A guy who owns a vintage bike shop in a town 3 hours from me has a beautiful late 80s Raleigh Gran Prix for sale. It says "Raleigh 555) on a sticker on the lower part of the frame. When I questioned him about the frame he said "English made Gran Prixs were Raleigh's entry level road bike and were made of of high tensile steel. Raleigh sold to an american corporation in the late 80s that produced their own in house cromoly tube sets mainly 502 and 555sl which are often mistaken as some sort of reynolds magmoly tubing which they are not. This Gran Prix is an American made model made with the before mentioned cromoly tubing."

A friend who has been mentoring me wrote me and said "The Gran Prix is a Raleigh "Bicycle Corp. of America" era. Not near the bike that the Carlton frrames are."

My question is... what makes the difference(s) between the American era and the Carlton era in quality? Any input will help me learn more and hopefully keep me from making a mistake. I'm a newbie and in the hunt for a vintage steel bike that I'll enjoy for a long time to come.

Thanks,

Gary