Resurrecting a 1973 Carlton Competition

[Illaveago]

I think that the Carlton Competition was sold as a frame only so it would be up to the customer to fit whatever he wished. So I am not too restricted in
what saddle I decide to fit. Thanks for your information , I have never really considered the differences in the saddles before. The one fitted to my Holdsworth
looks like the one illustrated but I would have to double check.

 

[Illaveago]

I thidoesn't havndard on a Carlton was the B5n (well it was on my 68 Clubman) but the B17n is the closest they still make (same shape)
The B5n had a 'dimpled' top and lace holes in the side 'skirts' supposedly made with inferior/cheaper leather but I suspect just hide that was blemished. I was given one not so long ago by John at Bob Warner cycles but that is currently fitted to my Raleigh Equipe and supports the Carradice Longflap I got from there.

I think my Holdsworth Brooks saddle has lace holes but doesn't have dimples.

 

[Illaveago]

I have given the Carlton a good polish with T cut, touched in the rust spots with cellulose paint and then a coat of wax polish. The bike is looking a lot better now. The purists
needn't worry as the paint can easily be washed off with thinners.
Saturday afternoon I took the bike out for a test ride, four miles out mainly up hill gradient and a three mile down hill return mainly freewheeling. I must have been a bit shattered as I struggled with the outward trip, 2nd gear in the lower front chain ring.
My first impressions are still a bit confused, I need to get a few more rides in to compare it with my other bikes. I may have to fit a shorter stem as my hands were hurting riding with on top of the bars. It was my first trip out and the roads were rough so I will have to find some smoother lanes and give it another go but apart from that the bike
seems fine.

 

[raleighnut]

I'd try re-angling the handlebars so that the top section is flat and the drop portion is angled down (then that will be in a straight line with your wrists) If I rode with bars set up like that my hands and wrists would be in agony after 5 miles. It'l mean moving the brakes and re-taping the bars but then so will changing the stem.

 

[raleighnut]

Try for a set-up like @Spokesmann has on his Carlton. might be better (might not but it's how they would have been ridden)

 

[mikeymustard]

I may have to fit a shorter stem as my hands were hurting riding with on top of the bars.

As Raleighnut says, I found that having the bars tipped down that far made me put more weight through my arms, they don't look as "sporty" anymore but they're an awful lot more comfy! I guess my core isn't as strong as it was.
I don't know if it's the angle of the photo but your saddle seems to be quite tipped down too (maybe not angled up as much as Spokesmann's, that's definitely an individual taste!)
Looking nice though!

 

[Illaveago]

Thanks for your input I'll give it some consideration. It may just have been me that was at fault and perhaps the rough road, I have been hand sawing some kitchen worktops recently.
As I have only just put the bike together one would expect a few things that needed to be altered to make it just feel right. It might have been that I was expecting too much of it being a full 531 frame. As for changing the stem I found that with a shorter stem it became twichy whereas the longer stem is a bit of a stretch.
I'll give it another go, in the meantime it is beginning to look a lot better than the grubby, rust stained frame I started with.
Thanks again for your comments I will try a few tweaks.

 

[Illaveago]

Doesn't Spokesmann's bike make you feel envious? I find that I wouldn't be able to get on with a saddle tipped up that much, I prefer them sloping down slightly.
Thanks.

 

[mikeymustard]

Doesn't Spokesmann's bike make you feel envious? I find that I wouldn't be able to get on with a saddle tipped up that much, I prefer them sloping down slightly.
Thanks.

Very, very envious!
I find saddle position a balancing act between having to push myself back 'up' the saddle and slightly squished undercarriage, if your having to force yourself back onto the saddle it's a lot of pressure on shoulders arms and hands. I never used to worry about saddle/bar position when I was younger, but now I'm old and fat it's become v.important!

 

[Spokesmann]

My saddle angle/position is one which I have evolved over 40 years of riding... People always comment on the 'angle'!

 

[Illaveago]

My saddle angle/position is one which I have evolved over 40 years of riding... People always comment on the 'angle'!

I have seen a lot of pictures of vintage cycles with the saddle cocked up like you have done, it seems that that was the way they did it years ago, either that or you have ridden lots of cycles. It seems that fashions change over the years and the present one is to have a tall seat post way out of the frame whereas in the 60's the racing cyclists appear to have a setup similar to mine.

 

[mikeymustard]

It might have been that I was expecting too much of it being a full 531 frame.

A rough road is a rough road, it's still a racing bike, and a pretty sporty one at that!

My saddle angle/position is one which I have evolved over 40 years of riding... People always comment on the 'angle'!

Well if the damage is already done there's not much use worrying about it! (this is the "happy testicles" icon, right?)

 

[mikeymustard]

I have seen a lot of pictures of vintage cycles with the saddle cocked up like you have done, it seems that that was the way they did it years ago, either that or you have ridden lots of cycles. It seems that fashions change over the years and the present one is to have a tall seat post way out of the frame whereas in the 60's the racing cyclists appear to have a setup similar to mine.

The marketing people would like you to think that it makes the frame stiffer etc. but I think it's just because they don't have to make so many sizes of frame, and can also cater for any gender

 

[Illaveago]

This is how the frame looked when I got it.

 

[mikeymustard]

That's quite a difference! It really saddens me the number of frames haunting such places as ebay, their parts stripped and sold separately for more than the whole bike's worth. It makes me want to try to do something with them; I've considered building one up with more mod components to see if anyone would be interested