I stripped the bike today. For the life of me I cannot get the Chater-Lea fork off. I cannot ask my uncle, who got his fingers into this bike in the late 60s, because he is dead(that’s why I have the bike now). It seems like it might be heat fitted.
I discovered that I cannot get 27×1,1/4 tyres here in South Africa, so I’ve ordered some from California. White walls, because I hate myself for some reason and my classic cars have white walls.
I discovered that the deraelleurs are super cheap and nasty but look like they are working, not orginal Simplex or Scandia by a long shot.
by majubafruit
4 Comments
What a jewel—that lug work in particular is stunning!!! The period drivetrain is amazing, too. I cannot wait to see it restored to shiny glory!
There’s a very active Carlton group on Facebook, if you didn’t know.
Nice frame. Looks like a top end one.
What is going on with your downtube shifters?
Lovely lugs, by the way. Cool bike.
Can you get the stem out at least? Or is that the problem?
You maybe have a [frozen stem](https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1044691-frozen-quill-stem.html)
I’m asking because your photo of the bare frame is classic example of “I’m trying to remove the stem, but can’t, so I keep trying to loosen the headset to see if it helps” scenario going on. I have been there before. But it is your stem. I’ve had good and bad success stories with this scenario.