Carlton Pro, Nuovo Record tt Project

Got some stuff today and got the bike working.




In terms of the paint, it's all surface rust and I have just lightly sanded the effected areas and will touch it up when/if I get some silver enamel of the right colour. You can see on the second picture where I have touched it up a bit on the top tube, but the silver does not quite match.

Still needs bar tape, seatpost, saddle, freewheel and tope tube cable clips. Will use a front wheel off one of my other bikes but eventually hope to rebuild the front with a Mavic open 4 cd if I find one at a good price.

I know the cockpit setup is not period, but it was cheap and it's comfy, after all this is a bike to be ridden!

Nice resto on a budget some Nuovo non aero levers would be nice,well done.

So, stuck some old bar tape on, front wheel and put a good ride into the bike. Feels really nice, very smooth and comfy yet stiff and responsive. The longer stem and wide bars have made the handling superb and make the bike actually fit me comfortably. Unfortunately on the really steep hills grinding a big gear the inner ring rubs a bit on the chainstay. I had a closer look, the clearances are less the a mm so I guess I am lucky! I don't think its a huge issue, hasn't really left any marks and I suspect the previous owner had the same thing and its been fine all these years.

Contemplating white contacts now rather than black... what do you guys think?

Took a photo with my iphone, might take a nice camera to that spot when its finished.




Keep you guys posted!

Please sort the wheels to do it justice, otherwise top marks!

Don't worry, seatpost, saddle and wheels will be sorted in due time. I just couldn't resist riding it!

Aberesque looks good and is correct period. Here's mine.

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)

That is a very nice, clean build, love the brown contacts. The 600 fits it soo well, I would have plumped something like that if I was building this from the frame up! I think I might get some gumwall tyres.

Gave the bike another ride today... It really is beginning to grow on me. First proper steel bike I have riden and it feels like the first with a true personality.

So, been riding this bike alot recently, probably got about 250miles on it now.
I am having some thoughts that I really like this sort of bike for training. But, although it is Nuovo Record, downtube levers and 6 sprockets suck. I am thinking of selling all the old stuff and getting a newer groupset (probs veloce or mirage, maybe even shimano tiagra or something). I think the Nuovo record scrubbed up + hipster tax should cover this. What are people thoughts? Sacrelidge?

Seems a shame to take it out of period but if it's used a lot and doesn't suit your needs then there's no reason why you shouldn't swap to a newer groupset. There's an excellent thread on here somewhere regarding old frames with the modern treatment - there's some really nice builds in it.

There would be plenty of interest in the Nuovo parts, although the hipster tax isn't a great advert - I'd leave that for LFGSS

Hipster tax in more of a sense that I would get a good sell on it as retro stuff is shooting in value because of all the hipsters. Hence the difficulty of getting a cheap old steel roa bike as every hipster wants to convert it into a fixie and are prepared to pay £100+ for a gas pipe frame. Good for sellers, bad for buyers eh!