Claud Butler, model unknown

[mikeymustard]

So I bought this bike a month or so ago, I wasn't particularly enthused by it, but it's got nice nervex pro lugs and a mix of 600/arabesque components with a golden arrow chain ring. I had an idea to take the bits off it for other projects (the chain ring would look very nice on my Mercian) and then see how I felt about the frame, maybe make it more period correct - I think it's early 70s or maybe a touch earlier.
I've been pondering what to do with it in the meantime: it's very light so I decided that to get a feel for it, I'd convert it into a winter bike with guards, indexed with rsx derailleur, a 7sp 14-28 freewheel and some rsx brake shifters that I've just fixed. I've ordered silver guards for it, they'll be arriving in a day or so.

I thought black bar tape might make it a bit unrelentingly monochrome so I thought I'd try blue tape since I don't alreadyhave a blue one!
While I still had the old 5sp block on I've tried indexing it just to see if I could; it (kinda) works! They sometimes need a bit of persuasion to change, but because the first gen shifters were a bit vague anyway there's a bit of wriggle room in them.
All in all, given my somewhat lukewarm original feelings, I definitely think the thaw has started, and I'm looking forward to giving it a shakedown

 

[midlife]

Nice, is it a 70's Electron?

Shaun

 

[biggs682]

@mikeymustard looks nice and clean

 

[mikeymustard]

Nice, is it a 70's Electron?

Shaun

I'm not sure what it is but the only electron I've seen didn't have nervex pro's. I was leaning towards maybe a cordon bleu but the lugs on the forks are different

 

[mikeymustard]

@mikeymustard looks nice and clean

The paint job is pretty rough from close up but I'm hoping it should ride nicely

 

[mikeymustard]

And here it is with mudguards, the 7 speed block is also on now, the old suntour 5 speed took some getting off, but not as much as I expected! There's not a lot of room back there, chain touches the frame in biggest front smallest rear but I have other gears!

I think they really suit the bike

 

[swee'pea99]

Dare I ask what you don't like about it? Looks really nice to me. And you say it's light (that's a 531 sticker isn't it?) Looks quite a lot like one I bought earlier this year, which was called a Professional. Much scrappier than yours. But I was (am) delighted by the ride.

 

[mikeymustard]

@swee'pea99 I suppose it's not quite what I was looking for, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy it! It was resprayed (oversprayed more like) in the early 80s and everything bar the stem, bars and saddle upgraded so my initial thoughts were to take the later stuff off and then see what I wanted to do with the frame. Unusually for me it just sat in my garage for over a month