1970s Carlton International
- Thread starter DrewSavage
- Start date
I give up.
DrewSavage
Retro Guru
Spokesmann":15u1ya02 said:
That's OK - I haven't bought it...
DrewSavage
Retro Guru
Thanks for the advice above. I bought the Fondriest instead, but I have also just ended up with a 1980 Carlton Corsair, which I pick up on Wednesday.
I've been looking for a tourer (my Raleigh Classic 15 will take me ages to strip down and refurbish) and from what I can gather on the web, the Corsair was kind of Raleigh/Carlton's answer to the Dawes Galaxy. Is that about right?
I've been looking for a tourer (my Raleigh Classic 15 will take me ages to strip down and refurbish) and from what I can gather on the web, the Corsair was kind of Raleigh/Carlton's answer to the Dawes Galaxy. Is that about right?
Midlife
Retro Wizard
Corsair was launched 1978 at Harrogate if memory serves...........they called it a Demi-Course which seems to mean fast tourer. Classy bike in a brown / champagne colour scheme.
Here's some pics of one of the originals.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62249235@ ... 700163686/
Shaun
Here's some pics of one of the originals.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/62249235@ ... 700163686/
Shaun
DrewSavage
Retro Guru
Midlife":2vryfptb said:
Ta! Yes, the one I'm buying looks pretty much like that, except with a little rust and not in quite such tiptop condition.
This is it - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980-raleigh- ... 7675.l2557
Might it be what the Raleigh Classic 15 (which I've got as a long-term project) evolved from?
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DrewSavage
Retro Guru
Re:
It's frame number WH0002834 - would that be a 1980 model, then?
There are a couple of rust patches on the underside of the frame but all in all it seems to be a bit of a bargain find. The gold/champagne (call it what you want) chromoplastic mudguards look original, as does most of the bike I think, apart from the saddle which is a leather one but unbranded.
The gear levers are Suntour Power but the derailleurs are branded as 'Raleigh' - is that what it is? The pedals are Atom 600 with Christophe toe-clips. Cranks and stem are Raleigh too, the chainset seems to be Sakae, and the handlebars are unbranded. It's got the same centrepull Raleigh-Weinmann 610 brakes as my Raleigh Classic 15.
The frame sticker says Reynolds 531 but that applies only to the frame and not the forks.
It weighs about 12 kilos on my digital luggage scales that I weigh all my bikes on. With a 531 frame I was maybe expecting it to be a bit lighter, or are tourers generally that bit heavier than road bikes?
It does puzzle me a little bit why a bike with a 531 frame would have been given ordinary hi-ten forks and a groupset that feels like it was straight out of the cheaper end of the Raleigh parts bin. Can anyone shed any light on that?
Anyway, for 56 quid I'm pretty happy with it.
The only thing that really needs doing is the metal rods that hold the mudguards in place on the front wheel have been bent into a wavy line. Could those be replaced easily?
Anyway, here are some photos...
It's frame number WH0002834 - would that be a 1980 model, then?
There are a couple of rust patches on the underside of the frame but all in all it seems to be a bit of a bargain find. The gold/champagne (call it what you want) chromoplastic mudguards look original, as does most of the bike I think, apart from the saddle which is a leather one but unbranded.
The gear levers are Suntour Power but the derailleurs are branded as 'Raleigh' - is that what it is? The pedals are Atom 600 with Christophe toe-clips. Cranks and stem are Raleigh too, the chainset seems to be Sakae, and the handlebars are unbranded. It's got the same centrepull Raleigh-Weinmann 610 brakes as my Raleigh Classic 15.
The frame sticker says Reynolds 531 but that applies only to the frame and not the forks.
It weighs about 12 kilos on my digital luggage scales that I weigh all my bikes on. With a 531 frame I was maybe expecting it to be a bit lighter, or are tourers generally that bit heavier than road bikes?
It does puzzle me a little bit why a bike with a 531 frame would have been given ordinary hi-ten forks and a groupset that feels like it was straight out of the cheaper end of the Raleigh parts bin. Can anyone shed any light on that?
Anyway, for 56 quid I'm pretty happy with it.
The only thing that really needs doing is the metal rods that hold the mudguards in place on the front wheel have been bent into a wavy line. Could those be replaced easily?
Anyway, here are some photos...
Attachments
Midlife
Retro Wizard
Yep. Looks like a Carlton Corsair with the usual parts from the Raleigh Stable. Classy ride BITD and described as a Demi-Course 
The Fashion of the day was to have the mudguards follow the arc of the wheel......... some poor sod like me would have spent ages bending the stays like that so the mudguards stayed the same distance from the wheel with a bend in them. That was the fashion at the time........Do you remember the Bay City Rollers? If you straighten them I will rise from my grave in a few years time and haunt you LOL
Shaun
The Fashion of the day was to have the mudguards follow the arc of the wheel......... some poor sod like me would have spent ages bending the stays like that so the mudguards stayed the same distance from the wheel with a bend in them. That was the fashion at the time........Do you remember the Bay City Rollers? If you straighten them I will rise from my grave in a few years time and haunt you LOL
Shaun
Great looking machine.
Shaun - always see setting up of close fit guards as a challenge that must be won! They can be infuriating though!
Shaun - always see setting up of close fit guards as a challenge that must be won! They can be infuriating though!
DrewSavage
Retro Guru
Hmmmm... someone's overdone it with these though. The front stays have been bent in several different directions and the mudguard rubs the tyre making a horrible squawking noise, and I can't straighten them enough to make it stop.
Can you easily get new rods to replace them? I've looked for 'mudguard stays' on eBay and got nowhere, but might it just be a question of the right gauge of wire?
Can you easily get new rods to replace them? I've looked for 'mudguard stays' on eBay and got nowhere, but might it just be a question of the right gauge of wire?
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