1970s Claude Butler Road Bike

[Ijen]

So, I just bought this bike, although I won't get to see it until Sunday. However, in my eagerness, I want to know more about it in order to decide what to do with it. It's going to be my next steed for commuting.

The choice is between keeping it as a geared bike, and converting it to a fixed gear. If I keep it as a geared bike I would want to upgrade the shifter to controls on the handlebars; I'm not a fan of the down-tube shifter. How hard would that be?

According to the seller;

• * 1970s Claude Butler
  * Reynolds 531 frame - 55cm
  * Shimano 600 rear derailleur
  * Shimano pedals with original toe clips
  * original Weinmann 610 brakes with recent brake pads replaced
  * "I’ve serviced the bike regularly and replaced the rear wheel, brake pads and cables very recently"

I don't think it would be too much of travesty to convert it as, from the sounds of things, it has seen heavy use and is not in completely original condition.

Things I would particularly like more info on include the handlebar clamp width (23.8mm, 25.4mm, 26mm?), stem width, the wheel size (27''?) and any other pertinent info I should consider...

If I wanted to change to handlebars for ones with a 31.8mm clamp size, how hard would it be to change the stem for one that fits?

Cheers!

 

[Goldie]

That doesn't look too shady. Have a look here for loads of stuff on Claud Butler's range over the years http://www.nkilgariff.com/ - your bike isn't jumping out of the catalogues, but I could easily have missed it.