But that does not mean that I am not there. My goal by Jan. 1st is to finish lingering repairs and assemble two bikes. Here's the first-a Carlton International that I bought on Ebay as a frame and fork when I was recovering from my broken leg last year. It took me awhile to get to building it but here it finally is. The build is not really dead-on period-correct and purists might take me to task. I say this: If not for me this would have never been a rideable bike again as the previous owner never got around to building it and I'll bet the owner before that had robbed it of all its parts.
I really had to get resourceful to make this bike roll. The BB is a Phil Wood with 26 TPI rings so that I didn't have to use the old BB that was made for cottered cranks. While cottered cranks might be proper for this bike , they are in most cases terrible. It is rare to get a set that don't loosen up with hard riding. I think that the frame does not really deserve some of the finer parts on it but I used what I had and I also wanted it not to be a heavy ungainly ride. It moves along pretty well.
So why a Carlton ? When I was 13 my very first road bike was a Carlton Super Course. It was not that great but it was my first real bike so I had a bit of nostalgic jonesing when I saw this one for sale. I made a low offer on it and it was accepted. What will I do with it ? Not really sure but if I am to sell it, I'll be sure and take it on a long ride before I do. I put a lot of work into it and it would be a shame not to experience the ride of a bike very similar to the first bike that gave me the freedom to really escape my home and find the limits of my endurance.
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