Cycling UK Forum

Hello everyone, I am a new member and a new bicycles enthusiast in general, glad to join the club.
I recently bought 3 old frames, the first, 1960's Carlton, came with semi peeled decal on top of the seat tube. I could not recognized it and no reassembled decals appear on Google search. So my questions are:
1. What is this decal?
2. Can you help me to identify if the Carlton frame is 531?
3. What is story of the 531c CocaCola frame?
4. Do you advise me to use car metallic paint (blue and orange) for touch ups on the Carlton and the Harrier?
Many Thanks.

The mysterious decal:


The rest of the bike:



The other two frames:

No the Carlton isn't 531, I recognise the style , it's a mid range frame from the 1960's and it's got replacement (ie Non Original) forks so tread carefully with it it's probably been crashed in it's life.
Can't tell you what sticker is but it's probably along the lines of "High tensile" Steel.

The "Coca Cola" is probably a bit of "badge engineering" by someone on an old frame.

Easy check for (most) 531 frames is that seat tube is 27.2mm in diameter , usually engraved on the seat pin.
Or check it with a vernier gauge if there's no seatpin.
You'll find the Carlton (and the Blue one) have smaller diameter seat pins.

I have a Coca Cola bike see this link scroll down a few pictures

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3832&start=1005

First I'd strip the components off the frames

You may well find that seat posts and stems may be very well stuck, which will have you searching this forum for cures

If you get everything off Ok check the frames over for damage, cracks, bad corrosion inside the tubes. Rust on the inside of a frame can be worse than on the outside.

If all is OK you can get them blasted and powder coated for around £40

Rattle can sprays can cost nearly as much, so powder coat is the way to go. A good place will mask off all threads (which will probably need re-tapping anyway)

Unless the frames are special, e.g. Bates, Hetchins, Flying Gate it's always going to be uneconomical to refurb a bog standard frame, but it can be fun bringing a dead bike bike to life.

the Carlton has the remnants of a 'TRU-WEL' tuning sticker, as used in the late 1960s I think.

There is a pic on this page

https://www.flickr.com/groups/568400@N24/

of that sticker. I think the bike might be a Carlton 'Corsa' model. By the late 1970s they were green and had a slightly different spec. This one is between the green one and yours;



As per an earlier comment your forks are likely not the original forks so be mindful of the possibility of a prang. The frame is otherwise a typical basic Raleigh era Carlton frame; it might have 26tpi threads in the BB and other such raleigh-isms. The weight of it will tell you that it isn't made from especially lightweight tubing.

The 'Harrier' is a budget model from 'Falcon'. Not a real lightweight, but a perfectly respectable budget 'racer'.

The pick of your bunch is the Coca-Cola model, but with steep angles and tight clearances it may or may not suit you.

hth, happy fettling,

cheers

If really needed paint colour touch ups can be effectively done with small amounts of enamel; I wouldn't have any of those frames stripped of their existing paint and I certainly wouldn't have any powder coated. Whilst none are rare or 'special', all have done well to survive to date! Singlespeed or fixed would be a cheap and fun way of giving an older frame a new lease of life and purpose. I'd leave the paint as is!

Late response as I lost the password and had to lay off biking for a while.
I want to say Thank You to everyone on for their help.
The CocaCola bike got painted by my friend (I objected but they are his).
The blue Falcon was renovated and sold.
The red Carlton had frame alignment problem, and the cottered cranks was just too much for me. donated to local bike charity.
Thanks again and see you soon.
Biky

For any info regarding Carlton frames contact Dave Marsh at Universal Cycle Centre in Maltby South Yorkshire (122 Manor Rd, Maltby, Rotherham S66 7EW
01709 813089). He was a frame builder at the Carlton factory and has a huge range of Carlton decals and one of the best traditional cycle shops you could ever visit.

Hi land surfer it's a Corsa and the decal is Truwell not 531. As others Dave is a font of Carlton Knowledge and an all round nice bloke.