Cafe Allez! is proud to announce the arrival of our third company vehicle, following Van Henri and Araminta (the Sprinter, our Mercedes ‘mothership’).

It’s a 1978 Carlton Professional Mk 5 bike and in our humble opinion, it’s a work of art!

There’s also a local(ish) connection: Carlton built most of their bikes, including this one, in Worksop, Notts.: less than 40 miles from our base.

We intend to ride and enjoy the bike this Summer and you should be able to spot it on display now and again at our forthcoming Belvoir Castle-based coffee shop.

Massive thanks to Michael of Michael’s Cycles in Scalford for the expert build-up, including a nerve-wracking fitting of the handlebar tape, which is genuine 1970s new-old stock and may be the last roll of this colour in the country! (No pressure, Michael).

For the technically minded: the Professional Mk5 was top of the Carlton range in ’78 and was a replica of the works team bikes of the day. This one is fitted with Mavic MA3 wheels, period-correct (and advanced for the time) Shimano 600 group set, and a Cinelli saddle. We put it on the scales and all in it’s 10.2kg, which is incredibly light for an old, steel bike.

It also has some pedigree having previously been owned by Cafe Allez!’s resident cycling guru Ollie Nuthall and having crossed the line first in the Eroica Brittania race when piloted by Mike Jones in 2016.

We’d love to hear your feedback on the original Cafe Allez! Racer…