LeftCoastJon

Hi - I have recently picked up a Talbot and I haven't been able to find out much about it. I was wondering if anyone can shed any light.

I know that this Talbot was from Carleton Cycles in Vancouver 'cos it says so; it hasn't gone very far as I'm on Vancouver Island. As bought:



The frame paintwork is a bit scruffy but no rust. Champion no. 2 tubing, serial # S1 2 255.

Front and rear derailleurs and shifters are Suntour Vx, rear hub is also a Suntour Vx quick release. I've dated some of the components to mid 1980 to early 1981 and what's there seems all very coherent. Skiptooth gears, Sugino cranks, brakes are Suntour Superbe - I guess the brake levers would have been as well before the drops were changed for a flat bar.




The rear wheel is an Araya 700c rim but the front is a Weinman 27 x 1 1/4 (didn't notice that until I got it home, they both have a similar profile). The high flange front hub isn't marked Suntour Vx, I'll have to see if I can find a name when I clean it up. If it's not Suntour like the rear, the hub is probably not that far off period (?) so maybe I'll just get that built into a 700 rim, that shouldn't be too hard to accomplish, I hope.

One part I don't quite get is the vertical drop-outs. If the frame is the same age as the components, 1980/81 seems very early for vertical on a road bike... so I don't know what to make of it all, what to assume is original (if anything). Any guesses?

I have a Nitto Olympiade drop bar and some brake levers to put on it (not Superbe, will keep looking for those). Hopefully I'll get it polished up and riding this summer.

Thanks

unworthy1

vertical DOs were available for years before this frame was built, but never as popular as trad horizontal DOs. I take it these are Japanese bits (either SunTour or Shimano/Tange)?
You want some sort of cap nut for the Superbe front caliper, looks like the rear has the OEM conical one, but a regular acorn nut with correct threading would work.
Looks like a nice rider in very good condition! Maybe that serial number will point to who built "Talbots", for someone like T-Mar

LeftCoastJon

Yeah, everything that matches is SunTour Vx. I have another bike of similar vintage with SunTour Cyclone II and I really like it all, it was actually all the SunTour stuff on this one that really piqued my interest (beyond it just being an interesting '80s steel road bike).

Later: Wait, do you mean the drop-outs themselves? Haven't checked if they're marked, will try to take a look this afternoon.

Ooh, good eye, I hadn't noticed that yet.

Fredo76

I used new Shimano vertical dropouts when building my frame in 1976. First ones in town, I believe.


Shimano vertical dropouts circa 1976

unworthy1

Yes, the DOs might be
Shimano FE-SF21 Vertical Dropout (single eyelet) since Sun Tour verts look quite different.
Campy vertical DOs were available in the early 1960s (but these are not Campy)

clubman 

I have an earlier Talbot frame. They were a custom Vancouver marque but there was also a Talbot in New England and another in Britain. Mine is 531 with campy horizontal drops.

LeftCoastJon

Rear DOs are Shimano SFR and single eyelet, fronts are Tange TF

LeftCoastJon

Nice frame - your thread was one of the few mentions of Cdn Talbots that I found Do you plan to restore & build it up?

clubman 

Sorry I didn't read your original post with a clear mind.
I like to keep Canadian frames/bikes but I'll probably move it on. I'm not likely to restore it as it's not my size.

79pmooney

Be aware that a Talbot in New England could have been a frame made by Dick Talbot, a time trial racer out of Boston in the late '70s and maybe into the '80s. We were club mates when I was racing '76-78 and he was just getting into frame buildiing then. I still own a pair of well worn Campy pedals I purchased from him then. 19k miles when I bought them and I put roughly that distance on them again. Memories.

Pompiere

My FW Evans has the 1960s Campy vertical drop outs. Here's a pic for reference.


1960s Campagnolo vertical drop out

pastorbobnlnh 

I'll just add my two cents about the freewheel.

The skip-tooth design on the two largest sprockets narrows it down to either a Shimano or a Maillard. Both companies provided "Schwinn Approved" versions for 1970's era Sports Tourers. Since your Talbot has Shimano dropouts, and Suntour components, it is most likely Shimano, and to my eye appears to be.

rgvg

If anybody wants one I think there is one on vancouver craigslist for $600cdn. It's been up for offer for at least 2 years now. I've seen it at the bike swap a couple of times but I guess no takers yet. Not my size, I think 56 or 57.

LeftCoastJon

Just checked this morning - after giving it a good wipe, the face of the retainer ring of the freewheel shows an S in a circle and RA, so I assume you were right on it being a Shimano skiptooth freewheel! Thanks

LeftCoastJon

I was in the bike shed this evening and took a look at the shifters. I guess I was premature in suggesting they were Suntour Vx like most of the drive train - they're Suntour Power shifters, different to what's shown when I search for images of Vx shifters.



VeloBase info suggests this style is old enough that they could well be same age as the components I have dated, '80-'81, so maybe original? Who knows...

non-fixie 

The Vx drivetrains I have seen, mostly on Raleighs and Gazelles of the late seventies and early eighties, always came with Power Shifters. FWIW.

LeftCoastJon

Interesting, thanks - so perhaps they were on there from the start.

non-fixie 

I think that is very likely.

Hummer

Talbot was also an automobile marque name in France which became part of Peugeot. Cycles Peugeot made some bicycles under the Talbot marque.

Weaselshark

Talbot was the house brand of Carleton Cycles, which later became Carleton Rescue and Outdoor Equipment I believe. They only just recently closed their doors and last time I had visited (at least 10-12 years ago now) they still had one of the first Talbots on the wall along with some cool old photos and history of the cycling era. They still had some remnants of the frame building shop in the basement, and we’re able to supply me with a set of decals.
I’ve had a few Talbots over the years, wonderful bikes! I’ve also got a photocopy of an old shop catalogue (1978 I believe) and a pair of track wheel covers.
I recently built one up to replace a Talbot I really regretted selling, still need to dial it in and drop the levers…
I believe yours would have been one of the models they contracted for production overseas as I believe all of the Vancouver built frames were Reynolds tubing.

LeftCoastJon

Thanks, sounds like that would have been a neat visit to Carleton. I've had a (brief) search for replacement decals without success so far, you scored there!

I have no 'Talbot' on the downtube but the decals on my seat and head tube match yours, including the 'Designed and built by Carleton Cycles Vancouver BC' one. I realize that doesn't necessarily mean produced the frame, 'built' could mean receiving the manufactured frame and assembling all parts onto it. And if the BC built frames were all Reynolds tubing, mine must have been overseas as you say.

Nice job with that build up, looks great. Was that a repaint?

Weaselshark

thanks! It’s a beautiful bike, and original paint!
I’d say it’s worth a shot to try shooting them a message through their website?!
https://www.carletonrescue.com/about-us/
looks like they’re operating online out of Vernon now, though maybe an old box of decals got moved out that way, and hopefully not tossed in the trash!

LeftCoastJon

Ooof, original paint? That thing's a dreamboat

Yeah, I'll shoot them a message, can't hurt.

LeftCoastJon

Dismantled everything yesterday for a good clean and freshen up.

Components will clean up nicely - still have Superbe brake pads present.


Forks are full chrome with paint on top.


Frame is covered in scuffs and scrapes but I couldn't find any rust or damage so that's good


I did send a message to Carleton Rescue but didn't hear back. It was a long shot...

d_dutchison

Carlton Cycles' Talbot house brand was their top tier bicycle line, composed of either bikes made to Carlton's own specification by Japanese manufacturers (which were equal to the best available Japanese bikes of the time such as the Nishiki Continental or the Fuji pro), or in-house, hand made custom frames built to what ever specification the customer wanted.

Clubman's silver Talbot posted above is an example of one of their hand-builts (the Reynolds tubing being the main give away), yours is probably one of the Japanese imports, though it's hard to say for sure since Talbot didn't mark their hand made frames any differently from the ready made ones. The vertical dropouts and investment-cast fork crown suggest a custom frame, while the paint scheme and tubing choice suggest ready-made. Either way, a really gorgeous bike and the product of a beloved local bike shop.

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