

Carlton looks like a 19 1/2 inches

Trying to remember (been a long time) but for the smallest frame Carlton had to cut the points off the cappella lugs to fit the head badge in place.

From the pics I think the points would have to be removed ?

 

[Proto]

Points partially removed, especially on the lower lug. Head tube is 4”.

Seat tube measures 21-1/4”, and I think that’s how they were measured in the olden days. But thought frames were sized in 1/2” increments?

Whoever started the renovation has fixed 531 a 'frame tubes' decal on the seat tube but the seat post measures 26.4mm which doesn't seem right. Wouldn't plain gauge 531 tubes take a 26.8mm seat post?

PS frame number indicates year of manufacture 1968 - 1973

 

[si_c]

As I thought, both a little too small for me. That Carlton is a lovely looking bike, tis a real shame.

 

[Hover Fly]

Raleigh competition?
Any frame number stampings?
Where is collection from asking for a friend

As soon as I saw the shot-in stays and binder I thought Raleigh Competition (or Team Replica or Gran Sport…) mudguard eyes and fork crown not so much but you can’t be sure with Raleighs of that era (mid 80s).
531 plain gauge came in several wall gauges, 26.4 mm is the right seat pin size for some.