Touring to Italy on a mixte frame bike from 1972

bice

http://www.leaseholdknowledge.com/carlton-courette-c1972

I am thinking of turning this bike into a tourer. It is a Carlton Courette mixte frame that I use for commuting and shopping. I think it was described as a lady's tourer, although I am not a lady, in fact.

It is a really comfortable London bike. It is excellent for getting off and on and doing the shopping and I have been using it for five years. But … it is not the stiffest frame even when it is loaded with some shopping.

I now want to go through Corsica and Sardinia to Naples on it. I want to take quite a full load, including tent on this trip. I am getting a bit concerned it might not be up to the job.

I will replace the single chainring with a triple: 42-32-24. The hub is a Miche seven speed freewheel with a 28T.

The shifters are down tube Shimano. Since the picture, the bike now has drops and decent-ish Tektro brakes.

Apart from the frame not being very strong, the back wheel hub being a freewheel is a (minor) concern. They are not as strong as cassettes. But the wheel is pretty strong and heavy. It is also 30 years old, so if the axle breaks I do not mind buying a new wheel if necessary.

I do have a spare a eight speed Shimano Tiagra hub and wheel. But the wheel does have a slight kink in the rim, which means I have to keep an eye on it to keep it true. The Miche wheel is far more solid.

The advantage of going full Shimano is that I have some 8-speed Sora shifters. But with a loaded touring bike, maybe best to keep things simple and stick with the down shifters.

Another minor concern is that the front wheel is an old (very good) 27 inch wheel. This would be an issue is I were taking a spare outer, but I am not. If it breaks, it will just have to be junked.

If I do this in the autumn I could do the Eroica.

The tyres I have on it are Schwalbe Marathon Pluses, which are slippery and uncomfortable: but good for some of London's glass covered streets.

As an alternative, I do have a near solid Saracen steel mountain bike I could turn into a tourer. It is not an attractive bike, with cheapest type of welding.

The Carlton Couretter is a good quality bike, which is why I pushed the boat out and spent £27 to buy it.

Brakeless

I can't really comment on the bike I'm afraid but if you haven't already you should read Gironimo. He gets round on a bike far older than yours. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gironimo-Riding ... 0224100157

debeli

The bike looks excellent. I restored a similar one last year for one of my grown-up children to use while home. The mixte concept is really sound and bikes like that are durable and comfortable.

You seem to have everything sorted, although a triple chainring seems slightly OTT. Having said that, do be aware (as I'm sure you are) that both Corsica and Sardinia are little more than jolly big hills poking out of the sea.

Both islands have some serious (SERIOUS) climbs and descents on them.

But the bike you have... it looks fine. It will be an adventure, which is about the best thing a cycling trip can be.

ugo.santalucia

1970s frames are not spaced to take modern wheels... you'd have to spread or cold set the rear dropouts to fit the wider hub.... I suggest you keep the freewheel. Freewheels are no different from freehubs, in fact they are the same thing as a Shimano freehub with a set of sprockets screwed on it. The mechanism is identical, the freewheel bearings are identical. They are neither weaker not stronger.... they just need a different tool to remove and more often than not they are seized in place and hard to remove should you need to, but you don't need to, so happy days. Make sure the brakes work, Corsica in particular is very hilly

Monty Dog

Only real weakness is that freewheel hubs have only 2 bearings, one quite inboard so bending the rear axle given you're riding laden is quite possible.

bice

The frame spacing is fine for modern wheels: I had a Shimano Tiagra 8 speed hub for a while. But I am using a seven speed Miche freewheel off an old Italian racing bike at the moment. The reason is that I needed the 8 speed Shimano for something else, and the Miche wheel seems very strong and heavy, and so ideal for commuting.

I am not taking masses of stuff. Maybe 15-20 kilos. Are freewheels very prone to breakage? I weigh 76 kilos.

andymiller

I'm confused. One minute this thread is here and the next it isn't and then it's back again. Maybe it was here all along, and I'm losing it.

Anyway, see my post here:

viewtopic.php?f=40003&t=13061416

If you're sensible you shouldn't really be adding more than 15 kgs to the weight on the bike. The frame probably isn't any more likely to fail in Corsica or Sardegna than in London (unless you decide to do some impromptu off-road detours).

I must admit I'd be more concerned about the wheels than the frame. The roads in Corsica and Sardegna are generally in reasonable nick and I guess that your bike won't take more punishment than riding around London, but if you do have a problem you could find yourself a long way from the nearest decent bike shop. In Corsica there's a bike shop in Bastia and another in Ajaccio, and a guy in Saint Florent who might be able to fix a wheel —and that's pretty much it. I'd consider getting some new wheels built: Spa Cycles will do you a very good pair of wheels for under £200.

I don't know how fit you are, but Corsica and Sardegna are pretty hilly, so I'd consider a cassette with a 32T or 34T cog (that's what I'm going to be riding with!).

The Marathon Pluses are maybe a good idea for London, but I'd consider saving yourself a fair chunk of weight by getting a pair of decent-quality kevlar-reinforced tyres.

I don't know what route you're planning through Corsica, but the west coast road is definitely better than the route nationale along the east coast.

Unless you are very fit a triple chainring is definitely not OTT.

bice

Thanks for this reply.

Really useful information.

You are right about the wheels and the tyres. Schwalbe Marathon Pluses are only any good in winter in London, when you really do not want punctures. The ride very uncomfortably, and quite slippery (I find). But no roadside repairs.

Schwalbe Marathon without the Plus are good general tyres, in my view.