Cycling UK Forum

Carlton Catalogue 1980

I have two cans of silicon spray, one is an expensive Thetford spray for their caravan toilets and the other is Halfords own brand , I can't tel the difference. This is splay lubricant not silicon sealant.

silicon spray does the trick

It has some interesting features. the coaster hub and pull-up front brake make it look like it was intended for the European market, 24'' wheels are also unusual, is that the measured diameter of the rim? If so it means that the wheel size is probably 26'', quite normal for the period. Another thing to remember Bikes were made larger in those days, for some makers 22'' frames were the smallest ladies models made. Strange as it may seem the concept of being able to put a foot down while sitting on the saddle didn't become universal in until the early/mid thirties.

I think that there are a number of Veteran-Cycle Club members who would gladly pay £45 for such an unusual and complete bike. If you do wish to sell it on I can but you in touch with the V-CC magazine editor with regards of advertising it.

Missed the brake lever, interesting.
Rubbing down the bright work is really time consuming, for painting just getting the rust off has worked for me, but it wont give a tough finish but retouching is easy after all you have the paint. Polishing up for a bare metal finish h just keep on keeping on with reducing roughness of wire wool.
I have had a look at the V-CC library, and could find no reference to models with a coaster hub, but the head-badge seems to indicate a pre- or immediately post-war machine.

Missed the brake lever, interesting.
Rubbing down the bright work is really time consuming, for painting just getting the rust off has worked for me, but it wont give a tough finish but retouching is easy after all you have the paint. Polishing up for a bare metal finish h just keep on keeping on with reducing roughness of wire wool.
I have had a look at the V-CC library, and could find no reference to models with a coaster hub, but the head-badge seems to indicate a pre- or immediately post-war machine.

I have been asked to repair a neighbour's bike the plastic knob on the top of the fork leg, that holds the spring down has mysteriously disappeared. The bike is a Carrera and the forks are Suntour NV. My question is are these all the same for Suntour forks? They are available o line but will they fit?
Thank you
Ugly

Re chroming is very expensive and really difficult to find a firm that will happily take on all the small pits and pieces and not loose any, I would suggest that you rub down and burnish the bare metal then either lacquer or polish with renascence wax. A really boring job but very rewarding. A good tip is try scraping the corroded chrome with a stainless steel knife blade it is surprising how much of the corrosion comes off. An alternative is to rub down and paint all the bright work gloss black, which looks surprisingly good, if done well. From the pictures the paint works looks fairly good. I would rubdown the rust and treat with rust killer, then carefully Tcut the paint work and again polish with renascence wax. The rusted areas could be touched up if you can get a colour match or polished over as part of the patina of age.
I will have a look at the Veteran-Cycle Club library to try and date the bike. I do wonder if it was an export model front brake and coaster hub was an unusual choice in UK.

I use ours for de-greasing small parts, not been caught yet

I stand corrected, story of my life ...not reading the small print!

Fairly sure they were just Rudge no Whitworth, after Raleigh take over. Some models retained their distinctive Duplex forks I don't know if they adopted Raleigh threads.

I rode to work for all of my working years, doing both production and office duties, may I give you my tips:

Great if you can ride slowly but personally I would work a sweat up cleaning a bike

Find a cupboard/locker for clothes etc and somewhere safe to keep your bike, Maintenance staff can be better than than your manager for this. A bottle can smooth the path with this.

Super if you have a shower but a strip wash in the Gents/Ladies can be a bit embarrassing at first but both you and your colleagues will soon get used to it.

eau de cologne is your best friend, not something expensive but Boots cheapest.

wear comfortable cycling clothes, whatever you normally ride, for the journey and take your office clothes with you.
I kept a suit at work for meetings and took a weeks worth of clothes in on a Monday and brought them back on Friday.

As for the bike: It must be reliable and comfortable. Mudguards are a must as is a pannier frame and a big bag. If it is on show at work keep it clean, apart form anything else it makes maintenance easier. The one essential piece of work is once a week check the tyres, check the treads remove any flints in the tread and check pressures


There is a good change you won't be the only one riding in

1918 Royal Enfield Duplex Girder, all original with a SA A series three speed, this has medium gear with a slack wire pull the lever back for low, and further back for high.

Back in the 70s a pal of mine had a Grandini frame, built by Youngs of Lewisham, with similar routing for the rear centre pull brake. It wasn't new then in fact it was his fixed wheel winter hack.

I would find a welder who specialises in aluminium welding and ask him if he would do a repair. Strip the paint off and remove any components that are in the way and see what he can do. We have a really good firm close to us (S Oxfordshire) who seems to be able to repair anything