Carlton roadie

After four years of maturing, the Carlton is ready to go.

Ended up going with 700c wheels after all, the brakes do reach.  I had bought this wheelset ages ago, and it was nicer than the steel 27" wheels that came with the Carlton.  Those wheels got sold to a Peugeot enthusiast who wanted period correct over stopping in the rain.

Got a set of new tires and chains online.

I put on new levers and bar tape, replaced cable as necessary, and put on some nice pedals.

It's a smooth ride, but a little cramped for me, so off it goes!

Meet Nick

My wife's bike was built out of bits and pieces, a 2005 Kona Fire Mountain frame that was $20.  It had a severe dent in the downtube that the seller assured me was fine, and it was, for years.  Last week it cracked, though, so it was time to replace it.

Recyclistas had a similar vintage Brodie frame, same size, with disc tabs, so this weekend I swapped all the parts across.

Took the time to route the cables properly this time, so the steering won't bind, and replaced the saddle too.

We don't normally name our bikes, but this one is named Nick.

Done: Kuwahara Mesa

After many new part purchases, I have finished the Kuwahara Mesa:

This bike got the royal treatment, including touch up paint (Princess Auto style), rebuilt wheels, bottom brackets, new bearings all around.  Plus, the drivetrain is all brand new.

El cóndor regresa

A few years back I broke the seat rail on my favorite saddle, a Selle Italia Condor.

After seeing this photo on this page:

...I figured it wouldn't be too hard to replace the rails.  I happened to have a made-in-Italy Vetta saddle with chrome rails that looked to match the Italia.  The Vetta was okay but had some cuts in the vinyl cover.

I foolishly did not photograph the process, so I will use diagrams to demonstrate what I did.

WARNING: Don't hurt yourself if you try this.

The first step is to remove the old rails out of both saddles.  This is tricky because there isn't much metal to grab, and the saddle is designed to keep the rails in.

First I clamped the nose of the saddle to a hardwood board.  A small wooden insert was used to stop the C-clamp marring the inside of the saddle.

Then, I clamped some plywood blocks onto the rearward end of the rails and popped them out at the nose end.  This is the most difficult / scary part of the operation, as the rails will come out with some force.

To reinsert the rails, I used a large screwdriver like a prybar to pull the nose back over the new rails.  Pop!

Apollo SR-5, Raleigh Transit

Today I went to an autojumble to try to score some parts for my sports car.  Ended up with a set of hub caps for $60 and an Apollo SR-5 bike for five bucks.

Good thing we have a station wagon!

The SR-5 is a midrange bike, made by Kuwahara for Apollo out of hi-tensile tubing.  Should make for a comfy ride.

I pulled the Raleigh Transit down from the attic, polished up the chrome and put it on the block:

Buy me!

Next big job is to overhaul the late 80s Kuwahara MTB and make it into a commuter.

Mystery Carlton

Carlton is generally known for their high quality, handmade road bike frames.  With ornate lugwork and lightweight tubing, they're very desirable.

While the head tube lugs are chrome, they're not what I would call ornate:

Otherwise, it's fairly light, but the dropouts are stamped, not forged.  I cannot find much information online about this specific bike.  The serial number on the dropout is 208464, leading me to date it between 1968 and 1972 (thanks to this page).

The tubing sticker:

Indicates that it's made with Tru-Wel 205 tubing.  High-tensile carbon steel; but a Tubing Industries (TI) product.

Thanks to this eBay listing, I am certain that this is a Carlton Criterium, but not sure what market it was intended for.  I'll be fitting a set of 27" wheels, rather than trying to stretch the brakes for 700c.

Mesa Toscana

Here is the Miele hybrid, a Toscana 300.  It is 24 speeds, and will go up for sale once I have replaced the cables and probably also the brake pads.  It squeaks.

I had to cut a U-lock off this bike and ground up my finger pretty bad in the process.  Stupid.

This is the Kuwahara Mesa.  It's from 1986-1988 due to the chainstay U-brake way down by the crank.    It has a Suntour drivetrain with indexed shifting, but the rear derailleur was half missing and the hanger was bent, so I will probably swap it out for a 7-speed shimano setup.  The six-speed Suntour indexing compatible derailleurs are hard to find.

The rear wheel is wrecked and needs a new rim, so I might as well pick up a good used wheel and be done with it.

Check out the sweet fade paint job and the bear trap pedals!