advice on bike build project

hi all

ive just bagged myself a vintage Carlton road frame on ebay for £21 - looking to build it up and i have very limited knowledge.

I'm not going for single speed as too many hills in Wimbledon and my main question is regards to gears - any advice on how many gears, the size I should get etc. I'm waiting for frame to arrive but apparently the rear drop outs width is 116mm - is this an odd size? am i going to have trouble finding wheel/hub to fit that?

Also I'm going to put 700c wheels on it and read that I may need to find a way of dropping the brakes lower down as i have vertical drop outs - this true?

Here's a pic of the frame anyway - any info would be greatly appreciated. Don't want to spend loads on this as just bought expensive XC mtb but doesn't look like id need to get it up and running.


cheers
sam

Pit's probably a 120mm OLN at the rear. You can get it respaced to 126 (old) or 130mm (better).

See either Sheldon Brown on how to respace the back or get you local framebuilder to do it.

As for the braking, the easiest solution is to use Alhonga deep drop brakes which will then reach. SJS or Spa Cycles will be your friends on this one.

ah great thanks for info - that sheldonbrown site is great

cheers
sam

a scissor jack makes frames wider without too much fuss.

You'll need to look for long drop brakes and a gear hanger as your frame doesnt have a braze on for the rear mech.

cranks

hi again

any ideas what cranks will fit on this frame? Still waiting for it to be delivered but want to order parts asap really. Anyone got any ideas or is it something i wont be able to tell until i measure the bb?

cheers
sam

It was a bargain, BTW. Nice bike!
Does it have a BB already? You really need to know the length. It might have Raleigh's own BB thread, which is tricky to get replacements for.
Incidentally, it's not "correct" for its age, but you could fit a Sturmey hub in that, and it'd work really well, with no modifications. There's a really good one in my for sale thread.

hi

yep it looks like it has BB in there at the moment - but yes i guess ill have to wait and measure it when it arrives

thanks

If it's a 1970's frame (which it looks like from the rear spacing size) it would take the older style bolt-on, non-recessed brakes.

BTW, did you get it from a Leicester seller?

hi yep i did actually - how did u guess?

It's Bikes 4 All . Recognized the red brick backdrop they use for photographs.