Lovely but...

[Corsa of Course]

I saw on eBay this auction. Carlton Professional it is being offered at a phenomenally high price.

The reason I brought it up was because of how it has been restored. In many ways this looks good. You would think I could see myself riding something like that. Bear in mind I bought a brilliant pink Super Course some time ago although it only cost me £80. I am not one to say you have to restore something to how it was originally.

However this is being sold as a Carlton Professional it looks like a Mk V but in a Carlton Criterium colour scheme. The price being asked is too much at £1500. To me if you wanted absolute top dollar you would need to have made the model and colour scheme match. Am I being a bit of a fusspot or do others see it that way as well?

 

[hamster]

Too much of a mishmash for me. I would want either:
1. As original, lightly tidied frame with patina and all period bits
2. Restored original, again being heavily faithful to detail (for example waterslide transfers instead of vinyl)
3. Retromod, restored old frame with modern drivetrain.

This manages to be somewhere between 2 and 3, that hideous chainset being simply bad for the eyes, although if with a complete set of modern running gear it would have been OK.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Ridiculous price, nice colour, hideous mix of parts. I'd be wary of rechromed forks. Edit, just my opinion. Do what pleases you.

 

[Corsa of Course]

I wouldn't dream of spending that sort of money. It is one of those things where someone spent a lot of time, effort and money to put this into top order and then to my mind ruined it by giving it the wrong paint job. Especially as the original was a range topping bike which at the right price I could have been interested in. I wouldn't mind the wrong paint job at £80.

I had noticed the drivetrain but somehow found that more forgivable but then while all mine have Stronglight main drives the rear derailleur on one is all wrong and the freewheels are modern on two of them, but you are right when you are asking silly money every detail should be spot on.

So thank you everyone it is always reassuring to know I am not the only one who sees it as discordant.

 

[jim haseltine]

It's only the saddle, the large flange hubs and maybe the pedals that match up with the paint job in my eyes.

 

[Midlife]

It seems to have had a pip added to the back of the head tube...

Third digit looks like a 9 so that's a 1979 carlton or raleigh with extra chrome. The oversize seat stay caps ate there but the rear brake bridge has no diamond cutouts which should be there, (they might have been a later addition)....

Dropouts are portacatena which matched with 1979

Bit of a dogs breakfast really.

 

[Corsa of Course]

Seems I keep finding them, this is on Gumtree why not have it as should have been. As a Giro d'Italia or a Professional, I think a Super Course did at one point but it was the earlier version of the cluster. did anything else use the Victor seat cluster? I think it is the later version of the Victor seat cluster. Too big for me and too pricy in that paint job.

Carlton top of range hiding its light under a...

At least this is a do some good sort of sale. Like the idea of Heroica a slightly more anglicised version ideal for a Carlton.

 

[Spokesmann]

Ive seen this bike being offered before, a sad case of a well-meaning mis-guided owner trying to get their money back on a frame restoration/repaint/re-chrome. The colour scheme was used on the Criterium c1971/72 and applied to this build is not bad at all, however as stated it goes a bit off-piste with me with a selection of mis-matched parts, which are fine in themselves but when all thrown together we end up with a bit of a mongrel. I agree the price is far too high, but if you want your money back on builds like this, as said they need to be pretty faithful to the original, and in this case a Professional really needs to go back to how it should be. £700 would be an absolute maximum (and some may say that's a bit high too) for this work, sadly these days you just wont get your money back unless its either really rare or if restored, really, really well done.

 

[jim haseltine]

Really you have to fall very lucky to sell a bike for what you imagine it's worth unless you're really pessimistic. I've been sorting through and disposing of my parent's collection of bikes while well aware that the chances of finding somebody who wants the exact idiosyncratic combinations of components, colours and sizes are similar to those of picking all 6 numbers for a lottery draw. Figured my best course was to strip the bikes and sell the parts on Ebay, which I've been doing. Still got a few bits & pieces left but I've already realised more than than I could have done so if the bikes were complete.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Really you have to fall very lucky to sell a bike for what you imagine it's worth unless you're really pessimistic. I've been sorting through and disposing of my parent's collection of bikes while well aware that the chances of finding somebody who wants the exact idiosyncratic combinations of components, colours and sizes are similar to those of picking all 6 numbers for a lottery draw. Figured my best course was to strip the bikes and sell the parts on Ebay, which I've been doing. Still got a few bits & pieces left but I've already realised more than than I could have done so if the bikes were complete.

Did you find your father's bike yet Jim? Sorry to op for hijack.