sfazio 

Thanks! Hope to have this looking like that picture soon!

sfazio 

I think so too--always my favorite part!

sfazio 

Thanks!

sbarner

This is the seat cluster I remember from the 1970s Competitions, though I don't think I've ever seen a '69-'70 model in person. Nor have I seen one with that neat pinstriping. Raleigh had some slightly different models for domestic and European sales, so the one with the E serial number could have been one of those, dressed up to sell as a Competition. The Reynolds decal on that bike indicates 531 main tubes, while the decal on yours matches the catalog description of a full-531 frameset. I could easily believe that a '67 frame sat around for a year or two before leaving the factory, as that was pre-Bike Boom and upper-end racing bicycles were not hot sellers, yet.

I think $150 is a fine price for this machine, It's free money for the seller, who is lucky he found a local buyer at all, and a good price for you. I would have no buyer's remorse if I had scored it. I like the Nervex professional lugs better than the Capellas of the later Competiitions, and the workmanship before 1973 on the Carleton bikes was generally nicer than you find during the Boom years. I think your bike and the one Andy_K has represent an existing Carleton model that later did a 3-way split with the Pro to become the Competition and the International.

daka

The seat cluster goes back to the Carlton Catalina and it's derivative, the Raleigh Grand Prix. As far as I know, that wraparound piece was used on every post-Lenton Grand Prix from the late 60s into the '80s. I have always liked the way it looks and it's use spares you from the possibility of semi-detached seat-stay caps that are not uncommon on other Carlton products

tfbike 

Looks like a great deal and will be fun to clean up.
These early 70's Raleighs are all over the place. My 71-72 Lilac Comp has an F serial number but all the Lilacs I have seen are 72. I have seen one 71 Comp, white and blue with painted Nervex lugs. The 69-70s I have noticed have a flat rear brake bridge vs the more common round tubing. So many suttle differences.
And the Competicion Ref 32 cranks are 50.8 bcd if I remember. I think the rings from a TA or Stronglight might be able to be modified, so folks like me in northern Colorado with mountains could find smaller rings. Zeus just had to be different.

Tom in Wellington, Co.

WongaTaa

She’s a beauty. Some thoughts…

Be careful with your tools. I have a ’73, and it’s a mishmash of English and metric. The TA crank dictated use of (English-made!) French-threaded pedals. You might want to find out if those Atom pedals are English or French thread – measure carefully, because the difference is slight, until you try to use the wrong pedal in the crank. Or replace the arms and try to use the original pedals.

Oh, and the bolt on the GB stem, if it’s like mine, is 15/32”. How many grams did they save by not making it half inch??? Adjustable wrench to the rescue!

Those look like Carlton hoods. Tasty! Scrub those babies up and they’ll treat you right. I don’t think I’ve ever removed mine – it’s a bear of a job! But I wouldn’t want to cut ‘em, unless they’re headed for the bin!

I haven’t seen tire savers in a dog’s age. If you find a source for these, let us all know.

Be careful with the bar plugs, if you want to preserve the originals. Mine simply disintegrated. Crumbled into little dust particles when I tried to take them out. I’m surprised the expander bolt approach isn’t more common today, though made of a non-disintegrating material.

It’s hard to believe we used to mangle our paint and decals with steel clamps for pumps and bottle cages. If you touch up the paint and polish the chrome, I have a tip. For the paint/chrome interfaces on the blades and stays, marine pinstriping looks great. No worries about paint smearing, uneven lines, etc. If you message me, I’ll be glad to mail you some lengths. I think the smallest spool I could get was 10m, of which I only used a few cm. The ’73 didn’t have chromed stays, or I’d have used a few cm. more.

sfazio 

All good tips, thanks so much! Below are pics of the hoods--they are in shockingly good shape, no cracks and still plenty of life in them, I will clean them up and keep them right where they are. Not sure how to tell if they are Carlton hoods, I didn't see any markings but they could always be hidden by the grime, can you tell by looking at them? It's always painful to see clamps on decals and paint but that bottle holder is pretty cool, my plan is to shine it up and keep it right where it is. Not sure about the pump--of course the clamp is right on top of the 531 decal (ugh!) but I don't know if it was sold with the bike or aftermarket. It's a cool pump with a Campy end but the blemishes on it are pretty distracting. I don't want to mess with the paint on the bike other than a thorough clean and polish but I will have to paint that pump if I keep it on the bike. Anything else that comes to mind please let me know--I am finishing another bike and probably have another few weeks before I will get to this one--I do them one at a time or things get out of hand in my workshop in a hurry .

sfazio 

I've never seen the wraparound before and honestly I didn't notice it until I got it home, I really like it and if it adds strength so much the better!

Pcampeau

Those are indeed Carlton hoods. Not every set of them has the “Carlton” script across them. I’ve got the same exact hoods on my 75 International. They’re quite common and indestructible under normal use. They'll likely last as long as the bike does.

sfazio 

Thanks!

WongaTaa

Good news on the Carlton hoods. I got a pic of mine here, and it does have the script. (I'm no photographer.)

Also, about the pinstripe. Crisp, clean, and even. It's good looking, even if it wouldn't hold up to microscopic scrutiny in some bicycle beauty pageant.

PS- Wow, I CAN upload images after ten posts!