Carlton Road Track ?

[LanternRouge]

Hi All,

This was my Dad's old bike. It has been sat in a dusty garage for about 30 years, and I think it deserves a little bit of TLC :

I believe it is a Carlton Road Track, possibly from the 1950s. If anybody can confirm or contradict that then I woud love to hear from you.

My current plan is to restore it back to as close to orginal as I can sensibly manage, and then ride / race it. ( I ride a few time trials )


Can anybody point me in the direction of any Carlton frame number info ?

Rear seat stays have a step shape.
( Many Carltons of this age seem to have an "loop over the top" style lug )

It is all in a bit of a state, so the first step will be cleaning up and deciding what I can use and what needs replacing.

Cheers,

Tim.

 

[Hillwalker]

Hi Tim

Welcome! Nice choice of user name Spokesmann on here is the lad to ask; I'm sure he'll be along presently. In the meantime, yes those are track ends (with eyes for mudguards - now there's something you don't seen every day!). Is the top tube bent (or this that an optical illusion in the pic?)

Best

HW

 

[Midlife]

From memory the "C" prefix is about 1954 but there again my memory is a bit flakey. Head tube lugs look a bit Flyer..ish

Nice though

Shaun

 

[LanternRouge]

Thanks Chaps,

I've found a couple of Carlton brochures from that era ( eg Carlton Catalogue 1955, from Veteran Cycle Club Library ) that show the "Road Track" model with lugs that seem to match. The catalogues seem to suggest they were build to order, to the buyers spec and geometry. So there is scope for some weird options, like the mudguard eyes on track ends and the light boss on the front forks. Obviously, over 60 years things could have been changed as they wore out or broke.

That all matches what little my Dad told me about it ( or what little I can remember ). I think he bought it new in the 50s ( he would have been in his late 20s in 1955 ), probably from Sid Mottram in Leicester. There was a suggestion that he bought it with one of his first pay packets after qualifying as an accountant.



Tim.

 

[keithglos]

Re:

This is rather before Mikes time, looks late prewar from the fork rake.
The seat stay top eye was used mainly on cast lugs up till about 1949.
Keith

 

[LanternRouge]

Some more pictures here : Picasa Album

 

[LanternRouge]

Hi Tim

Is the top tube bent (or this that an optical illusion in the pic?)

It does like like it in the picture, but it is straight, just an optical illusion.

 

[LanternRouge]

Chainset is a Williams (C.1000 ?), so that matches the spec in one of the 1950s brochures, so I was hoping that that is a good clue:

but...

Markings on crank : "ZD"

This table at Classic Lightweights suggests that ZD means 1963. So I guess that means the chainset is not original and is no help in ageing the frame. :?

On the up side, the chainset has cleaned up quite nicely. A bit of pin-prick rust in the chrome, but nothing serious.

 

[LanternRouge]

Re: Re:

This is rather before Mikes time, looks late prewar from the fork rake.
The seat stay top eye was used mainly on cast lugs up till about 1949.
Keith

Thanks Keith,

I would be very surprised if it was that old, but will be interesting finding out.

Cheers,

Tim.

 

[keithglos]

Re:

I would be surprised if the frame was made after 1950, but that does not fit your time scale.
This was a typical general purpose fixed wheel club bike, time trial on a sunday and ride to work the rest of the week, and use for the summer tour. We should remember that it was possibly the only or main method of transport, and would always have been built with clearance for 27 inch wheels and mudguards, essential when it seemed to be raining about 2 days a week. In those days I was riding 12 miles each way to work.
Keith