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The History of Carlton, before and after TI Raleigh ate them.


Page Turner

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10 hours ago, donkpow said:

That orange color is exciting.

...they used those "flamboyant" paint colors extensively in the mid 60's.  They don't hold up very well, because they fade.

I'm not sure, but I think it might be some kind of transparent colored lacquer over a silver undercoating.  i know some of the Italian chromovelato finishes were achieved with lacquer.

 

Here's another Carlton product with the same finish, but you can see where it has faded in random places.  Apparently, at this point in time they could't figure out whether it was a Rudge, or a Sun, because they owned both brands, and each is marked on the bicycle. The frame is straight (unbutted) 531, and is very similar to the Catalina shown above in that regard.

 

Rudge (Sun) 001.JPG

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Rudge (Sun) 010.JPG

Rudge (Sun) 011.JPG

Rudge (Sun) 012.JPG

Rudge (Sun) 013.JPG

Rudge (Sun) 014.JPG

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...I have some more  made in Worksop (before they closed it because of a labor dispute in 1981).

I'll post some of them from time to time when I get a chance to verify the authenticity.  English bikes are my favourites. The best of them have a distinctive feel that is different from the best of the Italian bikes, which I can only describe as a little more springy and more forgiving of road irregularities.  If you read that whole first link, here is one of the SBDU Raleigh Team bikes, that is referenced as the eventual high point for TI Raleigh and their racing team.  Made not in Worksop, but in Ilkston.  I rode it today, and flatted in the front at about mile 25. :(

 

 

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 001.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 008.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 009.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 010.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 011.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 012.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 9/13/2018 at 4:07 PM, No One said:

...I have some more  made in Worksop (before they closed it because of a labor dispute in 1981).

I'll post some of them from time to time when I get a chance to verify the authenticity.  English bikes are my favourites. The best of them have a distinctive feel that is different from the best of the Italian bikes, which I can only describe as a little more springy and more forgiving of road irregularities.  If you read that whole first link, here is one of the SBDU Raleigh Team bikes, that is referenced as the eventual high point for TI Raleigh and their racing team.  Made not in Worksop, but in Ilkston.  I rode it today, and flatted in the front at about mile 25. :(

 

 

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 001.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 008.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 009.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 010.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 011.JPG

Raleigh SBDU Team Pro 012.JPG

One of my favorite bikes of all time.

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  • 3 months later...
4 hours ago, donkpow said:

That's a nice looking bike. And looks like my size, too. :)

...for a couple of years, maybe 5-6 years ago, there were Raleigh Competitions all over the Craigslist here.  Then they sort of tapered off mysteriously.  I guess all the old guys who didn't ride them any more finally ran out.  I bought one really cheaply from some guy out in a Granite Bay mansion house that was redone (presumably by him) with Shimano 600 components with no regard for the proprietary Huret dropout tang. So it was only marginally effective at shifting.  I presume he bought new components, and put it all together, discovered it did not work well, and lost interest.  I was actually buying it from his wife, as he never left the front of the TV seat he had during the transaction.

I wish I could afford to put Jubilee derailleurs back on it, but they're too expensive on the used parts market now, so it had to settle for a Huret Allvit.  Which still works fine.  The guy I bought that one from probably threw those old derailleurs away. :(

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  • 1 month later...

...I just reworked this early 70's Raleigh Competition (made in the Carlton works, using Reynolds 531 and Capella lugs that were for a long time exclusive to Carlton).  This is the bike up in #11. I needed something that would do well in the rain. and I had a set of these Jack Brown tyres hanging around that someone had given to the co-op that I bought.  The tyres are sort of like Ruffy Tuffy's, but slightly fatter (if you're a Rivendell fan you already know about them).  Anyway, I built up some excellent wheels from some on sale H + Sons Archetype rims, spent a few days reconfiguring the bike, and rode it today on some pavement and also on some gravel levee top trail. Seems to work about as I had hoped it would.

The stem and seatpost are from when SR was making some impressive copies of Italian stuff. So the post is an SR Royal (a nice knock off of an old Campy Record post). The stem is an SR copy of a Cinelli (except they improved the stupid Cinelli bar clamp bolt, by putting four keys around the circumference, instead of just one...which has an unfortunate habit of stripping.)

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 001.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 002.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 003.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 004.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 007.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 008.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 009.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 010.JPG

Raleigh Competition (fat tyres) 011.JPG

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