cocoasprinkles

It's a Raleigh SP 1000 Titanium. Made in 1994 with Reynolds 753 main tri and 531 fork and stays. Heres a pic, anybody know what it goes for? Or an original catalogue with it in it?



I've changed the handlebars and wheels/tires since i got it. I'll post a pic of it soon when i got the rear brake cable to the proper length and wrap the bars up.

gfrance

No, but I like it.

cocoasprinkles

thanks

ryanspeer

Are you sure you don't mean "TECHnium", not "Titanium"? The Technium bikes had a notorious problem of the head and/or seat tubes developing cracks (I used to work at a Raleigh dealer in the mid-90's) and I've also heard stories about the tubes which are bonded together (or something like that) beginning to separate. If it's Technium, then that's the story I know of.

If it's actually Titanium, then it sounds like you have a great find there.

ElJamoquio

I'd be very surprised if that bike was actually titanium, especially when you use the number 753.

slowandsteady

funny they would call it titanium if it is made from steel....

Jonathan Drake

If it is from 1994, the that must be 105 or lower on it, seeing there is still down tube shifters with what looks to be Shimano hoods.

Looks like a decent entry level bike, none the less.

cocoasprinkles

It is from 94 cause i checked the serial print on the bottom, it's 8 speed shimano 600. The hoods are Dia Comp.

The reason i belive atleast the main tirangle is Ti is because it wont rust. I have a couple chips on the top tupe and i can see the metal...grayish color (like Ti) and they have been exposed a long time and wont rust. Yet on the rear tri and fork dropouts i have a little rust.

On the material sticker it says Composite Reynolds 753 Mang-Moly Titanium. Does that make sense to anybody?

slowandsteady

Mang-Moly is Molybdenum Manganese
753 is just a thin version of 531 steel

Try to stick a magnet to the frame.

big john

If you post it on the Classic/Vintage forum, they will tell you all about it. There are Raleigh experts there.

markwebb

It's steel not Titanium. Reynolds TI is another name for Reynolds the company, not the type of metal (see Bob Jackson web site, among others).

Raleigh, Jackson, even Moulton used 753 steel.

Retro Raleigh site shows 753 used by Raleigh in two years - 1979 and 1984. But acart only goes through 1988. Both years sold as frame/fork only so any components were added after delivery to a retail dealer. They were only painted in Team Colors.

On the Waterford site, they have this to say about 753: Heat Treated Steels: In the 1970's Reynolds introduced an enhanced tubeset - Reynolds 753. 40% stronger than 531, 753 allowed lighter and stronger bike frames to appear on the race scene. Reynolds 753 perfectly matched expertise in reliable low-temperature silver brazing. With heat treated alloy steels such as 753, low temperature brazing is critical to maintain all the strength added through heat treatment. With lug designs, this wasn't a problem but lugs don't offer the manufacturing flexibility of other joining methods. 753 was finally dropped from Reynolds' offerings in 2001.

753 is a very thin walled steel. lighter and just as strong as 531, but required special brazing.

Classic rendevous says this: Have you ever heard that a frame made of Reynolds 753 tubing can't be "cold set" (i.e.bent back into alignment after being twisted in a crash)? Is it true? If so, how come? We asked TI Reynolds Show representative TOM FIELD. "No way" is now Field described the chance of cold setting 753. "You just can't budge it at all. In fact, once it's jigged and brazed you just can't change it. It must be perfectly aligned by the framebuilder and that's why we are so careful about who is allowed to build with 753." Field said that any framebuilder who wants to use 753 is sent a test kit containing tubes, a bottom bracket, silver solder, flux and instructions. He assembles the parts and returns them to the TI Raleigh lab in England, where five tests determine his proficiency. Field said about half of the 753 applicants are refused permission to abtain and use the tubing. He said that the U.S. now has five qualified 753 framebuilders. So what happens if a 753 frame is crashed out of alignment? First, Field said, since 753 is the strongest bike tubing in the world(diameter for diameter), it is the most resistant to bending in a fall. However, it tends to dent easier than other tubings because it is so thin; the center portion is only 0.3mm thick, or about three times the thickness of one Velo-news page. Once a 753 frame is actually bent, it is a major undertaking to make it right again. "The builder must be very good with his torch, use a slow flame to heat the part, then replace the tube or realign the frame, as necessary," Field said. He added that the expense of this type of repair makes 753 "not the best choice for the younger or less-than-serious rider. "Reynolds 753 is for the discerning rider," Field summed up. "It is so light and so stiff that the serious competitor can't afford not to have it." Weight of the 753 road set is 1,800 grams. The track set is 1,750 grams.

Hope all this helps - TI Reynolds is just the name of the company - 753 is steel. If you have a sticker that says Composite Reynolds 753 Mang-Moly Titanium then it may be a fake sticker.

DocRay

^^^ yep...check out the lugs... steel.

plodderslusk

I think it may well be a mix of bonded titanium main tubes and a 753 rear end and fork. I bought a Raleigh Mtb from around this era that had titanium main tubes and steel fork and stays. I vaguely remember something about raleigh buying straight gauge titanium tubing from Russia since their defence industry at that time did not have the money to use all of what the Russians made.

cocoasprinkles

ElJamoquio

I'm not going to say it's impossible, but a Titanium-tubed bike should have larger diameter tubes than that bike, because steel is stiffer and stronger than Ti.

Did you do the magnet test?

ElJamoquio

Perhaps the lugs are Titanium?

cocoasprinkles

i think the lugs are aluminum, fork is 531 and frame is 753 (531 steel just skinnier metal supposedly). No Ti anywhere, just what it's called which is a little misleading but w/e.