Carlton Lightweight Restoration Project - Help!

[J.K_Rhodia]

Hello RetroBike

I have been riding my Dad's old Carlton Lightweight until very recently when it started to make some pretty nasty mechanical clicks / pops and was chain slipping heavily, it took it into a trusted bike shop for a deep service and they phoned back with news that it was pretty much knackered - a slightly bent frame and needed new bottom bracket, rear derailleur, cassette etc etc.

I collected and looked it over and can't see the bend in frame but realised heavy rear wheel wobble and slight crankset wobble. I've been weighing up whether to let it go or not. As I love this thing with all my heart I wanted to find out whether restoring myself could be an option, I have zero experience in restoring bikes but fairly confident I have the ability.... famous last words.... I want to give it everything I've got to bring it back to life!

If anybody has insight as to specialised tools I'd need / knowledge of these wonderful old bikes / best place for parts / part sizes etc etc I'd be eternally grateful. I realise if the frame is bent it probably won't be worth embarking on the project but I'm really struggling to see!

Thanks so much

Jo

 

[Jonny69]

As I love this thing with all my heart I wanted to find out whether restoring myself could be an option

Almost certainly. You may need to buy some tools. I have a lot of tools and have learned how to do it because of what you have experienced with bike shops.

Your bottom bracket is an old cottered type with loose balls (sometimes held in a small cage). To adjust the bottom bracket you'll need a lockring tool (sometimes called a C spanner or hook wrench) to loosen the lock ring on the non drive side. The inner part of the cup usually has a set of pin holes to put a pin spanner in or sometimes a pair of slots that you can use a broad screwdriver to tighten the inner part. Tighten it in and tighten the lockring and it'll take out all the play. It takes a bit of practice to get it just right. You can dismantle it completely and replace the balls and grease. You can buy new balls for it but I forget which size they are usually. Normal white grease is fine. Look up how to get cotter pins in and out; you'll need a hammer, a small spanner and a short length of stout pipe.

The bearings in the wheels are the same - loose balls and cones. You'll need a cone spanner which is a very thin spanner, but you'll need to measure what size it is. Again, it just adjusts up until the play goes. As with the bottom bracket, you can take it apart and replace the balls and grease. Balls are smaller and you can also get them in most places. The wheel might also be out of true. You can adjust that by tightening spokes. You'll need a spoke wrench for that but it takes a lot of practice to get it right so it might be worth finding someone who can already do it.

Derailleur might be a bit worn but if it still works it still works. You can get replacement jockey wheels for them if they're a bit wobbly.

Chain jumping is usually a worn chain, worn cassette, knackered ratchet in the freewheel or a combination of all. Just replace the cassette and chain. Yours is almost certainly a screw-on freewheel type cassette. Have a close look at what one it is because it takes a particular removal tool to get it off. Replace it like for like, you should be able to find another one. If not, you can just get another brand as they're all the same thread, just bear in mind the other brand will need another removal tool later. Ask me how I know that, I think I have about six removal tools! You'll need a chain breaking tool to do the chain

 

[J.K_Rhodia]

@Jonny69 Thank you so much for your detailed reply and attachments, I guess the difficult part to begin with is figuring out the measurements of the tools I need, lock ring tool size etc.

I'll obviously try adjusting bottom bracket and wheel bearings to remove play before dismantling, I'm assuming the clicking / popping sound might be from knackered balls or maybe just needs grease? If play comes back after adjustment I'll assume ball and grease change?

I'll check closely the type of cassette and chain needed, the derailleur does seem to work ok but changing gear is slow / not all gears accessible - I'll assume that's a cable tensioning issue?

Thanks again Jonny - I really appreciate you taking the time to help

 

[non-fixie]

Welcome, Jo!

Nice project! What are your plans? If you're going to get the tools and take the bike apart anyway, that would be a good time to think about changes.

 

[J.K_Rhodia]

Hi @non-fixie, thanks for the welcome

I think the plan is really to get it running smooth again, I really like the set up and it feels unbelievably good to ride when everything works - like my favourite pair of boots! Do you have some suggestions on upgrades?

 

[Jonny69]

If you like it as it is, I wouldn't do much in the way of upgrading it. Not unless you really had something specific in mind. It's a working bike and it's not matchy matchy - that's part of its charm.

Re tool sizes, your cones are probably 14mm (9/16" but 14mm fits) but stick a caliper on them if you can and don't forget you'll need a spanner for the nut on the end. Lockring tools are all the same size. Spoke wrenches are often a triangle shape with 3 sizes on the same tool but as I said you might not want to tackle spoke adjustments until you're a bit more experienced. You can get all these tools in Halfords and they'll be more than happy to let you take your bike in and try them out if you buy them there.

 

[non-fixie]

Hi @non-fixie, thanks for the welcome

I think the plan is really to get it running smooth again, I really like the set up and it feels unbelievably good to ride when everything works - like my favourite pair of boots! Do you have some suggestions on upgrades?

I can think of many upgrades, but if you like the current set-up, this is moot.

I actually agree with @Jonny69 that it is a charming bike as-is. And I like the favourite boots analogy, a very good reason to keep it the way it is.

If it were mine, the only thing I would change are the brake levers. I've found I like having the extra hand position of drop bar levers, especially on longer rides. And I really like the sexy look of the swooping cables of non-aero brake levers, but that's just me.

 

[torqueless]

You should have asked the bike shop to be more specific about what part of the frame was 'bent'. If you can't actually see a bend, chances are they were using the word 'bent' loosely, and what they meant was 'misaligned'.

A frame can become misaligned in many different ways: The forks can become twisted, or misaligned frontwards, backwards or sideways in relation to the steering column.
The main triangle can become twisted- the head tube out of alignment with the seat tube.
The rear triangle can be misaligned to one side in relation to the main triangle.

Your photo suggests to me that the drive side handlebar drop is bent inwards. An impact that has done that might be expected to have twisted the main triangle of the frame too.

At any rate, both to make a proper inspection of the frame and to get realigned anything that is out of alignment, you really need to strip the frame of all its components. To do that, the only bits that should need the specialised tools listed by Jonny69 are the headset and the bottom bracket. I haven't dealt with cotter pins since 1975, but it's pretty much a spanner 'n' hammer job with bearing-friendly support. You'd need to split the chain too.

On a well maintained bike, you'd be able to do any or all of the following before breakfast without even thinking. If it has been neglected, it might be another story:
You should be able to remove/replace the bars/stem/brakes as a unit.
Likewise the saddle/seat post.
Obviously the wheels.
Possibly the gears too, if the cable doesn't pass through a closed-loop cable-stop/guide on the chain stay or bottom bracket shell.

 

[J.K_Rhodia]

@torqueless Thanks very much for your advice and insight - I was knocked off it a few years back so I'm sure that's the misalignment they speak of, I'll ask the shop on their understanding of it too.

I really appreciate everyones help so far, dropping into Halfords today to get some tools

 

[non-fixie]

Excellent! Keep us posted.