Claud Butler Dalesman...what to do with it?

Iain C

Getting right back into this cycling malarky but getting a little frustrated with the ground conditions round here (Rugby). It's seriously wet at the mo and any off road trips seem to end up with me having to push the bike through a complete quagmire at some point. Cleaning takes ages (it's a new Trek EX7 so I'm still a bit precious about it!) and whilst I don't mind if it's been a long weekend ride, a quick evening blast hardly seems worth getting it filthy (and storage issues mean it needs to go away clean!) and I'm tempted to stay on-road until I find some better evening routes or it dries out a bit. And fantastic as my bike is, even a decent full susser is rubbish on road compared to a bike designed for it.

So I was thinking about digging out my old road bike which has been lamenting at my mum's place ever since I moved out about 15 years ago. It's a very "old skool" Claud Butler Dalesman, about 1989-ish and was built up rather than being off the shelf.

Gunmetal grey Reynolds 531 tubes, polished ally rims (can't remember the make, possibly Araya), wide flange hubs, polised ally Shimano 105 non-index groupset (the old one with the gold arrow engraved on it), Shimano sidepull brakes, Cinelli bars, grab-on grips etc...you get the picture! When it was new it was quite a beasty and a great long distance bike. Altough the Dalesman frame is a tourer, it was set up with skinny wheels, no mudguards etc.

As it's been sat for such a while it will almost certainly need new cables throughout, tyres, bearings and a chain, and a swap to SPDs and a new saddle. I seem to remember it was undergeared as I could happily push top on the flat so it might need a new chainset too, although having turned 30 a few years ago and drank a few beers along the way may well sort that out anyway!

I think the wheels are 27" and from the looks of things tyres for this are tricky to get hold of...can you convert to 700c or are there things to bear in mind like new calipers?

Question is, would I be wasting time and money on it? There's part of me that thinks it could be really quite cool in a retro kind of way, and I just love the look of that Charge Plug in WMB at the mo and I would consider "copying" it with a respray (it will probably need one) and groovy saddle and bar tape. I would not go single though!

Or would I be better off spending the money on road tyres for the Trek or getting a 2nd hand more modern roadie if I really feel the need, like this for example, partly funded by an eBay sale of the Claud Butler to a real enthusiast as I understand that they are still a well regarded touring bike.

Something like this...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Barracuda-Cipress ... dZViewItem

Any thoughts?

Pullman1937

Sell the Trek and buy a decent set of wheels and tyres for the Claud

meagain

I'd "modernise" but at minimum investment. Nowt wrong with 27"s with modern tyres - altho' a 27x1 1/4 will never be as skinny as a 700x23, newer ones will take higher pressure than those fitted I imagine.

If fit toe clips to existing pedals rather than spds (biased in that I've never used clipless), then shouldn't be looking at more than 50 quid?

And don't sell the Trek!!

ColinJ

I wanted my old Dalesman to go to a good home so I swapped it for a lunchtime Pizza in Leeds and the Pizza donor turned it into this fixie. I like the thought of it seeing action again, rather than just rusting away in my cellar .

meagain

THIRTEEN quid? Lucky for some, then!

Iain C

Sell the trek? As if!! :shock:

Hmmm, so I'm guessing the CBD is worth the square root of jack all so not really worth spending much money on, but would make an OK roadie that will be a whole lot better than the Trek on tarmac, and would probably be unlikely to go walkabouts if left chained up somewhere when used as transport.

So I think I see a plan forming...I'd like to end up with something that looks very similar to the Charge Plug (I love that bike!) but a bit more user friendly for me.

Buy some cheap MTB SPDs so I can use it with my current shoes (BIG convert after using them for the first time on the Trek)-£15.99 off eBay, or stick with the current clips (however I hate clips now!)

Buy a Charge brown cromo saddle £20.99

Buy a roll of brown handlebar tape £5

A few new cables here and there £10

New chainset may well be very cheap as I friend of mine may have one or two going cheap (unused prizes)

Respray (DIY job, I'm fairly good) and re-graphic, and I'll have an interesting project bike!

HOWEVER the one thing I'm struggling with is tyres, I can only find 27x1 1/4", does anyone know where I can get the skinniest 27" modern tyre possible, hopefully black-walled?

Thanks for the tips all! :P

ColinJ

meagain wrote:

THIRTEEN quid? Lucky for some, then!

And that included the meal he ate too !

meagain

These 27x1s aren't all black, but I ain't checked all the site (try spa cycles also)

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Pana ... ch-(25-630)-1065.htm

IF you can go with x1 1/4s, there are a some bargains on th'bay I think. Got some Conti Ultra Sports last week for well less than 1/2 the price of sjs cycles. Ride fine.

Wooliferkins

Your Dalesman will make a good budget tourer/hack/commuter. Schwalbe do 27" tyres that'll allow some bridleway/canal path riding. The modern parlance for those who clean more than they ride is to call this off road, non motor roads in reality. Work out what you actually need to do to it and then stick to your budget. You might find the brakes on it have enough reach to take 700C wheels if indeed they aren't already. If not Tektro and KF both do budget long reach calipers, the Tektro better than a lot of cheap brakes from the majors. There will be space for guards if you want it. 6 or 7 speed? 7 & 8 speed cassettes are still available from Shimano and SRAM and KMC are the people for your chain. Revamp it and let it do what it was designed for, getting you out in the wild blue yonder

Iain C

Nice one all, thanks. I've found some all black Panaracers on that site so I'll stick with the 27s and save a few quid. Now I just need to find an old Shimano 105 front caliper to match the back one and work out why the freewheel turns both ways and we'll be there!

(apart from the respray etc!)

Fab Foodie

Wooliferkins wrote:

Your Dalesman will make a good budget tourer/hack/commuter. Schwalbe do 27" tyres that'll allow some bridleway/canal path riding. The modern parlance for those who clean more than they ride is to call this off road, non motor roads in reality. Work out what you actually need to do to it and then stick to your budget. You might find the brakes on it have enough reach to take 700C wheels if indeed they aren't already. If not Tektro and KF both do budget long reach calipers, the Tektro better than a lot of cheap brakes from the majors. There will be space for guards if you want it. 6 or 7 speed? 7 & 8 speed cassettes are still available from Shimano and SRAM and KMC are the people for your chain. Revamp it and let it do what it was designed for, getting you out in the wild blue yonder

Absolutely go with this advice...or convert it like the earlier Pizza-muncher did into a tidy fixed-gear.
I've run a 1949 Holdsworth 531 frame as both Tourer and converted to fixed-wheel still on 27" wheels, it's still a fine mile muncher. Your Claud will be a beauty to ride and IMO it's worth spending a few quid on her. A bike for a long-term relationship rather than a quick knwee trembler. Keep her going or pass her on to somebody who will.

BTW, Schwalbe and Continental still do OK 27x1 1/4 tyres, or go for some new 700c wheels.

Iain C

Right then, ordered all the bits, scrounged some more up to date components here and there, and the Nitromors is ready to go!

Does not actually look to bad in this picture, but it's not very nice up close!



I'll post some updates as work progresses...

Iain C

Well, it's turned into a bit of a project, I've been given a load of parts and eBay has come up trumps for some kit. I decided to respray it myself using Halford's finest and I'm more than happy with the result so far...


Not in great condition...


Bike stripped down...


Lots of Nitromors and sanding later, but still more to go...


Zinc primed, painted and lacquered...

robbie the roadie

Wow great job. Could you explain to me a bit more about how you strippedthe paint off and re-sprayed it as I have an old Raleigh with reynolds tubing in the garage that needs looking at.

meagain

"how you strippedthe paint off"

Usual way I expect: Nitromors (as stated), rotary wire brush(es) in a drill, wet and dry, lots of elbow grease and patience! Well, that's how I do it.

Unless you actually enjoy DIY'ing, then a blast + powder coat very nearly as cheap and a lot easier!

It looks very nice, Iain C!!

Iain C

Some update pictures...







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Dickie

Looks very smart. Have you done any more?

Iain C

Yep...all done (apart from the headbadge I've just got on eBay). First ride today if the rain holds off!

meagain

Ver' pretty indeed!

marmitecp

The paint job looks good for a spray can job, I can't help think that powder coating would last longer though.

Cool looking bike though, like the new decals.

ColinJ

It might be just the photograph, but isn't the brake block in the last photograph a bit high up the rim i.e. in danger of going off the top edge of the rim and contacting the tyre :shock: ?

Nice job BTW!