Originally a touring bike, my 1972 Carabela, as I recently discovered, is a rarity. The Carabela Bicycle company was extremely short-lived. The bikes were built alongside Windsors and some Italian branded bikes. The decorative lugs and clean welds show this bike was hand-built with great care.
But I’m not here to talk about the history of Carabela, I’m here to breathe new life into this bike; to document this build for others thinking about jumping into the hobby. I’ve always told friends and curious individuals that you don’t have to buy a track bike. Finding a nice old road frame - with the right geometry - and building up a nice fixie is possible. It’s not any less expensive except that the initial cost to get up and running is cheaper. In the long run, as you upgrade to better parts, the cost is relative. A fixie needs to be built well, fit you appropriately - and more importantly - gets you out there riding! With that said, let’s jump right in.
All Original - Cost: $170
I paid a little less than $170 (shipping included) for this bike and the Rhode Gear car attachment. Unfortunately, the bike was poorly packed and arrived damaged. Let this be a lesson for those of you looking to buy a used bike online; be sure to accurately negotiate with the seller the shipping terms. Unless the seller has prior experience extensively selling bikes, insist that the seller take your prize to a local bike shop. There the bike will be packaged and prepped for shipping appropriately. This may cost you a little extra - $40 to $60 - but it is well worth not having the hassle of a bike being delivered damaged and in non-ridable condition (as was the case with my Carabela).
Also, about buying bikes on eBay or Craigslist. It is good to note the style of bike you are purchasing. These days, a bike built before 1990 is considered a “vintage” bike; sadly it isn’t always the case. Old bike is more like it, but that doesn’t necessarily sell. The big names - Trek, Cannondale, Schwinn, Raleigh, Peugeot and Bianchi - generally fetch a healthy bit of money with some makes of Treks, Schwinns and Peugeots entering the $1000+ mark. Most often then not, it is the racing version of these bikes that are extremely valuable to collectors or people looking for some street credibility. Here is how to tell what you are getting and what you should expect to be paying.
Stem mounted shifters typically denote a low-end, touring model, while shifters on the downtube typically mean the bike is a higher-end racing model. A basic rule here is that if it shifts from the stem, it’s not going to hurt your wallet too much. I typically buy these bikes because for one, they are cheap and two, you can install fenders and other accessories much more easily than on a racing bike (there is a difference in wheel clearance - touring bikes most often have a higher wheel clearance on the fork and rear seat-stays than racing bikes). Depending on the model and condition, I will almost never pay more than $150 for a used touring bike (this sometimes includes the cost of shipping if purchasing out of state). I’ll spend more time on this subject in the coming months, but I wanted to give a decent base to work from when looking for a used bike.
Stripped to the Bone - Cost: Free (I did it myself)
8.11.07
Whatever you can do yourself, do it! Having the bike totally dismantled at my local bike shop would have cost me around $80 - 90 (and that is cheap!). Don’t be intimidated by this task, it is not as tough as you think. Grab the socket wrend and allen keys, it’s time to get dirty!
As for this Carabela, like I said before, my goal is to turn it into a fixie. Removing the cranks and bottom bracket (pictured still on the frame above) was done by the aforementioned bike shop (my tools didn’t fit) for a minimal cost. This is often a difficult task without the proper tools. Again, I’ll write more about this subject in the coming months.
Damages - Cost: $155 $140
9.30.07
Here is the price to pay for bad eBayers. First the bike was shipped poorly that resulted in a damaged fork, then the original headset on the bike was destroyed and to top it off, the headset lug was cracked (pictured). All three of these thing contribute to the cost above. Fixing the cracked lug: $65. Re-bending the fork: $50. New headset: $40 $25. The downside is that the price above does not include labor.
The Build - Cost: $110
10.05.07
Most of the advice I received from shops in the area was that the bike was still ridable. There was no real concern with the crack and that riding it wouldn’t be a problem. With their go ahead I proceeded to piece the bike together.
Wheelset - $80
I had sourced a set of Velocity Fusions with Formula hubs from a board member. The price was right and I seriously needed a set of nice 700’s. I wasn’t too keen on the aero look of the wheels at first - what can I say, I’m an old school guy - but once I got them on the bike - as you’ll see - they look really great.
Bottom Bracket - $15
Reusing parts from my other bike, I went with the sealed cartridge Shimano. If you are looking to build a bike on a budget, these are ok bottom brackets. If you are doing a conversion, and you are currently running a 68×110 bottom bracket, consider a 68×107. That’s about the distance of the inner ring - speaking about road doubles - and will give you a much better chainline. I’ve since gone from this to another Shimano but with steel cups all the way around. The plastic cups break within a very short period.
Chainring & Cranks - Free or $45
Trying to maintain the original character of the bike meant keeping the original crankset. The Sugino Idols that came on the bike may not have been top of the line, but they were still Suginos; strong and solidly made. Granted, at 170mm in length and with the low bottom bracket of a road bike, this isn’t the best idea. Consider 165mm cranksets instead, like these:
Bulletproof cranks and Rocket track chaining. Cheap and strong setup that will last a while…well long enough until you are ready to cough up out some dough for a set of Sugino 75s.
Headset - $25
I wanted to use this headset so bad, but unfortunately, the stackheight was too tall for the original fork. Still, a decent price for an inexpensive Campagnolo headset. It is possible to have “Campy” parts without breaking the bank. Although a Campagnolo Record headset will get you all the “ohs and ahs”, this Veloce is still super smooth.
The Completed Bike
The bike looks great. A new seat post ($8), handlebars (Nitto B123 40mm $40), Tange headset ($29) and bar tape ($9) round out the components. The headset was actually tallied into the $110 build cost because the Campagnolo shown previously didn’t fit. All-in-all the cost to get this bike up and running was $457. I could have bought a Mercier Kilo TT or other similarly inexpensive track bike, but for me spending a little more on a classic bike that no one has, suited me just fine. This bike looks the business and I really enjoy the ride. I would certainly encourage anyone thinking of building up a “fixie” to consider a conversion. There are the hipsters that will knock the idea completely, but a fixed gear bike is a fixed gear bike. Unless you intend to race (on a track), fork ends or horizontal drops, it’s all the same. Just make sure your bike is tuned appropriately and built properly and you won’t have any problems. Hope to see you out on the road!
Safe ride.
Updates
I know it’s been a while, but I have been putting a lot of work into building this bike up into something beautiful. There have been times I was tempted to sell the bike, but the more research I do, the more I see how rare this bike is. Carabela’s existed for such a short time on the market. For what it’s worth it appears the bike was constructed with care. Anyway, moving on…
In the time since I’ve had the bike, she has gone through 5 builds.
Build 2
This build was rather minor. Vintage 80mm stem and bar wrap helped make the ride a little more comfortable. Added a beefy set of 700×25 Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite’s. Downside is that these tires were way too heavy and had a little too much rolling resistance.
Build 3
Got a Brooks Professional from a friend and acquired a longer stem (100mm). It was around this time I decided to give risers a try. I didn’t want to cut the steerer column until I was sure I liked riding with them. As it turns out I vacillate between risers and drops. Also went back to the rocket chainring and Bulletproof cranks. One other major item was changing from threaded to threadless. While I love the classy look of threaded stems, the ease of use of threadless is what I love the most.
Build 4
Very minimal update. Tired of the weight of the Armadillo’s I went with a classic set of 700×20, French made Wolber SL19’s. Not the best look (for the bike; the tires do look awesome), but the Wolber’s roll exceptionally well.
Build 5
It was around this time I realized my Velocity Fusion’s were getting a little long in the teeth. I had noticed an ever so slight “jiggle” in the rear. As it turned out, the bearings in the rear hub had started to pit. So it was time to get some new wheels. While I could have settled from some prebuilt wheels, I figured since I was going to spend money, I wanted to get something fresh. Paul Components hubs laced to Mavic Open Pros are what I settled on. Arone from Bike Works put in some time to not only build the wheels, but teach me how to do it as well. Several hours later, I walked out the shop with the above beauties. And later added them to the bike.
At this point I had added an Elkhide leather bar wrap, Sugino 48T chainring and polished the Bulletproof cranks to remove the lettering. Also, after a great deal of searching, I was able to find a gorgeous pair of Continental GP4000 tires in bronze. As a whole, this combination was perfect; the bike was looking near complete. I knew the few things I wanted to update where the headset, crankset and biggest update of all - new paint.
Final Build
Like I mentioned above, the more I looked into Carabela Bicycle Co. the more I came to realize how rare it is to find these bikes. Even further still, I began to notice trends in my bikes build that made me suspect it was a little older than the 1972 I was originally told. From my research, my best guess is late 60’s early 70’s; with me leaning more towards a ‘68 - ‘69. With this in mind, it was time to give this bike some new life. I contacted Duane Waller over at Chester Cycles to see what we could work out. The end result was a gorgeous warm pearl white. The lugs were lined in gold with gold rings on the seattube filled with white color bands. The bike looks absolutely stunning in photos and person.
Look at that color and those lugs! Such a beauty. Also, new Origin 8 100mm stem and silver Cane Creek S2 headset. One day I’ll make my way to getting a Chris King headset. For now, this S2 is great and smooth.
Campagnolo C9 chain, Sugino RD crankset and again, look at that pearl color. You can just make out the white bands on the seattube. Don’t you love how nice the bronze tires look?
Front view. The honey Brooks Pro, the Elkhide bar wraps and bronze Continental’s match perfectly.
Crank Bro’s egg beater pedals.
Rear view.
Closer view of the fork crown and headtube lugs.
All-in-all, it has been a fantastic process to watch this bike come full circle. I don’t have any future plans.
As of right now, the bike is perfect.
Enjoy!