Originally Posted by
TimmyT
Raleigh Pro's have their weaknesses in the brazing department, and I think that Bob Jackson would like to remove a few bad years of bottom brackets from their production run.
The Norman has cap-rounded stay ends and what look to be stamped dropouts. These were pretty common in the 1950s. By the 70s they are associated with lower-end bikes, but for the 50s they were just fine. The complexity and brazing of the lugs is fairly good for the 1950s. The lugwork is pretty good, and you've got to look past the paint.
IMO, not every bike is for flipping. You've got to look past the dollars and cents, here.
TimmyT, you are spot on. It appears mapleleafs-13 is comparing a bicycle from 1950 with ones of an entirely different era and that just can't be done. You definitely need to look past the paint too, though I suspect once the dust, dirt and grime are cleaned off the bicycle, it'll look a lot better than it does now.