Whoops! It's happened again.

One of those frames that just looks right. A 1982 22.5" Carlton Corsair, partially stripped, but basically complete with all the original running gear. £65 off Facebook Market Place collected.

The question is; what to do with it? Yes restoration, but to what level?

An early '80s bike had 27" (630mm) wheels. These are a tad larger than the long since adopted road standard of 700C (620mm) and as such things like the original brake calipers will probably not accommodate the additional drop of the brake blocks.

Early '80s bikes had 120mm over lock nut (OLN) rear triangle spacing versus the modern 130mm (and even the intermediate 126mm) which limits options for the sheer number of gears you can squeeze in. Back then, 5/6 gears were the norm, the yet to be developed 126mm managed 7/8, the 130mm of today currently managing as many as 12.

Each jump required advances in materials technology and frame geometry to free up space. Improvements allowed narrower chains, with narrower sprockets and spacing. The external freewheel we take for granted as Shimano/Campagnolo options when buying a wheel now, was part of the hub and the whole block/cassette threaded onto the outside of the hub itself. It is hard to cross the rubicon of these different technologies without wholesale changes to the frame.

So, the question is do I go for the expense of another restomod/postmodern build as per the Raleigh 531c SPD, with attendant costs of re-spacing the frame and modern groupset components, or consider it as a thorough tidy-up and rebuild with age appropriate components?

I think the answer was provided by my other half who most likely be the one riding it and she has already had one interesting idea for it, indicating that there's at least a passing interest in riding it.

The Plan.