1986 Carlton Carrera 531c

RadNomad

Senior Retro Guru
Here's my Carlton Carrera which i purchased new back in the '80s. Frame number shows it was built in Nottingham September 1986 with 531c frame, 531 fork, campag dropouts and Shimano 105 Golden Arrow groupset.
The bike is factory original except tyres, brake blocks and bar tape. I've swapped front inner ring from original 42T to 39T, the saddle is temporary (original is white suede) and rear QR is from Tacx trainer, but i have kept all the original parts.
It saw little use as i got a driving licence in '87 and got distracted by cars and mountain biking. It retains original cables, chain, pedals etc and has been laid up in my parent's garage for over 15 years while i persued my career abroad. I get home and ride it once a year.
 

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That is gorgeous. A beautiful bike, in really good condition with a wonderful glowing patina. Throw in some personal history and that's a real winner.
 
Thanks Chopper :cool: Personal history? Well i didn't win the Vuelta on it if that's what you mean! Spent several teen years doing club rides and newpaper rounds on a Dawes Lightening which was getting too small and heavy for my maturing super lean fit racing physique, finally scraped together enough cash for the Carlton, my parents chipped in as well to help me out as i remember. Fast forward a couple of years, working full time and just wrapped my MK2 Escort around a tree, the Carlton came to my rescue as a daily commuter for many weeks. Then mountain biking arrived.
There's something wonderful about riding a bike from one's youth, the years just vanish in the breeze..
 
Top drawer, sadly a Raleigh in all but name. Criminal what Raleigh did to Carlton. Great to see this though.
 
Lovely,
that was the first road bike i bought from Colin Lewis in Paignton (about 300 quid or so i think)
I'd love another one! :cool:
 
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I used to look at these in the Raleigh shop in Darlington when I was 12/13 years old. I would love to restore one, I've got a Dawes Stratos that I've rebuilt and currently have a Raleigh Corsa which is in bits!
 
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Very nice , I am picking up a 531 Carlton this weekend :) Also I`m sure I have a full page advert for the Carlton Carrera from a 1987 Winning magazine , I`ll have a search and try and scan it up here over the weekend.
 

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