59cm Carlton Contre La Montre c.1972 Vintage British Steel Road Bike Frame Set

59cm Carlton Contre La Montre c.1972 Vintage British Steel Road Bike Frame SetOriginal vintage frame built in the 1970s Suitable for historic cycling events such as L'Eroica Thoroughly checked over & photographed in detail Worldwide shipping Founded in the latter part of the 19th Century, Carlton managed almost 100 years of bicycle manufacturing in the East Midlands. They were amongst the most sought after and readily available British bikes of the 1930s, thanks to some nifty salesmanship from Dan O'Donovan who was to later

✓ Original vintage frame - built in the 1970s
✓ Suitable for historic cycling events such as L'Eroica
✓ Thoroughly checked over & photographed in detail
✓ Worldwide shipping

Founded in the latter part of the 19th Century, Carlton managed almost 100 years of bicycle manufacturing in the East Midlands. They were amongst the most sought after and readily available British bikes of the 1930s, thanks to some nifty salesmanship from Dan O'Donovan who was to later take over the company, and whose son Gerald became a frame designing legend. Following a buy-out by Raleigh in 1960 and a rebrand for the US market to 'Raleigh-Carlton' the company grew and grew through the bike boom with the doors finally shutting at their Worksop factory in 1981.

Introduced in 1971 and only in the catalogue for a couple of years before Raleigh took over the company, the Contre La Montre was conceived as a lightweight time trial machine - the name is French for 'against the watch'. A frame only option, built from Reynolds 531 double butted tubing with wrap-over stays and Carlton's exclusive lightweight fork crown, it was a true race machine.

The frame number on this Conte La Montre dates it to 1972, and it received a good quality re-spray at some point in the past. With part-chromed forks and rear stays, silver bands on a pearly white paint, this is a handsome bike that could be built as is, although as the paint and chrome are now a little tired, a full restoration would really make it shine again.

If you're taking part in L'Eroica or a similar vintage event, this frame is of the correct age, so you won't be disqualified for being a rule breaker!

The frame's been carefully checked by one of our mechanics to confirm the alignment's correct and there's no damage to the threads. If there are any minor issues worth noting we will do so in the overview section below. Please take a good look at the detailed photos so you can see the cosmetic condition of the frame before you buy.

OVERVIEW

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Condition Notes - Fork crown has been punched to fit an oversized crown race at some point (see last photos)
Era - 1970s
Country - British
Frame Material - Steel
Tubing - Reynolds 531 DB
Weight - 3.041 kg
Stock Code - U-F-R101V

SIZING

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Size Guide* - Large (Approx 35" Inside Leg)
Seat Tube (ctc) - 59 cm
Top Tube (ctc) - 58 cm
Head Tube - 180 mm
Chainstay Length - 43 cm
Wheelbase - 102 cm

*This is just a guide, not a guarantee the frame will fit as every rider is different. If you're unsure of your size we'd always recommend trying out a bike with similar frame dimensions first.

TECHNICAL INFO

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Rear Spacing - 124 mm
Front Spacing - 100 mm
Seatpost Diameter - 27.2 mm
Wheel Size - 700c/28"
Brake Fixing - External Hex Nut
Front Brake Drop - 52 mm
Rear Brake Drop - 53 mm
Bottom Bracket Thread - English/British/ISO Thread
Headset Thread - Standard ISO (24 TPI - British/Italian)
Headset Stack Height - 34 mm
Fork Crown Race - 27.0 mm (JIS)
Shifter Fittings - Downtube Braze-On
Headtube Internal Diameter - 30.0 mm
Steerer Internal Diameter - 22.2 mm (Standard)

▼SHIPPING, TAXES & RETURNS

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We've been safely sending orders around the world since 2010. There's a handy shipping calculator on the shopping cart page so you can see the cost of postage as soon as you've added it to your basket. Your order will be carefully packed and sent with tracking & insurance, we despatch most orders within 2-3 days but larger items and orders placed before the weekend can take an extra day or two to process.

We accept returns, please notify us within 14 days and ensure the item arrives back with us no later than 30 days after the order was received.

EU Customers – for orders under €150 (excluding shipping), VAT will be collected at checkout, but from 1st July 2026, due to new EU import regulations, there may also be a customs duty payable to the carrier. For orders over €150, all import fees will be payable to the carrier, with nothing collected at checkout.

USA Customers – import fees are now collected at checkout for all orders to the US, so there won’t be any surprise charges when your order arrives.

Other International Customers – local import fees may still apply, charged by your customs office or courier before delivery. These are not collected by us, so please check your local rates before purchasing.

Any applicable fees will appear at checkout.

▼HELP SECTION

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Seat Tube (ctc) - we measure from the centre of the bottom bracket shell up to the centre line of the top tube to give a consistent measurement regardless of frame design (ctc means centre to centre).

Top Tube (ctc) - this is measured from the centre of the head tube to the centre of the seat tube, along the centre of the top tube.

Chainstay Length - measured from the centre of the bottom bracket shell to the centre point of the rear dropout.

Wheelbase - measured from the centre of the front fork dropout to the centre point of the rear dropout.

Front & Rear Spacing - measured from the inside of one dropout to the other. The dropouts on steel frames can be stretched or squeezed a few mm but it's always best to avoid this if possible, aluminium or carbon frames should never be stretched.

Brake Drop - measured using wheels of the relevant size for the frame, as stated in the technical info section.

Headset Threads - although it's generally recommended to match threaded parts exactly, with headsets you can technically mix and match, unless you have French or the obscure old Raleigh threads, in which case you need to stick to that type.