Carlton "Ten"... coming together slowly

Hi all,

just got back from picking this up via freecycle. It was advertised as being about 50 years old :? .

I met the wife, who told me that "G" has a new bike now, and this had been in storage for many years. Better i had it than the tip :shock:

Mixed feelings when i saw it... seventies guards, and a serial number, stamped on the left rear dropout, without a prefix letter...238355. Stronglight cranks, Weinmann center pull brakes and levers, Simplex Front mech and levers. Possibly Crespera lugs, which would put it 1967-74, not quite as early as i had hoped, but hey, saved from the tip.

Any idea's on the Model.....and way of identifying the year? All the bolts have a "C" in red on them might this mean Criterium? Or is it just a late seventies bitsa? What transfers should there be?

I have found a little on the interweb...
Carlton Cycles seems to be the most informative
http://www.carltoncycles.me.uk/home.htm

Classic Lightweights site here
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/carlton.html

Classic Rendezvous here
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Britis ... arlton.htm

And Spokessmann..
http://spokessmann.tripod.com/id11.html





Many thanks for any help. I will start a build thread in readers bikes, but this will be a long time coming to fruition, as we've just started 'er indoors' 59-63 Claud Butler "Cordon Bleu".

That looks like a very similar frame to my Carlton Cobra circa 1973.....the cobra was an all chrome bike though with sprayed lug / bottom bracket areas......

I'm trying to think of the early 70's Carlton's that came in black..

Shaun

Shaun,
the bits of chrome tape might help, they seem original.

Also the odd mix of Milremo stem, Stronglight cranks, which say old to me, and the 70's guards, and low end mechs, which say use whatever we have in the bin....

Thanks for trying,

D

I used to sell Carlton's in the 70's and they usually used higher grade stuff than the equivalent Raleigh.........which was one of their selling points

Falcon stuff usually stepped in just above the Carlton's

It looks like quite a number of bits have been changed from OEM.

Shaun

Midlife":1ijlr7rg said:

I used to sell Carlton's in the 70's and they usually used higher grade stuff than the equivalent Raleigh.........which was one of their selling points

Falcon stuff usually stepped in just above the Carlton's

It looks like quite a number of bits have been changed from OEM.

Shaun

Click to expand...

Can you remember what might have been changed...

Possibly a Longfellow......

http://www.carltoncycles.me.uk/mybikes/69longfellow.htm

Black, no chrome on forks, imichrome on seat tube, center pull brakes. Also Carlton's after this period lose the front guide for the rear brake cable.

Ideas please.....

Dave

Looks like a pretty good match to me we only kept one "longfellow" in stock at any one time and usually in the green which iirc was like british racing green (quite dark).

Metallic paints sold better than solid colours in those days as metallics were more "posh".

Shaun

PS On second thoughts is it big enough to be a longfellow......they only came in 25"...

PPS On the bike colour front I forgot to mention the Raleigh Team colours, which although solid were pretty good looking and sold many a Raleigh Europa.

Problem there...it is 23 inch frame

Nice to see, the Crespera lugs date it around 67-74, does the frame carry a number?

The Longfellow was black in colour although the frame was 25-1/2" I believe.

Has it been repainted at all, I say this as the rivets on the head badge look they might be newer. Lack of chrome on the forks suggest it might be a repainted Continental - but I would not like to say for sure. Also the CP brakes have a bolt on hanger at the seat tube - the Continental had side pull Weinmann 730s. If there is not chrome under the paint it won't be a Cobra - sadly. As always worth bringing back to parade standard!

iirc the Longfellow wasn't a separate bike as such just the nickname which stuck for the 25" (as spokesmann says it was nearer 25 1/2") version of a model which still eludes me....

Carlton in the earlier days had alliterative names (phonetic) for quite a few of the models.....Corsair, Continental, Cobra, Kermesse, criterium...

I'll have a think

Shaun