nlovett72

So I recently, as in today, picked myself up a very sweet 1979 Raleigh Carlton Competition GS. It's a bit on the tall side, 64cm but as I'm 6'2" it'll work out quite fine.

All this being side, in this acquisition I did acquire the wheels, BB, crank, and derailleurs. For a bill and a half though I think it was still a fair deal. The frame is in good condition overall, maybe a seven or eight out of ten. Only very minor surface rust. Chrome plating is still in good condition and no dents. As far as the fork... Well I'm not as happy with that. More like a five or six... Rust has taken it's toll a bit on the plating on the fork.

So I wonder, how would one go about restoring or rehabbing such a bike to it's appropriate look. At the minimum I feel like I need to do something about the fork to prevent further degradation.

Anyways, I plan on upgrading/recreating or whatever my fixed gear.

vvup

Velognome 

Just had a fork replated and painted by Frankin Frames, BEAUTIFUL work. Ended up around $300..... for a Comp GS maybe not worth it. I'd soak it in an OA solutuion and then keep the chrome well waxed and maybe a light coat of oil. Call it "Patina" and everyone will appreciate your gentle restorative touch...That's what I'd do.

big chainring 

This Belgian racer has silver paint to mimic chrome.

cehowardGS

You make the 79 GS into a fixed gear?

It's your bike, but IMO, that bike has too much class/style/history to go to fixed gear. Just my opinion.

I had two, here is the one I sold, and the buyer is has had a locked grin for over a year.. The one I kept is up against the rail.

Velognome 

I have a differing opinion

They make fine fixed gear bikes...just please don't harm the frame in the proccess.

nlovett72

The '79 I bought didn't come with ANY of the gearing or wheels, so I'd rather use the components I have and keep the way I ride as opposed to sources all the original stuff.

Camilo

Keep your eye on Ebay - I see a Raleigh GS fork on there every once in a while. I also wonder if an older Professional fork would be compatible, rake-wise?

Kobe 

If you are going to make a fixed gear, make sure you use this as a prototype. I don't ride fixed, but if I did, this is what I would copy.

southpawboston

OR just restore it to its original glory, like I did with this 1978 GS. It was a barn find, totally neglected and rusting when I got it. But the parts cleaned up beautifully and revealed that they had barely seen any usage. I had the frame powder coated.

Velognome 

^ southpawboston's GS is my favorite on the forum. I've often thought of doing the same with a vintage '78 frame & fork I've got, but then he posts a picture again and I'm satiated for a while....ahhhhhhhh.

cehowardGS

Well, I stand corrected.. there are two schools of thought on the way to go with this bike, and they both be correct!

I am just on the side of keeping it the way it was meant to be...

cehowardGS

I stand corrected..

nlovett72

RALEIGH_COMP 

what size tire and what kind of fenders are you running southpaw?



nlove- I got myself a comp too. Mine was in pretty bad shape with much rust showing through the paint from underneath. I did a complete powder coat on it and a big part of me still regrets it. I love my bike and still enjoy the heck out of it daily, but it definitely has lost its heritage. Its nice, but it doesnt look like a competition at all, which is a pity cause they are so beautiful. but in the end, as long as you ride it, i'm sure you'll love it. here's mine:

SteveSGP

I have a '79 Comp GS and I love mine, Mine came with basically no original parts and a fully painted replacement fork.



I pulled the fork, stripped the lower 2/3 and polished it and ended up with this,

Coreyk

I am the current owner of this bike. Wearing "a locked grin for over a year" would describe my experience, too. They are not expensive bikes, as they go, but a good one is a special bike. I've not owned a more fun go-fast bike yet.
Mine sees 25-100 miles a week, and I often ride with a friend who runs either a beautiful Bianchi S9 Matta titanium/carbon race bike, or an equally beautiful Moots Vamoots demountable with full Campy Chorus. The other riders and passers-by always remark on the Raleigh. Done up well, they're just classic.

Michael Angelo 

Had this for a while. Original paint, Super Record group.

Homebrew01

^^ Those upturned bars hurt my eyes .... Do you think you could put them back down for a minute when taking pictures ? Other than that, nice bike

nlovett72

Well so far so good. Used engine cleaner, rags, and copper brillo. Was VERYYY careful with the brillo to try and not harm the paint as much as I could. Just about all the little rust spots on the frame were easily removed, along with the frame cleaning up quite well. As for the fork, got rid of as much as I could, which wasn't much but it doesn't look as bad as it did. As velo suggested it actually could pass as a patina type look.

Besides that, installed my BB & crank and headset mostly... Ya'll will understand what I mean by that when I put some pictures up in the morning... I'm going to end up making a few people shutter by how it's going to look with blue B43's, but that's all I have at the moment... I'll find someone that wants to trade err something...

nlovett72

So just to clarify, you stripped the chrome plating, polished the fork, and that was the end result? If so I might consider that... Looks nice!

vvup

His forks got painted black, so he took away the black the chrome hiding under was perfect

Coreyk

Note that on the bike Southpawboston posted that the forks are all black powdercoated- that was his way of dealing with perished chrome. The whole time I've owned the bike, no one has yet commented on the fork being all black. The shiny VO fenders tend to hide the difference, I think.

nlovett72

Little update for those interested.

Edit: Not sure if you guys can see from that picture, but the frame looks a lot cleaner.

SteveSGP

No, the replacement fork was painted all black and when I was looking at it I saw that it had Campagnolo dropouts which made me wonder how it would polish up so I figured I had nothing to lose so I stripped the paint and polished it and with the way it turned out I tend to believe it was simply an unpolished chrome finish under the paint.

If it was plain steel I'd expect it to rust after polishing but it hasn't, it stays shiny like chrome should.


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