Just bought a Carlton Giro

[BOBU]

Hi Corsa, thanks for that clarification, I've found the T-Cut approach works well for me but I'll try the tin-foil approach at some point. One little query for the Carlton experts here, which "true" Carlton model was the top-of-the-range all 531 [or higher?] road bike? I would guess that post '81 the bikes become increasingly Raleigh?

 

[Corsa of Course]

I would not really know the answer to that but the one I might still be tempted by is the Team Professional MK3 or MK4 The MK5 is nice too but I fancy the victor seat stay configuration of the 3 or 4.
Having said that I rather like my little quirky collection.

 

[BOBU]

I would not really know the answer to that but the one I might still be tempted by is the Team Professional MK3 or MK4 The MK5 is nice too but I fancy the victor seat stay configuration of the 3 or 4.
Having said that I rather like my little quirky collection.

Spent a few hours on research yesterday, if I were to pull the trigger.... a Super Course looks to meet my criteria best, obviously the team pro is top flight. Bit rare though.... I need to get my Wester Ross done before I think about it though.

 

[Corsa of Course]

The Super Course came in different flavours over the years. The last version in the 1980 guise which is the one I have was all 531. It is a lovely bike to ride.

 

[Corsa of Course]

Of course. Somebody before I owned mine painted it pink, but actually it looks OK although it does match my wife's nail varnish (handy for chips!!)

 

[Spokesmann]

Good work a really nice mid range bike from the late 70s. Looks damn cool too.

 

[Corsa of Course]

So I am trying to stay fit or at least not too unfit for when I have a new hip. The Giro sits an inch lower than either my Corsa or Super Course because it has quite a bottom bracket drop. So was easy to swing a leg over. So I have been doing some short rides on ot I had noticed one problem, then I found another and finally I think I have solved both.

On the small ring but highest gear the chain would skip it had been getting worse over a few rides. Fine in other gears. I decided it was that the derailleur was not tensioning the chain.

Then I went for a short ride and the chain came apart. This was an IG Shimano chain. Strangely while one link has come apart I found several others where the side plates were coming loose.

Was this a case of a bad new chain or something else. I went over the derailleur and it seems fine although the stop seems a bit restrictive. I tried shifting through all the gears and rings and it did seem that there was a surprising amount of side load on the chain in some circumstances.

So I adjusted the derailleur to get as much wrap on the freewheel and I bought a HG Shimano chain. These are made with each pin peened so it does not come out. They are definitely more resistant to coming apart. I also shortened it so in 1st gear big ring the mech is almost fully forward and in 7th little ring it is almost fully back.

Tested it up the track two skips on way up the track, three on the way back then after that no more skips. I think the skips were the chain joining link bedding in. Further testing tomorrow.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I never use Shimano chains as I've found them to be lousy. I use SRAM or kmc and never have a problem.
Edit, don't run big on big or small on small. It's sometimes referred to as cross chaining and it kills chains. It Usually sounds awful too. Your freewheel is worn by the sound of it. Or it could be the chain bedding in as you say.
For working out chain length Shimano say wrap around the large ring and large sprocket and add two links.

 

[Corsa of Course]

Freewheel has only done 20 miles or so, it could be defective but it looks good, I cannot detect any wear from the small amount of work it has done.
I do a bit of cross chaining on our unmade road but the same make and model freewheel on the Corsa with the IG chain has over 3000 miles on it and has never misbehaved.
I have never had chain side plates come adrift before, it was almost certainly a defective chain. In fact it also allowed you to swivel the side plate on the pin when free at one end with little resistance, pretty sure that is a production problem.


Not heard the Shimano chain length guide before but I would say it is about where I have this chain set length wise. It is just long enough to facilitate the change onto and off the big big cog combination.

I tried these dry lubes and they work fine on chains being used regularly but I found if you lay the bike up for a month or two it likes something a bit more protective like an oil based lubricant.

I had only recently heard Shimano chains are not so great. Up until this last one my experience was that they worked just fine. I bought two of the HG ones so I will not need to buy a new chain for a few years.

 

[Corsa of Course]

So I managed a 10 mile ride and pleased to say the new chain has completely solved the problem. The Giro is surprisingly quick to ride and the hip and knee discomfort reduced as I was going along, I was using a slightly lower gear than I would have done before. I may get myself doing a reasonable mileage in the next few weeks.